Bassists who use a lot of effects in bands...

[ScottB.]

I'm talking about you guys here, not people in famous bands, just to clear that up.

What I want to know is, do your guitarist/s use effects as well?

I play in a 3pc band and I'm slowly becoming more and more addicted to effects, and my guitarist only has a wah pedal(which he has brought to practice like 3 times )

So what I really want to know is, do your guitarists use effects? More than you less than you?

Or if they don't, what do they think of you using effects?

[DosiYanarchy]

My guitarist/singer does use fx - his main setup is: EHX MicroPOG, Russian Big Muff, Boss DD-6 and a Boss DD-7, He also has (and rarely uses) a US Big muff, a Zoom Ultra Fuzz, a Qtron+ (the older one) and a Danelectro Milkshake (thats the chorus isnt it?)

He loves the Micropog (it was mine, he prettymuch demanded i sell it to him) and we're a trio as well, alot of our songs use one of the Delays to provide a guitar loop - like a rhythm guitar without the 2nd guitarist.

He generally hates me using effects, I have about 15 and love using them, so theres always a bit of tension when i step on some of the crazier stuff - like putting the Blowtorch through a Wah, but even he admits that there are times it sounds right.

He does in general use effects more than me, but thats kinda to be expected. I just have a wider variety of effects i like to use.

He's taken time to have a go at me about it (my use of FX) and TBH, i've been in the band over a year now, but him and our drummer have been playing together for about 8 years, so i'll always be the new guy i guess, and our guitarist writes all the songs (we have our own contributions though) - so im not out to piss anyone off, especially when i really value the band, and think im working with two of the greatest musicians/songwriters that i've ever come across (this is just my opinion, i love the music we play)

we're all mates, but I spend much more time with our drummer, and I think we have a closer mind-set than I do with our guitarist/singer. My drummer likes the effects in general and understands that they do benefit our songs alot of times.

I like (and have the oppertunity to) sneak in at least one fuzz into most songs, i've retired the wah for the moment, as i can never get the Q/volume relationship right and have been guilty of cr@pping all over a recording and probably some performances because of it.


urgh sorry about that, its something that ive wanted to get off my chest for a while, but there just arent enough bass players who use fx locally who would actually understand the situation

[DosiYanarchy]

oh I should also mention that our guitarist may have a valid point about my effects, but he doesnt work regularly, and rarely has any money for anything, much less fx, so it could be a little jealousy on his part that i can actually afford alot of the things i like (having just got a full-time job) while he cant even afford to get his amp fixed (one practice he was totally ampless, so insisted on playing through my bass amp WHILE I WAS PLAYING THROUGH IT - using the 2nd input)

[ScottB.]

Thanks for sharing, this was the sort of reply I was hoping to get but I wasn't sure wether people would understand what I was getting at.

I know what you mean about the lack of bassists that use effects, in fact I dont know anyone (guitarist or bassist) at my school who uses more than just a few pedals

[DosiYanarchy]

well one of the bands we play with alot are a trio, and the bass player sings, their guitarist has a boss tremolo, an boss overdrive and thats it i think, the overdrive is set to very light overdrive, its a very minimal sounding band - but thats the idea. We play a different style of music and we try to 'fill the gaps' as it were.

[DosiYanarchy]

if your guitarist doesnt really use fx, i dont know if he'd be too keen on you using it, but then again, if it sounds good in the music, why not?

all depends on whether you feel theres a benefit to the songs by using effects, or whether you just want to buy effects and use them coz you can (guilty)

[JEDI BASS]

I also play in a trio (well 4 guys if you count our singer who doesn't play an instrument). Since this band came together, I've accumulated a ton of pedals, almost as many as the guitarist. I've went from zero FX for the first 15 years of playing, to close to 20 while with these guys. Some don't get any use yet, but are on the board for creative inspiration: whammy, wah, and dynamic wah. My compressor and sonic stomp are always on, w/ the Micro POG and distortions getting a lot of use during the guitarist's solos. As long as I use them tastefully I won't get any grief from the guys, I think that's the key.

