Using guitar rig on basses

[Tristan Mendoza]

Ive seen and heard that putting guitar rig on your basses can really make it sound great but I haven't found anything in guitar rig that helps
Could someone give some pointers on what certain things in guitar rig could be used for?
maybe I just haven't found the right combination?

[_ronzlo_]

Interesting question.

When you say "your basses" I'm assuming you're talking about the bass used in electronic music instead of a bass guitar, yes?

If so, there are lots of guitar processing tricks you can definitely apply to synthesized/sampled bass, but you have to bear in mind a couple things: the center frequency (that is, the middle of the tonal range available) is obviously lower than it would be for a guitar. So if you have tone controls or eq options, it'll make it easier. For instance, a bass run through a guitar amp at normal settings will sound thin and not as bassy; a guitar run through a bass amp at normal settings will sound dull and muffled. This is because those amps are centered around the optimal freq. range for each instrument.

But once you understand that, you can use pretty much anything on anything. Splitting bands in the bass and sending higher freqs. through distortion is very common, as is overall saturation through distortion.

Here's a better way to learn about the possibilities of this technique though: find someone with a guitar multi-fx processor like a Line 6 Pod and use it as an aux send to try out various basses through, if you have an external soundcard with XLRs and 1/4" jacks. You'll be amazed.

[jordycash777]

If you go on youtube and search "far too loud tutorial" you can find a video where he shows how he uses guitar rig.

[mthrfnk]

I use the distortion, compression, and general FX... there's loads you can do. Just don't expect it to sound good if you slap a preset made for a guitar onto a bass sound.

[district]

works really good as an auxillary send with the bottom rolled off.

also sounds a bit better when you dont use the cabinets imo. much better to tailor it with an EQ instead.

also really good for faking guitar sounds and putting guitar solos in your tunes.

[R3b_Official]

Its actually not producer savy to use guitar rig on a bass, since the plugin is designed for guitars sounds and harmonics adding anything else will yelled disastrous results. Only use native distortion fxs.

[mthrfnk]

Its actually not producer savy to use guitar rig on a bass, since the plugin is designed for guitars sounds and harmonics adding anything else will yelled disastrous results. Only use native distortion fxs.

This is utter bullshit. That's like saying "X Compressor is aimed at vocalists, you can never use it on anything else".

Just because it's meant for guitars (mainly due to the amp and cabinet simulations) doesn't mean you can't use it on things other than guitars. The other FX contained within it don't rely on your input being a guitar or harmonically rich sound.

[jujment699]

Its actually not producer savy to use guitar rig on a bass, since the plugin is designed for guitars sounds and harmonics adding anything else will yelled disastrous results. Only use native distortion fxs.

This is utter bullshit. That's like saying "X Compressor is aimed at vocalists, you can never use it on anything else".

Just because it's meant for guitars (mainly due to the amp and cabinet simulations) doesn't mean you can't use it on things other than guitars. The other FX contained within it don't rely on your input being a guitar or harmonically rich sound.

Mthrfnk is spot on. Anything and everything can be used according to personal specifications, as whatever you feel like you can use it for, or what suites you best. Even the sloppiest of sounds can be frozen, bounced, and mixed into any song with minimal effort. I use guitar rig for a lot of my sounds.

The only POSSIBLE reason that anything R3b said would stand even remotely accurate, would be if your mix had an audio recording of a guitar with amplified tones, containing similar characteristics to the guitar rig distortion. And even at that point all it would be is a tiny bit of phasing here and there, easily fixed with subtractive EQ. Just one little thin spike in your EQ and you're fine.

So yeah... Don't listen to that nonsense haha.

[jujment699]

adding anything else will yelled disastrous results.

Also, it could be that disastrous results are exactly what is needed for his track? We don't all make beatport top 10 deep bouncy stuttery house. DEM GrOWLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!()#$%)(UJROIJsdlkgjsoijg

[legend4ry]

I 99% of the time put my bass through the amp cabs what come with Amplitube, it makes them sound a lot more rich and full.

[Add9]

I've seen a lot of tutorials where people split the bass into three frequency regions and use some kind of guitar or bass amp plugin on just the mids... when done right it gives the bass some character while still retaining the crisp highs and a solid sub bass region.

[R3b_Official]

This is utter bullshit. That's like saying "X Compressor is aimed at vocalists, you can never use it on anything else".

Just because it's meant for guitars (mainly due to the amp and cabinet simulations) doesn't mean you can't use it on things other than guitars. The other FX contained within it don't rely on your input being a guitar or harmonically rich sound.

It was supposed to sound like bullshit, because its silly a statement... You can use whatever plugins you want and do whatever processing you want. Fuck, all my distortion comes from abletons amp settings.

If you think this one fx doesnt sound right on your bass then you probably dont know whats its doing to your sound. To many people go and throw wow filters, guitar rigs, and oligarcs and then questions "why dont I have a good bass " and thats because your not hearing or know what lets say something basic like a low pass does or some heavy distortion does to your sound.

