Double Bass effects?

[Marc S]

Apologies if this has been asked before,
but I was wondering what peoples thoughts were sound effects units / pedals
I'm after something as close as poss to a double bass sound, for my bass guitar

Pre-empting those who say "If you want something that sounds like a DB - get a DB"
I do play double bass too.....
I'm just after achieving something pretty close, with a bass guitar too

Some people have mentioned the Zoom B3 effects, as being pretty good
Just wondering what anyone else has found?

Generally speaking, I don't really "do" too many effects
I seem to go through phases of using one pedal,
I move on to another, and they usually gather dust
But I've heard folk talk quite highly of the Zoom,
saying it's got some useful effects, and is reasonably priced for what you get....

Cheers all

Marc

[cheddatom]

The closest I've got to a double bass sound is with flats, playing with my thumb over the fingerboard, and I think it was on the bridge pickup with lots of highs rolled off.

I would guess a compressor set with a very slow attack may also help

Oh, and fretless if you want to be able to do that slidey mwahey thing people go on about

[Qlank]

Take a hanky or a sock to a guitar shop. Pick a fretless bass. Use the sock to dampen the strings by the bridge. Play like you would your double bass. Take on cheddatom's suggestions. You might like what you hear.

[Marc S]

[quote name='Qlank' timestamp='1415886041' post='2604827']
Take a hanky or a sock to a guitar shop. Pick a fretless bass. Use the sock to dampen the strings by the bridge. Play like you would your double bass. Take on cheddatom's suggestions. You might like what you hear.
[/quote]

Hmmm, interesting - must try that
I'm intrigued now!

[Truckstop]

Fretless is a must! Just can't emulate the bounce of a DB with a fretted neck.

Truckstop

[Marc S]

Yes, I have a fretless - though I just use it to muck about on, in the main
I'll have a try of that trick with the hanky though....

The effects unit I heard rendered a really good DB sound
I don't know how it did it, but it was pretty close

Still looking for effects suggestions too BTW
How good is the Zoom 3?
Does the rather cheaper Zoom 2 also have a DB - esque effect?

Cheers all

Marc

[hubrad]

Fretless, flats or even better black nylons, possibly something to reduce the sustain or else do that manually. I wouldn't particularly bother with effects unless you want those sounds, but now I'm wondering whether an acoustic simulator might be pleasant. .

[xgsjx]

I used to get a very double bassesque sound using the Moog LPF with a patch lead from the env out & back to the cutoff in & had the cutoff dial at about 9 o'clock. This meant that the note came on with a full sound & a slight delay on the attack & then the note was filtered quickish but kept the low end.
That was with a fretted bass too, fretless would have been better still.

[randythoades]

I have the Zoom B3 and use it for EB and DB. It is a good little unit. I use it as a preamp into the PA instead of amp now and it sounds great. The DB effect thing on it sounds a bit falsetto me and I manage to get a DB sound out of my Aria EB for some blues stuff by using flats, volume to about half, tone almost to zero and adjusting the strap so that I can hold the bass much more vertically. That way I can pluck the strings like I would DB and sounds ok to me.