Big Ears

Aren't the guitar parts on Pink Floyd's One of These Days played on two bass guitars? If so, it must be possible to play bass parts on a guitar. Or, am I just confused?

Plankton

That would be a bass guitar w/delay, and a lap steel.

You sir, are confused.

rnrloser_IX

This is probably the best route for you. In the studio, it doesn't really matter because you can keep layering the tracks you need. For live, the only time a rhythm is crucial is for harmonies and the such. Lots of bands get away with just a bass anchoring rhythm with solos over it. Bryan Beller from Dethklok re-wrote the bass lines to cover the bass and guitar parts while the other guitarist were doing some harmony thing. That could work to.

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Big Ears

Indeed, but I am certain I read or heard an interview in which Gilmour or Waters said they used two bass guitars. I could be wrong and I don't think it was in Wikipedia. Nevertheless, this is what Wiki says:

"The song is instrumental except for a distorted, low voice that says 'One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces' and features double-tracked bass guitars played by David Gilmour and Roger Waters. Waters' bass is panned hard left with Gilmour's fading into the right channel. Gilmour's bass sound is quite muted and dull."

Dr_Rez

Tell that to Geddy Lee god damnit.

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Neapolitan

No, it won't be enough. The bass and drums make up the rhythm section and that is the foundation of the song that you sing and play lead over. And a riff sounds better if a guitar is double by a bass than another guitar.

I don't know if you are going to take the advice from anyone here, like buy a bass, a synth, guitar synth, or pitch shifter pedal etc but what ever your decision is make sure that the financial responsibility falls on the shoulders of the rhythm guitarist.

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Plankton

Yeah, it's all about money...

whata crock.

Big Ears

John Entwistle and Chris Squire are great bass players.

mr dave

Hold on. Double and triple tracking is NOT AT ALL the same as having multiple bass lines happening at the same time. That's a studio trick that Jimmy Page popularized to really thicken up his sound (before the advent of Octaver pedals). Multiple bass lines within a piece of music is generally uncommon due to the fact that it's far too easy for the lines to become muddy and obscured due to the limited range of frequencies available within the instrument. If anything it becomes a bit of a novelty where one person plays 'normal' bass lines while the other is basically playing the equivalent of lead guitar. That's not to say it never happens or results in greatness (like a small handful of Tortoise tunes I can't pinpoint at the moment), just that it's quite rare.

Essentially double or triple tracking is exactly what it sounds like, 2 or 3 tracks of the same part recorded separately then layered over top of each other. Check out Led Zep's Black Dog for a great example, Page actually played the different layers in different octaves, same notes, same riff, but the end effect once all the layers are compressed into one is a SUPER thick sounding guitar.

As for the whole thing about mimicking the bass line with a guitar, as we've said it's generally a poor idea. Though it's worth clarifying that it really depends on the style. If you just need some simple bass tones to punch things up a bit and essentially just beef up the root note of whatever the guitar is doing then it's not so bad. If you're trying to play any sort of independent bass line by mimicking it through a guitar it will sound horrible.

Like it or not, it is, and playing music is one of the most expensive hobbies out there. So yeah, money will ALWAYS be a factor.

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Plankton

Not for me it aint. Just gimme a string on a plank brudder and I'll make my noise.