I've been looking round at various bass synth pedals (e.g EH Bass micro synth, Ibanez sb7, boss bass synth, akai deep impact, digitech bass synth) and from the samples I've heard they're not exactly what I'm looking for. I know very little on synth but I hear lots of keyboard sounds that I like (shiny toy guns, muse, radiohead etc.) and was wondering if it is possible to get those sounds from a pedal/rack unit - there seems to be enough stuff on the net about keyboards replicating bass guitars! If it is just a case of messing around with the various patches/settings on these pedals I will be very much relieved!
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Replicating Keyboard Sounds
- Thread starter EDB600-EHLBM
- Start date
Being experienced with synthesizers I can say that any of the bass synthesizer pedals can only take you so far when it comes to creating real analog synthesizer sounds. They sound cool and work fine if you just want basic kinda bass synth sounds, but are very limited in comparison with the virtually endless variety of sounds you can get from a well equipped synth. The best way to get real synth sounds with a bass is to use a bass synthesizer like the old Roland ones where the bass controlled an actual synthesizer module, or use a MIDI pickup/converter with a newer analog or analog modeling synth.
+1
You'll never make your bass sound like a synth. You might get something synth-like, but never the same.
Yave you considered just getting a synth? I play one on a few tunes with my band. I know a lot of pro players double on synth. It can be very useful.
Cheers, I have considered doubling up on synth, unfortunately I'm a student so can't afford one but I suppose that gives me time to build up some keyboard skills. The old roland synths sound interesting though and I'll certainly look into that - hopefully they won't be too expensive
if you're looking for out of the world sounds (ie radiohead) you're probably looking for a ring modulator. They make everything from dings to spaceship sounds and everything you could imagine.
That's a good point that's often ignored when the question's asked "what'll make listeners think 'synth!' when I play my bass?".
Joe
yeah plus if you combine a ring mod with other effects (synth, fuzz, octaver, envelope filter) you really can get all sorts of keyboardesque sounds. it would just require lots of knob twiddling and time.
moogboy
Inactive
Wal made a Bass with a special output and an interface box. the Roland Synth pups are the best 'modern' ones. i personally like screwing with effects until i get a cool sound that is like a synth so that if i ever hear a similar sound, i know what to do to get that sound.
FWIW:
Interesting question. No answer. Had a V bass, Had a Roland GR 20 (with keyboard patches) and have a podxt.
If you're going to do synth (the real thing) you're proably not going to do it on a bass becuase of tracking issues - unless you go piccolo or stay above the 12th fret. Even then dynamics will be lacking to non-existent. Even the synth modeling patches on the V bass and podxt (which aren't synth at all) have tracking issues and those are probably as good as it gets. The V synths are polyphonic, the podxt aren't.
I also haven't pulled anything remotely close from effects on the pod or V bass. The comb filter on the xt is the only thing reminiscent of piano in it itself. I have got a passable sax, and harmonica is definitely doable. Not the quality of synth stuff but passable in a mix. Of course on the GR 20 piano patches sounded like a piano - and tracking sucked.
But a prime interest of mine is synth sounds for bass - and I continue to explore.
Interesting question. No answer. Had a V bass, Had a Roland GR 20 (with keyboard patches) and have a podxt.
If you're going to do synth (the real thing) you're proably not going to do it on a bass becuase of tracking issues - unless you go piccolo or stay above the 12th fret. Even then dynamics will be lacking to non-existent. Even the synth modeling patches on the V bass and podxt (which aren't synth at all) have tracking issues and those are probably as good as it gets. The V synths are polyphonic, the podxt aren't.
I also haven't pulled anything remotely close from effects on the pod or V bass. The comb filter on the xt is the only thing reminiscent of piano in it itself. I have got a passable sax, and harmonica is definitely doable. Not the quality of synth stuff but passable in a mix. Of course on the GR 20 piano patches sounded like a piano - and tracking sucked.
But a prime interest of mine is synth sounds for bass - and I continue to explore.
But I've also done things like this and have gotten good results, it's easier to do this if eitehr oyu have a huge pedal board (a la spankypants) or have 1(or a few) (DECENT)multi-fx units. I've gotten some pretty synthy bass sounds with my multi, not exactly keyboard sounding, but they didn't really sound like a bass either. I got a sort of 'dark organ' sound with a mix of, octave(-1), volume swell, and a big load of reverb. I've gotten a sort of "80's cheese" synth sound by taking a really heavy fuzz, heavy chorusing(OR flange OR phaser), and also taking out all the highs (thus leaving only bass and mids), and an envelope filter.
justin meldal-johnsen had a good idea in the BPTV interview... use an octaver with the dry signal all the way down (ie, just lower octave) going into a fuzz. try it! it's cool. 
FWIW:
just skimmed the current effects synth thread centered around the EH micro, Korg G5, and Akai deep impact and I skimmed those reviews in HC and one of them has a piano preset. Probably sounds like typical synth bass stuff but I don't know that and you might want to follow up.
just skimmed the current effects synth thread centered around the EH micro, Korg G5, and Akai deep impact and I skimmed those reviews in HC and one of them has a piano preset. Probably sounds like typical synth bass stuff but I don't know that and you might want to follow up.
A Boss OC-2 gives you a fairly clean triangle wave to work with especially if your technique is clean. Listen to any track off Elf-Titled by The Advantage. Carson McWhirter makes extensive use of an OC-2 on the album and sounds very synthy at times. Combined with his robot-like precision, he probably tricks a lot of people into thinking it was a synth line or at least doubled by a synth.
I'm no electronics buff so I don't know too much on what's going on with the circuitry, but can the problem of tracking be overcome? Would the use of extremely low latency memory coupled with dual core processors (i.e. through a high-end pc) get past this? The ring modulators sound cool so I will definately look into that. I suppose a lot of this depends on just getting a load of kit together and messing about with it to see what can be acheived.
Remember that the real 'problem' is mainly having the vibrations from all the strings at-once coming out of the pickup! When waves from two different strings are mixed, even if one is way in the background - they're not phase-coherent; they crash into each other; they freak-out the process. That's why the guitar MIDI synths require intallation of multiple pickups (besides the polyphonic synthesis) - one for each string.
When it comes to tracking on an octave divider - which gets the great lion's share of discussion about 'tracking' - those are just a very simple born-to-glitch design in the first place!
Another thing that gets indiscriminently mixed-in with the definition of 'tracking' is speaking of the latency delay in pitch transposers (harmonizers). This is a different issue, and can't be completely overcome because of the method used to transpose. You need at least a few waves-worth of signal to do the streatch/loop/splice-whatever that they do to... uh - do that thing they do.
Joe
I run my guitar, my bass, and my band through my computer. I find that, even tho I have a pretty beefy comp, I sometimes run into tracking issues...
We're talking about very, VERY robust computers to run effects in order to have virtually no tracking problems.
but like the above reply said, ditto on the midi-synth approach. It's just not feasible any other way (but certainly not a cheap solution)
indeed! that is some real wisdom.
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