How to get guitar and bass tones from one guitar?

[Iron1]

I know there’s a thread for doing this into a DAW, but for live applications, how would I play a single guitar, then have a guitar and bass sound amplified?

Assuming a split signal, one run into my Badlander, etc. the other going into some sort of Octaver then out to a bass rig… ?

Is there a pedal that already does this sort of thing easily, or is there a lot of jimmy-rigging to be done?

Then, assuming it’s doable, how much tap dancing to “solo” just the guitar or just the bass?

 

[dronerstone]

I know there’s a thread for doing this into a DAW, but for live applications, how would I play a single guitar, then have a guitar and bass sound amplified?

Assuming a split signal, one run into my Badlander, etc. the other going into some sort of Octaver then out to a bass rig… ?

Is there a pedal that already does this sort of thing easily, or is there a lot of jimmy-rigging to be done?

Then, assuming it’s doable, how much tap dancing to “solo” just the guitar or just the bass?

I recommend getting a Micro POG while they're still available (with the Pico and Nano versions out there, EHX might very well end the Micro at some point).

The Micro POG is the only one of them with a dry output, not even the bigger POG 2 has one.

Place it first in chain, treat the signal from the dry output like it's your regular guitar signal.

And you could use simple killswitch pedals to mute the two.

On top of that, depending on the sound you're after, an EQ should help further sculpting the "faux bass" tone. Running it through a bass amp (or a model of one) also does some of the lifting.

EDIT: I used to jam like this for fun with a close friend some years ago. I ran my guitar into an MXR ABY, with one side going to a POG 2 and into a bass amp. The MXR ABY let me mute the two signals separately, so this would also be a viable option. It was a little noisy though, which is why I believe using a Micro POG first and employing two separate killswitches would be the better way to go, quality-wise.

That's the one: https://www.jimdunlop.com/mxr-a-b-box/

EDIT 2: The guy from Royal Blood does this the other way around, with a shortscale bass, and he's using multiple Boss pitch shifters (PS-5 if I'm not mistaken) to add fifths for power chords or play up/down dive bombs, etc.
Look up his rig online, fortunately it's well-documented.

 

[Iron1]

I ordered and ABY box yesterday (will be here tomorrow) figuring that was a good place to start.

Already have two Drop pedals so got the octave part covered then figure I can use the Stomp, my Badlander and bass rig to get the two seperate sounds.

Will look into that Micro Pog for sure. Thx!

 

[gearJunkie]

You may also need an isolation transformer, like a Lehle P-Split, to eliminate any ground loops between guitar and faux bass signal chains.

 

[gearJunkie]

Here is an example of an isolated A/B/Y switch...

LEHLE LITTLE DUAL II

• ABY switcher (A or B or both) • Hum and noise-free switching • High-impedance Lehle Transformer HZ with phase and ground switch • Two…

www.lehle.com

 

[DrewJD82]

There’s that band Local H from back in the day, I think that dude put a P-Bass pickup in a Strat and had a whole separate bass rig he played through.

 

[dronerstone]

There’s that band Local H from back in the day, I think that dude put a P-Bass pickup in a Strat and had a whole separate bass rig he played through.

They're still around and awesome.

 

[mbenigni]

I’ve been thinking of getting one of those cheapie Mooer Tone Match GTR pedals, capturing a reference guitar, then a bass an octave up. Then, if the results are even remotely effective, capturing the pedal with that match into my QC, to pair with an octave down pitch shift. I haven’t ordered the Mooer yet, though.

In the past, I’ve had decent results pairing electric-to-acoustic IRs with pitch shifters. Same concept.

 

[Trollbait]

A hex pup and Roland SY1000, GP10 or any of the VG series dsp processors will do this very well while modeling a classic bass tone. The added bonus is being able to have a bass tone on the E&A strings and guitar tones on the rest of the strings.

Least expensive is the GP10 or a used VG8 or VG88.

You will also get very low latency and near perfect tracking synth tones as these processors are not dependent on triggered sounds using pitch to MIDI pcm samples.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

8 string into my Helix Floor, a guitar chain, a bass chain, and snapshots for either or both. Sounds massive.

 

[JiveTurkey]

This reply is going to be hypocritical af; but having to do bass and guitar duties for a metal band seems like a weird path to take. Something is going to take hit trying to do this, imo.

 

[la szum]

I know there’s a thread for doing this into a DAW, but for live applications, how would I play a single guitar, then have a guitar and bass sound amplified?

Assuming a split signal, one run into my Badlander, etc. the other going into some sort of Octaver then out to a bass rig… ?

Is there a pedal that already does this sort of thing easily, or is there a lot of jimmy-rigging to be done?

Then, assuming it’s doable, how much tap dancing to “solo” just the guitar or just the bass?

I did that in a gigging band for almost 4 years. Bassist bailed a couple of weeks before
a run of shows, and we decided to not let him ruin all of our hard work, so we plowed ahead.

