Bass Octave

Monday, April 20th, 2009 at 4:08 am

Bass Octave
could a octave pedal substitute a bass?

hey my band needs a bassist and at the moment we have 2 guitarists and a drummer

i was wondering if a octave pedal on my guitar could possibly be a substitute for a bassist, we want to keep it to a three piece maximum, and aren’t a metal band so it won’t be that important cover wise.

only answer if you re knowledgeable on the subject or are experianced

thanks

In theory, an octave pedal would work if you wanted the bass line to be an octave below a riff or line played on guitar. Some octave pedals also claim to be able to “play” the lowest note in a chord.

There are problems though: you’d never be able to have an independent bass line – it would always be following something played by a guitar, locking in with the drummer would be very difficult; the sound produced often does not “sound” like a bass; tracking can be a problem – it’s a while since I used an octave pedal and I’m sure they’ve improved, but sometimes notes don’t trigger cleanly, the wrong note is produced or strange noises are produced.

Obviously, it depends on the kind of music you play and the sound you want. I think that what you suggest would be possible but that you’d have to give a great deal of thought to arrangements and one guitar player would have to work out and play parts that would generate a suitable bass line.

good luck.

Using the new MXR 288 Bass Octave Deluxe