Bass effects

[tfarny]

So it looks like I'm joining the 'low and slow' gang here, I'll be playing bass in a new band. I'm excited because bandmates seem like good people, rehearsal studio is a short walk from the house, and the singer (she) has a great set of pipes. I am curious about peoples' bass effects. My Boss ME-70 (guitar multi unit, not bass) has a compressor, volume pedal, delay and EQ that I'm happy with, and a looper that's not quite ready for prime time. So far we're just learning to play some classic rock and indie-type stuff together, and the originals the singer has tend to be more mellow stuff. Nothing heavy or real experimental. I've got a PJ passive bass and I tend to stick to the P on it or use both together.

You think I am missing out on effects by just going that route? Any bass effects you think I should check out? Anybody really get into looping pedals and do cool stuff with them?

 

[MUYFUE]

A bass wah can be useful. I use the white Dunlop one. It's adjustable and pretty funky sounding!
Also, may look into getting a good Chrous for that.

 

[AprioriMark]

I avoid effects, with the exception of an envelope filter for funk and a "fuzzy" distortion for electronic music.  With the weirder bass overtones, I find that music gets "noisy" too quickly with effects on the bass.  And anyway, pure bass tone is pure sex.

-Mark

 

[bpmorton777]

I never use effects when playing bass but some sorta overdrive/distortion might be useful once in a while.

Brian

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I have been trying to find a pedal that will make the "Thursday" (Morphine song off the Cure for Pain album) sound on my bass.  Most everything that overdrives basses sounds thin and bothersome.  Beyond that, the Chorus and the Flanger add a little to the sound if used with respect.  My amp has a compressor so I don't bother with that pedal.
Patrick

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

The compressor is a must.  They are the most underused and misunderstood by bass players.  I never turn mine off.  A BBE Sonic Maximizer is on a lot of people's lists.  It's available in rackmount and stompbox formats, and most BBE products have one built in it seems.  There's a compicated list of what it does, allowing highs to reach your ears before the lows.  I don't know, it just lets the lowend sound fuller w/out being muddy.  I've used one but don't currently, as my current rig doesn't need it.  I use a chorus pedal on slower songs or where I have intros or more pronounced lines, however most chorus pedals (and most pedals in general) kill your lows.  IMO, simple is better and less is more with bass rigs.  Depending what your rig is, if you can "drive" the amp and control volume with a master volume, that gives a very nice clean fuzz.  A growl if you will.

 

[ByteFrenzy]

I'd say, for me at least, in order of importance: tuner, chorus, compressor.
Depending on what you play maybe wah, synth or overdrive.
Depending on your amp maybe an equalizer.
And it IS extremely important to do all adjustments to your effects in function of still maintaining a well defined bass tone.

 

[MUYFUE]

Sorry, I totally forgot about compression.
+1000. Going to be important.
I've been meaning to get a pedal for that.

 

[toronado]

I occasionally use overdrive pedals (Boss ODB-3 or DOD FX92, both are good) or the Bass Microsynth (by Electro Harmonix, quite pricey, but very cool and flexible).
One more thing I'd like to mention here is an octaver, which is IMO also an important bass fx. (EBS makes a good one, for instance).

But then, the Bass Microsynth can do it all together, and more: fuzz, ovtaver, bow-like synth sounds, filter sweeps, you name it.

And it IS extremely important to do all adjustments to your effects in function of still maintaining a well defined bass tone.

This is a very important aspect. Most effects will sound fancy when playing the bass on your own, but will drown most likely when played with the whole band.
Especially non-dedicated bass fx will make you use low end.

Keep it simple

 

[AndyG]

When I was playing live, I had a Boss GT6B, which plugged straight into the front of my Hartke amp.

The compressor and eq on that pedalboard were great.  The built-in tuner was useful (obviously  :icon_biggrin, and the fact the pedal defaulted to volume was great when I had to switch from my 4-string to my 5-string (no loud "pops").  Those were probably the most useful things in that box.

I used the bass wah from time to time, and there were 2 presets that were also pretty cool ... a "pseudo fretless" patch, which was a kind of slo-gear/detuner, and "pseudo clav" patch that was fun to play with.

I had an overdrive and chorus preset, but rarely used them, and I programmed the DDL for a "One Of These Days" ... Pink Floyd pattern, which I never ended up using!

 

[tfarny]

Sounds like the most useful effect I could get at this point is a nice head with lots of watts, clear tone, and big bottom.

 

[MUYFUE]

HAHA, probably right  :icon_smile:

 

[AndyG]

Sounds like the most useful effect I could get at this point is a nice head with lots of watts, clear tone, and big bottom.

Don't forget compression!  A compressor is a bass player's best friend!

 

[dbw]

Well I'm not a bassist but I love me some bass synth!

Flea at 0:25
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDILn2OIrkQ&feature=player_embedded

This actually might just be a synth.  But I think it's a bass synth  arty07:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcFKlEfu_eU

 

[AprioriMark]

I have been trying to find a pedal that will make the "Thursday" (Morphine song off the Cure for Pain album) sound on my bass.  Most everything that overdrives basses sounds thin and bothersome.  Beyond that, the Chorus and the Flanger add a little to the sound if used with respect.  My amp has a compressor so I don't bother with that pedal.
Patrick

Lol, weird.  That's one of the songs I use distortion for.  I use the old metal chassis Danelectro Daddy-O pedal.  Morphine rocks.

-Mark