ways to make synth bass sounds

[necropain]

so whats do you think is way to make synth bass sounds without the obvious synth pedal or envelope filter??

personally i think flanger plus distortion or dano chicken salad plus muff.

 

[BawanaRik]

I like the Whammy with a wah after it. Put a fuzz in fornt to keep the note going and you can get some cool sounds.

 

[Bassist4Eris]

I like octaver+fuzz.

 

[vegas532]

Octaver + "Brassier" Fuzz + Envelope

 

[iamdenialNJ]

Play high on your bass --> octave down pedal w/ no direct sound --> gated fuzz --> chorus (or your modulation of choice) --> low pass filter w/ an expression pedal controlling the filter

I would also say add some delay somewhere in the signal chain to make the transition from one note to the other smoother. There's a word for this in the synth world but I forget what is it called.

 

[Phagor]

There's a word for this in the synth world but I forget what is it called.

Portamento, or glissando. That's where the pitch slides from one note to the next (can be smooth or up a scale or chromatically).

I never thought of using delay to simulate it - interesting. A fretless bass would also help with the pitch sliding! Or maybe the EHX Superego which has glissando.

 

[gastric]

I have a variety of synth sound examples using various effects on my page. Click my signature below.

 

[MSUsousaphone]

Sub'd.

I'm really interested in the specific combos everyone uses. Like "this pedal at this setting going into this pedal at this setting".

I want to mooch off of you.

 

[Matt Dean]

OC2>Oxide>Xero
OC2>TFR>Proton

 

[Meyatch]

I use a Boss Slow Gear clone into a Flanger, a wah and evelope filter sometimes as well.

 

[HolmeBass]

MXR BOD - Girth 90% up, Growl 70% up (~ 1 o'clock), dry about 30% up, MID+ engaged, set to 800 Hz (may try switching that to 400 Hz though) >>>

Sparkle Drive - Very light OD, mostly dry, just to add a bit of sparkle/harmonics >>>

Proton - Up sweep, Range down (more range), Gain about 9 o'clock (but highly dependent on output of your bass), Peak at 2:30 - 2:45 o'clock, Decay 10 - 11 o'clock.

I also use the Hawk into it, but have not had great success with that, the Hawk is so saturated and intense that it's note bloom seems to overwhelm the EF.

 

[Shandiesel]

I just bought a Boss Bass Synth and just found this string. I havn't actually used it yet. I also just bout a new BTB5 so it will all come together at once.

 

[droo46]

Bass Synth Wah -> Swollen Pickle

Simple, yet amazing.

Edit: Sound sample link -

 

[RickenBoogie]

Classic combo of octave down , fuzz, filter and any flavor of modulation, (ie: chorus, flanger, phaser) is the easiest way, or using a dedicated "synth effect", like the BMS, or other. But none of it will be even close to what you can do with a keyboard synthesizer. Even a Micro-Korg will provide almost limitless options for sound, that you'll never achieve with effects pedals.

 

[Ubersheist]

Most synthy sounds do rely on an envelope or a filter of some sort. Since the OP doesn't want to use a synth sound, I think the best option is to do what a number of people have suggested already:

Bass --> Octave pedal with the dry sound off and -1 or other octaves up all the way --> Fuzz or maybe OD ---> Flanger, phasor or maybe chorus --> Amp

 

[Ubersheist]

Classic combo of octave down , fuzz, filter and any flavor of modulation, (ie: chorus, flanger, phaser) is the easiest way, or using a dedicated "synth effect", like the BMS, or other. But none of it will be even close to what you can do with a keyboard synthesizer. Even a Micro-Korg will provide almost limitless options for sound, that you'll never achieve with effects pedals.

+1

 

[avvie]

No it's not the same as a keyboard. But we're not keyboardists here. Some of us want to do this organically.

 

[necropain]

to clarify i have a synth pedal and i like it, what i wanted to know with this post was how to get other cool synthy sounds using other sorts or effects rather than just using a synth. frankly i just find that finding creative ways to use effects to make different flavors of other effects to be interesting.

also i don't know if this is just me but I've never found myself trying to sound exactly like a keyboard.

anywho what i've found that i love is

Boss OC2 clone with octave 1 at full and dry at full octave 2 turned all the way down
into
JoYo Voodoo Octave(with octave up turned on) mid cut switch down, fuzz at 2 o clock and tone a 8 o clock
into
Danelectro Chicken Salad intensity full and speed about 11 o clock

anyone know how to make any cool ambient synth tones with a combination of pedals?

 

[winterburn69]

How close can my Tech 21 Red Ripper get to an actual synth pedal? I know it's a fuzz pedal, but the rip knob produces a very synthy tone. With the rip knob cranked, I'm not 100% sure how synthy it is, it sure sounds synthy to my ears, and I don't have a synth pedal to compare with.

Has anyone compared the two?

 

[ManuelJG]

Bass Synth Wah -> Swollen Pickle

Simple, yet amazing.

Edit: Sound sample link -

Nice one!