how do i make a guitar sound like a bass, which kind of processor do i need§

[ghettosynth]

Some widi reviewers say it works good on guitar, and pitch to midi tends to be most accurate on clean monophonic music tracks. So it might turn out not too labor intensive to record guitar bass lines, do minimal glitch editing, transpose down an octave and get midi bass lines

This is exactly what I tried to do and I have several pitch to midi choices. For playing anything with funk, the ghost note, slides, and other details matter a lot and the work to clean this up was non-trivial. Pitch to midi works great if you are playing clean simple lines and if you have a lot of clean notes to record then yes, it will probably be faster than manual transcription.

[tapper mike]

All those nuances fall apart either by conversion or by inability of the environment. As well A guitar is not an electric bass as a keyboard is not an electric bass. There is something err organic in having a real bass that can't simply be duplicated on a guitar.

It's not that one could try some pitch to midi device and create a "functional' bass part but it's not the same. The more one grows to appreciate the character of the instrument the less tolerant one becomes of imitation bass. The only salvation I have in my own midi bass playing is that the Bass is not a foreground instrument in my music anymore, If I did cough up the dough for a bass then trust me it would be.

[ghettosynth]

All those nuances fall apart either by conversion or by inability of the environment. As well A guitar is not an electric bass as a keyboard is not an electric bass. There is something err organic in having a real bass that can't simply be duplicated on a guitar.

I agree, and in some sense, I think that the physicality of the thing matters. Everything from the heaviness of the string to how it hurts you differently and how the increased length of the string results in larger vibrations that slap the pickup when you overdo it, in some sense, tames the player to come to grips with the reality that this is a different instrument.

Yeah, I'm getting carried away with myself here, and I still suck at the bass, but after it tamed me a bit even my non-musical better half preferred my bass playing to my imitation bass playing.

[JCJR]

I will play electric bass some, but just love playing keybass. Make no warrantee of proficiency, but plenty of practice anyway having done it since the late 1960's.

I probably miss lots of the sublties ya'll mention. I never try bass chords, obviously limited in chimes, dynamics, slaps etc. But it is still good clean fun.

Here is that ashbory sample was speaking of-- Sampled into an ensoniq EPS. Did this song to try out opcode vision when I first got it (midi only first incarnation, not the later audio version). Running on a Mac classic toaster, 8 MHz 68k speed demon from hell with 4 megs (not gigs) of memory.
http://www.errnum.com/MP3Files/May%20-%20JCJR.mp3

[Vectorman]

Here is that ashbory sample was speaking of-- Sampled into an ensoniq EPS. Did this song to try out opcode vision when I first got it (midi only first incarnation, not the later audio version). Running on a Mac classic toaster, 8 MHz 68k speed demon from hell with 4 megs (not gigs) of memory.
http://www.errnum.com/MP3Files/May%20-%20JCJR.mp3

Cool little time capsule - puts me in mind of something that might have been playing over the closing credits of a late '80s John Hughes film.

A long time ago, I actually used some sampled bass sounds (from Spectrasonics Bass Legends) on a few songs. It was at a point where I was frustrated with trying to get a recorded sound out of my bass at the time that satisfied me. Needless to say, what I gained in tone I lost in spades in terms of organic expression. I quickly went back to the drawing board trying to get a more satisfactory recorded bass sound. These days, bass is too prominent in most of what I do to even consider anything but the real deal.

If anything, it's easier to track things with a bass that could be mistaken for guitar in a mix than the reverse. Like some of the simple arpeggiated lines I've done playing down by the bridge with a pick (for that thin, wirey sound) and drenching it in chorus. Or some lead lines played high up on the neck with distortion that most would assume was a lower-range guitar lead.

[Jafo]

Maybe a DIY solution? You can build a cigar box bass quite cheaply, it'll feel more real than anything MIDI, and you'll get a great feeling of satisfaction.

[foosnark]

I bought an SX short-scale fretless for... I think it was a little under $100. It's been the best cheap instrument I've ever owned. And it turns out I'm a lot better with it than a guitar anyway.

