No guitarist for new year, any ideas,any synth pedals

[mikhay77]

Got a gig new years eve,only at the local pub,Heres the problem,our guitarist is unable to do it for personall reasons.Short notice for anyone to learn 30 or so songs. Got a couple of friends who can busk through some but here is the thing. I can play bass or the guitar for all the songs but not at the same time lol. Is there any pedal out there that could simulate bass or guitar ie I could split the signal some way from either the bass or guitar to both stacks thus emulating the bass or vice versa. I did think about playing the guitar and splittin it to the bass stack and taking out all the top and bumping the low frequencies to fill out the sound. Havent got the equipment or time to record backing tracks either,any sugestions welcome. It doesnt have to be a studio quality sound and its more a bit of fun but it would be cool to add something.Mind you the White stripes manage it!

[paul_5]

Didn't boss (or somebody) do a 'bassmaker' pedal - you've got to play the smaller, less good guitar and the pedal will generate a low note in response to your harmony line.

[icastle]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1324936578' post='1478652']
Didn't boss (or somebody) do a 'bassmaker' pedal - you've got to play the smaller, less good guitar and the pedal will generate a low note in response to your harmony line.
[/quote]

It was a company called Able.
Not sure if they're still in business, but that pedal was discontinued quite a few years ago.

[JakeBrownBass]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1324936578' post='1478652']
Didn't boss (or somebody) do a 'bassmaker' pedal - you've got to play the smaller, less good guitar and the pedal will generate a low note in response to your harmony line.
[/quote]

There was an Able BassMaker pedal made by a guy in Wales.


Surely there is someone around that can Dep on either bass or guitar if its a standard pub set which i presume it is for NYE?

[paul_5]

cheers for the correction guys, I've certainly never needed one.

[icastle]

[quote name='mikhay77' timestamp='1324936045' post='1478649']
Got a gig new years eve,only at the local pub,Heres the problem,our guitarist is unable to do it for personall reasons.Short notice for anyone to learn 30 or so songs. Got a couple of friends who can busk through some but here is the thing. I can play bass or the guitar for all the songs but not at the same time lol. Is there any pedal out there that could simulate bass or guitar ie I could split the signal some way from either the bass or guitar to both stacks thus emulating the bass or vice versa. I did think about playing the guitar and splittin it to the bass stack and taking out all the top and bumping the low frequencies to fill out the sound. Havent got the equipment or time to record backing tracks either,any sugestions welcome. It doesnt have to be a studio quality sound and its more a bit of fun but it would be cool to add something.Mind you the White stripes manage it!
[/quote]

I've yet to hear a DSP that sounds even vaguely convincing in a controlled studio environment let alone a live setting.
You'd get far better quality, and it would also be cheaper, to get a dep for the night.

[AttitudeCastle]

You could ask 2 friends and divide the set list between them? 15 songs in 4/5 days isn't too bad as long as you don't play technical hyper rhytmical music

Many on here have had to learn more in less time so it can be done!

[icastle]

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' timestamp='1324938576' post='1478672']
You could ask 2 friends and divide the set list between them? 15 songs in 4/5 days isn't too bad as long as you don't play technical hyper rhytmical music

Many on here have had to learn more in less time so it can be done!
[/quote]

+1
That's a cracking idea, should be much easier that way.

[mikhay77]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1324938896' post='1478675']
+1
That's a cracking idea, should be much easier that way.
[/quote]
Yeh,its just gettin the commitment,but I think a my friends can manage some,just a contingency plan. Not the usual pub covers unfortunately,Havent got our sets recorded so its difficult to get a dep,it would need rehearsals and every player and his dog that I know is out new years,bummer! Would of thought by now someone would of made a pedal to put bass root notes to guitar chords,mind you,probably a good job otherwise we might be out of a job,lol.

Edited December 26, 2011 by mikhay77

[Happy Jack]

Akai Unibass, if you can beg/borrow/steal one ... but you'll need a little time to work out some new bass lines (where applicable) that will work with it.

Fishman have also just brought out a similar product (the Unibass was discontinued some time ago) but you're unlikely to find/get one in time.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='mikhay77' timestamp='1324936045' post='1478649']
Is there any pedal out there that could simulate bass or guitar ie I could split the signal some way from either the bass or guitar to both stacks thus emulating the bass or vice versa.
[/quote]

That would be the Boss LS2.

