# Basses & Cellos: unison or octaves?



## vicontrolu (Jan 3, 2014)

What factor(s) make you decide if they go in octaves or unison?

I always used already mixed patches in octaves from different libraries (albion, symphobia) but more recently i am writing for each section and i find the lower C on basses doesnt sound with much definition so when i reach those lower notes of the instrument range i tend to make the basses play an octave higher, in unison with celli.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jan 3, 2014)

Traditionally, for more body/volume, the contrabass in its lowest register might be doubled with instruments like tuba, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, piano, etc. More recently, modern composers double it with synthesizers.

FWIW, I've found Adagio's basses to be very rich and full in the lowest octave.


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## PhilipeZ (Jan 3, 2014)

You should consider, that you do not necessarily need to use the basses all the time - when they seem to dull or dark in any context, I often decide to leave them out.

You should know, that not all basses posses a low c pitch. It would also be a solution to have basses and cellos only in unison where the basses would play in the very low range (below F or G maybe), or to have the cellos play one octave higher at all.


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## midi_controller (Jan 3, 2014)

If it sounds good, I'll use it. You can do plenty of things with those two sections, don't just limit yourself to octaves or unison. Find some composers who write string music you really like, and study them to find out how they achieved what they did.


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## williambass5 (Jan 13, 2014)

Being a bass player myself I tend to have spend some time on these questions, so here's my take on it:

Yes, basses are normally to a low E. I've found the extended fingerboards to lower notes not so effective, or at least not optimal sonically. This would probably translate into sound libraries as well. 

To low E by itself bass is fairly defined. It is, however, easily washed out in reverb/room ambience and buried by other instruments. Really the "clarity" lies in the upper harmonics of the tone (1-2k) , which gets masked by the higher instruments. This is one reason why cellos often double basses an octave higher. If your arrangement is "open", you really don't NEED to double and can even write separate parts, as long as they are spaced widely (like no close 3rds). Part of that is just the physics of sound- lower pitches need to be spaced wider than higher on any instrument(s), but some cool outcomes can be had by breaking up the bass/cello lock and even in divisi basses.. 

For me, I generally do not write in unison except for a special effect. The contrast in tone is not THAT dramatic, yes its there, but its like doubling violins and viola in the same range... (FYI, bass sounds an octave lower than written, so what looks like a cello range is sounding an octave lower.) 

That said, I agree that it can be used sparingly, in fact its even more effective when used that way.


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## vicontrolu (Jan 14, 2014)

The thing is when i am writing an action cue the low end is already crowded with big booms, sfxs and what not. I find playing the basses at their lower octave is a bit too much o this register

Honestly, i think i would do better with cellos only for the bass part, and raise their volume, since they deliver more difinition. Oh, but then i would have bad feelings cause i felt like i couldnt orchestrate properly


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## Waywyn (Jan 14, 2014)

vicontrolu @ Fri Jan 03 said:


> What factor(s) make you decide if they go in octaves or unison?
> 
> I always used already mixed patches in octaves from different libraries (albion, symphobia) but more recently i am writing for each section and i find the lower C on basses doesnt sound with much definition so when i reach those lower notes of the instrument range i tend to make the basses play an octave higher, in unison with celli.



forget rules, go with: what sounds best on "that" track!


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