Using Boss OC3 to provide bass parts

pintspiller

Has anybody used the OC3 to provide bass parts while strumming rhythm guitar?


I play bass I a cover band. I have been playing bass in bands for years but I have been play I agitator much longer

The keyboard player was booted out of our band for not learning the material or appearing at rehearsals. Our guitarist wants to replace him with another guitarist or keys player.

How successful is it to use an OC3 to provide the bass lines from rhythm guitar?

Strangefan

Not very to be honest , it doesn't sound like a bass, but it's better than nothing......get a DigiTech trio ,that's the real deal.

ICBM

I have one for sale just now...

No, if you want it to replace a bass player in a professional band context - it doesn't sound that much like a bass, and to get it to work well you can't just strum chords and hope it will follow, you need to 'Carter pick' with an alternating bassline on the low strings.

I like the sound of playing agitator though - isn't that what Eno's role in Roxy Music was?

bingefeller

It can be done if you have the right style of playing.  

https://youtube.com/watch?v=92NonbSf7K4

jamesguitar

My favourite pedal for acoustic. I agree that it depends on your playing style - if your rhythm playing resembles early John Mayer (groove-based rhythm using thumb to play bass notes and your other fingers to pluck chordal tones).

It doesn’t track as well as a POG or TC Sub N Up etc, so I tend to use those on electric, but it adds a lot of warmth to your acoustic sound overall and tracks well enough for what I do with it. I find acoustic gigs can be a lot of high frequencies and lacking in low frequencies, largely because the budget for bass guitar or double bass is rarely there for acoustic work (most venues would rather have a full pop or rock band when the budget is there and have acoustic more for convenince/cost/smaller size etc).

I find having Cajon/percussionist adds even more treble frequencies to an acoustic gig and need something to counter it. The OC3 makes up for the lack of low-end in an acoustic mix and makes everything feel more ‘balanced’.

pintspiller

ICBM said:

I like the sound of playing agitator though - isn't that what Eno's role in Roxy Music was?

Bollocks. I hate fucking typing on the Kindle. It's like having a conversation with a mouth full of fucking marbles sometimes!

Funkfingers

IMO, you might have more luck playing "proper" bass most of the time and then filling in for the missing chordal parts by occasionally visiting the high register.

THINK: Sheehan, Claypool or the late Andy Fraser.

pintspiller

@Funkfingers you are probably right. I'd love to play like Ronnie Lane if I'm honest. But I think our guitarist doesn't like playing without the security blanket of another guitarist or keyboards. I felt similarly at times back in the day to be honest.

Funkfingers

pintspiller said:

I'd love to play like Ronnie Lane 

Plonk isn't playing so well nowadays. (Criminally underrated musician, if you ask me.)

pintspiller said:

I think our guitarist doesn't like playing without the security blanket of another guitarist or keyboards.

Unless you have the virtuosity of Sheehan and Gilbert or your music hangs together like that of Primus, the band will generally sound thin as soon as the lone guitarist solos. 

If the music in your set demands keyboards, find another keyboard player. Job done. 

pintspiller

Strangefan said:

Not very to be honest , it doesn't sound like a bass, but it's better than nothing......get a DigiTech trio ,that's the real deal.

That way we could sack the drummer too?!

Teetonetal

It's OK if you are good at fingerstlye and happy using altered tunings to keep your low notes on the e and a strings. It' has a frequency cut off control to let you position where the low comes in, but the area around that cut off is at best hit and miss. 

If you write around the pedsl and stick it through a bass amp it sounds good. If you want to replace your bass player with little effort it will suck.

Teetonetal

It's OK if you are good at fingerstlye and happy using altered tunings to keep your low notes on the e and a strings. It' has a frequency cut off control to let you position where the low comes in, but the area around that cut off is at best hit and miss. 

If you write around the pedsl and stick it through a bass amp it sounds good. If you want to replace your bass player with little effort it will suck.

ICBM

Funkfingers said:

Unless you have the virtuosity of Sheehan and Gilbert or your music hangs together like that of Primus, the band will generally sound thin as soon as the lone guitarist solos.

I got around this problem as a lone guitarist by using the opposite of what is normally recommended as a solo tone - rather than trying to ‘cut through’ with a mid-boosted sound, I used a heavier scooped sound with distortion or Muff-type fuzz rather than overdrive, plus effects that thicken the sound - phaser, delay and resonant filter in particular, and occasionally an octaver. You need a bigger amp to do this, which will handle that without mushing out.

paganskins

Teetonetal said:

It's OK if you are good at fingerstlye

However I've seen some of the completely flatpick/strumming based folk accompanists using them too, guaranteed there will be fretting hand string muting and precision picking hand technique going on to avoid muddy bass chording coming from the OC3.

Jon Gomm has one as an always on pedal:



Another option the Submarine pickup

Kebabkid

That Submarine pickups is a clever thing and I've never heard of those.

paganskins

Kebabkid said:

That Submarine pickups is a clever thing and I've never heard of those.

Cool idea isn't it? I think you can specify either of the two strings or both using the toggle switch. I think there was a more elaborate version in the pipeline too.

There's also the little thunder pickup which does something similar but with the pitch shifting built in.



And I think this might answer the OP's question: