best delay pedal for bass?

[ChrisMan123]

I'm looking to get a delay pedal for bass to add to my pedal board.
If anyone has or knows a good delay pedal for bass, please let me know, I have to narrow down my options.

I'm mainly looking to do volume swells with my bass and make whale-like noises and to at times fatten up my tone and also to maybe make some bass riffs airy and ambient when I'm higher on the neck, just some stuff like that, but I'd really like a pedal that is good with like a slow echo or sweeping, or swelling, not sure of the exact way to put it, but if you can help, please let me know anything you can, thanks.

[spunj13]

personally (even though i don't own one... YET)...
i would lean towards the Line6 DL4... being one of the most versatile on the market. yes.. it's more expensive (though cheaper on the bay)
i have never seen a bass-specific delay (though i could be wrong, i am not all-knowing)
so i would say that pretty much any delay would work... its partially a matter of how much you have/want to spend.

[spunj13]

[i2k]

Never seen a delay made for bass. But I know that the multitap delay on Yamaha Magicstomp and UD Stomp can do the swell stuffs (using the patch created by the mighty Allan Holdsworth). If you really want smooth swell, find Boss Slow Gear, it is not a delay but it is made for swell purpose

I personally use Jacques Prisoner delay, no bass cut, analog, has modulation, small, not too pricey.

[OhThePeacock]

What specific options are you looking for? Do you want analog or digital? Is an exp. pedal a must have? Be more specific and we'll be able to be of more help.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by OhThePeacock

What specific options are you looking for? Do you want analog or digital? Is an exp. pedal a must have? Be more specific and we'll be able to be of more help.

He could stand to be more specific, but his request that it be able to do swells ("whale noises") is one criterion that can start really narrowing things down. I'm sure there are others, but the first two delays that pop into my head that can do Slow Gear type volume swells are the Echo Park and the DL-4, both from line 6.

The other option, since the OP only mentioned fattening up his tone and making parts seem airy, is to buy a Guyatone SV-2 or a BYOC Lazy Sprocket and a reverb pedal.

[L.A. Moore]

I like the Ibanez de-7. It's great for making noise and adding "air"

[FrigginChris]

boss dd-6

[MODNY]

boss rv-3

[Mudfuzz]

They all work really, but my favorite is the Maxon AD-900.

[crapusername]

Marshall echohead.
has six different types of delay available and tap tempo on all of them!
on top of this it only retails for £65!

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by FrigginChris

boss dd-6

Originally Posted by MODNY

boss rv-3

Originally Posted by L.A. Moore

I like the Ibanez de-7. It's great for making noise and adding "air"

Originally Posted by Mudfuzz

They all work really, but my favorite is the Maxon AD-900.

Originally Posted by crapusername

Marshall echohead.
has six different types of delay available and tap tempo on all of them!
on top of this it only retails for £65!

And how many of these suggestions can do volume swells like the OP asked for? I'm not familiar with all of them, but I know that at least three of them listed can't.

[ChrisMan123]

thanks for all the input so far but yeah the main function I definitely want to get out of this pedal is the volume swells or slow gear effect as some called it, that is the main reason I am looking for this pedal, all other features are a plus but the volume swells and slow echo effect is my main concern.

I have looked up most of these pedals before, and I know there is no pedal made specifically for bass delay but I mean the best delay pedal to use for this effect with a bass guitar even if it is "meant" for guitar.

The Line 6 pedals were the ones I was most interested in, but I hear they break easily and are unreliable? I saw that on HarmonyCentral.com in a few reviews, but the Line 6 Echo Park seemed like the pedal I want all in one but I don't want it to break on me of course. But I know Line 6 makes some good stuff so I'm hoping this thing about their pedals breaking isn't true.

here is a link to an example from the Line 6 Echo Park of it's "Analog Swell" effect:

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbas...echopark_2.mp3

this is one way of using swells the way I'd like too, even though this is on guitar but still, so you can get an idea of any other pedals that are good in this field of delay.

[Jared Lash]

I have an Echo Park, and I haven't had any problems with it. Granted, the foot switch feels a bit cheap, but I've stomped on it plenty of times and it's none the worse for wear. And many have problems with hum when daisy chaining, but with my Pedal Power (or with a battery) I've had zero problems in that regard either.

Of course, one thing to keep in mind is that you don't have a whole lot of control over the parameters of the autoswell sound. What I mean is, you can control the number of repeats (I usually have it on none or set the mix so the repeats are quiet), but you can't control the speed of the fade in after the initial attack the way you can with a dedicated autoswell pedal.

That's why I thought you might want to check out the Guyatone or the BYOC. But if you don't want to spend money to buy two pedals, the Echo Park should work fine for you. The DL-4 seems to have a lot more versatility if you are willing to pay for it. As far as reliability though, I've actually heard a lot more reports of DL-4s (and all the modelers) breaking than the individual Tonecore pedals. But I only have personal experience with the Echo Park so take that with a grain of salt.

[Chronicle]

SUBDECAY ECHOBOX!!!!


It doesn't do swells per say.. but it makes some awesome noises and it's a super clear delay! Search for my review :]

[MakiSupaStar]

I play with an simple Boss DD-3. It's pretty basic but does the trick for me. I can get volume swells out of it. I bought it for 50 bucks used.

[Joe P]

I can't believe nobody has brought up the Boss RE-20 Space Echo. It's SO-so matched to what the poster is wanting!

