Fill out a lone bass

[Si600]

We're working on a song which has the guitar and bass copying each other note for note under the verse and then root note/chords for the chorus and under the solo.

It's a punky sort of number so dirty guitar power chords but when we get to the solo it's just me following the roots with the guitar noodling away on top and it sounds a little thin.

Any suggestions on what, if anything, I can add to my sound to fill that gap in? I could play power chords I suppose...

[Shobaleader One]

could use an octave pedal to thicken out your parts?

I'm sure the EHX POG has an option to add an octave above and below at the same time.

[andydye]

a bit of dirt will make each note sound a bit bigger?

[CamdenRob]

Just play louder it'll be fine...

[RussFM]

I've set up a patch on my Zoom B9. Marshall Superbass with 80% gain, mix at 30%, so there's plenty of the original tone. Then Mono Pitch at 12 (octave up), mix at 50. This gives the effect of an overdriven guitar underneath the bass. One string, admittedly, but it fills out the sound nicely when it drops out for the solo. Sounds better than my old Unibass too, tracks better and the distortion isn't so harsh.

[0175westwood29]

i get you dnt wanna break away from the punky feel to much but maybe adding a few cheeky runs or adding something to the riff when the guitar breaks away.

from experience you can never fill the gap of the rhythm guitar with a bass, so theres no magic effect but mabye try an octave or something that will give you a 5th up but have it really subtle in the mix so the bass just gets a bit thicker but doesnt try to be a guitar

andy

[Truckstop]

Maybe find a different way into the solo section? Break down the riff a bit, maybe a pause or two and then go into the riff.

I don't think effects are much good at 'filling' out sonic space. You need to find a way to keep the groove going using what you have; change the drumbeat, change the riff, simplify, work it out! Does the guitarist have his solo down yet? Maybe work on it with him to make the change smoother. Maybe have some vocalising or scat over the first few bars of the solo?

Maybe experiment with an EQ pedal to boost the frequencies that are missing now that the guitar part's no longer there?

Truckstop

[Prime_BASS]

Dirt. Distortion. Overdrive.

[Adrenochrome]

From experience - don't add more distortion/overdrive, the biggest sound is (usually) your normal sound but louder.

[xgsjx]

Boss OC3 in poly mode would let you play chords up the dusty end & it would add a single note 1 octave lower. Add a little dirt & you're sorted.

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='Adrenochrome' timestamp='1384852174' post='2281365']
From experience - don't add more distortion/overdrive, the biggest sound is (usually) your normal sound but louder.
[/quote]

From experience louder just means you are drowning out everything else. You aren't filling any more frequency spectrums. Drive can help fill out the loss of mids once guitars start noodling bit at the same time it's not just the bassists job to fill out the space even if the guitar is noodling away.

[cheddatom]

[quote name='Si600' timestamp='1384772817' post='2280423']
I could play power chords I suppose...
[/quote]

Yep, try it! I often play power chords with a bit of distortion for a massive sound. Otherwise play the line an octave up with an octave down effect, or distortion etc. Simply boosting the volume won't fill out the sound IMO.

[GremlinAndy]

Fishman Fission? Might help a little...

[Adrenochrome]

Hmmm, probably depends what kind of sound you have to begin with. I've always liked a bright 'full range' sound, and when adding on distortion my sound got more middy and narrow, so didn't work for me. As ever, whatever works, works.

Edited November 19, 2013 by Adrenochrome

[0175westwood29]

ive also tried adding a bit of reverb to my sound that worked nicely as it filled out the sound,

maybe get something like an ls-2 and add the dirt over your clean?

also i agree with adrenochrome a small volume boost might fill the sound out as the rhythm guitar is now not adding any volume so your part wont be as loud as if you were with the guitar.

andy

[Left Foot]

Play triplets and put some bends in between note changes??

[fretmeister]

Listen to more Jack Bruce!

Get busier - runs that fit, or root - octave to match Kick drum and snare etc.

Don't be afraid to move up the range a bit too.

[Prime_BASS]

Id seriously listen to as many 3 piece bands and see what happens when their guitarist goes into a solo. I doubt very many bassists pickup the volume.

More often that not the guitar is layered to fill out what ends up missing.

Turning the volume up, I guess in a way does help, it's making the frequencies that are quiet louder etc, but whatever low end you have going on is going to drown most of the kick drum out and all people will hear is a low end mess.

By the very nature of an overdrive it compresses so will bring up to level any frequencies that your bass lacks and thus fill out the sonic space.


And like I said it's not just your job to fill out the sound.

[CyberBass]

Would recommend the Fishman Fission Bass Powerchord, designed absolutely for the application your looking for :-)

[BassicLee]

I've been contemplating the same thing. To remedy, I've just ordered a TC Electronic Hall Of Fame Reverb.
I use a Digitech BNX3 at home, to practise, and found that the inbuilt reverb adds that little bit of "something extra" to the sound, so that it doesn't sound so dry and empty.
Could also try a bit of chorus, but there is a serious risk of sounding like you landed in the 1980s..