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Topic: Tic-Tac Sound |
Larry Hamilton
From:
Amarillo,Tx
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Posted 23 Aug 2012 3:09 pm |
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Has anyone tried, or is it even possible, to build a stomp box for bass players to get that cool tic-tac sound. Tic-tac doesn't work on every tune but it would be nice to have it when you want it. Just curious. Thanks. 
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Keep pickin', Larry |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 23 Aug 2012 6:25 pm
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I think the thing about Tic-Tac Bass is that it is usually done in unison with real Bass.
I'm thinking a bass player with an octave pedal that only adds a note an octave-above the played note.
Most of the guitar-player octave pedals only give an octave-below.
Maybe there is a Bass octave pedal that adds an octave-above, that could be EQ'd for tic-tac.
It is a good idea you have there. |
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Larry Hamilton
From:
Amarillo,Tx
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Posted 23 Aug 2012 7:14 pm
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Yeah the fact that it would need to be in unison with the bass is my point. Stomp box it to the bass. Would it need just the tic- tac sound or a note along with it. Like you said Pete, maybe an octave above the bass as well. I think would be a good idea but I can just barely turn on my computer . Thanks for you input.
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Keep pickin', Larry |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Steve Humes
From:
Tampa, Florida, USA
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Larry Hamilton
From:
Amarillo,Tx
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Posted 24 Aug 2012 5:07 pm
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Pete, that's it. Ray Price has a lot of tic-tac on a lot of his stuff.
Pete, thanks for your input. I looked at the site and couldn't find anything specifically tic-tac, not to say it is not on there somewhere if adjusted right to get it.
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Keep pickin', Larry |
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Marc Jenkins
From:
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 24 Aug 2012 7:48 pm
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| You could also try a POG 2 from EHX. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 25 Aug 2012 3:56 am
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Tic-tac would be very hard to replicate on a single string. The reason is that, in the "genuine" version, what you're hearing is a regular (ringing) bass note, and also an octave higher (but muted) bass note. So, to do it properly, you'd need some sort of processing to make the octave note sound muted, but sharp on the attack.
It's not a popular style today, so the return would probably be nil for a manufacturer to make a box to get that sound.
It's technically quite possible, though. |
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Olli Haavisto
From:
Jarvenpaa,Finland
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Posted 25 Aug 2012 5:13 am
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This won`t answer the original question, but we do a fairly convincing tic-tac with a double bass player in one of the bands I play with. When I`m not playing fills on a honky tonk song I sometimes double his lines on muted low strings of my U12. The reverbs and delays I use for steel work very nicely for tic tac too.
BTW I think the original tic tac stuff was done on a six string bass or a baritone guitar and not an octave above but in unison.
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Olli Haavisto
Finland |
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Tommy Shown
From:
Denham Springs, La.
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Posted 25 Aug 2012 9:29 am
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Larry, If you go to Youtube and check out the Legends of Steel Guitar series. On one of the videos, it shows, Jim Vest, Stu Basore, Tommy White and the late Don Helms, doing Honky Tonk Angels. Stu does that type of bass lick on C6. Him and Tommy White swap doing that lick.
Tommy Shown
SMFTBL |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 27 Aug 2012 10:40 am
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Hmmmm, are you using an amp with two channels? How about splitting the signal, going through an octave box to the second channel, and setting the EQ for more treble. And maybe some kind of a gate, or envelope follower to cut the signal short?
Or, if single channel, the same set up using a loop switcher like the Boss,,, is it LS-1? Octave up box, EQ pedal, gate or e-follower, in the switchable loop. |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 27 Aug 2012 10:50 am
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Or maybe with an effects processor, or even a delay pedal, as long as it has wet and dry outputs?
Set the delay time for an m-sec or so,,select one repeat,,,mix level same as the dry bass signal, and so on. I think I could have done that with my old Korg SDD-2000. Dang! I really liked that thing!
With my old Korg, which just did time-related effects, I would've had to use the octave box, and a second channel for eqing the Tic Tac sound. Newer processors probably have everything you need already built in. |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 27 Aug 2012 11:26 am
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the original purpose for tic tac was to give a top end tic to the upright bass player on the session. made the bass part a little more percussive and stand out in the track a little more rather than just turning up all that low end on the acoustic bass.
the instrument of choice was the danelectro 6 string bass.
if you want the real deal...just find one. they made some reissues a few years ago that were better than the originals construction wise and sounded great. i had one for a while and sold it a few years ago.
there have been all kinds of ways to try to approximate that sound. i think i read once that emory gordy had a splitter on his bass. he divided the bass signal to a low end eq and then the other line to a higher eq setting.
to get the real deal sound, you have to mute the bass string with your palm and then attack the string with a pick. no other way to do it. i prefer the sound of an amp also, but if you have a nice tube pre with some eq on it you can get a decent sound.
there are a lot of recordings in the 50s and 60s that used that sound. i was working a concert once with henry mancini. if you listen to his recordings, he had the tic tac bass on a lot of his hits. he kept asking me to put some more top end on the bass! lol |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 27 Aug 2012 3:35 pm
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Bill,
Your description is dead on, but the OP is trying to figure a way to get that sound of two guitars, a bass and a Dano Tic Tac, with just his bass. I figure he's got to trigger something.
Now,,, is the Tic Tac Dano playing notes an octave higher than the bass? Or is it tuned as a 6-string bass, and playing the notes in the same octave? |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 28 Aug 2012 9:22 am
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I like the idea of doing Tic-Tac on the low end of a U-12.
