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Double Bass Pedal to emulate STANDUP sound ?

#21
jlsbass said:
Hi all,

I have a Fender p-bass .

...and was wondering if any stomp-box makers have come up with a pedal that can make an electric p-bass sound close to the tone of an acoustic Standup bass ?

Thanks all,
Jls.
Click to expand...

If you're looking for advice from double bass players, chances are they won't think that what you want is possible in any real detailed way. I happen to agree with them on this. It's kind of like asking how to make a motorcycle resemble a car. If you're looking for feedback from BG players who know more about the electronic aspect of this quest, I'd be happy to move the thread there. Let me know. :)
 
#22
In principle, MIDI can accomplish this - you get whatever gizmo turns your EB into a MIDI controller, then plug yourself into another gizmo (techie, aren't I?) that's got an upright bass sound.

The question is whether or not this is good enough, but it's certainly doable - just go find an electronic keyboard that says it has an upright bass sound and a MIDI IN port. Control it from your EB or whatever else you like.

Of course, I've never done this, and of course I've never heard a convincing UB sound module. But I have, e.g., used the MIDI ports on several keyboards to isolate which one I preferred as trigger and which one for the sounds, and that was a useful and interesting exercise.

-S-
 
#24
As a BG player who plays in pit bands, jazz bands, orchestras, etc occasionally, I've had good luck getting an "upright" like sound by playing a fretless jazz bass with a nice, low-tension pair of flats (I use light gauge Fender flats). No, it doesn't sound like an upright, but it does get the job done. +1 on reverb, too; that always helps, though its usually made moot by the other instruments. I'd love a nice NS if I could afford one; I played some DB in high school...damn bills...
 
#25
fingers said:
Either that or you could hire a double bass player to stand behind a curtain and play while you mime playing.
Click to expand...
This will be the easiest and yield the best results. :p

Ahh, these wanna be DB players... there's about 10 threads a year on this topic? And you'd think someone would use the search button.

The question posed is like trying to get an electric guitar to sound like an acoustic guitar - but 5 times harder. Why don't you go try onna dose Ashbory things. There I said it. :ninja:
 
#26
Those Ashbory things sound pretty good, I think. Damn hard to play in tune though. And the arco's damn near impossible!

*rimshot*

Seriously, these threads crack me up - not only because I agree that it's impossible to make an electric bass do everything a DB can....

But, that's also not quite the point. The OP *did* say "emulate" in his thread title. Jokes about swimming across the Atlantic notwithstanding (that one was pretty good. I laughed.) I don't think the desire is to coax the complete sonic spectrum of the DB out of a bass guitar. (At least I hope not)

Cmon - drum machines? No they don't sound like a real drum set. They suck when you play them with brushes, they have no "feel", and they can't hold their liquor, etc. But, for 200 bucks I can walk down to the shop and bring home something that'll go "boom, chik, boom, chik" and sound sorta like drums, which is all you need sometimes.
The acousic simulators? Yeah, they sound like crap. So do the majority of "real" acoustic guitars with piezo pickups plugged straight into the pa I've heard. Every free concert in the park I've gone to around here in the summer has had at least one biting, tinny "acoustic guitar" sound pumping out at the audience. Usually it makes me want to leave. Personally I don't find the acoustic sim pedals to be any worse.
Oh, how about keyboards? Every 'board I've played with in the past twenty-five years has had at least one "horn" sound on it. Does it do everything a real trumpet player could do? No way. For some reason they keep including them in soundbanks, and those sounds keep cropping up on bad pop records....they may sound cheesy, but they're still recognizable as what they're supposed to be.

So really I don't see the harm in pulling out the "50's Upright Bass" patch from your multi-effects unit when your wedding band launches into "Stand By Me". No, it's not the real thing, but it sounds convincing enough if you can't play the real thing. Probably more convincing than your keys player's sound on Ring Of Fire on that gig.
 
#27
jlsbass said:
Hi all,

I have a Fender p-bass .

...and was wondering if any stomp-box makers have come up with a pedal that can make an electric p-bass sound close to the tone of an acoustic Standup bass ?

Thanks all,
Jls.
Click to expand...

Jis,
Even as good as the most sophistocated computer modeling is it's far easier to just learn to play the bass. Although it's very difficult to model a String Bass it's not as hard to model the P-Bass.
:)

Ric
 
#28
Yes of course there's a pedal that will make your electric bass guitar sound exactly like an upright bass. The only reason that us upright bassists don't use it is because we're a bunch of stupid ****ing arsewipes.
 
#30
I remember when the "upright bass" patch started showing up on digital keyboards, and some guy played a "walking bass line" for me, grinning like I was supposed to be scared for my night job's imminent disappearance. :rolleyes:

It's come a long way since then. I'm still not scared.

