Are y’all playing synth bass?

Are you playing synthesizer bass?

  • Yes

    Votes: 18 48.6%

  • No

    Votes: 19 51.4%
  • Total voters
    37
E Joe

E Joe

Jul 21, 2021
113
233
1,551
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Denver
#1
I recently broke my right shoulder and have had to put the bass down for a while.

It’s been tough as it’s my sole source of income, but to try and keep productive I’ve been playing on my Novation BassStation 2.

I’ve never gigged with it before and have a lot of pedals to cop synth tones, but I’d really like to start using it at gigs once I’m back out playing.

I was just curious how many of you play synthesizer bass and also if you have any advice what to practice for someone new to keyboard based instruments.

Also not sure where to post this; apologies if it’s in the wrong spot!
 
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#2
I used to have one of those, as well as the older rack version, it's a nice mono synth. One thing I'm gonna throw in, if you happen to use software as well...I sampled two octaves of notes on my 'real' bass so if I'm sick or tired or on the move, I can still use my own bass sound when programming or playing off a keyboard. It's worked well so far.
 
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#3
That’s really great advice! I’ve been trying to make a patch mimicking bass guitar to maybe pick back up some of my simpler gigs on monosynth while I’m healing, but sampling would be way more convincing!
 
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#4
E Joe said:
That’s really great advice! I’ve been trying to make a patch mimicking bass guitar to maybe pick back up some of my simpler gigs on monosynth while I’m healing, but sampling would be way more convincing!
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Yes, and it’ll sound more like you. I use the same set of samples on macOS and iOS, so I can always have a bit of my sound available :)
 
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#7
If hauling things around is an issue because of the shoulder injury, software synths on your laptop inside a DAW + midi controller are always an option. It’s lighter and you can set up multiple instances of your synth plugins, or have multiple synths and samplers at your fingertips all at once.

I don’t play synth bass to replace my bass playing. It’s a slightly different situation. But I make electronic music which has a lot of synth, and a lot of low end.

But if you want a more direct replacement for your bass guitar sounds, something like Native Instruments Kontakt 7 has multisamples of real bass guitar instruments. A little more full featured than just taking samples of notes on your instrument, each note is sampled at different velocities, so the tonality changes when you play harder and softer, more like a real instrument. Also, other midi controls like after-touch, etc, and “out of range” notes will have samples of realistic non note bass sounds, like finger slide on the string, or some fret sound, etc. If you’re looking for accurate bass recreation on a computer then it’s worth looking into. It could also be a full featured hassle trying to learn a whole new system when you just want to play some bass notes.
 
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#8
There are some pretty good iOS synth apps out there. When we do a song that calls for synth bass (maybe one per set), I use a Korg Microkey Air, my iPad Mini, and my OMEC Teleport. It’s compact, reliable, easy to set up, and sounds pretty good. It also lets me use AmpliTube or BiasFX if I feel like it.
 
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#10
E Joe said:
any advice what to practice for someone new to keyboard based instruments.
Click to expand...

The same thing as any other instrument: scales and arpeggios in all keys

Although most synthesizers allow transposition so you can play in any key using only the white keys, it's best to learn how to play in all 12 keys for real.

The recomendation for the Bass Station 2 is a good one. It's inexpensive ($500 new), sounds great and has patch memories to store sounds. Nothing worse than having to reprogram a synth between songs on stage.
 
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#11
There’s a thread over in effects that might be worth skimming through and posting in.
Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

The conversation often includes synth discussions, including modular and software gear. Things tend to be more about “unconventional” sounds and textures that don’t necessarily fit pop/rock/etc. songs.

I ended up down that rabbit hole due to an injury which limits my left hand/arm mobility. I found synth programming and ambient electronic music was something I could do to keep performing and creating.
 
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#12
I was in a band that opened for Pimps of Joytime 11 or 12 years ago. Their guy had a Hofner violin bass and a Minimoog. It was a completely unexpected combination and was really cool.

That and being a Rush fan all my life, I've thought about carrying around a small keyboard like a Little Phatty so I could double synth lines. As awesome as that would be, I bet the schlep would win out in a short time and I'd start leaving the keyboard at home. So I've not done it.
 
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#13
Altitude said:
I was in a band that opened for Pimps of Joytime 11 or 12 years ago. Their guy had a Hofner violin bass and a Minimoog. It was a completely unexpected combination and was really cool.

That and being a Rush fan all my life, I've thought about carrying around a small keyboard like a Little Phatty so I could double synth lines. As awesome as that would be, I bet the schlep would win out in a short time and I'd start leaving the keyboard at home. So I've not done it.
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That sounds awesome! I’ve been seeing more people doing that kind of thing and really wanna get good at it.
I heard some touring people say it’s necessary to do some key bass for some of the bass gigs they do so I wanna be able to do it if I ever have to.
 
#15
E Joe said:
That sounds awesome! I’ve been seeing more people doing that kind of thing and really wanna get good at it.
I heard some touring people say it’s necessary to do some key bass for some of the bass gigs they do so I wanna be able to do it if I ever have to.
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From an available stage space perspective, the good ol' keytar makes sense as a synth bass double. The last time I saw a bass player pick one up was in the 80s (as you'd expect), so it could be a fun "original" idea now.

Keytars do make you end up playing basslines with your right hand, which is kind of weird.

s-l1600.jpg
 
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#16
Altitude said:
From an available stage space perspective, the good ol' keytar makes sense as a synth bass double. The last time I saw a bass player pick one up was in the 80s (as you'd expect), so it could be a fun "original" idea now.

Keytars do make you end up playing basslines with your right hand, which is kind of weird.

s-l1600.jpg
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I have that very Roland Ax Synth, but in White.

Right now it's on the two-keyboard stand,

Since we've got one guitar, it's good for some harder rock sounds the Yamaha can't get. :)
 
#17
I've used a keyboard bass for maybe 4 song in my band setlist in 2018, either because I wasn't able to play the part on bass guitar or because a song style was asking for it. Once I've used a toy keyboard which I've hanged like a keytar, in other cases it was CME U-Key midi keyboard with built-in GM module on a keyboard stand.
 
#19
Thanks for all the input!

I saw a video of a praise n worship bassist laying down sub bass notes with a sustain pedal and a Sub37 and playing bass on top and it sounded epic. Partly inspired this thread.
 
#20
Eli_Kyiv said:
I've used a keyboard bass for maybe 4 song in my band setlist in 2018, either because I wasn't able to play the part on bass guitar or because a song style was asking for it. Once I've used a toy keyboard which I've hanged like a keytar, in other cases it was CME U-Key midi keyboard with built-in GM module on a keyboard stand.
Click to expand...
Yeah it was fun.
full
 
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