Beginner effect recommendations

[Bcrsonik]

Hi all,
I've been playing bass for a little bit now and I've decided I want to experiment with some effects/pedals. I have a viola bass and a 15W amp so it's nothing too fancy. I've kinda been drawn toward a synth pedal maybe, but I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations that'd go well with this set up?

[80'sRocker]

a good 25 ft. cord - your fingers are your best effect actually

[Eric!]

Depends on the kind of music you play (or want to play)

[McSpunckle]

Originally Posted by 80'sRocker

a good 25 ft. cord - your fingers are your best effect actually

My fingers didn't come with a flanger setting. Are they defective?



What sort of music are you into? Most people would start off with a good distortion box, I'd think, but if you're more into atmospheric sounds, a delay, flanger, chorus, reverb, etc... just pick.

Buy used so you can resale and not lose much money. I learned that the hard way. (unless you want something really unique, of course)

If you're into the synth sound, grab up a synth pedal! Boss and Digitech both make decent ones you can probably find used for a decent price. If you wanna spend more, EHX has a way cool analog synth pedal (Bass Micro Synth). I'm not well versed on smaller brands of synths, so I'm sure someone will chime in.

[Pandafist]

I always think noobs should start w/ fuzz or overdrive as they are the simplest, most usable effects for bass. Synth type effects are awesome, but really only good when used sparingly, otherwise it can get tired kinda quickly.

Originally Posted by 80'sRocker

a good 25 ft. cord - your fingers are your best effect actually

How utterly lame of you.

[slurpy]

My fingers didn't come with a flanger setting. Are they defective?

haha gold

im not sure if it helps but i started pretty much the exact same thread 4 or 5 months back. heres the link

Behringer Effects

i've found the behrenger tremolo quite useful, and the delay i had was brilliant except it made a horrible hissing sound i was ultimately unusable (however i did buy that one from cash converters

[TheMutt]

Originally Posted by Bcrsonik

Hi all,
I've been playing bass for a little bit now and I've decided I want to experiment with some effects/pedals. I have a viola bass and a 15W amp so it's nothing too fancy. I've kinda been drawn toward a synth pedal maybe, but I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations that'd go well with this set up?

Honestly, I'd recommend a multi effects unit. It's the most effect-for-your-buck option that will give you a taste of what each of the different effects sound like. If I were shopping for one, I'd probably be looking at the Zoom line of multi's.

Originally Posted by 80'sRocker

a good 25 ft. cord - your fingers are your best effect actually

Why 25 feet? Wouldn't it be better to use a 3 foot or less cable made of solid gold that has been molecularly modified to have each and every single atom of gold exactly lined up, because everyone can obviously tell the difference, Jaco only used four strings, and effects cover up talent right?

Originally Posted by McSpunckle

My fingers didn't come with a flanger setting. Are they defective?

Terribly so.

[Muaguana]

If you're looking for a decent multi-effects processor, I have a used Boss GT-6B for sale in the TB classifieds section.

[Crystalman85]

For beginners, I would recommend these multi-effects processors.

Digitech bp50/bp80
Zoom b2/b2.1u
Line 6 bass floor pod

[ninepoundjammer]

I used only an octave and bass synth (on envelope filter setting) for many years, if I even used those. As a matter of fact, they're the only real "effect" pedals that I use today, everything else is really more for tweaking my tone. So, I'd say a bass synth is a reasonable first pedal.

[Eric!]

Well to put this in perspective, I've been effect-trolloping around for over a year now, and this is what I'm bringing to a rehearsal today:

[Bcrsonik]

Thanks all! Yeah I'm still trying to find my sound in general so I just wanted some ideas. I'll look into some multi-effect processors and maybe a synth pedal!

[kreider204]

If you can scrape together $200, the Boss ME20-B would give you everything you could possibly need for some time, including a good tuner, in a nice sturdy, easy-to-use package.

[fitz420]

how about a used bass big muff, i see them all the time in the classifieds here on TB for 50-60, great choice for beginner fuzz. maybe an inexpensive chorus pedal....the danelectro cool cat (18v model) is a good inexpensive choice, as is the boss ce-2b. the digitech bass synth wah is an awesome synth that you can get used for around 50. if you buy used here you can generally sell it for the same amount...only loosing out on shipping. when i got into effects i bought/sold used until i found what i liked.

[kreider204]

Originally Posted by Eric!

Well to put this in perspective, I've been effect-trolloping around for over a year now, and this is what I'm bringing to a rehearsal today:

Where's the footswitch for the kangaroo?!