icastle Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 [quote name='chrismuzz' post='1168979' date='Mar 19 2011, 10:49 PM']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 [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 All I need now is an anti wrong note modulator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Usually no effects. Occasionally Tech 21 VT Bass permanently on Flip Top settings. That's it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 [quote name='chrismuzz' post='1169021' date='Mar 19 2011, 11:45 PM']All I need now is an anti wrong note modulator [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 [quote name='chrismuzz' post='1169021' date='Mar 19 2011, 11:45 PM']All I need now is an anti wrong note modulator [/quote] I was bored once around a friend's house so I got playing on his GT6 while he was on a computer game. Basically by the time he'd finished whatever he was doing, I'd programmed the auto-riff finction so when I rang out the D string on the 12th fret and it played the entire intro to Sweet Child O' Mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Haha good old auto-riff! I wonder if anyone's ever used it for anything serious instead of just mucking around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawtooth Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 [quote name='BottomE' post='1168860' date='Mar 19 2011, 09:17 PM']Can effects compensate for a lack of technique?[/quote] Oh without a doubt. I've played many times with the effect of large amounts of alcohol and thought I was bloomin' marvellous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 [quote name='Sawtooth' post='1169037' date='Mar 20 2011, 12:15 AM']Oh without a doubt. I've played many times with the effect of large amounts of alcohol and thought I was bloomin' marvellous! [/quote] If you still sounded good to your own ears you weren't drunk enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1169030' date='Mar 20 2011, 12:02 AM']I was bored once around a friend's house so I got playing on his GT6 while he was on a computer game. Basically by the time he'd finished whatever he was doing, I'd programmed the auto-riff finction so when I rang out the D string on the 12th fret and it played the entire intro to Sweet Child O' Mine. [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I have a Korg AX3000B multi-effects, I basically have a "straight" clean sound I use most of the time, little bit of overdrive & compression but nothing obvious. I also have a chorused version of the same sound which I think sounds good on more mellow passages, and a huge distorted, flangy racket sound which is used very briefly on two songs. There are also some nice red lights on the Korg, which I like - and apart from those, that's it. Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarhead Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I use a Line 6 M9 multi, which I use for pretty much everything. Effects that I use are fuzz, distortion, chorus, reverb, delay and some eq's, and every now and again some filters. I use them because I think that they make my sound more appropriate for the song, for instance my band covers one song which is mainly synth based, so I use a sub octave distortion with the gain quite low combined with a chorus and reverb so I get a more synth like sound. For me it's all about making changes that fit the song, not changes because you feel like it or you want to look cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 [quote name='Jarhead' post='1169073' date='Mar 20 2011, 01:14 AM']For me it's all about making changes that fit the song, not changes because you feel like it or you want to look cool.[/quote] For me it's kind of a combination of all three of those things if I'm honest! Except for the compression which I use so that my low A string doesn't overpower everything else in a shroud of mud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockfordStone Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 (edited) i currently use an overdrive effect and full on distortion effect, i play in a metal band so need the extra chunk to compete with the guitars, it doesnt change the way i play, just gives me more oooomph when i need it Edited March 20, 2011 by RockfordStone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawtooth Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 It could be argued that all electric bass players are using effects to some degree. It depends how you define an 'effect'. Even the simplest signal, from a pickup wired directly to the output, through a cable and into a power amp feeding a speaker, can still have many controllable parameters that will alter the tone. Throw in a passive tone knob or two and you have some filters. Add a valve preamp and gain and you have some controllable compression, overdrive and distortion. All these are electrical circuits designed to re-shape and colour the basic soundwave. It's not a huge leap to have dedicated pedals/units that will offer greater control over these parameters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I used to own quite a few pedals, I went through a stage of loving Stuart Zender and Timmy C, both of whom relied heavily on effects. I sold most of them off though, they detracted from my playing. I use a Boss OC-2 octave which I love, that's pretty much the only pedal I use live aside from my TC tuner, although I've got a EHX English Muff'n lying round that needs some new 12AY7's in it and it's the best overdrive pedal I've ever used it sounds great. I probably will either invest in a Bass Microsynth soon as there's a few bits of synth bass that I need to play, but to be honest I'd sooner play a Moog if I had the money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I use effects on about half of our tunes, and I use more pedals than our guitarist does, but I don't think it's becoming standard for bass players to use a lot of effects. Usually I'm the only bass player on any given bill we play on who's using effects. In fact I think we've only played with one other band (Middleman from Leeds) who you could say used a lot of effects on the bass. It's not really about making up for a lack of ability, it's about making the noises you want to make. I'm happy with my dry bass sound but I don't always want to sound like a bass guitar, that's all there is to it really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 It really depends on what kind of stuff you're playing as has been mentioned before. The trouble I've found listening to bands with effects is