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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