I am plugging my electric guitar into my audio interface.. I’d like to make it into a bass guitar track.. I have Guitar Rig 8 and Amplitude 5 and Amp simulator, but from what i can see , they are for simulating your 6 string plugged into actual guitar amp
Is there an effect plug-in which will give me the option to play a bass track and it would sound like an actual bass guitar rather than an electric just playing the bass notes ?
or should i use my amp simulation plug-ins to tweak the sound, to approximate the sound of a bass guitar….
Only you can decide your budget. Depending on style, you may have a preference for family types like Fender….or squier budget approach or whatever.
You know what you’ll do when overdubbing with a real bass? You’ll get some ideas!!! Even if you don’t think you’re a bass player. Ideas that will be wayyy different than plunking on the low four close strings of your guitar.
And …those “ideas”….will help the songs….help your creative thinking.
Personally….ugh. However…we each take our own journey.
I bought 2 new Arp Avatars in the 70s….Roland guitar oriented stuff in the 80s …line6…..
unfulfilling and imperfect….and I check tech advances every year at Namm….and…imo..they still suck and are instantly identifiable as….well ..certainly not real bass where that’s a goal
Waste of money…..that could be spent for a bass
That being said….I have no doubt that the incoming gen of software (suno, ReSing) etc that currently dabble with turning a voice into a saxophone (or whatever) will get rrreeeaaalll good at it for even turning a guitar (or sung notes) into a bass guitar.
But for me…..I play bass anyway…and whaddya wanna do? Wait for the software to become highly effective in five years?…..Or overdub a bass guitar track with a real bass (that sounds real good regardless of bass gtr budget) in the next 5 minutes.
I do also add that I own Modo Bass etc and even THOSE are pretty useful when I don’t feel like getting a bass out of its case.
Even those record better than the idea of using a guitar…..but that’s partially because I’m thinking like a bass player while playing the modo bass or ez bass as an overdub in realtime.
Which comes from already being a bass player for sure.
You could create a very realistic bass track using just HALion Sonic and a MIDI track. Yes, you would have to find the notes, learn a little about timing and using the MIDI editors in Cubase and so on, but it would not cost you anything extra, and would most likely sound a lot better than anything you could generate using expensive guitar-to-MIDI converters.
If you really, really want to play bass sounds on a standard 6-string guitar, try the demo of Jam Origin’s MIDI Guitar first.
[EDIT] If I can just add to what @DosWasBest said, if you can already play guitar at even a basic level, then you already know how to play (basic) bass guitar. Surely you could borrow one for a while?
The Fishman Triple play is a cool device (I have it), but it’s also finicky and not cheap.
The lowest cost ways to get to a bass guitar track by playing a real guitar include:
Audio processing (can happen real time while playing or be applied afterwards):
Use a pitch shifting plugin to lower the pitch of the guitar notes by an octave.
Use EQ and optionally other plugins to fine tune the sound.
Audio to MIDI conversion (applied after recording):
Record a bass track with the guitar (it will be an octave too high).
Use Cubase VariAudio to “extract MIDI”
Use the resulting track on a bass virtual instrument plugin
Transpose the MIDI notes down by an octave
Side note: Different bass virtual instruments may use different octave assignments for incoming MIDI notes, so adjust the MIDI notes or the settings in the virtual instrument as desired.
yes, i’ve done it in a midi track entering notes.. takes longer of course, because when you are playing a guitar, the notes just flow. i usually play the notes o a keyboard, which is not quite like doing it on a actual guitar.
as you say.. it would be cheaper than a controller… i did look at the triple play, but i would have to modify my guitar and move everything around. its a ‘65 guild starfire.. i don’t want to move the bridge and the hand guard….
maybe as you suggest, practice getting that bass vibe on my keyboard…
If you ever consider buying a real bass, one good approach for guitarists is to consider a short scale bass - i.e. a bass guitar with a scale of around 30". Those can often be found for rather low prices. The shorter scale is an easier transition from playing a guitar.
Bass VI
And if you ever see a Fender or Squire Bass VI for a great deal, that is arguably the ultimate bass for a guitar player. It has 6 strings, but is different from other 6 string basses in the following ways:
uses regular E to E tuning like a guitar - just an octave lower.
strings are much closer together - like on a guitar.
uses a 30" scale - so it’s shorter than a regular bass, and therefore an easier transition for a guitar player
by using different strings, one can make it into a baritone guitar.
I have a regular long scale (34") 4 string bass and a Fender Bass VI. The Bass VI has a certain cool factor and it also inspires me for more different bass lines. If I could only keep one of my basses, that would be the one I’d keep.
Exactly, I use an Epiphone EB3 that I picked up for very little cash in a second-hand shop (although I did add a pickup and a few bits and pieces that ended up costing more than the bass itself – yes, I need profession help )
Another option (albeit not cheap) would be EZBass - I use this to record from guitar and then use it to convert the guitar audio to bass midi.
It’s far from perfect (probably reflective of my playing) but does a reasonable job with a bit of manual tweaking. And it’s a pretty good plugin to have regardless.
I don’t think what you did is unreasonable at all. Now you not only have a bass - but an instrument that has your own custom signature all over it! Well done!
I think with regards to realism those are probably the two best options… A usable bass guitar is in the range of 100-200 €/$… either used or some Harley Benton from Thomann or another own brand. MODO bass comes in a free edition with one bass model and the whole package is on sale for 60€.
And yes, as a guitar player who started playing bass ~4 years ago, it is a lot of fun, I love it. It’s imho advisable to learn some playing technique though, sure, regarding the fretboard the transition is relatively easy, but left and right hand technique I had to re-learn and it took a couple of weeks/months to feel a bit more comfortable.
I own a pretty, blue Fender Vintera Vi and agree it’s cool for certain things (ie Sugar Shack, Wichita Lineman territory or various Carol Kaye) but it doesn’t replace my Jazz or Ric. The low 4 strings on the Vi don’t quite get to the necessary 4-string bass sound thing..at least for me. But I’ll never sell it
With the TriplePlay, you can have it send each string on a separate channel. Then, in Kontakt, for instance, you can load a separate instance of a bass for each of the channels (strings). Set the pitch bend range to 12 semitones in Kontakt and you can literally slide and entire chord up the neck. Yes, as has been noted, the TriplePlay is not perfect but it has a lot of capabilities to adjust sensitivity and how it handles bends, etc. I have done some very detailed bass tracks using it. Of course, it is just one of many options to get a bass track. I actually own a bass also but, personally, find it easier to play the bass parts on a guitar.
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