[ScottB.]

Originally Posted by DosiYanarchy

if your guitarist doesnt really use fx, i dont know if he'd be too keen on you using it, but then again, if it sounds good in the music, why not?

all depends on whether you feel theres a benefit to the songs by using effects, or whether you just want to buy effects and use them coz you can (guilty)

Well to be honest I'm only trying to build a relatively small board made up of the basics ie Overdrive, Tuner, Chorus, Octaver, maybe a Fuzz.

The only pedal I have at the moment is a VT bass, which has added quite a lot to the texture of some songs and really thickens out the sound. I think the chorus will be quite a welcome addition as it will enable me to do some lines that I probably wouldnt try without a chorus.

Octaver will probably be very useful, I want to get a micro POG for its octave up function, I hate it when my guitarist solos because there is always just a huge sonic gap, this would be the time I'd use the pog.

And to be honest my guitarist doesnt really know enough about effects to have a valid opinion on me using them, I told him I was going to buy a chorus and he asked me wether it changes the sound of the bass from a verse setting to a chorus setting, I lold.

[jetofuj]

Clean bass tone is something beautiful in its essence. It's also so versitale that most bass players don't need effects at all or they buy them just to improve "clean" tone.
The story with electric guitar is different (of course it depends on music you play). Effects seem to be something very natural. Clean guitar without any tone shaping is boring and not versitale IMO.
My guitarist uses CryBaby and an overdrive from the amplifier. He knows that he needs few decent pedals - fuzz, delay, phaser and tremolo - but at the same time he isn't really interested in effects and he doesn't want to waste money on them.

[skulletwhip]

www.myspace.com/boheraldmusic ( there is only one well recorded track on there the others are home demos)

we all use effects, me, guitarist,singer, keys, sometimes we even dub out the drums. It works well with this type of music.

[vegas532]

Just wanted to say that I love your fuzz tone on the first track, skullet.

[skulletwhip]

Depth Charge. and thanks!

[ScottB.]

Originally Posted by JEDI BASS

I also play in a trio (well 4 guys if you count our singer who doesn't play an instrument). Since this band came together, I've accumulated a ton of pedals, almost as many as the guitarist. I've went from zero FX for the first 15 years of playing, to close to 20 while with these guys. Some don't get any use yet, but are on the board for creative inspiration: whammy, wah, and dynamic wah. My compressor and sonic stomp are always on, w/ the Micro POG and distortions getting a lot of use during the guitarist's solos. As long as I use them tastefully I won't get any grief from the guys, I think that's the key.

Definitely
By starting to use effects, I dont plan to change the style of the band into something more experimental, just give our snogs a little more diversity if you know what i mean

[rapturebass]

Well in my niche as a 7th grader, i don't know anyone except my band mates that use effects. No one at my school uses them except us. My lead uses a Behringer Hellbabe HB01 wah, my rhythm uses a Boss MD-2 Mega Distortion and Boss RC-2 Loop Station, and i use a First Act Distortion pedal...from Target, and a soon to be acquired (hopefully) Behringer Hellbabe. The thing is with these days of modeling amps (my rhythm has a Line 6 and my lead a Roland) guitarists don't really need effects pedals, that and the fact we can't afford a pedalboards worth. And the other thing is parents. Why, yesterday i bid on the Behringer HB01 for 15.00 with my own cash and my parents were all on me going: "Oh, didn't you get a pedal?" Silly musically-ignorant parents.

[Mudfuzz]

My guitarist's board.

