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Effect used in “Closer” by NiN

#6
I tried a few things and guess I’m either not dialing it in right or I have the wrong tool for the job. It’s close but the effect is really light. I tried dialing the intensity up and it’s still a soft effect.
 
#8
Swimming Bird said:
That's a synth. Can def emulate with pedals (filter and some drive etc), but probably an Emu sampler workstation IIRC. I used to get this sound by going flanger into envelope filter, sometimes with an octave down to hit that first root note
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Man, I switched to bass for simplicity... :-). I guess I have a project this weekend. Thanks! It’s hard to imagine that the sound isn’t in the H9.
 
#12
tommyeadg said:
Thats an envelope filter/auto wah to my ears. Maybe a Broughton Joshwah could get you there?
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There's a hint of octave in there too, but I don't know if that's live or was added in later.

The C Bb F part has overdrive of some sort.

Then there are the synth parts. You can do those with a bass as a controller if you use a GK-3B and a synth and use different patches and zones on different strings which I did try but frankly it was doing my head in trying to remember which sounds were on which bit of which string for that part!
 
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#14
As @Swimming Bird said, it's a synth and they use synth/sequencer for that part live as well (never played that main bass part on an electric bass guitar). However they do use electric bass for this song on album and live, but only during the choruses.

The synth bass part has some really low notes - not only C1, but I think there's also really low Bb somewhere as well.
 
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#15
I've used a Mooer bass sweeper in "fuzz" mode when covering that tune. Does it sound exactly like the album? No. Is it convincing enough for a cover band at a bar gig? We always got positive feedback on that one i.e. party people loosing their shizz on the dance floor.
 
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#16
I had an actual synth, synth pedals, and tons of combos of filter, fuzz, octave, etc. and this is one of those tunes that eludes me. Even Trent doesn’t know the exact settings or gear used for it, and it’s known to be tricky to match. The closest thing is getting the notes and feel right, and then adding in a wah (or expression pedal w/ filter) to get the sweeps right, an auto wah or envelope filter doesn’t quite hit right and you have to sweep the filter manually.

Once you get the bass line itself in the pocket and the sweep just right, it doesn’t have to be close otherwise to sound good enough.
 
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#17
Thanks again! I just need to approximate the sound. It doesn’t need to be exact. As long as people get the idea. The effect in the H9 gets me in the neighborhood, but it’s a bit too mild. Drunks might not notice the effect... :-)
 
#18
boggus said:
As @Swimming Bird said, it's a synth and they use synth/sequencer for that part live as well (never played that main bass part on an electric bass guitar). However they do use electric bass for this song on album and live, but only during the choruses.

The synth bass part has some really low notes - not only C1, but I think there's also really low Bb somewhere as well.
Click to expand...

It certainly feels like it was written on bass given the note choice.
 

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