BadHands

Perhaps this thread should be put to rest. This is supposed to be a fun place to discuss our borderline obsession, not for people to be made to feel bad.

I guess my assumption is, if people are asking for advice on a first pedal, they're probably unlikely to BE in any mixes yet, so it's more a horses for courses deal. For the record, I started playing bass because of Flea, so unless it's squashed to death by an LA2A, it doesn't sound like a bass to me. I just find how polarising the subject is, interesting.

Which would be? Perhaps they don't need something that can be used for every genre. But something like an overdrive with several usable sounds could be a more inspiring choice. Or maybe they're a huge Tool fan, in which case your facetious flanger could be perfect. Point being, instead of suggesting the pedal for the average player, perhaps "It depends" is the shortest route to the best answer.

Nah, it's all evil to me Someone's first pedal should be something that excites them, inspires them to play and gets them playing in new and unusual ways. Suggesting a compressor as a first pedal is like suggesting a 7-10 band eq to a guitarist for THEIR first pedal.

I assume there's been a mistake in this as compression isn't the foundation of many songs. Do you mean bass? Aside from that, I don't disagree with you in recorded music. Again, my only point was how irritating it is to see players get recommended compressors as first effects pedals.

I find the discussion around bass compression fascinating. Is it a case of the Emporer's new clothes, or just passionate players enjoying majoring in the minors of tone control? The only thing that irks me about it all is when I see people getting recommended compressors as a first pedal.

There are definitely new pedals being designed and made, all revolving around DSP. Meris and Hologram Electronics are two companies I can point to. They use effects like "Spectral blur" or "Digital stutter", and adding them to delayed notes, or the whole signal. It's effects that have been used by people like Aphex Twin since the late 90s, but are now on offer for us to use live, in whatever context we choose.

Thanks again @EBS_freak. I'm trying to find my compromise before I get to that situation, so I can make it easy for everyone with no further compromises necessary. I'm thinking of effected but clean DI out, before gain stages, then gain stages to the amp and mic'ed. Then a high pass filter can be used as DI will have taken care of the lows.

Thanks for the answers @EBS_freak! So by that rationale, if the bass amp's contribution to tone can be achieved simply with an amp sim at the desk, why isn't this also done with guitars? DI post FX, and amp sim to achieve desired colouration. If the same compromise can be made, why is it always a given that bass players will make it? I'm not trying to split hairs - just trying to reconcile it in my own head.

These are really interesting answers. It seems that this mainly comes down to what is lost by using a DI - so if nothing is lost, why not make life easier? I can get on board with that. So 2 follow up questions (I'm the OP): What if the bass player uses effects to function similar to a rhythm guitarist, like Tim Commerford, Chris Wolstenholme etc, and uses a bunch of effects which generally sound better with pushed air, and a bit naff without - Does that change things? And what about styles of music, like jazz/fusion where the bass player often has a brighter sound and doesn't just provide the "dum, dum duh dum" role?

Does a bass amp not have the same colouration? What if its an effects-heavy bass sound?

Hi all! Was deep in a YouTube hole yesterday and sat through a few videos of how certain live music channels record their audio, and sure enough, EVERYONE just used a DI/Line out from the bass amp.. Is there a particular reason this happens? Is capturing a bass sound more difficult with microphones than DI? Does this not also apply to guitarists as well? Not looking to rant, just genuinely curious as to why this is such a tenacious occurrence. Thanks!

Apology accepted

I think you've misread the tone of my message. It was so you could learn WHY the people at the top of the thread took umbrage with your video/title/post, and what you could do to make your posts more effective and ultimately get you more views next time.

Ah, the ship of Theseus. Going to pretend I knew of it before Wandavision. Or as must of us UK 'chatters will call it - "The broom of Trigger". For feedback and future reference, I think the reason this has rubbed some people the wrong way is that the title of the video and sentence you left underneath the link just invites us AWAY from the forum, presumably to your benefit (Views etc), without contributing something to the forum directly. As a side note, I see you've since seen there was a more appropriate place to post it on this forum too, which shows that you didn't do your due diligence. You win or you learn.

If you're looking for "Tube-like grit" you're probably looking for an overdrive, not a distortion pedal. This sounds like I'm just being pedantic, but it will give you a more specific thing to search for. As has already been suggested, I say split your signal, then you have the option of using anything without it colouring your sound when not in use.

That's useful, thanks! But also, I have an angle on the Big Muff that I havnt seen anyone do yet

This is something that's come up quite a bit, and I'll definitely be doing. I'm also thinking of using a stingray to show active sounds, and P for passive. Means I actually have to change the P's strings though