advise needed please..

[bigd1]

I play in a late 60s early 70s rock, made up of drums, 1 guitarist, vocals and me driving the low side.
All sounds great till we have guitar solos, then it sounds a little thin. What would be a good distortion, overdrive etc pedal to just fatten things up a little.

Gear I'm using
73 Richenbacker 4001
Newish American Jazz
G&L Asat
I only use one of the above for rehearsals/gigs but I do like to use all of them in rotation.

MarkBass Little Mark II 1x12 combo with 1x12 extension cab
MXR fazor
ToneBug Overdrive
Compressor

I don't want a nnnaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhh type drive sound, it might not be drive that will do what I'm looking for. Sorry if this sounds a little Doh! but I am really looking for ideas, rather than spending lots of money trying to find the above.

any help would be fabber than a fab thing on a fab day out.

Ta very glad
Dale (BIGd 1)

[Highfox]

Hi bigd1.
I have the same kind of problem in a 3 piece.
I have been experimenting with a bit of drive and distortion, not sure yet. Used at the right times it does seem to help a bit. (lack of skill on my part most likely)
One thing I have learned is sometimes less is more Letting notes ring sometimes give it a lot more fill than going crazy with 16th's.
Good fun having so much space to use .. but as you pointed out sometimes it's hard to keep the drive going.

Please keep me updated.

[0175westwood29]

sometimes a bit of drive will help, maybe something to fatten like a chorus or when the guitarist hits a solo try playing something a bit dif to the normal riff

andy

[lefrash]

Personally, it's all about what you play when its guitar solos. You should be looking at arranging your parts to suit it better.

Also if you get the balance between you and guitarist more even... it means there will be less of a drop in sound when he goes all twiddly.

A bit of grit may help it slightly... but I think that's more papering over the cracks.

Imo of course

Fraser

[ezbass]

I'd try using an octaver during the solos to add another note, or maybe a harmoniser to give a fifth, like the Fishman Powerchord http://www.fishman.com/product/fission-bass-powerchord-fx-pedal. If you want to also add a drive, head over to the a Drive Shoot Out elsewhere in the effects forum and pick the sound of your favourite http://basschat.co.uk/topic/271402-drive-pedal-shootout-7-pedals-for-starters/page__fromsearch__1

Edited October 29, 2015 by ezbass

[Lozz196]

I just use the gain on my amp and always have it set to just breaking up. When the solo comes along I just play a bit harder to get that bit more. So really a low-gain overdrive pedal should help. Here it just all depends on which you like the best, but ideally one that doesn`t suck mids. Tubescreamer might be good, you don`t - imo - want to put too much gain/drive onto the sound. It also helps if the drummer looks at what they`re playing too, simply changing a hi-hat to ride cymbal or vice-versa can really change how much is going on in a solo and stop the arse end falling out of the song.

[bigd1]

Thanks all, filling things out by not playing the same as when vocals are in is something I do. I just think it goes from a full band sound to a bit of a thin sound of just bass and drums.
I've tried a tube screamer but thought it to be a bit to toppie. I do like the idea of octave type things, that might be it.
I will try it and get back.
Big part of the problem is, I have only recently started using and pedals, normal for me is plug in the amp and go. So I don't want to lose the sound of the bass in a multitude of fx.

[Japhet]

I've had exactly the same situation in my band. We recently ditched our rhythm guitarist and when the lead player solos, it started sounding a bit empty. My first experiment was with a Digitech Bad Monkey. Don't lose much tone from this and it isn't toppy when adjusted right. Then had GAS for something else so got a Way Huge Green Rhino. I now have what I want. I didn't want loads of distortion or fuzz but just a bit of break up and both these pedals do the trick. I'd be happy to lend you the Bad Monkey or you could have it off me for £25+ P&P if you wanted. PM me if you like.

[Dosi Y'Anarchy]

Personally, I think fuzz pedals are perfect for that application, adding depth and filling out some of the frequencies lost when the guitarist goes up top. Essentially it helps you also be the "other guitarist" as well as the bass player.

Octave pedals will most likely mean modifying your style and bass lines to ensure the best tracking, however they are also a great way to fatten up your tone.

There are so many fuzz pedals at different price points, with different approaches to how low frequencies are handled. Thats the real issue. Most drive pedals will rob you of your low end, as most are designed for guitarists,although there are more and more builders making bass specific pedals and there are a few fuzz pedals that I think sound great on both (russian Big Muff, coloursound tonebender).

Have a look in the classifieds here for fuzz pedals. Prices are much cheaper Than retail and you know that most will work great on bass.

[cheddatom]

is the guitarist using a thin sound for his solos? It really shouldn't drop out that much if you have a well balanced sound as a band. The suggestion to get the drummer to fill things out more is a good one. Personally if I think it sounds too thin I'll play chords or strum octaves

I love pedals and dirty bass, and I use them loads, but not to fill out the band's sound

[bigd1]

As I have now put a lot more thought into the overall sound we are getting, I think my first saying I wanted to beef up a thin sound wasn't quite right. It was more making up for the missing guitar chordal type parts (bit difficult to explain what I was after really). I have tried some of the ideas above and seem to have got a lot closer to what I'm after.
I think when you are trying to describe the sound you have in your head, it becomes really difficult. Thanks for all the solutions offered, this is still a work in progress, so watch his space for possible updates.

Ta very glad

[Skybone]

Instead of looking at a drive pedal, have you tried using reverb to fill out the sound?

If you use it subtley, it can really fill out the sound, and give it a bit of "width".

[Painy]

Might not be everyone's favourite fuzz but I find the crossover feature on my EHX deluxe big muff is great for this. With the crossover engaged you can blend between a really fat, clean low end and a sharper driven top end and it does fill out the sound nicely. Add in an octaver and it can get very synthy too if you want it to.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Painy

[rungles]

I had the exact same problem in my three-piece funk band. I found that boosting the mids a little and adding an Electro-Harmonix Bass Soul Food really helped me out. Also a touch of sub-octave too. The mix sounds fantastic now and there are no gaps but at the same time we aren't treading on each others toes.

[brensabre79]

+1 for a bit of EQ.
I use a Zoom these days and I have the Bass Booster which adds a nice bit of drive, but also has an EQ section, boosting the mids fills out the hole left by the lack of chords in the solos.

Also, getting the drummer to shift to their ride cymbal for the solos can help too.
It's basically what Cream used to do in the solos... Jack would dig in and play slightly more busy lines, through a Marshall amp that was already on the edge, giving that wonderful overdriven sound of his from those days... while Ginger would use a rivited ride in addition to the usual bashing and crashing to fill out the sound.

[GarethFlatlands]

I'd second an EQ, you should be able to dial in the frequencies you feel are lacking, see how it works out and tweak from there.

It's not a low gain pedal but I kick in a standard Rat to give me a little "grrr" when I feel I need it. Surprised how well it works on bass but something with a blend would obviously work better.

[ambient]

An effect isn't really going to fill out the sound.

My advice would be to listen to trios playing music that you like, and work out what they do when the guitar player is soloing. I'm guessing that you'll discover that there's a different bass part than during the rest of the song. it's down to arranging your parts together.

It's also possibly just you having to get used to your part being isolated, since you've only recently switched to a 3 piece.

Whatever you do, you don't want to detract from what the guitarist is doing, it's 'his' solo.

[NancyJohnson]

Just get a Sansamp BDDI and ditch the last three on that list. Keep the Markbass as flat as you can (or if there's an effect loop, plug it into the return). With the Rick and the Jazz you'll get tone to die for.