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Playing with one guitar...

#61
Lots of good advice in the responses above!

For effects, definitely think about overdrive or distortion. You can set it so that it's not really discernible when the guitar is playing chords, but when the guitar solos, the bass notes will sound really full and harmonically complex.

Also -- listen to live recordings from 80s/90s 3p (and/or 3p + vox) bands to get ideas of what bass players in those bands did (e.g. U2, REM, plenty of others). While you're at it, give a listen also to some of the classic 3p bass players from earlier eras (e.g. Entwistle, Bruce, Butler, JPJ, etc.).
 
#62
I use to use just a touch of phase shift, before I got my Dingwall, it seemed to widen the bass tone nicely, with out cutting lows. The amount of the effect was low enough that it was hard to hear that I even had a PS in line !
I haven't tried it with the NG2 because i'm in love with the tone I have dialed in now !
 
#64
I just did a quick scan of the posts. Please forgive if my reply misses the mark. The OP just qualified the band as having one guitar. Are there other instruments? Like at least keys? Is it a power/or otherwise trio? Or guitar/bass/drums plus front person? Type of music and whether original tunes or covers of other groups (regardless of their instrumental make-up)?

Bottom line. If covers, interpreting the original artist’s intent and providing the right “fill” is the responsibility of every band member. If “tribute”, then, you are strapped into to how you look, behave, the amps, bass you use and how well you absolutely copy the bass lines of the original. If original, it is entirely your territory as an artist. But, the latter description begs that you listen to those artists that are popular within your group instrument and vocal composition, and match what your group is intending to communicate musically.
 
#65
mark roberts said:
I just did a quick scan of the posts. Please forgive if my reply misses the mark. The OP just qualified the band as having one guitar. Are there other instruments? Like at least keys? Is it a power/or otherwise trio? Or guitar/bass/drums plus front person? Type of music and whether original tunes or covers of other groups (regardless of their instrumental make-up)?

Bottom line. If covers, interpreting the original artist’s intent and providing the right “fill” is the responsibility of every band member. If “tribute”, then, you are strapped into to how you look, behave, the amps, bass you use and how well you absolutely copy the bass lines of the original. If original, it is entirely your territory as an artist. But, the latter description begs that you listen to those artists that are popular within your group instrument and vocal composition, and match what your group is intending to communicate musically.
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guitar/bass/drums/singer

70s/80s/90s+ Cover/Bar band.

Female singer, we're starting with:

Collective Soul/Shine
Hole/Celebrity Skin
Pat Benetar/Heartbreaker
Meredith Brooks/Bitch
Alanis Morissette/ You oughta know
Poison/Talk Dirty To Me
 
#66
I do this in several bands. I don't prefer it, but it is what it is. My best advice is to play with extreme confidence under the solos. If you and the drummer are rocking it hard, no one will notice that there's space.

My second best advice (only because it's hard to do) is to find a guitarist who is accomplished enough to play chording solos. They are hard to find, though.
 
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#68
I play in churches, where on certain weekends, there will be 4 guitars (2 electrics, 2 acoustics), plus keys and tracks. On other weekends, there will be one guitarist. When the instrumentation is sparse, on some tunes a lot of octaves and fifths will help fill things in - maybe even some drive, but you gotta make sure you don't lose low end, or it'll be messy and thin at the same time.

On other tunes, embracing the sparsity is key - a simple bass line, a simple guitar part, that's the ticket. The real key is knowing what approach to take at what point, and how to mix it up so the band sounds different at different times during the set. I encourage you to experiment at rehearsals. Try not sound like the same band at all times. That's often easier with fewer parts to coordinate. Have fun!
 
#70
kmon said:
Looks like my new project is gonna be a 80s/90s+ rock/pop cover band with ONE guitar.

So what you say? I've never played with only one guitar. I've always had 2 guitars turned up too loud and stepping all over each other... the better to mask my screwups...

Anyway, this is a general question: there's going to be more sonic space here and I've been wondering about effects strategies to fill it a little more thoroughly...

Also interested in general observations or tips on this type of lineup...including the observation that maybe I'm overthinking it...

Further edit: while I've played around with effects I haven't really used them that much in band situations. A strong, basic bass tone did the job well. What I have is always-on: markbass compressore, darkglass vintage ultra pre and a broughton hi-lo pass filter. I'm thinking with a potentially larger role for the bass in this band there would be instances where dirt would genuinely add something, and where some modulation like a chorus could make things sound a little thicker.
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I play with one acoustic guitar. I just have a good normal tone. One songs that are layed back and don't need bass I use big reverb atmospheric stuff to fill out the space. Another interesting thing I do I call "horn mode" or fill mode. I have a multi fx and have a momentary switch that turns on a wah, light chorus and reverb. It allows me to get some trum
 
#71
I play with one acoustic guitar. I just have a good normal tone. One songs that are layed back and don't need bass I use big reverb atmospheric stuff to fill out the space. Another interesting thing I do I call "horn mode" or fill mode. I have a multi fx and have a momentary switch that turns on a wah, light chorus and reverb. It allows me to get some trumpet/saxophone sounds for fills. I don't use it al because gets rid of the bass, but sparce, tasteful use really adds a lot to some songs
 
#72
Get an 8-string!

I recently quit a classic rock trio (for numerous reasons) and found that my 8-string worked on about half of the songs. Such a fat full sound that kept the body of the song together when the guitarist solos. I found that I play it with a technique that is somewhere between bass and rhythm guitar.

20200119_103608-web.jpg
 
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#73
Forget about pedals. This is your opportunity to work on grace notes and turnarounds. I love playing with only one guitar. The key to if they go into a solo is to keep pounding 8ths to make sure you are filling up the space, but otherwise, you are distinctive instrument. How you run into a chord and out of a progression is going to make or break the band.
 
#74
If I am playing guitar I prefer there to be two guitars--I enjoy the interplay--even with chords, that isn't possible with only one guitar--and a good abss player fits in nicely.

If I am playing bass I am okay either way--but I am more likely to use pedals to fill out the sound.

Of course any of this can change if there's a keyboard player.
 

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