Creating Bass Lines

[SurferJay]

Hi All,

I recently purchased the TC Electronic Octaver 'Nether' to add to my Loop setup.

Being honest I'm a little bit underwhelmed and likely should have spent a bit more and gone for the BOSS. The effect of the pedal puts a distorted trail at the end of the note which means you have to dial down Octave 2 to hide this.. Although there is a 'deeper' sound it's far from prominent in the loop.

Moving forward (as this is not a review) I've started to work out some bass lines for the Loop. I'm looking to play basic bass lines so researched basic patterns for the bass (which seems pretty straight forward for what I need) and learned a few patterns in addition to watching bass tutorials for the songs that I loop to get an idea.

The first loop I did was an instrumental of 'Chasing Cars' which is in A Major. It's a simple bass line and it sat nicely at the top of the Low G string.

However, other loops I'm trying due to the key the notes are further down the neck. The problem is that really the Bass effect is only prominent on the first 7-8 frets (maybe at best) of the Low G string and perhaps the first 3 frets of the C string (at a stretch). It's obviously a very limited range (it's not a bass after all).

So my question is: Most of the Bass lines I've seen follow the pattern of the chords. i.e If the chord progression is C F G the bass progression is the C Note (then other notes within the arpeggio or a 5th etc) then the F note, then the G note and so on... Do I have to follow this or can I for instance just play whatever Pentatonic shape fits the first few frets of the fretboard to create a base line that does not follow the 'notes' but fits in with the key...

Hopefully, I've explained this well

Thanks in advance

 

[Jim Hanks]

As usual the answer is 'it depends' . Of course you aren't limited to chord tones. Whether they "work" in the context of a particular song is up to you

 

[SurferJay]

Thanks for taking the time to write back. I’ve spent more time with it today and found some nice simple base lines that worked.

I think the main problem is that I can’t get that the range of the Bass effect does not extend to F. So my range for playing bass line missed this note. I’m just wondering if anyone else has had more success with an Octave Pedal in regards to range..

 

[Just a fan]

It's funny, I bought that pedal a couple of weeks ago and ran into the same problems. Plus I didn't like how it tracked the uke notes in general (in other words, not very well). I bought it from Amazon and promptly returned it the next day. I'm trying to decide if I want to spend the big bucks to get a POG. It seems to work for Jake.

 

[Canada Jim]

A simple bass line can be had by hitting a Root/five on each chord and connecting them with runs.
G / / / |/ / / / |/ / / / |/ / / / |C / / / |/ / / / |G / / / |/ / / / |D / / / |/ / / / |G /. . .

If there are two notes to a measure, they each get 2 beats. If there are 4 notes, each gets a beat.
_________ ________ ________ ___________ ______ ____________ _______ ___________ ______ __________ ________
_________ ________ ________ ___________ ______ ____________ _______ ___________ ______ __________ ________
_____2_ _____2 2 _______ 0___ 0_0____ 2 ______0_1_ _2 2_0____ ___2
0__ 0___ 0__ 0_2_3_4_ __0_ _______4_2_ __0 0_4_____ 2_ _____4_2_ __0_

This sticks within the "first 7-8 frets (maybe at best) of the Low G string and perhaps the first 3 frets of the C string (at a stretch)."

 

[Canada Jim]

Well, that didn't line up very well, did it. Let's try the old paper and pen method. (The first two measures of the second line should be a G chord.

 

[SurferJay]

Honestly, that’s amazing and is really going to help! Greatly appreciate you taking the time to explain. Thank you!

 

[SurferJay]

A simple bass line can be had by hitting a Root/five on each chord and connecting them with runs.
This sticks within the "first 7-8 frets (maybe at best) of the Low G string and perhaps the first 3 frets of the C string (at a stretch)."

What happens if the route is F as this isn’t within the first 7-8 frets of the Low G or within the first 3 of the C. This is the problem I’m now having

 

[ukudancer]

If you're going to get serious with this, I suggest just buying a short scale bass. Yes, it's another instrument that will take up residence in your house and yes, you're kind of learning another instrument (you're already on this path though), but I think this is really the better solution for you if you're finding the octave pedal limiting (when compared to an actual bass, it actually is).

I actually really enjoy playing bass and I'm someone who seriously thought about buying the DigiTech Trio band creator pedal. I think it's just more fun working with the real thing even though you might struggle a little more in the beginning.

 

[SurferJay]

Is a short scale bass a U-Bass?

 

[ukudancer]

Is a short scale bass a U-Bass?

No.

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It's not a full size bass, but it's definitely bigger than a U-bass. It's more versatile in terms of sound vs the U-bass. Used ones are cheap and plentiful around $100 or so, depending on your local market.

They're all tuned the same, so it's not like you're learning anything different if you'd have picked up a U-bass.

 

[Jim Hanks]

I like u-bass

 

[SurferJay]

Tempted to get a U Bass now can I play it through my Fishman Loudbox acoustic amp as I’ll be using it to blend into my loops..

 

[Canada Jim]

What happens if the route is F as this isn’t within the first 7-8 frets of the Low G or within the first 3 of the C. This is the problem I’m now having

I would drop the 4th string to an F for any songs that require it.

Here's a bass line with a dropped F tuning:

 

[SurferJay]

Great solution, I’ve just made a decent bass line using this. Thank you!

 

[Cornfield]

I just won a U-Bass with metal strings. I previously had a rubber string one and a Taylor Mini Bass. If you’ve ever played 6 string guitars, bass is easy. It’s tuned the same as the biggest 4 strings of a standard guitar. E A D G.

 

[SurferJay]

I just won a U-Bass with metal strings. I previously had a rubber string one and a Taylor Mini Bass. If you’ve ever played 6 string guitars, bass is easy. It’s tuned the same as the biggest 4 strings of a standard guitar. E A D G.

Thank you. I'm pretty sure I could pick up the bass quickly. I'm not talking about the complex stuff but enough to get a decent basic but interesting bass line going. I'm going to go to the guitar shop and try some out. I've also though that perhaps they may not work with my acoustic amp so will plug one in and try. I do fancy one though... And a Baritone haha

 

[ampeep]

You'll definitely get a much better bass sound with a Ubass, short or long scale bass. One of the other bass players in my uke group plays through a Fishman Loudbox & it works well.

BTW, how's the surf in Israel?

 

[Cornfield]

My Loudbox Mini Charge arrived yesterday. Wow! Just f***ing wow!

 

[SurferJay]

It’s an awesome amp. Definitely one of my best purchases