So, why does a bass sound like a bass?

[TelZilla]

I guess this is a really stupid question, but I thought about it for a while and I guess I don't really know the answer.

I'm starting from the point of view of a guitarist who's doing some home recording and does not own a bass/bass amp. Also, I've heard that the white stripes song "7 Nation Army"s baseline is actually just a guitar run through an octave pedal (set to one octave low).

So I guess I actually have 2 questions:

~does this sound like a reasonable thing to do for home recording? Does anybody do this?

~What makes a bass sound like a bass (As opposed to the first four strings of a guitar? Is it the longer scale? the thicker strings? Also, is my bass player's open E string an octave lower than my open e string?

[bassflyer]

the thicker strings?

That's ONE good reason!

[aznrambo481]

is my bass player's open E string an octave lower than my open e string??

yep. His strings are tuned the same as your 4 low strings, just an octave lower.

[4mal]

[QUOTE=TelZilla;892399] Also, I've heard that the white stripes song "7 Nation Army"s baseline is actually just a guitar run through an octave pedal (set to one octave low).

So I guess I actually have 2 questions:

~does this sound like a reasonable thing to do for home recording? Does anybody do this?

[\QUOTE]


sure - if you want to sound like the white stripes ... If you want it to sound like electric bass, you probbaly want to purchase or borrow a bass. The FB layout is the same as standard tuned guitar and the fingerings are typically easy. The tough part with bass, particularly for guitarists is knowing when no to play, when enough is enough - the borderline to 'too much' land.

You could take the aproach above - the guitar through an octave thingy - for a demo, no problem. Anything beyond that is going to require some different approaches or it could get kinda boring. Personally if I were trying to fake my way through bass lines - I would go synth. An 80's Korg Poly 800/Poly 600, etc will lay down a hellacious bassline and key bass isn't all that hard to learn. It can also be programmed and sequenced more easily.

[TelZilla]

Originally Posted by bassflyer

That's ONE good reason!

As I think about this more, it's a chicken and egg situation, right? Like, if you tried to tune your guitar an octave low (i.e., like a standard scale bass), there would be no tension on the strings, so the scale has to be longer to accomodate the lower note.

But I still have a question about the string gague: Say I put a neck on my guitar that was the scale of a bass neck (this is a rhetorical question, of course) and had a .052 string that was long enough to fit the neck. If I tuned it correctly, would it sound like a bass, only quieter? Or is there something about the gague of a bass E string (a .110, say) that is integral to acheiving that particular pitch?

[TelZilla]

[QUOTE=4mal;892479]

Originally Posted by TelZilla

Also, I've heard that the white stripes song "7 Nation Army"s baseline is actually just a guitar run through an octave pedal (set to one octave low).

So I guess I actually have 2 questions:

~does this sound like a reasonable thing to do for home recording? Does anybody do this?

[\QUOTE]


sure - if you want to sound like the white stripes ... If you want it to sound like electric bass, you probbaly want to purchase or borrow a bass. The FB layout is the same as standard tuned guitar and the fingerings are typically easy. The tough part with bass, particularly for guitarists is knowing when no to play, when enough is enough - the borderline to 'too much' land.

You could take the aproach above - the guitar through an octave thingy - for a demo, no problem. Anything beyond that is going to require some different approaches or it could get kinda boring. Personally if I were trying to fake my way through bass lines - I would go synth. An 80's Korg Poly 800/Poly 600, etc will lay down a hellacious bassline and key bass isn't all that hard to learn. It can also be programmed and sequenced more easily.

Yeah, I know how to tune a bass, and play a bass, and all that... this is just sort of a theoretical thread, i guess.

And I have lots more guitar crap to buy (mainly tube amps) before I buy a bass or a keyboard...

[Chris S.]

Originally Posted by TelZilla

As I think about this more, it's a chicken and egg situation, right?

No, it's a physics and engineering situation.

Say I put a neck on my guitar that was the scale of a bass neck (this is a rhetorical question, of course) and had a .052 string that was long enough to fit the neck. If I tuned it correctly, would it sound like a bass, only quieter? Or is there something about the gague of a bass E string (a .110, say) that is integral to acheiving that particular pitch?

The lower the pitch, the thicker the string guage has to be to play the open note with adequate tension.

But this doesn't have to be a theoretical discussion -- you can test it yourself with any electric bass. The G strings on many basses are .45 or .50 thick. Try tuning the G string down to match the pitch of the low E and see what happens. It'll flop around like a loose rubber band -- just as the G string on your guitar would if you tuned it down to match the pitch of your low E string.

Hope it helps, CS

[TelZilla]

Originally Posted by Chris S.

The lower the pitch, the thicker the string guage has to be to play the open note with adequate tension.

Makes perfect sense.

So that also means the string tension on a standard tele or Strat ( 25.5" scale) is just slightly lower than on a Les Paul ( 24.75" scale), assuming the same strings are used. Weird...

[ryokan]

Is this a joke?

[Tim Armstrong]

Originally Posted by TelZilla

So that also means the string tension on a standard tele or Strat ( 25.5" scale) is just slightly lower than on a Les Paul ( 24.75" scale), assuming the same strings are used. Weird...

No, strings of the same gauge tuned to the same note would be lower tension on the SHORTER neck.

Cheers, Tim

[Dave W]

String size and scale length issues aside, it's a bass because it's tuned to what's generally accepted as the bass range.

[BrianF]

Understanding why a plucked string sounds the way it does is pure math and physics..

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu...es/string.html