No offense OP but there are plenty of videos on guitar rig stuff and even more info you can find in the manual and just listening to your years. This would seem like a waste of a thread since its like oh hey I use guitar rig and I cant get anything good out of it and then some other person comments "Try just throwing something like this on and you will get a sick bass" Then OP will try it since some guy on a forum supposedly know there shit and OP carries on to listening to others and never learning from experience.

Im fine with helping stuff but honestly the best way to learn is to find out your self. If you're stumped on something like "oh why are my basses so harmonical rich in the high end after I used guitar rig or asking more specific questions and not ask for simple questions like some tips in massive or any other plugin. There tons of info online if you search good enough, most people dont know how to search stuff online and thats where I learned everything tbh. Ive asked so many questions one here and havent learned jack shit. Only after I left and did research i started picking up things and using my ears and some cognitive thinking I picked up stuff. Such as, why does a phaser give this sound its movement, I google what a phaser does. Understood it and then messed around more ] till I completely got what it was doing to my sound. So whenever im making something I know before hand what its going to do to my sound from past memory and understanding. There use to be decent post on hear and also quality post and now its a circle jerk for how to make riddim sounds and asking about someone else's drum which is ridiculous since I guarantee you 99.9% all the artist out there do the same processing, either with layering, transient shaping, eqing and compressing its all the same. The next other thing is sample choice. You cant make shit sounding drums sound any better lol.

I left because the forum has turned to shit and the once good place of the sound design thread are just whinny beginners asking for a quick fixes to a problem or want to ask of HOW DO I MAKE SO AND SO's DRUMS AND BASS PATCHES. Which isnt a new thing but its just in over abundance the past year. Thats why all the real posters have left.

End of my rant and I was just fucking around earlier making a out of the world answer sound so seriously. Goes to show you some random dude can say shit online and either sound like they know what there talking about or just being a total reatard.


TLDR: asking on forums isnt going to help you most of the time, understand your daw and not taking some random persons words so seriously like its law and its 100% will get you a lot father in your productions.

[mthrfnk]

This is utter bullshit. That's like saying "X Compressor is aimed at vocalists, you can never use it on anything else".

Just because it's meant for guitars (mainly due to the amp and cabinet simulations) doesn't mean you can't use it on things other than guitars. The other FX contained within it don't rely on your input being a guitar or harmonically rich sound.

It was supposed to sound like bullshit, because its silly a statement... You can use whatever plugins you want and do whatever processing you want. Fuck, all my distortion comes from abletons amp settings.

If you think this one fx doesnt sound right on your bass then you probably dont know whats its doing to your sound. To many people go and throw wow filters, guitar rigs, and oligarcs and then questions "why dont I have a good bass " and thats because your not hearing or know what lets say something basic like a low pass does or some heavy distortion does to your sound.

No offense OP but there are plenty of videos on guitar rig stuff and even more info you can find in the manual and just listening to your years. This would seem like a waste of a thread since its like oh hey I use guitar rig and I cant get anything good out of it and then some other person comments "Try just throwing something like this on and you will get a sick bass" Then OP will try it since some guy on a forum supposedly know there shit and OP carries on to listening to others and never learning from experience.

Im fine with helping stuff but honestly the best way to learn is to find out your self. If you're stumped on something like "oh why are my basses so harmonical rich in the high end after I used guitar rig or asking more specific questions and not ask for simple questions like some tips in massive or any other plugin. There tons of info online if you search good enough, most people dont know how to search stuff online and thats where I learned everything tbh. Ive asked so many questions one here and havent learned jack shit. Only after I left and did research i started picking up things and using my ears and some cognitive thinking I picked up stuff. Such as, why does a phaser give this sound its movement, I google what a phaser does. Understood it and then messed around more ] till I completely got what it was doing to my sound. So whenever im making something I know before hand what its going to do to my sound from past memory and understanding. There use to be decent post on hear and also quality post and now its a circle jerk for how to make riddim sounds and asking about someone else's drum which is ridiculous since I guarantee you 99.9% all the artist out there do the same processing, either with layering, transient shaping, eqing and compressing its all the same. The next other thing is sample choice. You cant make shit sounding drums sound any better lol.

I left because the forum has turned to shit and the once good place of the sound design thread are just whinny beginners asking for a quick fixes to a problem or want to ask of HOW DO I MAKE SO AND SO's DRUMS AND BASS PATCHES. Which isnt a new thing but its just in over abundance the past year. Thats why all the real posters have left.

End of my rant and I was just fucking around earlier making a out of the world answer sound so seriously. Goes to show you some random dude can say shit online and either sound like they know what there talking about or just being a total reatard.


TLDR: asking on forums isnt going to help you most of the time, understand your daw and not taking some random persons words so seriously like its law and its 100% will get you a lot father in your productions.