Tips for achieving a good electric organ/piano tone on bass

jdjk7

jdjk7

Supporting Member
May 12, 2016
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Indiana, USA
#1
I have really no idea what forum this fits in, but octave pedals are often used to this purpose, so I'll stick it here. I also made an effort to search the forums for similar topics, but there are way too many to do so comfortably.

I would like to discuss the effects and playing techniques that would be helpful to achieving an old-school electric organ/piano tone that would be fitting for styles in funk, soul, and blues.

I have tried experimenting with my Boss OC-2, and it gets me somewhere, but not ultimately as far as I would like. Polyphony would be great, but I've heard mixed reviews concerning digital octaves. Tracking is also an issue, but a tip I received (using compression before the octaver) has helped me keep it relatively glitchless. For transparency, I have a Boss OC-2 and CS-3, Ibanez CF7, and EHX Bass Muff Deluxe.

My next question is that are there other effects which could help me, combinations of effects and technique, etc.? I've seen the EHX B9/C9/Key9, but I don't want to drop $200 on something before I know how well it works for bass (which is not often guaranteed).

I would like to keep this a live-friendly discussion, that is, propositions ought to be friendly to live contexts.
 
#4
I my band I do an organ/keyboard sounding intro with a bunch of volume swells. For that, the chain is:
Digitech Bass Whammy>Digitech X-Series Chorus>Earthquaker Devices Afterneath (reverb)

The Whammy is set to harmonise 2 octaves above, I've never had any tracking issues with it at all.

Obvious options are the EHX 9-series pedals, but they won't track lower than A. I've heard very good things about the Earthquaker Devices Organizer- It's basically an octaver with some added features to achieve an organ-esque tone. Apparently tracks all down the neck too, it might be just what you're after.
 
#6
jdjk7 said:
I've always looked at TC Electronics stuff, so I'll keep it in mind. Question: How useful/usable is the Toneprint feature? It seems neat, but implementation can make or break any neat idea.
Click to expand...
The stock tone prints are neat, especially the organ one. I'm just starting to play around with making my own. There are a lot of parameters to mess with. I'm trying to create a more synthy kind of sound.
 
#9
ShowKing said:
I'm really loving the default toneprint setting on the TC Sub n Up for imitating an organ.

I even took a solo with it on and did a convincing "organ" solo. Band members and audience were impressed
Click to expand...
Watched a demo of it where a guy did a pretty decent rendition of a Deep Purple song, was pretty impressive.

skydivingninja said:
The stock tone prints are neat, especially the organ one. I'm just starting to play around with making my own. There are a lot of parameters to mess with. I'm trying to create a more synthy kind of sound.
Click to expand...

I took a peek at the TonePrint page and it seems like the TP can go as far as controlling other effects which weren't part of the pedal to begin with, like trem and distortion. How the heck does that work? What is the process of making your own like? Could you share your TP (aheheh) with others if you wanted?
 
#10
Blaargh said:
Obvious options are the EHX 9-series pedals, but they won't track lower than A. I've heard very good things about the Earthquaker Devices Organizer- It's basically an octaver with some added features to achieve an organ-esque tone. Apparently tracks all down the neck too, it might be just what you're after.
Click to expand...
It could be. Sounds interesting. Not my favorite price, but not horrible either. But I'm also looking for some versatility in what kind of tones I can get, and an organ isn't always right. May have to check for a demo.
 
#18
The EHX B9 and C9 sound great with a guitar in their demos but the company claims the B9 works well only above the third fret C on the A string of a standard guitar which means only above the fifth fret of the G string on a bass. They don't comment on the range of the C9. Of course your definition of "works well" may differ from EHX's who must guard their reputation against the tastes of their most persnickety customers. I have tried neither one with a bass or a guitar, just cautioning potential users that perhaps you should try before you buy. There have been threads for both units: B9 C9. I have not read through them to find out if anyone has tried them with a bass and with what results but you should if you want to buy one!

Unless you have a six or seven string bass since in that case you would have at least two or three strings with a usable organ sound....
 
#20
i'm fairly ' old-school ' being 58 ... and played piano/keys since 1963 ...

what old school organ .. ? classical type church organ , Hammond B3 ish , Farfisa 60's sound , etc .. ???

piano .. upright acoustic , electric Rhodes or others that use tines/reeds , early synths , 80's synths ( DX7 , M1 , D-50 ) ... newer sampled Grand pianos .. ??


the organs have a few pedals that work OK to fool part of the audience ... and early electric pianos sound a bit similar with more attack ( hammers ) and a very different quicker decay/sustain ... with synths , we use a few ADSR filters ( Attack , Decay , Sustain , Release ) to shape the sounds ...
 
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