Hey there,

Can somebody give me a quick "Bass Effects for Dummies" walk thru?I am new to bass(7 months).Although my amp(Crate BFX50)has 9 effects on it,I seldom use them.The "flange" and "chorus" seem to be the coolest.

I would like to get some kind of a pedal/stompbox effect for my bass...late xmas present to myself I suppose.

I think if I had a fx box/pedal I could/would use it a bit more...walking over to the amp and messing with it is a pain!

What are the differant fxs and what do they do?What is a good inexpensive fx for the bass?The one I think I could use the most would be some kind of sustain fx...

Any info you guys/gals could kick me down would be kewl!

Many Thanks and a Happy New Year!!
Usul

If I remember correctly the Crate has a DSP engine thingy.
This stuff is time delay, echo reverb chorus flange phase etc. They are basically echoes and swooshy stuff.

Try http://www.lovetone.com and check the sound files, this will give you a rough idea.

Apart from chorus which can be used to thicken up a bassline most of this stuff is for 'effect' ie use it sparingly for a phrase, intro outro etc. nothing pees me off more than overly effected bass.

The cheapest effect for bass? Your hands. You have fingers thunmbs nails and your palm.

Cheap effects are cheap. If you must get an effect then get a good one and somthing that is versatile. On that Lovetone site try listening to the Meatball, Stateside versions are the Mutron III+ and the EH Q-tron. The cheap alternative EH Bassballs. I buy pedals for guitar and bass because they are easy to combine and discard (apart from the Lovetone ones)

While I think of it try http://www.musictoyz.com Theres loads of effects and soundfiles.

Last thing IMHO the order is this 1 good bass 2 good amp 10 good effects happy hunting



[Edited by CS on 12-30-2000 at 08:03 AM]

Another alternative to the Qtron/Mutron/Meatball is the EBS BassIQ. I got to try one out the other day and I was thoroughly impressed. It didn't generate any noise and sounded great. I really want to compare it to a Qtron+.

If your looking for a sustain effect. Then i suggest the Electro Harmonix Big Muff. Although its mainly used as a guitar effect, it works great on bass. they cost around $60 at http://www.bassnw.com

http://www.bassplayer.com/gear/effects.shtml here's a quick overview of the basics of bass and/or guitar effects.