I split my signal out of the guitar, and then to two different amps/rigs. One was a Marshall based
guitar rig and the other was a dedicated "clean" bass setup with an POG, only using the 2 Octave
down slider (and maybe mixing in some dry signal, and then into a power amp and either a 1 x15
or a 1x 18.

I just cratered the sliders not used, and then pumped up the ones needed. This was around
2004-8, so there wasn't a lot of other options. Things like the Drop and Whammy DT didn't exist,
and analog octavers had super sketchy tracking. Not really an issue now, though you may have a
little latency to wrestle with.

I also ended up incorporating a Baritone guitar down the road, and relearning all of my parts, just
so I could bring even more thunder with a "guitar."

All of our gigs went really well, and we were told we had a unique sound and approach and ended up
not even looking for a Bassist. Some people would look to see where he/she was and they never found
them. So as odd as it may sound to some, it ended up also being a cool hook/talking point for people
who would come see us.

It was a Power Trio with 2 guitars and drums, and no actual bassist.

Instrument cables to separate pedals/amps/rigs. I'd say the biggest challenge was hauling the extra gear,
and then soloing. Riffing/chording was fine. But if I dropped out for a lead line or something melodic
all the ass left the woman in the room.

I am excited about you chasing this down, and curious how you work it out.

 

[la szum]

This reply is going to be hypocritical af; but having to do bass and guitar duties for a metal band seems like a weird path to take. Something is going to take hit trying to do this, imo.

Or it will be fun and brilliant and way better than waiting for a piece that may never show up.


"Onward!" I say.

 

[AFKAEjay]

Polyoctaver form Boss.

I did it with a GT core
split signal with a divider, poly octaver on one side, route that to a seperate output.

what’s nice about the poly octaver is that you can decide on what range of notes it triggers. For example, only put an octave under the lowest octave of the guitar range. Works great, I use it a lot when backing a singer in a duo.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

I did that in a gigging band for almost 4 years. Bassist bailed a couple of weeks before
a run of shows, and we decided to not let him ruin all of our hard work, so we plowed ahead.

I split my signal out of the guitar, and then to two different amps/rigs. One was a Marshall based
guitar rig and the other was a dedicated "clean" bass setup with an POG, only using the 2 Octave
down slider (and maybe mixing in some dry signal, and then into a power amp and either a 1 x15
or a 1x 18.

I just cratered the sliders not used, and then pumped up the ones needed. This was around
2004-8, so there wasn't a lot of other options. Things like the Drop and Whammy DT didn't exist,
and analog octavers had super sketchy tracking. Not really an issue now, though you may have a
little latency to wrestle with.

I also ended up incorporating a Baritone guitar down the road, and relearning all of my parts, just
so I could bring even more thunder with a "guitar."

All of our gigs went really well, and we were told we had a unique sound and approach and ended up
not even looking for a Bassist. Some people would look to see where he/she was and they never found
them. So as odd as it may sound to some, it ended up also being a cool hook/talking point for people
who would come see us.

It was a Power Trio with 2 guitars and drums, and no actual bassist.

Instrument cables to separate pedals/amps/rigs. I'd say the biggest challenge was hauling the extra gear,
and then soloing. Riffing/chording was fine. But if I dropped out for a lead line or something melodic
all the ass left the woman in the room.

I am excited about you chasing this down, and curious how you work it out.

Can I haz audio?

 

[la szum]

I am sure I have something somewhere.... probably video from a live show on 8mm tape.

Not sure where I would even begin to look for it, though. Has it really been 20 years?

 

[la szum]

The other thing worth mentioning is chords. Chords on guitar don't always translate
via an 2 octave down device. Be fun if you could just isolate the Root and send that
into a downward spiral of Bass Frequencies versus having all 3 or 4 (or 5 or 6) notes
being transposed down.

I say it is all worth a shot and definitely worthy of diving into.... especially for someone
as talented and proficient as @Iron1 .

 

[Iron1]

I say it is all worth a shot and definitely worthy of diving into.... especially for someone
as talented and proficient as @Iron1 .

Thank you. That made me honestly smile.




Then it made me dishonestly smile as I realized I somehow have you completely snowed.

 

[FuzzyAce]

This reply is going to be hypocritical af; but having to do bass and guitar duties for a metal band seems like a weird path to take. Something is going to take hit trying to do this, imo.

I tend to agree even though I know Iron would come up with something cool regardless. I’m a believer in the term Adversity Advantage, using a supposed weakness as a strength to build upon, but having a dedicated big bottom is nice too.

 

[Iron1]

The other thing worth mentioning is chords. Chords on guitar don't always translate
via an 2 octave down device. Be fun if you could just isolate the Root and send that
into a downward spiral of Bass Frequencies versus having all 3 or 4 (or 5 or 6) notes
being transposed down.

Hadn’t thought about the chords part. But, I have been figuring this isn’t going to sound like a guitar player and bass player, but more like some weird, morphed beast of odd frequencies… sort of like my normal stuff.