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Effects that make the bass sound like a guitar, synth, and more? Help! ;)

What song should we cover next?

  • Shame Shame - Foo Fighters

  • You Look Good - Lady A


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The Boss GT-1B gives you a lot of octave and chorus options that can do what the OP asks about.

While I have a GT-1B, and it does a great job on those effects, I personally opt for the more "bass-like" sounds it can make.

BTW, if you get into the less "bass-like" sounds, you'll need rather articulate round-wounds.

Flats don't track well for octave effects.
 
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The Boss GT-1B gives you a lot of octave and chorus options that can do what the OP asks about.

While I have a GT-1B, and it does a great job on those effects, I personally opt for the more "bass-like" sounds it can make.

BTW, if you get into the less "bass-like" sounds, you'll need rather articulate round-wounds.

Flats don't track well for octave effects.

A legit bass multi effects board would be ideal for gigging and ease of use but we have yet to find anything that matches the individual pedals on the bass side. Will look into this one. Guitar side works well with Helix. Lot's of options there. Bass player started using steel strings. As thin as you can get them. Dont recall the exact sizes but they're not the easiest to find, apparently.
 
I've tried a lot of overdrive pedals. My main complaint is most of them make my bass sound like a guitar - via low end loss. I avoid those pedals like the plague - my job is to shake the place with solid low end, not sound like something else.

But....if you want my suggestion for a pedal that make you sound like a guitar, buy an overdrive pedal - many of them are excellent at that.
 
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I've tried a lot of overdrive pedals. My main complaint is most of them make my bass sound like a guitar - via low end loss. I avoid those pedals like the plague - my job is to shake the place with solid low end, not sound like something else.

But....if you want my suggestion for a pedal that make you sound like a guitar, buy an overdrive pedal - many of them are excellent at that.

Yes, we want the bass to boom. There are two sides to the et up which allow for a guitar sound and a bass sound. There are certain pedals that keep the bass thumpin' and many more that thin out the bass. Got this one for a ridiculous sale price and it keeps the thunder rollin'. Several options and only takes up a small space on the board. https://www.guitarcenter.com/Pigtro...wWFu27EeaODjc1BElw0WtpxkJLa0egpxoCDzQQAvD_BwE
 
Surprised no one has suggested the EH Bass Mono Synth. I have one and it's tons of fun. A precise attack is necessary to get it to track well, but once you get that going there are some very usable sounds (and some you'll click by in a hurry).

Screen Shot 2021-06-09 at 3.20.25 PM.png
 
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for the Guitar side / Not the Bass side You could use an Electro Harmonix HOG2 And a Neo Instruments Ventilator II to simulate Keys/Organ sounds and without the ventilator for 3 octaves plus .
I remember looking at the HOG2 a while back... I want to try one and I have not had anyone mention the Ventilator. I will look into that one. Thank you for the suggestions!
 
Surprised no one has suggested the EH Bass Mono Synth. I have one and it's tons of fun. A precise attack is necessary to get it to track well, but once you get that going there are some very usable sounds (and some you'll click by in a hurry).
While I do love this pedal and use it a lot, it has some very serious issues that make it challenging to use in a real-world setting. As you mentioned, tracking is problematic, but latency is also very real. It's challenging to not only drone away on 16ths because it doesn't catch all of them, but if you have a quick moving line you will miss notes because it only tracks one note at a time and you can't predict which one it will be.

Despite that, I still absolutely love this pedal and use it a lot. But I'm in a cover band playing a backing synth line for Party in the USA. For a 2-piece band that really relies on the bass to provide all the sound I wouldn't trust it.
 
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While I do love this pedal and use it a lot, it has some very serious issues that make it challenging to use in a real-world setting. As you mentioned, tracking is problematic, but latency is also very real. It's challenging to not only drone away on 16ths because it doesn't catch all of them, but if you have a quick moving line you will miss notes because it only tracks one note at a time and you can't predict which one it will be.

Despite that, I still absolutely love this pedal and use it a lot. But I'm in a cover band playing a backing synth line for Party in the USA. For a 2-piece band that really relies on the bass to provide all the sound I wouldn't trust it.
All very true. I find myself adjusting my attack to compensate for the latency. Even with that it’s hard to play precisely in time with it. It’s better for funky lo-fi stuff where being precise is not a strict requirement. Blending in the dry signal mitigates the latency and tracking issues, but the more you do that you’re getting away from the pure synth sounds.
 
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