A Effects Newbie Questions

[dmilt23451]

After much lurking here in the effects forum I am seriously GASING about getting a pedal board full of effects. The one problem I really do not know where to begin. That is where all of you come in. What would you buy if you were going to start a pedal board. I play mostly Alternative and Rock, as well play alot in my contemporary worship band. I know some of the things that I want, chorus, delay, not sure about compressor cuz I use the built in one on my SVT-4. I know that I do not want any harsh destortion tones but a good tube overdriven tone is not a problem.

There you go effects gods, please direct me as to what would make a up a good board.

Thanks in advance

[Steelix]

buying a board without know effects is a horribl idea.. | sugest you look at the "money spent on pedal board" thread.
if your new, get a cheap multi effect processor and learn what you really use and need.

[zarathustra]

I know that the boss ME20B is a good place to start, it has alot of diffrent effects on it and the sound quality is very decent for the price.

[iualum]

...used O.K. or have to be new?...do you want a multi or individual pedals?...& if individual, must you have analog?...and what kind of ballpark coin are you talking about?...

[TheMutt]

Honestly, we could all give you suggestions on pedals til your ears bleed and your head falls off. But the problem is, it will be what we like. If you really want to find good effects that work for your personal tastes and applications... The reviews and sound samples are a great place to start, but that is really only the beginning. If you really want to know how the effects will work for you, you really need to go to the music store near you and check out these effects in person. I know it's pretty much the standardized answer over and over again, but really, nobody knows what you like except you. If you have an idea of exactly what kinds of effects you are after, that could narrow it down for all of us to toss out our personal favorites though.

[scullionj]

It's true that really it all depends on the person and how you play, what you like, etc. But if you're sure you want to buy a chorus as your first pedal, maybe look into some of the slightly cheaper but reputable brand names. Boss is kind of an industry standard. Test out different ones at the store, see what you like. A multi-effects processor is a possibility, Boss makes some good ones for a reasonable price that allow you to play with sounds and find out what you like. I guess I'm just not into them because I hate digital menus. I'm a knob tweaker guy myself.

[assboglin]

My idea of a well rounded board has a wah, possibly an octave pedal, an overdrive, a modulation, and a delay. But that might not be what YOU want at all. You have to ask yourself what sounds YOU will use. Think about the songs you play in your band and what kind of sounds you could use to add to those songs. Certain sounds are fun to play with, but a good board consists only of pedals that you have a practical use for in your musical situation.

[casio]

I would love to give you some good advice but I'll rather give you a personal testimony:
I've been checking TONS of threads here on dozens of different pedals thinking of getting an envelope filter.I play in a rock band and it took me ages to finaly notice I have no actual purpose for one. I even went as far as getting a delay that i dont even utilize at all and just spent the money on something I dont want.
On the other hand, I checked tons of fuzz pedal threads, only to settle for distortion!
I wanted to have justin chancellors board for ages, only to not like any one of the pedals of his I managed to try as of yet (other thatn the RAT)!
what I'm trying to say is: it's better to use this forum to filter axisting ideas, than to give you ideas, cause they wont necessarily be right for you and you'll just make us feel bad!

[cheapbasslovin]

To continue the above theme:
I swore up and down that I wanted a chorus pedal. I just knew that was what I wanted. Got one. Tried to make it work. I mean this is what I wanted. Forced it and forced it. Until I found that the sound I was looking for came from a Phaser with a really light swell. I KNEW I didn't want the Phaser because the swell always killed my low end and that was bad. But I had never played one that would adjust properly. When I did, I realized the tone I was really looking for.

I highly endorse the Multi effects suggestion, but realize that some effects that you will ultimately want may not be on your Multi unit. I have an ME50B but it doesn't have a tremolo or vibrato and the octave is very limited. Also you can't use the phase or flanger with the reverb. The compressor just irritates me. Multi effects let you know where you want to go, but they rarely get you there. Don't buy a pedal you haven't played unless you have money to burn.

[Valerus]

I thought I wanted a Bassballs, envelope filters are awesome, right?

Well...it is awesome! But I have no real use for it. I use it just to have fun jamming, add a little twang to some jazz lines.

[Swimming Bird]

The first pedal is the hardest decision. I feel like most people go for the tone they know they're gonna use every gig. I went for gusto -- my first pedal was a tremelo.

Madtown, eh? If you don't know 'em, check out Good 'n' Loud Music. They have two locations, but I suggest the one across the street from the Barrymore Theatre. I tend to talk to Gary the most, good guy, but most of the guys there are at least pleasant. They should be of some help and they have an interesting selection.

[sk8]

tuner pedal

[Snakeman1066]

seriously go try out the pedals that you think you might want and them apply them to the music you play...

I'm personally not much of a pedal guy myself always played most direct except for a little chours and reverb..

But recently our band went from a 5 piece to a three and i found myself having to fill the hole left by the lack of a rhythm guitard.

I would suggest these pedals to you to start....

1a. Tech 21 Sanamp Bass Driver DI $199.99

or

1b. MXR M-80 Bass Direct box $139.99 (my personal choice of the two) simply because i like the tone better than the Sans Amp the MXR has more grit!

2. Aphex Bass XCiter $99.99

3. EH Small Clone Chorus $85.00 (there are better out there)

4. EH Holy Grail Reverb Pedal $119.00

5a. Voddo Lab Sparkle Drive (Overdrive) $129.99 (my current choice) there are tons out there some better than others but this works for me

5b. or the BBE Green Screamer (Overdrive) $99.99 coupled with the BBE Boosta Grande at an additional $79.99

6. Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor Pedal (Noise gate) $99.99

1b. thru 5a. is my current board it could be bigger but this stuff i actually use, unlike an Envelope Filter of an Octave Generator which are fun to play with, but i have no real world application to use them playing the style of music i play now.

seriously though the MXR or the Sans Amp and the Bass Xciter together will make you sound like you went out an bought a $3,000.00 dollar rig they make even crap sound good...lol

Good Luck and keep us posted!

[jumbosilverette]

If you want to dip your toe into the water, you can't go too wrong with a tuner, compressor and a chorus or distortion unit.

[Geist]

1 - Go to the music store
2 - try out a bunch of different types of effects on your bass
3 - find an effect you really like
4 - find the pedal you feel does that effect the best
5 - repeat if necessary

[kevteop]

Originally Posted by Geist

1 - Go to the music store
2 - try out a bunch of different types of effects on your bass
3 - find an effect you really like
4 - find the pedal you feel does that effect the best
5 - repeat if necessary

Or: Buy used kit on eBay, if you don't like it you should be able to re-sell it for pretty much the same money. Then you can try them at your leisure at home with your own gear. It does mean you have to have a good amount of cash tied up in pedals at any one time though.