usernamefield Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) Okay So what I'm trying to do is similar to Royal Blood, though I haven no interest in playing both guitar and bass. Just the fake guitar as my band has another bassist. (I am more comfortable playing on a bass and like the limitations it presents songwriting wise) The main problem though, is I'm VERY new to pedals and do not know much about them or how to accomplish my goal. I want a nasty fat and thick guitar sound. Currently what I have been using is a Micro Pog with octave up and a B2 bass multipedal. I also own a ZVEX Mastotron, but I cannot figure out how to pair it with my other pedals without it sounding bad. I use the B2 on an overdrive setting that I've screwed with to sound nice but clearly, I'd like to not rely on a multipedal. I play through an Orange combo guitar amp and use a Steinberger headless Spirit. As of right now, I am forcing myself to play through the "dirty" effect from my Orange combo amp to get the sound I want, but I'd prefer to not use any effects from the amp and play through the clean setting and still get the sound I am looking for. Whenever I pair my ZVEX with my B2 Multipedal it always sounds like garbage and I cannot figure out a way to fix it. Where should I go from here? What should I use to create a more real "fake" guitar sound, similar to royal blood? I clearly need a new overdrive pedal of some sort, but I really know almost nothing about pedals and what I need. Please help. Edited June 9, 2015 by usernamefield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I don't see the problem with using your zoom pedal. There should be lots of overdrive/distortion options which you can tweak. At the very least you'll find out which models you like and then you could buy the real thing, but you should definitely be able to get an acceptable dirt sound out of it. If you're after a guitar sound, you probably want a guitar amp. You could use the amp models on the zoom, but then if you plug that into a bass amp you're not going to hear what it'll be like DI'd. If I was going to do what you're doing, and it does appeal to me, I would have the pog running into a guitar combo and carry this to gigs with me. On the subject of the mastotron... Have you tried the mastotron before the zoom, in order? So plug your bass into the mastotron, then the mastotron into the zoom? And are you using a clean patch on the zoom when you use the mastotron? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usernamefield Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) [quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1433842738' post='2794395'] I don't see the problem with using your zoom pedal. There should be lots of overdrive/distortion options which you can tweak. At the very least you'll find out which models you like and then you could buy the real thing, but you should definitely be able to get an acceptable dirt sound out of it. If you're after a guitar sound, you probably want a guitar amp. You could use the amp models on the zoom, but then if you plug that into a bass amp you're not going to hear what it'll be like DI'd. If I was going to do what you're doing, and it does appeal to me, I would have the pog running into a guitar combo and carry this to gigs with me. On the subject of the mastotron... Have you tried the mastotron before the zoom, in order? So plug your bass into the mastotron, then the mastotron into the zoom? And are you using a clean patch on the zoom when you use the mastotron? [/quote] I should have specified. My orange combo is a guitar amp. And I have been trying a few things with the zoom and the mastotron together. But if I take my zoom off the current setting the mastotron isn't enough to like sound like a good overdrive setting? Or atleast the thickness of the sound that I'd like. And I know the Mastotron can easily do that, I just must be doing something wrong. Edited June 9, 2015 by usernamefield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 but you don't want to take it to gigs with you, so are you hoping to use other bands' guitar rigs? Or are you going to DI? If you're going to DI, you need to make some good amp model sounds, which the zoom should be capable of. When you're monitoring this though, it needs to be through a PA rig, not a guitar amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usernamefield Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) [quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1433843040' post='2794403'] but you don't want to take it to gigs with you, so are you hoping to use other bands' guitar rigs? Or are you going to DI? If you're going to DI, you need to make some good amp model sounds, which the zoom should be capable of. When you're monitoring this though, it needs to be through a PA rig, not a guitar amp. [/quote] Oh man. It's probably not good that I understood like none of what you just said. What's DI? And why would it be better through a PA rig? Edited June 9, 2015 by usernamefield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 OK, if you turn up to a gig with a bass, and ask if you can borrow a guitar rig, 99% of guitarists will refuse. You don't want to take your own amp, so your only option is to use an amp modeller (like your zoom). The amp modeller will have some speaker modelling too. All of this affects the sound. If you plug your amp models into a guitar amp, the guitar amp will be further changing the sound. When you get to a gig, and you DI your amp model straight into the PA, the sound coming from the PA speakers will be totally different to the sound you had at rehearsal through your guitar amp I really would just take the guitar amp to gigs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usernamefield Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 [quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1433843926' post='2794417'] OK, if you turn up to a gig with a bass, and ask if you can borrow a guitar rig, 99% of guitarists will refuse. You don't want to take your own amp, so your only option is to use an