Pfft.
 
#32
moles said:
Those Ashbory things sound pretty good, I think. Damn hard to play in tune though. And the arco's damn near impossible!

*rimshot*

Seriously, these threads crack me up - not only because I agree that it's impossible to make an electric bass do everything a DB can....

But, that's also not quite the point. The OP *did* say "emulate" in his thread title. Jokes about swimming across the Atlantic notwithstanding (that one was pretty good. I laughed.) I don't think the desire is to coax the complete sonic spectrum of the DB out of a bass guitar. (At least I hope not)

Cmon - drum machines? No they don't sound like a real drum set. They suck when you play them with brushes, they have no "feel", and they can't hold their liquor, etc. But, for 200 bucks I can walk down to the shop and bring home something that'll go "boom, chik, boom, chik" and sound sorta like drums, which is all you need sometimes.
The acousic simulators? Yeah, they sound like crap. So do the majority of "real" acoustic guitars with piezo pickups plugged straight into the pa I've heard. Every free concert in the park I've gone to around here in the summer has had at least one biting, tinny "acoustic guitar" sound pumping out at the audience. Usually it makes me want to leave. Personally I don't find the acoustic sim pedals to be any worse.
Oh, how about keyboards? Every 'board I've played with in the past twenty-five years has had at least one "horn" sound on it. Does it do everything a real trumpet player could do? No way. For some reason they keep including them in soundbanks, and those sounds keep cropping up on bad pop records....they may sound cheesy, but they're still recognizable as what they're supposed to be.

So really I don't see the harm in pulling out the "50's Upright Bass" patch from your multi-effects unit when your wedding band launches into "Stand By Me". No, it's not the real thing, but it sounds convincing enough if you can't play the real thing. Probably more convincing than your keys player's sound on Ring Of Fire on that gig.
Click to expand...

+1

If it is just to play "Stand By Me" (or whatever) and that's the only tune with a generic DB 'vibe' on a gig that is otherwise clearly a BG gig then emulation may satisfy the OP - though I agree with others that it is more about technique and concept than a stomp box. I was playing BG in an electric blues band on a tour backing an older singer from Mississippi and he had a couple tunes that were more of a 2 beat country type of feel. DB would have been ideal but was not practical in the situation. I just used a fretless (F-bass) for those tunes, crammed a piece of foam under the strings by the bridge, rolled off the highs, bumped the lows, used a little reverb (ok that's a box...) played over the end of the neck with more 'flesh' using more of the sides of the fingers, payed attention to note duration and muting and kept it really simple. The other people in the band (who had all played with many 'real' DB players) were very happy with the results -- everyone knowing it was a compromise in a live situation. Would be less effective with a fretted BG but with that approach it could be still be more appropriate to a specific tune than playing it with new roundwounds and a pick...

If wanting arco or to sound like LaFaro, get a real bass and good luck....
 
#35
Ashbory is close.

You could get an elctric "close".. would be fretless with flats.. limiter, compressor, EQ.. the issue would be dialing all that stuff in. Chances are you'd be playing through a different enclosure with the highs rolled off. Audiences would still see an electric.

As a gigging bassist, I've learned that commercial bands want the "look" and lack of overtones that an upright can bring..

Roland VBass will trigger upright samples...

Sincerely.. for about $200 a quality Ashbory can be had. You get some gigging freak factor when it's about the size of a dogbone and sonic wall of a Whale.

I onw fretless acoustic with the hole plugged.. it has a percussive thud.. still not the box boom of an upright.

Took me tons of time to settle on the NS WAV (budget, portability etc)... I had an upright.. wasn't for me as it wasn't good for the venues or climate I play in.

For Stand By Me.. audiences can not hear the difference between a all tone rolled off.. bass pumped electric with flats or tapes. I doubt your non-bass playing audience can hear the difference or would pay extra.

Let the flaming begin on my Stand By Me comment.
 
#37
The closest I've ever come to an upright sound on an electric bass is with my fretless jazz bass strung with flat wounds. It wasn't exact ... but close. It may take a a minute to dial in though ... no pedals necessary.
 
#40
jlsbass said:
Hi all,

I have a Fender p-bass .

...and was wondering if any stomp-box makers have come up with a pedal that can make an electric p-bass sound close to the tone of an acoustic Standup bass ?

Thanks all,
Jls.
Click to expand...

This is a path that I went down before getting an upright. The nearest I got was using a P fretless with sponge under the strings at the bridge, using thumb to pick with; in other words, not even close. If you really want to persue the sound, eventually you will get an upright bass. Happy trails.
 

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