It has an expression pedal that can control echo send (for swells), or echo time (for pitch shifts - and I'm talkin' freaky shifts: since this is simulating recording tape speed, regens that are coming back go proportional to the tape - faster tape makes pitch higher - but the note that's presently playing goes INVERSE-proportional - pitch goes DOWN), or both time and regen at once (for whale sounds).

It does a variety of multi-tap combinations. It has a great reverb built in... Tap time is instant and on-the-fly, with a wide range of times.

There's also the built-in warp/swell effect that ramps-up both the (computer-modeled) tape speed and regeneration at the same time (very whale sound like). This is available any time, by holding down the right footswitch.

I have no idea why this echo hasn't been a total rage here on TB. I'm very, very pleased with mine.

It DOES have loss of lows on both the echo and reverb -- which makes it perfect for bass!! This allows the Bassist to use way more effect, without muddying the solid low end. Another thing that lets you 'use more' is that with each regeneration, the tone gets muddier and more compressed and distorted - so the immediate, presently-playing note always sounds the 'freshest', and the repeats are progressively duller. Also - when using multiple (computer-modeled) playback heads with regen, they get this cool phasey/flangy/chorus feel that's subtly psycedelic.

I just don't know WHY the RE-20 isn't talked about WAY more

Joe

[magneezius]

Originally Posted by ChrisMan123

thanks for all the input so far but yeah the main function I definitely want to get out of this pedal is the volume swells or slow gear effect as some called it, that is the main reason I am looking for this pedal, all other features are a plus but the volume swells and slow echo effect is my main concern.

I have looked up most of these pedals before, and I know there is no pedal made specifically for bass delay but I mean the best delay pedal to use for this effect with a bass guitar even if it is "meant" for guitar.

The Line 6 pedals were the ones I was most interested in, but I hear they break easily and are unreliable? I saw that on HarmonyCentral.com in a few reviews, but the Line 6 Echo Park seemed like the pedal I want all in one but I don't want it to break on me of course. But I know Line 6 makes some good stuff so I'm hoping this thing about their pedals breaking isn't true.

here is a link to an example from the Line 6 Echo Park of it's "Analog Swell" effect:

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbas...echopark_2.mp3

this is one way of using swells the way I'd like too, even though this is on guitar but still, so you can get an idea of any other pedals that are good in this field of delay.

Hey Chrisman I can speak from personal experience with this pedal. Its not only the first pedal I ever bought but the only one that I've keep and Never thought about selling it. Its lasted me for 4 years now and is by far one of the nicest pedals I own and that line 6 makes. I owned the pod xt pro and this pedal is a lot better build quality. Its encased in metal and built to last, so i don't know what the people at harmony central are talking about, unless they got a lemon. Overall its a great pedal for the money and has Great features such as the "Trails" switch which is a great little feature so when you turn the delay off it slowly trails off rather than abruptly just cut off. Also it has 3 modes of delay with analog, digital, and Tape delays. Not to mention its tap tempo and can be run Stereo or mono.

[Andy Will]

The Eventide Timefactor is fantastic, sounds great, includes modulation effects, has massive 'tweakability' and regular software updates giving new features/functionality. For example, the last update (from 2 days ago) just doubled the number of memory locations from 20 to 40 and increased the range of the knobs up to 110% amongst other things. So, it now goes up to 11 in true Spinal Tap Fashion. Plus, an expression pedal can control any parameter of your choice!

I must sound like an advert, but it seems no one ever recommends this pedal which I love and have been using on my pedalboard for months now.

The only downsides are that it is one of the more expensive pedals, isn't small, needs a seperate power supply and is maybe more than most people would ever need.............but, the question was, 'What is the best delay pedal for Bass?'

[Joe P]

Originally Posted by Joe P

...I can't believe nobody has brought up the Boss RE-20 Space Echo. It's SO-so matched to what the poster is wanting!

...I have no idea why this echo hasn't been a total rage here on TB. I'm very, very pleased with mine.

...I just don't know WHY the RE-20 isn't talked about WAY more

Joe

What's the freakin deal???!!!

Joe

[ChrisMan123]

sorry for the delayed response, I forgot to have it notify me by email when new posts are made so i figured there were no more responses, but thanks for all these suggestions

I really want to try the Line 6 Echo Park and that's good to hear that it holds up well and you're happy with it, that makes me feel a lot better about getting one

and I have seen the Boss RE-20 Space Echo before, I tried it at guitar center once before I was interested in delay, i just messed around and it was a really crappy bass and sounded bad but I'd have to try it seriously next time

oh and I do have a volume pedal to adjust volume output just so everyone knows I don't need one of those in addition to whichever delay I might get, so I'm all set with that part

I also have another question, some people have been mentioning some pitch shifting options, do any of these pedals shift pitch at all so you can simulate a sort of bending of the string without actually bending?
nothing drastic, pitch shift wise, just slight shifting to make the swell more effective without having to really work at bending the note just right cause I find it a lot easier to make the "whale like" sounds on a guitar because the strings are much easier to bend and the sustain from the distortion as well makes it more effective but I know bassists do it so it's definitely possible

so yeah these pedals with pitch shifting, what does that do to help broaden your delay options? what can it enable you to do? I'm imagining it either creates a bending, pull off kind of feel to a note or it actually can make your notes an octave higher or so to simulate more of a guitar sound, which could help too
if you have any sound clips of what pitch shifting in delay/echo sounds like in this sort of aspect, please post links or let me know, I'd like to hear the ways it can be used