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Doubling on guitar and bass: same gig; same rig

Discussion in 'Basses [BG]' started by Rayjay, Jan 4, 2015.

  1. Jan 4, 2015 #1
    Rayjay

    Rayjay If that’s even my real name..

    Sep 27, 2014
    Lahaina, Maui, HI
    One gig I'm doing now involves only me, a keyboard player who sings lead, and a singer who doesn't play any other instruments. I prefer bass, but there are about half the songs that require me to play guitar instead. My plan is to play my guitar through my bass amp. The guitar parts are simple and chordal and rarely go above the 9th fret. I've tried this setup at home and it sounds good enough to roll with. I'm going to do the first gig next week. I'd prefer to not have a 2nd amp to lug around.

    I have a simple pedalboard, so I'm going to look for a few more pedals that might be beneficial for either instrument and maybe both. I have a Bass Big Muff and a Phase 90, and I'm thinking about adding a chorus and delay/reverb. I was also thinking about getting the Tech 21 VT Bass V2 for my bass rig anyway and I might be able to use for a nice bassman type gain with guitar.

    I know most of you probably think I'm crazy (LOL maybe I am) but I wanted to reach out and see if anyone is in a similar situation, and thanks for any advice!
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2015
  2. Jan 4, 2015 #2
    nostatic

    nostatic Supporting Member

    Jun 18, 2004
    central coast
    Endorsing Artist: FEA Labs
    I've done doubling like this. It really depends on what guitar sounds you want/need. The biggest challenge is distortion - usually a bass rig doesn't necessarily sound great with a typical guitar setup going into it (depending on the details of the rig). If you're playing mostly clean guitar it is much easier to do. For pedals, my bigger board has:

    chorus
    delay
    Aguilar Agro
    Aguilar octamizer
    Pog 2
    microvibe
    looper

    Most of that is usable on guitar. The one thing that is missing for typical guitar work is reverb, though delay can cover part of that. Again it really depends on what sounds you're going for. With what you've got, the big muff and phaser likely will handle guitar, so just adding delay/reverb and maybe chorus and you'd be set. You could also get a multi effects pedal like a Zoom and go that route, but those things typically drive me nuts. I like to be able to see all my knobs at once.
     
    Rayjay likes this.
  3. Jan 4, 2015 #3
    Rayjay

    Rayjay If that’s even my real name..

    Sep 27, 2014
    Lahaina, Maui, HI
    Thanks, and yeah pretty much running clean most of the time. I'm thinking the guitar can run into the VT Bass for a touch of gain, add a touch of chorus and reverb and I'll be good...less than ideal but well within the good enough range!
     
  4. Jan 4, 2015 #4
    Bob-I

    Bob-I

    Sep 12, 2014
    I did that years ago only we didn't have a vocalist, just the two of us. I played mostly guitar and the keyboard player used the pedals. When a bass line was too important or the pedals too limiting, I played bass.

    I used a 65 watt Music Man into a 1x15 EVM and it worked out great. Since the MM has a guitar channel and a bass channel the amp voicing was great. The speaker wasn't ideal for guitar but there has to be compromise somewhere.
     
    Rayjay likes this.
  5. Jan 4, 2015 #5
    Johnny Alien

    Johnny Alien

    Jan 24, 2003
    Harrisburg, PA, USA
    ^ Nice! A MusicMan head was going to be my exact suggestion.
     
    Rayjay likes this.
  6. Jan 4, 2015 #6
    Rayjay

    Rayjay If that’s even my real name..

    Sep 27, 2014
    Lahaina, Maui, HI
    What's up Johnny Alien from Harrisburg, PA!