Dubstep with real instruments?

[DZA]

jam out the basslines with a bass guitar is something ive wanted to do for a long time!!



something u should check out if u havent

AMAZING

Sounded allright till it dropped

[dj seizure]

Soundcloud

Shameless plugging. I do use real instruments a lot. Mainly Sitar, Tabla and Bongo.

[HomeNoiseRecord]

Is it possible to get proper sub bass power from a bass guitar? I figured that most amps / cabinets for rock music tend to roll off the sub in favour of bringing out more of the second harmonic but maybe thats how they're mixed or setup.
i.e. When Pendulum play live they have a bass player but I'm pretty certain they have a programmed pure sub line underneath when playing live.

im pretty sure u can get MIDI controllers or MIDI pickups for the guitar itself, something like that anyway so it acts like a midi keyboard would. I know Matt Bellamy and Steve Vai have both tried something similar.

[Debaser1]

Yeah Matt Bellamy has MIDI controllers on his guitar to control fuzz factories, MIDI info, wah probe's etc etc etc. But I'm talking about a proper BAND if you will, with inflected stylings of dubstep. It's hard to explain.

I know bass guitars etc cant get as low as a sub, but you could use a MIDI keyboard on stage etc right? Electric drum kits? Hey, normal kits, guitars etc. There's countless dubstep tunes with vocals as well. I genuinely think it could work.

[Nickelwound]

I think the problem mainly is also not only do you need to have the right sound to make it sound right, its also the idea behind making music with a band and making music with programs, or in other words, producing music, has a different concept to it.

Usually, making music with a band is a means of self expression mainly, and ofcourse there the obvious examples that dont fall into the category of self expression, like, for instance, Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi :'], but the concept of making music less as self expression and more as something for the people, is more present in electronic music, which includes dubstep.

So I think if you can as band, manage to make a mingle of the two concepts; self expression and making music for the people, into one good package you're well on your way. Also, the brand Moog has for example a lowpass filter pedal , and more stuff like that that can be used for bass guitar, guitar, keyboard, drums etc, so maybe worth checking it out. I think you have to think of the basic LFO concept and then apply it to bass guitar to make it work.

However, experimentation can work too, try using a lot of different (guitar) pedals out there.

[Fbac]

Did you see the Novation UltraNova promo video? That looked like a dubstep band,, altho it was proberly all faked for promo video reasens?

[therapist]

Generally this sort of thing is lame but it could be done well. Unless you're using computers/synths I wouldn't bother calling it dubstep, but it definitely influences some great stuff.

Production is quite a large part of dubstep so I think it loses that. Bands like submotion orchestra playing at 140 don't sound anything like dubstep, because tons of bands do it anyway, just without the gimmicky halftime drums. Bit of a waste of a real drummer too.

A low E on a bass is about 40 Hz isn't it? You should get the sort of range you'd want for dubstep but I don't think you'd get the same push of a pure tone.

[Fbac]

maybe use the bass guitar to trigger a synth, with the pedels set up to do dif. modulation?

guitar rig opens up a world of sound for the guitarist

Bit of a waste of a real drummer too.

understand where your coming from but disagree, if that were the case then London elec. would be wasting there drummer.

---->


Whats cool about this idea is that it doesnt half to stay at 140, where as producing your daw locks the tempo. Live bands (and ive only noticesd this as the younger ones in my class always listen to metal) the tempo follows the drummer slowing down speeding up, rather then the switch ups where you x2 your drums in a daw.

[gravity]

Is it possible to get proper sub bass power from a bass guitar? I figured that most amps / cabinets for rock music tend to roll off the sub in favour of bringing out more of the second harmonic but maybe thats how they're mixed or setup.
i.e. When Pendulum play live they have a bass player but I'm pretty certain they have a programmed pure sub line underneath when playing live.

you can use a pedal (is it an octaver? or a divider? something like that anyway) that will generate a sub line that follows the bass

or you could use a midi pickup too i guess

[brianisdead]

I dont know if Eoto counts

But I think the live improv that they do is pretty amazing and cooler than a rehearsed band playing dubstepish tunes.

[therapist]

Bit of a waste of a real drummer too.

understand where your coming from but disagree, if that were the case then London elec. would be wasting there drummer.

---->

Not really the same thing I think, he's a jazz/jungle drummer so he gets to play loads of crazy stuff, he's great. I guess I was just imagining a lot of people's idea of dubstep drums as an ultra-sparse half time kick/snare pattern. Why not just call a a band a band. Genres of dance music based on fixed tempo/rhythm just doesn't make sense to turn into an organic thing.

I dunno if this thread meant live performing bands or just using real instruments and going at it in your daw, might have the wrong end of the stick.

[DJ Crackle]

MIDI keyboard on stage etc right? Electric drum kits?

Feel like you're headed the opposite direction of where you started now

[rowbatraft]

What about this approach; MIDI drums and MIDI bass guitar?

[koro inu]

Is it possible to get proper sub bass power from a bass guitar? I figured that most amps / cabinets for rock music tend to roll off the sub in favour of bringing out more of the second harmonic but maybe thats how they're mixed or setup.
i.e. When Pendulum play live they have a bass player but I'm pretty certain they have a programmed pure sub line underneath when playing live.

im pretty sure u can get MIDI controllers or MIDI pickups for the guitar itself, something like that anyway so it acts like a midi keyboard would. I know Matt Bellamy and Steve Vai have both tried something similar.

easy. you get a pitch shifter fx and pitch it down an octave, layered with the original sound. you can put all sorts of fx on a bass.

then you make sure when you play live you have someone in charge of the controls - like proper dub, and make sure the bass is DI'd to a desk, so the sound gets driven pure to the rig, which will take care of any sub you may lose from a bass cab/amp. although to be honest, with a decent bass rig (4x8 inch cones or something, and a 1 x 12) you'll feel the air move anyway.

[KryshaAudio]

check out the Chicago-based band Lotus, they play quite a few shows in the dubstep scene around here. They're like a jam band with dubstep elements, all the hippy-bros around here fuckin love em

[Debaser1]

Lots of interesting stuff in here!

[ceasark]

Well i've done a track using drums and fx, all recorded from live beatbox which turned out to be quite interesting as well!

Check it out:

Soundcloud

[KryshaAudio]

i saw someone mention eoto, and yes, them too!

[rawali]

I have a band called risk... we mix electronic synths and loops with guitar/bass/drums and vocals... and yes it is possible to mix in bass so that it's almost pure sub... it's a pain in the ass but it's possible...

here's a tune from our latest release...
http://soundcloud.com/riskmtl/risk-blood-pudding

[Micah27]

Innamorati, the violin is live instrument the rest is ableton I believe... they're amazing anyway