Live effects - but not via effects pedals (e.g. using Akai MPC, Roland SP 404, Korg KAOSS, Laptop, Mixing desks).

[SumOne]

I had some success using an Akai MPC as a Live Bass effects unit, it has a Tuner, Amp sims, lots of live effects with more parameter controls than most effect pedals have, all relatively easily edited via touchscreen and assigning knobs.  There wasn't noticeable latency.

 

The main downside was it being relatively large and not being 'stompable' e.g. couldn't put it in the floor and stomp on/off effects mid-song. It could potentially sit on my amp for always on type effects but seemed a bit big/expensive/complex for that vs just using a cheap Bass multi-fx like a Zoom MS 60B so I never actually used it live for Bass effects but it seemed perfectly possible.

 

 

I don't own the MPC anymore but I still like the idea of using hardware for sampling and drums stuff so am eyeing up the Roland SP 404 MK2.  What is helping to convince me about it is that it seems quite a capable unit for adding live effects and basically using it as live multi-fx unit (all be it not stompable, and not bass specific). It has a big effects list including Guitar Amp sims:

....unfortunately no specific Bass Amp sim though. I'm hoping it could be a useful Bass multi-fx unit, keyboard effects, sampler/trigger, drum machine, and sequencer....5 in 1 bargain! 

 

I've also found that some quite limited effects on my mixing desk (Mackie FX 12v3) can be good when assigned just to the Bass. It wouldn't be ideal for all live stuff as again it isn't stompable but does have potential to add stuff like Delay, Reverb, Chorus as long as you don't want them turned on/off mid-song.  

 

I also tried Laptop and interface hardware teamed up 'Gig Performer' software. It gives a huge potential for all the different effects you can use, latency was low, it turned into a faff to try and have Laptop and interface etc for gigs though. One big issue was how to stomp on mute and view a tuner without using the laptop screen - I'd need a tuner pedal, by then might as well just have a small multi fx.

 

Any other non-standard ways you've added live effects? It seems there is a whole world of things like DJ effects units out there that can potentially do the job - and many are cheaper, work with different instruments, and more feature full than Bass specific things. 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by SumOne

[BigRedX]

I looked dispensing with my Helix Floor and using Helix Native going through the laptop which provides our drum and extra synth backing.

 

Unfortunately even on an M4 MacBook, having the Helix Native plugin active added another 5-10 seconds to loading time of each song which was IMO too slow for live use, so for the moment I've stuck with using the hardware.

[SumOne]

New Korg KAOSS Pad V announced:

 

"KORG probably took a look around the music-making environment and realized that there are a lot of guitarists buying pedals these days. With them in mind, the new KAOSS PAD has a Hi-Z jack for accepting guitar and bass DI. “A dedicated high-impedance input makes it easy to connect electric guitar or bass directly with no additional hardware required,” says KORG. “Explore textures like ambient swells, rhythmic modulation, time-based glitch effects, or reverb soundscapes, all shaped by simple fingertip control.”

 

https://www.gearnews.com/korg-kaoss-pad-v-studio/

 

The last bit  'all shaped by fingertip control' is going to be the issue, my fingertips are usually somewhat busy when playing bass! But I guess some things like chorus can just be turned on/off as a preset and dynamic stuff like playing a long note and then use the KAOSS to add tape echo and changing rate and feedback with fingers for a dub sort of effect could work.

 

 

There's a change in the air with big companies like Korg, Akai, Roland all recently releasing units that properly include Guitar/Bass as a use. Being mass produced units selling to a much wider audience you get a lot of bang for your buck - and they can also be used for vocals, keyboards, production etc. They all lack footswitch control though, perhaps that can be added available via their midi controls.

Edited 4 hours ago by SumOne

[BigRedX]

Unfortunately all these new products I have seen seem to be aimed at studio users, and if they are expected to be used as part of a live rig they have been designed by people who have obviously never been to multi-band gig at a small venue in their life. Too many mini-jacks, consumer-grade computer connectors, and external PSUs with weedy cables and non-locking plugs the low voltage side. Whenever a band we are sharing the stage with has technical problems at a gig, it can be tracked down to one of these "features". Also IMO anything not designed to be used on the floor needs to have mounting points for a microphone or cymbal stand adaptor on its base.

[SumOne]

25 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Unfortunately all these new products I have seen seem to be aimed at studio users, and if they are expected to be used as part of a live rig they have been designed by people who have obviously never been to multi-band gig at a small venue in their life. Too many mini-jacks, consumer-grade computer connectors, and external PSUs with weedy cables and non-locking plugs the low voltage side. Whenever a band we are sharing the stage with has technical problems at a gig, it can be tracked down to one of these "features". Also IMO anything not designed to be used on the floor needs to have mounting points for a microphone or cymbal stand adaptor on its base.

 

Yeah, I feel they aren't quite there for live stuff yet, they clearly now have an eye on the guitar/bass market but more from a home studio perspective.

 

I think a few tweaks like the things you mention could really help, mounting points is a good call - surely wouldn't add much cost but these things rarely have them. The KAOSS pad having RCA I/O isn't ideal, having stuff like XLR would be great but you usually need to go pretty high-end guitar/bass multi fx to have it included and unfortunately even quite expensive multi-fx specifically designed for live guitar/bass often have those external PSUs and weak cables, you need to go quite high-end before getting the more professional sturdy stuff so I guess the cost/size and multi-region thing is a bit prohibitive. I'd like to see them really think through how someone would use these things live for guitar/bass perhaps with then mounted on a stand and using a a midi footswitch pedal to change presets and turn effects on/off etc, they all have midi in/out and USB interfaces so I assume it is technically possible but would probably be a world of tech faff.

 

 

[BigRedX]

I was thinking in the way that every TV or computer monitor now comes with mounting points for a VESA adaptor as standard, all desktop high tech music devices should have similar points to allow the attachment of a standard microphone or cymbal stand adaptor.

 

I've got around the flimsy cable and connector problem by fitting all our high-tech devices permanently in a rack case with a removable top and then using XLR and PowerCon connectors to join them to the outside world. It has the added advantage that our computerised backing playback can be set up and wired into the PA in couple of minutes. Most of the other bands we share the stage with who have similar based systems are still looking for suitable tables at the venue to put all their gear on and the right cables in their bag of leads. The disadvantage is that the rack case at least doubles the weight and size of the devices.

[LukeFRC]

On 13/01/2026 at 11:22, BigRedX said:

I looked dispensing with my Helix Floor and using Helix Native going through the laptop which provides our drum and extra synth backing.

Will the new stuff in Helix Stadium support the drums and synth and sequencing changes to things via midi through the song? 

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, LukeFRC said:

Will the new stuff in Helix Stadium support the drums and synth and sequencing changes to things via midi through the song? 

 

IIRC this part of the Helix Stadium is still to be implemented, and the initial units have been released without this functionality.