# Record bass using a guitar



## ChuckLee (Apr 21, 2010)

Hi all, I'm new to recording and needing some tips about my first tracks.
First, I'm about to record bass and I'm gonna do it either using a plug-in for Ableton or using my guitar to do it (if possible)...
Since I have the Line6 version of Ableton, it only accepts 2 plugins (I already have POD Farm and EZDrummer) and I'm not "ready" to get the full version of Ableton Live yet 
So I'm thinking to go with the other option and use a pitchshifter with a guitar to obtain something similar to a bass sound...has anyone done this yet? I'm looking for tips regarding the amps to use, EQ, etc. Sorry if it's already been asked but couldn't find anything with the search.
Another one: is it necessary to have two guitars recorded together when the distortion sound is "strong" enough? I mean, the song I'm recording are Aghora-like (you know that awesome band ) so the clean parts are often the most influential and the distorted are more like breakdowns. The songs as they are before the mix sounds cool just having a single distorted guitar recorded. That's why I'm asking.
Thanks in advance.
CL


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## KaLeVaLA (Apr 21, 2010)

the best way to go about this is just to record a clean guitar..maybe a little bit of distortion...verry little...and then after recorded you just pitch-shift it 12 semitones down, and you have a basstrack...its ofcourse better with a bassguitar...BUT..when not having enough money for that yet, this is a good way to do it  Used to do it myself!


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## Harry (Apr 21, 2010)

Well if Ableton only accepts 2 plug ins, how are you going to be able to use a pitch shifter plug in? Do you mean 2 plug ins per track or 2 plug ins for the entire project?
I have the full version of Ableton Live 8, so I'm not really familiar with the restrictions of the Line 6 version, hence why I'm asking


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## ChuckLee (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks for the reply bro. What do you think about using the pitch shifter effect in POD Farm? You know, I'm not into Ableton effects yet...


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## JaeSwift (Apr 21, 2010)

I recall someone posting a free beta VST on this forum a while back that pitch shifts the guitar your recording but doesnt make it lose attack so it actually sounds a lot more like a bass.

I've been trying to find it for 2 days now >_<

Edit: Found it!


http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/re...itar-but-dont-have-an-actual-bass-guitar.html


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## JaeSwift (Apr 21, 2010)

Edit: Double post, sorry.


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## ChuckLee (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks Harry and Jae for the GhettoBass.
Well my ableton only accept 2 plugins for every liveset so I was thinking to use it as a preamp effect that must be somewhere within the POD Farm


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## ChuckLee (Apr 21, 2010)

Anyone knows if that is possible with POD Farm?


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## JaeSwift (Apr 21, 2010)

I just found a new way for me to mix in bass without a bass guitar, and actually have it sound sort of realistic:

I copied a rhytm guitar track, used pod farm and set up a bass amp+cab+compressor and a noise gate. After that I used Ghetto Bass to pitch shift. If you just use Ghetto Bass it really sounds like a pitch shifted guitar, but with Pod Farm's bass amp sim it sounds very close to the real thing.

I just re-uploaded two songs on my soundclick (Pure Impulse and 18 Long Years) using this trick. If you want a sample check it out. SoundClick artist: JaeSwift's Abominations - Influenced by many things in life with a serious drive to create what's going on in my head. Always 

P.S: If you want more than one vst in one track I highly recommend you switch to using Reaper as a DAW. It's free and it's pure awesomesauce.


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## synrgy (Apr 21, 2010)

ChuckLee said:


> Thanks for the reply bro. What do you think about using the pitch shifter effect in POD Farm? You know, I'm not into Ableton effects yet...



It's not really an "effect" in Ableton. That's really the whole point of Ableton; the "elastic audio" engine which allows you to change the tempo or key independently of each other, *on the fly*. 

If you drop in the .wav file for your 'bass' track then double click on it, this opens the parameters for that audio file toward the bottom of the screen. Most of that portion of the screen will be the waveform itself, but to the left there are editable parameters like how you 'warp' the audio, the audio's pre-fader volume, etc. There is a knob you can turn for 'key'. (I think it's 'key', anyway, but I don't have the program in front of me.. it sits above the volume/gain slider in the track parameters..) Just turn it to -12 and you're all set.


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## ChuckLee (Apr 21, 2010)

JaeSwift said:


> I just found a new way for me to mix in bass without a bass guitar, and actually have it sound sort of realistic:
> 
> I copied a rhytm guitar track, used pod farm and set up a bass amp+cab+compressor and a noise gate. After that I used Ghetto Bass to pitch shift. If you just use Ghetto Bass it really sounds like a pitch shifted guitar, but with Pod Farm's bass amp sim it sounds very close to the real thing.
> 
> ...


