GhostBusters Theme Song tone

[carl h.]

What effect would you use to get close to this sound? It sounds like a keyboard to me, but what can I use to get a bass to sound like this?




We are doing it on Halloween and it would be nice to get more synthy.

 

[Phagor]

Most synth pedals will get close to that. The main thing is to have a no attack time and a short decay time.

Synth pedals start with the Boss SYB-5, going up through the MarkBass Super Synth and on to the Akai Deep Impact (discontinued and expensive second-hand).

Search for 'synth' on this Effects forum and you'll find tons of threads about synth pedals.

Or you could just try an envelope filter. Set the decay time of the filter to be short, and the frequency low, so that the note almost disappears after the decay. Then set the sensitivity so you get enough 'bow' sound when the filter opens.

Add an octave pedal or fuzz before the envelope filter for a bigger synthier sound, or setup a similar patch in a multi-effect processor like the Zoom B3. The B3 also has synth effects in it that would nail this sound.

 

[carl h.]

Would the original bass pod have anything that could get close? I have one, but loaned it long term to a friend.

 

[Phagor]

Never used a bass pod, but I seem to remember people saying the synth and octave effects were pretty bad. There weren't many controls for the envelope filter either, so you wouldn't be able to set the decay time.

The consensus seems to be that the Zoom B3 and MS60B are a big step up from previous multis. The MS60B is only $100 - treat yourself! (I haven't got one yet )