I can't lend you one of mine (cos you're in Lincoln) but there's a lot of them out there.

[icastle]

[quote name='mikhay77' timestamp='1324940767' post='1478698']
Would of thought by now someone would of made a pedal to put bass root notes to guitar chords,mind you,probably a good job otherwise we might be out of a job,lol.
[/quote]

Well there have been a few attempts over the years but there are quite a few catches and compromises involved.

By the time the signal has been processed and the 'lowest note' identified and played back you're getting a noticeable delay.
Other issues involved would be around 'overplaying' - unless you have a way of programming a set of features, every chord hit is going to generate a bass note and, with the best will in the world, at best most tunes don't sound right with that degree of bass.

[icastle]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1324941091' post='1478701']
Akai Unibass, if you can beg/borrow/steal one ... but you'll need a little time to work out some new bass lines (where applicable) that will work with it.

Fishman have also just brought out a similar product (the Unibass was discontinued some time ago) but you're unlikely to find/get one in time.
[/quote]

Wasn't the Unibass an Octaver with a distortion option thrown in for good measure or am I thinking of something else?

[mikhay77]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1324942033' post='1478710']
Wasn't the Unibass an Octaver with a distortion option thrown in for good measure or am I thinking of something else?
[/quote]
Mmm,puttin my feelers out for some pedals from my mates,I do play a lot of chords on the bass and the overplayin is always welcome but I am the singer too! ha ha. Mmm maybe a geddy bass pedal set up. I think its gonna be a octaver and harmonizer set up split between amps,maybe a distortion and synth pedal too, I think I do have a spare kitchen sink.Just been listening on you tube and there are some not too shabby results! And the best ones seem to be a bass octaver/ distortion pedal

Edited December 26, 2011 by mikhay77

[pete.young]

It's very easy to set up a Roland V-Bass like this, slightly more difficult to split your brain into playing the guitar and bass parts at the same time. and probably more overkill for a one-off pub gig.

Plus you can only get away with playing 'Peaches' so many times!

If you have a tuner output or an effects loop on the amp you might be able to use that to split the signal, and then put it through a harmoniser or octave-up or both. I have a Behringer harmoniser you're welcome to borrow if we can work out a way of getting it to you.

Alternatively, what are your programming skills like? You could use something like Logic 8 to play the bass lines on a laptop, as long as you didn't vary the order you'd be OK.

[AttitudeCastle]

You could do what the big bands do, and record the stuff in advance (the bass part for example) and play guitar over it?

Less preferable and harder but something to do as maybe a back up plan?

[RhysP]

It's just a pub gig - play the guitar.
Most people won't even notice there's no bass player (most people don't even know what a bass player is, they just think it's another guitarist).

[Truckstop]

Might be tricky to do in time, but I'd rather record the basslines to a click and play it through the PA. As long as the dummer can hear the click (and can play to a click) it should sound a million times better than a bass generator. Record the tracks, load it into iTunes, connect your laptop to the PA and press play. Done!
A very successful functions band near where I live dont use a drummer or a bassist, but have friends that record the songs for them and they just play guitar and sing over the top of the recordings. Sounds great as the bass and drums volume/EQ can be adjusted to the room and no mistakes!!

Truckstop

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1324942033' post='1478710']
Wasn't the Unibass an Octaver with a distortion option thrown in for good measure or am I thinking of something else?
[/quote]

Not exactly. It splits the signal and takes one path up (I think by one octave, but maybe it was two), then lets you add either a 5th above or a 4th below that raised pitch if you want it. You can then re-combine the two paths or you can take them to two separate amps. I used to take the raised path to the PA.

The raised path has a distortion control which you really do need to make it sound like a guitar, but I actually got better results by feeding the clean raised path through a separate fuzz pedal.

I sold mine when it became clear that I wasn't going to be playing in a 3-piece for a while. In a 4-piece (with two guitars) there's no real opportunity to use it.

[mikhay77]

Thanks for all the replies guys, one of my friends has now learnt 60% and I will probably play guitar for the others, like someone commented most people wont even notice,especially after they have had a load o stella. Still might see if I can set up something though,if only to see if I can get summat to work!