Thanks bro.
Reaper looks good but do you think it might be a hard work to convert my Ableton live sets into Reaper format? (this may sound stupid but, again, I'ma noob recorder )



synrgy said:


> It's not really an "effect" in Ableton. That's really the whole point of Ableton; the "elastic audio" engine which allows you to change the tempo or key independently of each other, *on the fly*.
> 
> If you drop in the .wav file for your 'bass' track then double click on it, this opens the parameters for that audio file toward the bottom of the screen. Most of that portion of the screen will be the waveform itself, but to the left there are editable parameters like how you 'warp' the audio, the audio's pre-fader volume, etc. There is a knob you can turn for 'key'. (I think it's 'key', anyway, but I don't have the program in front of me.. it sits above the volume/gain slider in the track parameters..) Just turn it to -12 and you're all set.


Great to hear that!!
Gotta try this as soon as I get home from work.
Cheers bro.


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## Harry (Apr 21, 2010)

ChuckLee said:


> Thanks bro.
> Reaper looks good but do you think it might be a hard work to convert my Ableton live sets into Reaper format? (this may sound stupid but, again, I'ma noob recorder )



I'm gonna say no, about a 99.9 percent chance you can't unfortunately.
The best you can do is to grab the wave files from your Ableton projects and put them into new Reaper projects.


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## ChuckLee (Apr 21, 2010)

OK got it thanks. If the pitch shifting does not satisfy me I'll probably give a try to Reaper.


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## ChuckLee (Apr 21, 2010)

Almost forgot this: is it necessary to have two guitars recorded together when the distortion sound is "strong" enough? I mean, the song I'm recording are Aghora-like (you know that awesome band ) so the clean parts are often the most influential and the distorted are more like breakdowns. The songs as they are before the mix sounds cool just having a single distorted guitar recorded. That's why I'm asking.
Thanks in advance.


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## synrgy (Apr 21, 2010)

Actually, I had another thought. An alternative method that *definitely* sounds better/more real.

I don't know if you have ANY VST synthesizers, but if you do, load one up with a sine wave. You can play with the attack/decay/sustain/release settings to make a raw, basic sine wave sound more or less like a bass, and it's GUARANTEED to sound more clear than ANYTHING that's pitched down a full octave.

Both of the recordings on my idealstoembers myspace (link in my sig) use this method, as they were recorded before I bought my bass. 

Just throwing it out there in case you have the capabilities. Don't worry about it if you don't.


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## synrgy (Apr 21, 2010)

ChuckLee said:


> Almost forgot this: is it necessary to have two guitars recorded together when the distortion sound is "strong" enough? I mean, the song I'm recording are Aghora-like (you know that awesome band ) so the clean parts are often the most influential and the distorted are more like breakdowns. The songs as they are before the mix sounds cool just having a single distorted guitar recorded. That's why I'm asking.
> Thanks in advance.



There's no right or wrong way. You just gotta follow your ears. Just bear in mind that a guitar that sounds good by itself doesn't always sound good in the mix.


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## ChuckLee (Apr 21, 2010)

synrgy said:


> Actually, I had another thought. An alternative method that *definitely* sounds better/more real.
> 
> I don't know if you have ANY VST synthesizers, but if you do, load one up with a sine wave. You can play with the attack/decay/sustain/release settings to make a raw, basic sine wave sound more or less like a bass, and it's GUARANTEED to sound more clear than ANYTHING that's pitched down a full octave.
> 
> ...



Basically I have to play with those variables to get what I'm looking for out of the plugin then...Thanks again bro



synrgy said:


> There's no right or wrong way. You just gotta follow your ears. Just bear in mind that a guitar that sounds good by itself doesn't always sound good in the mix.



I'm yet too novice to experience the mixing  but listening to the song as it was recorded sounds just fine as it is.
I appreciate your help


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## NorwegianSixStringUser (Dec 14, 2013)

KaLeVaLA said:


> the best way to go about this is just to record a clean guitar..maybe a little bit of distortion...verry little...and then after recorded you just pitch-shift it 12 semitones down, and you have a basstrack...its ofcourse better with a bassguitar...BUT..when not having enough money for that yet, this is a good way to do it  Used to do it myself!



Thanks alot man! I just tried it, and it sounds awesome!


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## Chi (Dec 14, 2013)

I've found that, if you use Reaper, using the pitch-envelope for your take works fantastic compared to using a pitch-shift vst. Make a clean track 12 semitones down and copy the track, put some gritty distortion ontop and mix those two tracks until it sounds gnarly. Voila, you've got your patchwork bass.


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