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Bass Effects - how many of you use them?


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I am really interested in what bass effects people might use but more interested in why and how they are used. I did a gig last night and the PA guy said that i was a dying breed not having any effects. That really surprised me. Maybe he is new to the game or maybe i am behind the times. How may of you use effects?

I can understand that a compressor in the studio is sometimes a good idea. Occassionally i look at some posts on BC and see that some guys/gals are playing some quality basses into a whole raft of effects and i wonder if thats a bit pointless. Maybe you could plug a Sue Ryder or Harley Benton into the same chain and get the same or very similar result?

Some guitarists i have worked with over the years have used effects to compensate for poor technique and can't seem to play as well without the pedals. Does that apply to bass too? Can effects compensate for a lack of technique?

I want to stress that I don't want to upset anyone or have a dig at anyone that uses effects. There are probably bassists that i admire that use effects. The basses i have ended up with are ones that i bought because i like their tone as it is but i hope i am open minded and want to hear about what effects are used and how they benefit the player.

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Nah a lot of bassists go straight into the amp. I used to do this religiously, but playing in a progressive metal band necessitates a few toys :) Also, i find it's actually harder to sound tight when using some effects. Compression does help 'even out' my playing a lot though :)

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[quote name='goingdownslow' post='1168880' date='Mar 19 2011, 09:32 PM']I use my Gibson EB3 straight into my Ampeg SVT3, no effects needed.
Some of the guys I see with a floor full of pedals would be better spending the money on a decent amp.[/quote]

Or in my case a better bass :)
I love my Peavey but the pickups are pure cack!

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There are lots of ways of varying the sound you get from your bass - your tone knob, eq, overdriving valves in your amp, muting etc.
A pedal can vary the sound more drastically, but is essentially just another way to get the best sound for that piece of music.


I don't tend to use effects myself, but then I'm playing 70's rock type stuff. If I was playing in an electronic outfit, I'd try all sorts of stuff to get different sounds. I think modern music needs to push boundaries, and it makes no sense to restrict yourself to a bass sound that's been a staple since the 50's

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For the guitar, I have a Zoom B9 which has all the effects I could possibly want + a valve pre-amplifier to DI straight in to the desk stereo style!! I don't bother with a amp + cab most of the time as I have gone to IEM. I play mostly covers so try to re-create the original sound as much as possible. This involves playing along side the original cycling through the inbuilt maps and picking the closest. I am not trying to hide behind any effects and as others have said, tightness is more important when you have some fuzz than if playing clean.

When using the DB, that is mic'd straight in to the PA and any required comp & EQ the sound man can do on the desk.

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I want to make big analog synth sounds. My bass can't make big analog synth sounds on it's own, so I need some pedals. I want to be able to jump up and down octaves really fast in the middle of a line. I'm not an octopus so I need a whammy pedal. I want my sound to be big and nastily distorted. It can't do that on it's own so I need a distortion pedal.

That's really all there is to it. If you want the sounds buy the pedals. If you don't want the sounds, don't bother, but please don't assume those of us who use pedals are just compensating for bad technique. In fact a lot of pedals require very good technique, make a mistake with a delay pedal and you've actually made 4 or 5 mistakes, most fuzzes require very even attack or they sound like crap. Analog octavers are fussy bastards, you have to play in a very precise way.

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Just the smallest little smear of Chorus for me - so little that most people just don't realise it's there until I turn it off.

I've never quite got the hang of compression - I don't actually want all the notes to come out the same volume all the while, and if I do then I just adjust my playing style.

I've never quite got the hang of distortion either - I've spent a lot of time, effort and money to make sure I haven't got any, why on earth would I want to put it back?
Quite honestly, the thought of playing with a MegaHairy MegaMuff in public and feeling proud of myself is just a wee bit offputting... :)

Phasers, Flangers and AutoWahs have their place I'm sure, low budget scifi fims from the 1960's perhaps... but they're not for me.

