I understand that the original poster has now found a solution in terms of going with pedals and some sort of module/VST synth. However, looking at the original conditions, and having gone out and checked out a bit of gear, I have a suggestion for those who are still looking for something cheaper, easier, and which will fit on a pedalboard.
Needed:
- Sawtooth waveform (all Taurus pedals), along with possible square waveform (Taurus 2 or 3)
- Single and/or dual oscillator
- Hold note function while playing regular bass
- Cheapest solution
- Easiest solution.
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Having now gotten to try a few experiments against the real thing, I have a suggestion:
Behringer BSY600 Bass Synth pedal ($50 or less new)
Behringer chorus pedal (a variety available for bass for less than $50) or any other chorus pedal you have laying around.
The Behringer BSY600, like the Boss SYB-5 which it copies, allows you to press the pedal and hold the oscillator's note while you play bass along with that sounding note. The chorus pedal, of course, allows you to get the dual oscillator sound.
I have to note that my instrument has active pickups, and I have no tracking problems with the BSY600 or the SYB-5 when plucking while palm-muting.
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I lucked out tonight, incidentally. After finally giving the BSY a workout, I had decided to buy one. It does my SYB-5 one better, by not requiring an expression pedal to lock the filter sweep to one position; just maxing the Depth/Rate knob will freeze the sweep. I was going to just order one, but I checked the classifieds here first... and picked one up for a little less than new. How lucky can a person be? *laugh*
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If one already has a chorus pedal,
this solution is easier in that it
doesn't require:
- Building a foot controller
- Finding a sound source, either a portable computer or a hardware VST host, or a sound module
- Carrying both the foot controller and the computer/VST host/sound module to a gig, compared to a single Boss-size pedal.
It's also cheaper, in that:
- It only costs $50 for the oscillator
- There is no need to spend money for a controller beyond your bass
- There is no need to spend more money for a sound source.
Personally, I always find a pedalboard which can deal with power issues without requiring booting up is a plus.
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I have nothing against going all out for a particular sound; if I did, I wouldn't have spent the money on that Korg X911 recently. However, there are much easier and less expensive solutions compared to where this thread ultimately went, and when one relies on a laptop, I remember why I decided to never trust one for a gig unless I had my own UPS... which defeats the "easy" part, right? *laugh*
Anyway, just for those who might find this thread in a search, and who wonder if there was another way which is both cheaper and easier than a DIY pedalboard project... the answer is "yes."
) I first used a Basyn rig, then a PK5 with a Micron, and it was awesome. Make sure you grab the VST editor for it because editing sounds on the Micron itself is awful, but man you can get some nasty stuff going on it.
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