PT pro
Controller for a DigiTech 2120 which is in the FX loop of her Marshall JMP-1; used mostly for switching presets on the marshall but also delay [my guitarist LOVES delay], pitch shifting, reverb and some chorus sounds.
Loopmaster mini bypass loop
GGG Orange squeezer [I built this one]
GGG tuned BMP [I built this too]
Ross Chorus
MXR carbon copy
Guyatone WR-5
EHX Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai

Not on the board ATM but coming on and off periodically: late 70's Boss SD-1, EHX nano small stone, Boss DD-5, MXR phase 90.

[Vynns]

Originally Posted by skulletwhip

www.myspace.com/boheraldmusic ( there is only one well recorded track on there the others are home demos)

we all use effects, me, guitarist,singer, keys, sometimes we even dub out the drums. It works well with this type of music.

Dude! That is awesome music! The singer's a bit iffy at times, but for the most part I really like the atmosphere you create. Very nice! "Colored pictures" is gloriously epic man, well done...

Anyhoo, about the effects: I'm in an instrumental trio and I use most effects (Still not as much as I'd like, I still have my eye on some beauties out there, my wallet just doesn't always get along with my taste in musical equipment...)

I myself use a cheapass wah, an Emma reezafratzitz fuzz, a digitech delay, an ehx nano stone phaser, an OC-2 and sometimes a whammy (Though that last one I don't bring all the time, cuz it's a big hassle, what with the size, the need for a different voltage on the plug and me going to all rehearsals on my bicycle)

My guitarist however, never had a thing for gear, guitars, amps, effects of otherwise. I think he's the only guitarplayer out there who just doesn't give a damn about these things. Well, the only one I've ever met anyway. Great player though. He just bought himself a zoom multi-effect (not sure which one), but he has no idea how to really use it or what it does. He just switches it on at times and hopes there's a good sound selected. When I listen to recordings of our band, I hear him cycling through four or five patches quickly, in the MIDDLE of a song, trying to find a sound he likes, not having anything in particular in mind.

Buh. Guitarists. Treblemakers, all of them

EDIT:

I'm not talking about you guys here, not people in famous bands, just to clear that up.

So... Did I even answer your question here? Who are you talking about then?

EDITEDIT: Dude, Skullet, I'm listening to aqualamb right now. Again: Awesome music. Except for narcoleptic bullfrog, they're all great tunes man. Keep it up! (Still not sure about those vocals though... Meh.)

[bottomdwellr]

I agree that finding beautiful tone is paramount and have spent many an hour noting what works best and finding the sweet spot, that being said I'll admit... I've gone on many a G.A.S. bender just to see how far out there I can push my sound (and it's half the reason I play!). Naturally it all has it's place from one setting to the next and it all rests on choice of notes. The beauty of our instrument is there is no right or wrong as long as you drive the bus! Clean, effected, soft, loud- it's your finger print- just be careful as there are some effects and combinations that can really rob you of precious low end or wash you out in the mix. Who knows, maybe your guitarist should step toward the ledge like you're doing! Kudo's to you for even wanting to explore how far you can take your sound!

[Vynns]

Originally Posted by bottomdwellr

...there is no right or left as long as you drive the bus!

Fixed that for you

Seriously though, what you said: +1

[coreyfyfe]

I'm also in a trio (plus a singer), and we try to create a lot of layers in our music. The guitarist and I both have songs with looped parts, and I use overdrive at some point in just about all of our songs. Like it was said above, it all comes down to tasteful use.

My guitarists board is tuner, whammy, mxr phase 90, hbe compressor, mxr eq, boss DD-20 and a line6 DL4. He had an EHX HOG (which is now mine) but hasn't replaced it with anything yet. He's been trying out a bunch of random pedals, but hasn't found anything he deemed useful enough to buy.

I started off without effects, then wanted to get some overdrive to thicken up the sound at some point and it kind of took off from there. I find a use for everything I have, but again, it comes down to being tasteful.

[lunarpollen]

Hell yes, you should see our guitarists pedalboard. Actually I think he used to have more but he's trimmed it down a bit. I'm not sure. But he's very much into good-quality pedals of many types.