I will try that out. |
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Bill Cunningham
From:
Atlanta, Ga. USA
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Posted 28 Aug 2012 7:03 pm
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Different Bill here but below is my Dano tic tac bass guitar.
It is tuned an octave above the electric bass and one below the standard guitar, high to low E,B,G,D,A,E.
You can hear the "click" of a tic tac on Russ Hicks' instrumental albums if you have them. Russ told me he uses Charlie McCoy's 1960's Dano Silvertone. Also, if you ever watched the previous generation GOO staff band live on tv, this was Leon Rhodes' role when he was sitting behind the piano and beside Billy Linneman.
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Bill Cunningham
Atlanta, GA |
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Joe Naylor
From:
Avondale, Arizona, USA
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Posted 28 Aug 2012 7:15 pm Hi Larry
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I agree with Bill Cunningham - I just shipped an effects case to a bass player that told me the exact same thing - he bought an effects case with legs on it so he would not have to adjust knobs on the floor so he would not have to bend over and adjust knobs - anyway he said the same as Bill plus he does lots of studio work and does other things that he bought a steelseat for and now an effects case.
Just what I am hearing
Joe Naylor
www.steelseat.com
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Joe Naylor, Avondale, AZ (Phoenix) Announcer/Emcee owner www.steelseat.com *** OFFERING SEATS AND Effects cases with or without legs and other stuff ****** -Desert Rose Guitar S-10, Life Member of the Arizona Carport Pickers Assoc., Southwest Steel Guitar Assoc., Texas Steel Guitar Assoc., GA Steel Guitar Assoc., KS Steel Guitar Assoc. (Asleep at the Steel) tag line willed to me by a close late friend RIP |
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Joe Naylor
From:
Avondale, Arizona, USA
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Posted 28 Aug 2012 7:15 pm Hi Larry
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I agree with Bill Cunningham - I just shipped an effects case to a bass player that told me the exact same thing - he bought an effects case with legs on it so he would not have to adjust knobs on the floor so he would not have to bend over and adjust knobs - anyway he said the same as Bill plus he does lots of studio work and does other things that he bought a steelseat for and now an effects case.
Just what I am hearing
Joe Naylor
www.steelseat.com
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Joe Naylor, Avondale, AZ (Phoenix) Announcer/Emcee owner www.steelseat.com *** OFFERING SEATS AND Effects cases with or without legs and other stuff ****** -Desert Rose Guitar S-10, Life Member of the Arizona Carport Pickers Assoc., Southwest Steel Guitar Assoc., Texas Steel Guitar Assoc., GA Steel Guitar Assoc., KS Steel Guitar Assoc. (Asleep at the Steel) tag line willed to me by a close late friend RIP |
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Olli Haavisto
From:
Jarvenpaa,Finland
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Posted 28 Aug 2012 8:47 pm
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Bill,
I think the bass guitar and the regular are tuned one octave apart.
The six-string bass is in the same octave as a regular bass.
The baritone is between the two: B to B or sometimes A to A
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Olli Haavisto
Finland |
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Michael Brebes
From:
Northridge CA
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Posted 29 Aug 2012 7:58 am
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The bass player from the rock band Cheap Trick used to play an 8 string bass. Each pair were octaves like the lower strings on a 12 string. That could be another alternative.
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Michael Brebes
Instrument/amp/ pickup repair
MSA D10 Classic/Rickenbacher B6/
Dickerson MOTS/Dobro D32 Hawaiian/
Goldtone Paul Beard Reso
Mesa Boogie Studio Pre/Hafler 3000
RP1/MPX100 |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 30 Aug 2012 4:54 pm
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The Fender Bass VI would be way cool for tic-tac...expensive though.  |
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Per Berner
From:
Skovde, Sweden
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Posted 30 Aug 2012 10:11 pm
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| Didn't Harold Bradley use a Fender Bass VI playing tic-tac on all those sixties and seventies sessions? I'm sure I've seen some pics of him with one of them. |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 31 Aug 2012 7:02 am
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| Per Berner wrote: |
| Didn't Harold Bradley use a Fender Bass VI playing tic-tac on all those sixties and seventies sessions? I'm sure I've seen some pics of him with one of them. |
no used the dano. they tried the fender and hated the sound of it. |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 31 Aug 2012 7:06 am
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| John Billings wrote: |
Bill,
Your description is dead on, but the OP is trying to figure a way to get that sound of two guitars, a bass and a Dano Tic Tac, with just his bass. I figure he's got to trigger something.
Now,,, is the Tic Tac Dano playing notes an octave higher than the bass? Or is it tuned as a 6-string bass, and playing the notes in the same octave? |
thats what i described in the set up that gordy had. he came out of his bass with a splitter and ran one line through low end eq and the other through high end. they could control each at the console. something i remember from an interview with him.
yes the dano 6 string bass is the same octave as a fender bass or upright. just two more upper strings. |
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Bill Cunningham
From:
Atlanta, Ga. USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2012 12:58 am
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Bill Hatcher wrote
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| yes the dano 6 string bass is the same octave as a fender bass or upright. |
Yes, I stand corrected.  When Bill Hatcher speaks, I listen.  Although to my ear, the timbre is much different from a "Fender" bass. Maybe because the string gauges are much lighter for the same note.
I'll stop for now since we have drifted quite a ways from Larry's topic. Apologies......
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Bill Cunningham
Atlanta, GA |
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