unless you're playing venues with a sound guy and good acoustics, most of the time you don't notice the change from effect on to effect off unless its something very obvious. I've had quite a few multi and single effects over the years but the main reason I don't really bother with them now is that I can't be bothered mucking about with them. I'd rather just turn up, set up, maybe make minor adjustments to the tone/volume controls on the bass and maybe adjust the volume of the amp. I'd rather concentrate on playing the songs. I only use an OC-2 and a Korg DT-10 tuner now. One thing I've discovered is that it possible to get quite a variety of sounds from Epiphone pickups depending on where you play and how hard without having to adjust anything. I've never noticed this on any other bass before. I was going to buy myself a VT Bass but I already get the sound I have I've had in my head for ages without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawtooth Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 [quote name='risingson' post='1169102' date='Mar 20 2011, 02:15 AM']I probably will either invest in a Bass Microsynth soon as there's a few bits of synth bass that I need to play, but to be honest [b]I'd sooner play a Moog if I had the money![/b][/quote] I'd stick to the Bass Microsynth if you want to keep on playing. Forget about analogue synthesis, I lost quite a few years to these addictive little b*ggers, while my basses gathered dust .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I've probably surprised a few people with the amount of effects I use,but for me it's all about having options. I've got a couple of distortions,octavers,flangers,envelope filters,compressors,EQs,phasers as well as chorus,delay,wah,and synth. I've also got a Pod and a V-Bass. I may use one or two on a gig(like tonight,when I only used the Synth pedal) or I may use a bunch of them,but I don't want to hear a certain sound in my head and not be able to achieve it. It's certainly not about covering up my technique,because quite frankly I've got a pretty good technique that I've spent a lot of time working on. Effects are all about creating sounds that are otherwise unavailable to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I think the 'covering up bad technique using effects' thing has probably stemmed from bedroom guitard shredders who use high gain tones with heavy delay and reverb. Thankfully this doesn't seem to be very trendy any more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I never used any effects for decades (not on bass, anyway) & then I got myself a wee zoom multi fx. I now use some sort of effect on just about every song we do (originals bands), whether that be just a touch of chorus to fill out a line, a bit of dubbiness from the LPF or full on animated sequences that swell & scare children. I find it can sometimes be harder to play when using fx, especially thd whole band keeping perfect time with a murf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Bit of chorus, and I now have an octaver and compressor to go with the EBS Microbass II...and then last night there was just no room so I went radio->tuner->amp and it sounded just fine. Sort of goes back to my thread about slowly amassing the toys, only to have the vocalist say "I don't know why you bother with all that cr@p, it sounds great straight in". There could be a new For Sale thread coming at this rate!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 [quote name='Sawtooth' post='1169115' date='Mar 20 2011, 03:03 AM']I'd stick to the Bass Microsynth if you want to keep on playing. Forget about analogue synthesis, I lost quite a few years to these addictive little b*ggers, while my basses gathered dust .... [/quote] If either of those bad boys have an audio in, my bass would be going thru it! I've been very tempted to get another analogue synth (either a Moog, Korg or similar) to put my bass thru for our Electro Folk Dubstep stuff. [quote name='WalMan' post='1169202' date='Mar 20 2011, 09:19 AM']Bit of chorus, and I now have an octaver and compressor to go with the EBS Microbass II...and then last night there was just no room so I went radio->tuner->amp and it sounded just fine. Sort of goes back to my thread about slowly amassing the toys, only to have the vocalist say "I don't know why you bother with all that cr@p, it sounds great straight in". There could be a new For Sale thread coming at this rate!![/quote] I think when you're using quite a few fx, you have to think about what sort of music you're playing. In my rock band, I wouldn't use much more than a bit of overdrive & a couple of songs got a bit of wah (as they were funky songs). In my current band it depends on the song, but there's usually something on. The singer has a Godin guitar linked to his microKorg & gets some superb sounds that allows me to experiment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted March 20, 2011 Author Share Posted March 20, 2011 Appreciate the replies. It looks like i am a bit of a dinosaur then as most of you guys do seem to have an added "something" to your raw sound. Out of all the things you have mentioned i might be interested in a: Bass Syth - for home recording to do some of those old Johnny Guitar Watson type bass lines. If you know this sound can you recommend anything that might achieve this? Coming out of the effects closet i do have an EBS Compressor and a Sadowsky DI/Preamp which have been gathering dust for a few years. Might give em a go tonight with fresh ears. When i bought them originally it was on the strength of various comments i had seen from other bassists. I used them for about a week then put them back in their boxes. I take the Sadowsky with me in the odd case that i encounter problems with the DI from my amp but in truth never get it out unless i have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 (edited) I don't use them either..I have a Tone Hammer but that's more my DI box than anything else. We have dropped a number because I couldn't get the right distorted sound and a cheap ( relatively ) little effects box obviously wasn't going to cut it with the heavy distortion through the range of the bass line. When I got it right-ish down below, it was too thin up top..so I doubt that was all the original track had done to the recorded part. Apart from simple additions..which I don't really bother with anyway, it is another signal complication for little gain, IMO. Edited March 20, 2011 by JTUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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