Compression, wah, tuner (yes i have searched lol)

ExurKun · #1 12-05-2009, 04:06 PM

Compression is confusing me very much, I understand that it reduces the effect of your dynamics to get a consistent, percieved louder sound, but what does it do to your tone? I always had the impression that it would give you a crunchy, tight tone, ie ryan martinie, justin chancellor, but now im starting to hear it actually makes a smooth warm tone? would i be best off using compression with overdrive of some sort?*waits for bongomania*

Tuner: Seen only good things about the Korg Pitchblack and the Sonic Research ST-200...is the strobe worth the extra $50? Accuracy is important to me, but I definitely want something durable and easy to read in dark rooms, or bright outdoors. Ive also heard about the Ibanez LU-2, supposed to be cheap. My budget isn't strict (got about $400 banked), but as a minimum wage teenager, value is important, although i dont want it to ever breakdown.

Wah: I've been looking at the a dunlop crybaby or ibanez weeping demon, main issue i forsee is that its not cost-effective, considering i most likely will only be playing around with it...can anyone say whether they think a wah is really worth it/what is the best choice?

Sorry if I sound retarded, I'm a effects noob (never actually owned any), I tried to do research though

Thanks for any help

bassman1185 · #2 12-05-2009, 05:43 PM

The answer to all your questions is "it depends."

Compression can do a lot of things to your tone, depending on how you use it. The two guys you mentioned get more of their tone from other factors, like their basses (Warwicks and Wals are VERY distinct sounding basses) and distortion. In fact, I don't seem to remember seeing that JC even uses compression live. Maybe he does.

Tuners are slightly less subjective. You want one that is accurate and durable. The Pitchblack is probably going to be the most bang for your buck. The LU-20 is actually really solid, and surprisingly accurate, though. I have one on my church board and I'm happy with it.

As for wahs, I say save your money. They're fun, but not that useful in most circumstances.

seedokebass · #3 12-05-2009, 05:57 PM

Would you mainly be using the tuner for live/rehearsal? If you aren't doing intonation/setups yourself, a Pitchblack or a Boss TU-2 would probably do the trick. Make sure your guitarist has a similar/non crappy tuner. I made my guitarist get a Strobostomp after I got mine!

Wah stuff: I picked up a Dunlop 535Q for like $60 and it works pretty well for bass. Adjustable Q, 5 different range/modes, and a level control. It worked best at the end of the signal chain for me. I did run into your problem though. I mainly just goofed around with it

I would skip the compressors for now. Save it for the studio. Try some overdrive pedals! The Boss ODB-3 and the Digitech Bass Driver would be great pedals to start with.

ExurKun · #4 12-05-2009, 06:47 PM

Thanks for the replies!

i would just be using it for rehearsals/gigs/just playing by myself, studio time will probably not happen for a while...probably no self setups either since im fairly new (2 years)
so the sonic research is not worth the extra money?
Ill try to play some overdrive pedals next chance i get

Anyone else out there got oppinions on all this?