As for Delay pedals - if I make a mistake, I'd rather it wasn't repeated over and over again while I do a manic tapdance trying to switch it off.
I also can't quite get my head round why I would want to emulate the sound of someone playing in an enormous bathroom either... :)

I think I've covered all the major food groups there... :lol:

Please, don't take my scribblings personally - it's not intended to 'have a go' at anyone who uses any of those pedals, more an indication as to why I should never be allowed free range use of pedals. :D

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[quote name='icastle' post='1168970' date='Mar 19 2011, 10:40 PM']I've never quite got the hang of compression - I don't actually want all the notes to come out the same volume all the while, and if I do then I just adjust my playing style.[/quote]

I never quite got the hang of making all the notes coming out at the same volume. But if i want them to I adjust my compression :)

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[quote name='bobbass4k' post='1168946' date='Mar 19 2011, 10:21 PM']That's really all there is to it. If you want the sounds buy the pedals. If you don't want the sounds, don't bother, but please don't assume those of us who use pedals are just compensating for bad technique. In fact a lot of pedals require very good technique, make a mistake with a delay pedal and you've actually made 4 or 5 mistakes, most fuzzes require very even attack or they sound like crap. Analog octavers are fussy bastards, you have to play in a very precise way.[/quote]
Theres no assumptions being made. Its just a question that sprang from a comment made by an engineer last night at a gig. I have no idea how common the use of effects is. I posted in this area cos posting in the effects forum is going to elicit replies mainly from people who use effects which would be a bit pointless.

I can only make comparisons to guitarists using effects to cover technique issues and was careful to say that some of them not most weren't as effective or fluid playing without them.

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Its mostly wah and various distortions/OD's/fuzz/grit for me. All the synths have gone from the board. Its actually at the point where I'm just using a BCB-60 to carry what I need instead of the pedaltrain.

Dunno about using fx to cover up sloppy technique. IME sloppy is sloppy and nothing can hide it.

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[quote name='Mog' post='1168988' date='Mar 19 2011, 11:02 PM']Dunno about using fx to cover up sloppy technique. IME sloppy is sloppy and nothing can hide it.[/quote]
Yeah i guess using effects might actually accentuate issues dependant on the effect. Seems like nearly all who have posted do use some type of effect though.

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I never used to use any. And as far as most bassists I know personally are concerned, most of them still don't! A bass player with a pedalboard is still kind of a rare thing to see. And even those who do use effects usually just have something with overdrive/grit. Maybe compression, and sometimes the odd time based pedal which gets used for all of 2 bars throughout a 40 minute set lol :)

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OK here goes.

I have quite a few pedals that I use.
TC electronics stereo chorus, Boss chorus, Flanger. EQ, Limiter /enhancer, Jay Lomenzo Hyperdrive, Delay,Fuzz.
These are all connected through a Carl Martin combinator. Which gives me 18 combinations of the above with one press of a switch.

Mostly I will use a touch of the TC chorus but it's great to be able to use a variety of sounds easily.

Play covers of a variety of genres from 60's to now.

Basses Ric's. T Bird. Tobias. Explorer.
Rig GK Fusion 550 head, 210 and 410 cabs. :)

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[quote name='gelfin' post='1168996' date='Mar 19 2011, 11:15 PM']OK here goes.

I have quite a few pedals that I use.
TC electronics stereo chorus, Boss chorus, Flanger. EQ, Limiter /enhancer, Jay Lomenzo Hyperdrive, Delay,Fuzz.
These are all connected through a Carl Martin combinator. Which gives me 18 combinations of the above with one press of a switch.

Mostly I will use a touch of the TC chorus but it's great to be able to use a variety of sounds easily.

Play covers of a variety of genres from 60's to now.

Basses Ric's. T Bird. Tobias. Explorer.
Rig GK Fusion 550 head, 210 and 410 cabs. :)[/quote]
Wow. One of my bands is cover band. Do you use your effects to achieve a sound as close as possible to the original bass sound or is it to change the sound of your basses regardless of song?

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My signal chain is Bass > Amp > Cabs.

Always has been, always will be as far as I can tell at the moment. I've played in all kinds of bands from pop to punk to metal, that's all I've ever needed. I do use a distortion now I have it in my 2001RB head, but it's a very transparent distortion (as much as they can be).

I find that if you're using a bass guitar, it sounds best as a bass guitar. I've never played any music where I've felt any effects would suit my playing. I once played bass synth for a practice or two to see if it worked out, but it didn't and if it did it was played on a keyboard, not an effected bass guitar.

In saying that, music's creative, as I've said before (and will doubtless say again), people can and should create music how they want to create it. I've never snub anyone else for using FX, I judge it on the merit of it's context.

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