[Jace-BeOS]

My Roland VG-99 converts my guitar to a bass relatively well when needed.

[ghettosynth]

My Roland VG-99 converts my guitar to a bass relatively well when needed.

I've not played one, but, as I'm not the OP, I'd love to hear a bit more about it. The OP however, does not have the requisite $1500 to come to the party well dressed.

hi I own an electric guitar, and wanted to play some bass, but can't afford an electric bass right now.

[Hink]

My Roland VG-99 converts my guitar to a bass relatively well when needed.

I've not played one, but, as I'm not the OP, I'd love to hear a bit more about it. The OP however, does not have the requisite $1500 to come to the party well dressed.

hi I own an electric guitar, and wanted to play some bass, but can't afford an electric bass right now.

yeah, perhaps Jace-BeOS missed that...but also it seems the OP is in a place where if he cant get a cheap bass cheap so how much will the VG-99 cost?

[JCJR]

Question for those who know the breadth of the current plugin market-- Is it true that there are NO audio plugins, at any price point, designed specifically for the task of turning guitar into bass guitar? Neglecting possible cheezy analog octaver emulations? Seems rarer every day to find ANY market niches which do not contain more competing plugins than you can sling a dead cat at?

Hmmm. Nature abhors a vacuum....

[mztk]

found a shortscale bass in the market for 20quid, had to have that..
really like it but i don't think it goes as low as a full size one. i don't
mind, it's a nice instrument as it is.
and a friend had an accoustic guitar he'd strung with 4 heavy
strings, converted it into a bass- that was nice.

[Hink]

and a friend had an accoustic guitar he'd strung with 4 heavy
strings, converted it into a bass- that was nice.

I did that to my very first guitar when I was around 10 or 11...Laffyette electronics (a better radio shack back in the day) had this pick-up about the size of a dime that just clipped to the soundhole...tbh, it wasn't that nice

[tapper mike]

If you have no money whatsoever then the question becomes how much indecency are you willing to endure for a free bass emulator and a cheap midi keyboard? As opposed to finding a way to put money away for a decent bass?

Honestly. The sims in pandora for bass are actually bass amp sims not really good for guitar emulations of basse and pandora's are noisy as hell (I have one)

My local library offers free wi-fi and access to it's computers. There is on average an hour wait for a computer and on average time limit of an hour on the libraries computer. Fortunately for those with laptops/mobile devices there are no time restrictions. The line is always there to get computer time on a desktop. Which should tell you something about the economy. Some folks still can't afford a cheap computer or internet access. (mostly the elderly) So the OP may not even have a respectable machine to run a virtual bass or purchase a decent usb keyboard. Imagine trying to run a program on a 486 windows computer and trying to find a parallel port to usb convertor or a serial port to midi convertor.

Analog Octave divider stomp boxes often either introduce unwanted distortion and/or diminish attack.
Thier digital equivalents in the virtual world have the same issues while adding aliasing. If all you ever want is a muffled show attack and possibly distorted signal I'm sure you'll find plenty of them for free. However, you still wont get the expressive capabilities or responsiveness of a real electric bass.

This isn't to say that one can't have a functional bass sound without a real bass. Hammond bass pedals were often used as the only bass in many pop/rock/funk/jazz settings through the years before midi as was the fender rhodes piano bass - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Bass

So while a real bass still reigns supreme in my ears and mind, I actually think that if finances are tight the next best thing would be a useable midi device and conventional vst technology.

[Jace-BeOS]

My Roland VG-99 converts my guitar to a bass relatively well when needed.

I've not played one, but, as I'm not the OP, I'd love to hear a bit more about it. The OP however, does not have the requisite $1500 to come to the party well dressed.

hi I own an electric guitar, and wanted to play some bass, but can't afford an electric bass right now.

yeah, perhaps Jace-BeOS missed that...but also it seems the OP is in a place where if he cant get a cheap bass cheap so how much will the VG-99 cost?

Woops! Yes indeed I missed that phrase. Sorry!

EDIT: Lowest eBay price I see for VG-99... Likely not cheaper than a cheap bass http://m.ebay.com/itm/151299731527