Trilian vs. KPA Bass

I've never used Trillian, so all I can say is this:

Just go buy a Squier P-Bass. Even the cheap "Affinity" line still sound great once you set them up.

Quote from Fireloogie

I am considering a bass guitar to use with the KPA, which is a possibility I almost overlooked.

Am I wrong here or might this lead into more authentic results?

playing the real thing will always be more authentic than using samples.

especially with bass and guitar, there are so many small 'gestures' and often subconscious ways to shape the groove that - even if available in a sample player - would be really time-consuming and a nightmare to set up.

If you have a lot of tracks with sampled content, adding a 'real' instrument like a bass can lift the whole mix and make it more alive.

ive got both and i really dont use trilian as a bassguitar i however use the synths in trilian.

and playing your own bass is always better than using sampled bass.

I need a bass now.

As good as the Kemper is on guitar, I think it’s made a bigger difference in my recorded bass tracks than anything. I recommend getting a used Fender MIMexico Pbass.

IK Multimedia’s MODO virtual Bass is great for sketching parts in if you want software.

The problem with sampled bass, or any instrument for that matter, no matter what you do it will always lack the human feeling you just can't get. It will always sound robotic and you can't get the attack either. It will always sound lame. So yeah even a cheap bass guitar is better than samples.

I've played around with MODO Bass and a sequencer in Reaper with good results. Obviously not as realistic as playing, but great for scratching out song ideas. Especially using the slap technique, which I can't get the hang of.

Learn to use your DAWs audio quantize timing functions. For example it’s Flex Time in Logic.

Use these tools to help tighten up your time on driving 1/8th notes or whatever. There’s no shame in cheating a little until you don’t have to.

The timing difference with the larger strings on bass vs guitar takes a while to get used to.

Whatever you do don’t buy a bass with more than four strings! Oops, too late!

It's harder to groove on the E string with that low B in the way all the time. One of my bass player friends plays with Miranda Lambert. He has a three string bass..EAD. That's the way to go!

Try the Yamaha basses too, they’ve put a heck of a lot of research into those instruments and if you’re looking at entry level/low budget they’re hard to beat. They have models with pickup configurations for both J and P bass tones via selector switch, great resonant musical bodies and the necks feel great. They're very consistent too, they might not reach the highs of a great high end Fender P or J but they’ll easily beat the vast majority you’ll get to play for way less.

My main recording bass is a '79 Yamaha BB1000 pbass. Those are amazing quality basses ...ebony neck, great hardware.

I don't think the current Yamaha products are this good unless you spend a lot but when they first started making stuff, even the lower level

instruments were great. You can find these for under $500.

I was joking about the five string thing. Read an article on Talkbass and lots of guys love them. I liked one comment...think of a five string bass as a four string with a great thumb rest built in. Ha!

As a former Trilian user, I'll say that after getting IK Multimedia's MODO BASS I never looked back. No samples, it's physically modelled - and way more realistic than anything else I've tried. What a great product - you can really close your eyes and feel the little natural variations, it's a bit scary actually.

I agree with the Yamaha comments above - I bought a Yamaha bass maybe 15 years ago. It was dirt cheap and actually a really good instrument. It has a pot to blend between the P and J pickups so, coupled with the Kemper, cover pretty much any bass sound you can make with a regular 4 string. A proper bass player would probably disagree with this but, for me (a person who can sort of sing and sort of play guitar and needs a baseline on the little songs I write) I find no need to get anything higher end

It’s a shame I’m so utterly awful at playing bass. Like everything music-wise, I’m hoping to get competent at it one day and, as long as it’s fun, it’s all good

Even though I have been playing bass for quite a few years, as a guitar player that occasionally plays bass, I never aquired the proper three finger technique for the right hand.

Using a pick obviously gives you a picked bass sound, but a while ago I came across the ingenious Wedgie Rubber pick that sounds very much like using your fingers while giving us guitar players the control and comfort (I guess) of a pick.

It takes a bit getting used to, since there is quite a bit of friction between the pick and the strings (picking hand fatigue) but the results were great for me, both recording and playing in a band.

hth