amp modeller (like your zoom). The amp modeller will have some speaker modelling too. All of this affects the sound. If you plug your amp models into a guitar amp, the guitar amp will be further changing the sound. When you get to a gig, and you DI your amp model straight into the PA, the sound coming from the PA speakers will be totally different to the sound you had at rehearsal through your guitar amp I really would just take the guitar amp to gigs [/quote] Yeah, that's what I'll probably do. In that case, any other ideas on how I can create more of the sound? Somebody had mentioned a boss p-6 but I'm not sure what that does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 that's a pitch shifter/harmoniser, so it'll do similar things to your pog The pog into your orange combo should sound pretty good. Get that sounding right, then add the mastotron (first in the pedal chain) and see what happens. With some playing about you should be able to get a good sound. You probably want the bridge pickup on your bass, with the tone all the way up. You might want to EQ out some of the low end too, which you could do with your zoom pedal if the amp's EQ isn't enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AttitudeCastle Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 The kind of royal blood fake guitar sound, is pretty much achievable by POG octave up into Fuzz, into a clean channel of an amp (or mild OD, depending on taste, or full bore distortion if you want an ultra gainy soupy feedback monster! All personal preference. I like a bit of each!) Layering distortions/gain can be pretty tricky to get everything to play together nicely. If you're going octave up all the time, I'd try Pog -> Multi Fx -> Zvex. -> clean amp, (or mild OD) for the RB-ish sound, or how I'd do it anyway (experiment!) Though if you're using distortion/drive on the FX, the Zvex AND the amp, you're basically just subtracting gain/compression with each one you toggle off, hence using the Zvex for the most of the gurgle, and fuzz, the the Multi FX for any cleaner grit, and grind as a bass tone. Then you could footswitch the amp clean/dirty (I imagine?) then you could have that for those leady parts, or massive gain sections. Hope any of that made sense, or helped! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben4343 Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 A likely reason for including the ps-6 is to add an 'extra' note to your already POG-altered signal. You can choose which note this is, but I'm mostly going to be using the 5th up, to create the effect of a chord (root note + 5th = first two notes of a power chord). The POG is most useful in my opinion in that you can take an untouched (dry) bass signal from it in addition to the octave up/down/whatever (wet), and then add in further effects to each half of the chain. The two chains can then go to an amp each, and with a killswitch/tuner you can play either/both the dry and wet signal. Alternatively, you could bring the chains back together with an ABY box, and run them through the same (bass) stack/combo, using the ABY box to select either/both your dry and wet. It's also possible to use loop pedals (like the LS-2) to create the same effect, but the internet can explain that better than me. Having checked your post again though, it seems you are the guitarist, so don't really need the dry POG signal. The ABY method I've described is probably unnecessary for now, but adding in a cheap pitchshifter (the Behringer something600 is pretty ok) could thicken your sound up if you're fed up with just a high bass sound. In terms of what dirt options to use; welcome to the addictive world of pedals!! Trial and error seems to be the way forward, just try borrowing and testing as many as you can. The Joyo/Harley Benton overdrives are well regarded and super cheap, but there are heaps of threads on fuzz/overdrive/distortion pedals on here... Play around with what you have first though, you can probably get close enough to the sound you are after... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Octave up would remove a lot of the natural harmonic content of whatever it is you're playing and make it all sound very brittle indeed. If you're removing nearly all of the lower frequencies then I'm not surprised that it sounds underwhelming when you stack fuzz and OD. Wouldn't it just be much easier to just buy a guitar? Or, better yet, a baritone guitar? Royal Blood get away with it because they want both the, heavily effected, bass and 'guitar' parts at the same time through separate bass and guitar rigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I play a lot of chords and octaves on bass just by fretting them, and with some dirt it just makes it sound like a big fat guitar. I don't know why more people don't do this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyquipment Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I would just split the signal into two. One for your bass+ whatever effects to bass amp. And the other through the drive and octave up through a guitar amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elephantgrey Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Danelectro FAB 1 distortion. Its tone control rolls off the lows, and your left with a distorted guitar sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usernamefield Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 [quote name='tonyquipment' timestamp='1433851271' post='2794510'] I would just split the signal into two. One for your bass+ whatever effects to bass amp. And the other through the drive and octave up through a guitar amp. [/quote] I'm not playing any bass though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elephantgrey Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) just play with to basses, like girls against boys [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEjJXeR1o8c"]www.youtube.com/embed/OEjJXeR1o8c[/url] Edited June 9, 2015 by elephantgrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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