Making Ambient sounds with my bass

[KingPrawn]

I'd love to explore the world of creating ambient sounds with my bass/ guitar. My problem is I have no idea how? I've seen bands live with a tone of pedals etc around them, making amazing sounds. How do I begin? Has anyone ventured into this dark world.
Cheers

Edited March 11, 2016 by KingPrawn

[Woodinblack]

Start with your bass, and the pedals you have, and play with the sounds to get something you like. Then start the endless quest for the ultimate pedal!
I have a GR55, so I already have a whole lot of them

[toneknob]

I've got a few things that might help - a Ditto X2 looper with it's half speed function engaged, a volume pedal, some synth pedals. What's really handy is the time and patience to sit with it all and grok until you get what you need. It's this last bit that usually eludes me.

[elephantgrey]

I'd suggest starting off by getting yourself a multieffects unit (I'd suggest a zoom b3, ms60b, or b1on) and start playing about with different effects.
That, and start experimenting with making different noises with your bass. Different harmonics, slapping, popping, tapping, even things like sliding a pic/your nail down the strings. Just get yourself a reporter of noises you can make. They don't have to be notes or musical in the traditional sense, just noises. Combine with different effects and see what happens.

[Truckstop]

Delay and Reverb are your friends!

[ambient]

I've done a lot of that, here's my Bandcamp page.

Reverb and delay with get you the right sort of sounds. I also use an ebow to create synth type pads.

[url="https://an-ending-ascend.bandcamp.com/"]https://an-ending-ascend.bandcamp.com/[/url]

[ambient]

Just a basic loop pedal like a TC Ditto.

[hubrad]

Have a look at Juan Alderete's page http://www.pedalsandeffects.com/
Beside being an awesome bass player, he's a total pedal nut!
You can lose yourself in that site..

[ambient]

Steve Lawson is master of this sort of thing.

[TimR]

I saw a band in France once where the guitarist had a range of children's toys that had pietzo speakers in them. He held them near his pickups and they made some really weird sounds. One was a banana. Was a great show.

[visog]

Just getting into this myself... So what I've discovered so far is that for drones and ambient echoes, the bass is to low and quickly becomes muddy. So the solution? As we don't want to sully ourselves with those thin stringed instruments is to get an octave up pedal... many choices but a cheap but good one is a Rowin octpus before you do your ditto looper... And then, for ambient goodness trial a stacked delay or Strymen (if you can afford one!). The TC Flashback Triple is a lot of echo for £200 and you get to stack in parallel or serially. Here's a great YouTuber giving you the skinny on this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwyiN3wF2_Q

[ambient]

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1457722751' post='3001365']
Just getting into this myself... So what I've discovered so far is that for drones and ambient echoes, the bass is to low and quickly becomes muddy. So the solution? As we don't want to sully ourselves with those thin stringed instruments is to get an octave up pedal... many choices but a cheap but good one is a Rowin octpus before you do your ditto looper... And then, for ambient goodness trial a stacked delay or Strymen (if you can afford one!). The TC Flashback Triple is a lot of echo for £200 and you get to stack in parallel or serially. Here's a great YouTuber giving you the skinny on this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwyiN3wF2_Q
[/quote]

Just use eq to prevent muddiness. I've never personally used an octaver, I've never seen Steve Lawson use one. Don't play too low either. For drones I'd probably not go below an E at the 7th fret on the A string.

Eq is important to separate each layer, presuming you're looping.

[Wonky2]

Just reading this and quirtly laughing to my self, back in the day, long before the serious tech we have today i used to use something called a watkins copycat.
It was basically a echo effect , a small box with two reel spools and a tape loop... You coukd record and loop but where it got creative was when you used the extremes or accidentally put a loop tape on backwards or cut and spilced them..... Haha fetch me a lava lamp and half a pound of the stinky stuff
Would love a go of one now for old times sake !

http://youtu.be/mT97T3Ks0Rg

Edited March 12, 2016 by Wonky2

[discreet]

[quote name='Wonky2' timestamp='1457747105' post='3001582']
...I used to use something called a watkins copycat...
[/quote]

Ah yes, also known as the WEM Copicat. Fantastic. And later the Roland Space Echo. The colours, man!

Edited March 12, 2016 by discreet

[Wonky2]

Thats the one, like a small suitcase as opposed to a pedal !
Lots of fun

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

[quote name='Wonky2' timestamp='1457747105' post='3001582']
Just reading this and quirtly laughing to my self, back in the day, long before the serious tech we have today i used to use something called a watkins copycat.
It was basically a echo effect , a small box with two reel spools and a tape loop... You coukd record and loop but where it got creative was when you used the extremes or accidentally put a loop tape on backwards or cut and spilced them..... Haha fetch me a lava lamp and half a pound of the stinky stuff
Would love a go of one now for old times sake !

http://youtu.be/mT97T3Ks0Rg
[/quote]

I enjoyed that. Now, Roland space echo. Are they as good , or better than a delay pedal ?

[Wonky2]

Honestly, very very cool bit of kit....

[KingPrawn]

Your all wonderful people. I'll credit you on my first album

[thebassist]

Some really, really good advice here. Can't wait to hear what you do.

[ambient]

An ebow is an amazing little and relatively cheap device for this sort of thing.