[Worship] RE:Electric guitar - the sin of faking a bass

["Banach, Rodney E (Rod)" <rebanach@ingr.com>]

 Melanie,

 As a long time electric bassist (more than half my life now!), I would
hesitate to recommend the octave pedal as a bass substitute. The time lag is
quite noticeable, most stomp box electronics are extremely noisy, and the
tone is less than bass-ish. About all you are gaining is low frequency, but
definitely not a real bass sounding bass line. Similarly, I wonder how many
guitarists would consider a bass running thru an octave box to raise the
pitch an octave as a viable solution for playing lead guitar lines?

 Another concern for adopting this method comes to mind here. Since he is a
guitarist, should he temporarily forget that he is playing 'bass' and happen
to strum a chord - well, I can't begin to put into English how disgusting it
would sound. The frequencies (Hz) of bass notes are much closer together
than those of a guitar, so unless you are quite skilled (and tasteful) in
chording with a bass, the frequency clash is quite similar to playing the
middle B and C together on a piano. Yuck!

 If your congregation can swing it, a decent student bass can be purchased
for much less than you might think. Here's a link for a new Fender Squire
P-bass on sale for $129. Less than inexpensive for sure, and he (or maybe
another in your congregation who hasn't stepped forward yet) will be
learning on the real thing. A real bass for $20 more than the fake stomp box
- this, to me, is a no brainer! :)

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/cgi-bin/shop.dll/9911021229208170104661222132
103?pid=510424.595

 I would be more than happy to assist with any other techie type bass
questions you or he may have.

 p.s. Thanks again for the cello advice! My search continues.

Respectfully,
Rod Banach
Intergraph Marine Products Division
Huntsville, Al. 35924-0001  USA

Voice:    (256) 730-3561
Fax:      (256) 730-3016
E-mail:  rebanach@ingr.com

"Vision without action is a daydream.
  Action without vision is a nightmare."
                                               -Ancient  proverb

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