Essential Christian Contemp. Music Pedals??

derelicte · #1 01-22-2008, 03:10 AM

Howdy y'all
I play mostly Christian contemporary music the likes of United, Starfield, Tomlin .. not too much fancy stuff I know, but I like to experiment. So far my rig consists of:

Schecter Studio5
Mesa Walkabout head + GS112 cab

and I use the following pedals now:
Boss TU-2
Boss ODB-3
Boss CS-3 w.opto plus mod

I'm fairly new to bass and would like some recommendations on pedals to use for my type of music. I have tried out a bunch already and concluded that I do not want a multi pedal. I have about 500 to throw down on 3 more pedals max. A buddy insists I replace my PU's to active ones first. Any1 know if that's a better investment than getting a pedal? Hollar.

slaerts · #2 01-22-2008, 03:22 AM

As far as your pickups are concerned you may be able to argue till your blue in the face with your buddy about active v passive. The argument should be about the quality of your tone. I am not familiar with schectors and therefore don't know what your bass sounds like but good quality pickups, whether active or passive, can make your bass sound like a million bucks. The same can be said for a good quality electronic pre-amps.

pompompom · #3 01-22-2008, 04:09 AM

A Boss MT-2 Metalzone will do the trick as well

manicbassman · #4 01-22-2008, 05:05 AM

get a Chorus pedal... and use it subtly...

isn't your Bass passive pickups with active eq already???

http://media.schecterguitars.com/imgs/hr_studio-5.jpg

http://www.schecterguitars.com/schematic/EMG.pdf

http://www.emginc.com/Bass.asp

CONSTRUCTION/SCALE: Neck-Thru / 35"
BODY: Mahogany w/ Bubinga
NECK/FINGERBOARD: Multi-Laminate Maple & Walnut /Rosewood
FRETS: 24 Jumbo
INLAYS: Offset Dots or Lined-Fretless *
PICKUPS: EMG HZ
ELECTRONICS: Master Vol/Blend/3-Band EQ
BRIDGE: Diamond Custom
BINDING: None
TUNERS: Schecter
HARDWARE: Satin Gold
COLOR: Honey Satin (HSN)

that's a nice Bass...

I'd leave the pickups alone and concentrate on playing skills...

Ryan Mohr · #5 01-22-2008, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manicbassman

get a Chorus pedal... and use it subtly...

+1

RADUB1 · #6 01-22-2008, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AqueousView11

+1

+2

I play a lot of the same material....crowder, starfield, tomlin, etc. and all I really use effects wise is a chorus and compressor. As said above, use it sparingly.... but IMHO it is perfect for some of the slower worship stuff.

thejohnkim · #7 01-22-2008, 07:20 AM

whoa, hey radub! i actually didnt see your PM to me until last week because of finals and the flu during that time, so sorry about on responding...anyas back on topic:

i personally wouldn't bother with switching out your pickups, it won't necessarily e an upgrade, just a different sound, so unless you really know you want it, i'd leave it alone.

i see you have an ODB, but i personally go for a more touch-sensitve overdrive from a Sansamp bass driver, used to use a Fulltone Bassdrive and Voodoolabs Sparkle Drive and liked those also. (for ex. the live version of 'not to us' you hear a grindy bass, my sansamp gets that sound for me)

you look good on the compressor front

i personally never use chorus, but i use a flanger with fuzz once in a while, a delay (hillsong - 'God of Ages' type running lines) and rarely i'l use a wah when we're really rocking out

but in terms of 'essential' i could be happy with just the overdrive on my preamp, but will always ahve my compressor and programmable sansamp bassdriver at t\he bare minimum.

bassman1185 · #8 01-22-2008, 08:12 AM

If you're looking for more pedals, I would say a sub-octave, and a compressor would be the most useful effects to add for CCM. A wah pedal might be fun, too, but not the most useful effect for CCM. If I were in your position, I would be running it like this:

Bass -> Octave -> Overdrive -> Chorus -> Compressor -> Amp, with the tuner probably first.

Edit: I just realized that you have a CS-3, not a CE-3, so you're probably doing ok for a compressor. I would add a chorus pedal instead.

crapusername · #9 01-22-2008, 08:23 AM

+1 on the chorus front.
I also have a couple of differing od/dist/fuzz sounds to cover differing songs, and a delay (marshall echohead set to analogue) for ambient / floydy mood type stuff!
If you are going for a wah, then there are three you really ought to try - Dunlop 105Q, Morley Dual Bass Wah, and the Ibanez weepimg demon ( a great choice title wise for a CCM board!). All of these have fans here and it depends on what you require as to preference.
Essentially, you should try to get hold of effects that express a part of you rather than any other reason. Once you are happy with the sounds you want, you'll know when to use them.

Calebmundy · #10 01-22-2008, 08:50 AM

A chorus pedal-for real guys? It seems like using a chorus on slower stuff is a fast track to sounding like 1985.

bassman1185 · #11 01-22-2008, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calebmundy

A chorus pedal-for real guys? It seems like using a chorus on slower stuff is a fast track to sounding like 1985.

I agree to an extent, but if you use it correctly (especially in conjunction with an overdrive and/or delay) it can sound pretty cool. With my last band, I used a Big Muff Pi into the chorus/delay patch on my ME-50B to get a pretty awesome synth sound.

Valerus · #12 01-22-2008, 09:29 AM

Always use at least two envelope filters, distortion, and a wah pedal.

I haven't used pedals in worship yet, so we'll see.

wazzel · #13 01-22-2008, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calebmundy

A chorus pedal-for real guys? It seems like using a chorus on slower stuff is a fast track to sounding like 1985.

Yup. That is the only pedal I use right now for church stuff.

RADUB1 · #14 01-22-2008, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calebmundy

A chorus pedal-for real guys? It seems like using a chorus on slower stuff is a fast track to sounding like 1985.

yup, but the key is to use it PROPERLY...the right settings at the right times...it is very simple to overdo it with effects as well....its easier to overdo it in my opinion.

derelicte · #15 01-22-2008, 10:17 AM

great suggestions guys! thanks so much for replying!!
i'm definitely going to be checking out chorus pedals, octave and the sansamp bddi so far

btw, what are the good chorus pedals out there for ccm?

bassteban · #16 01-22-2008, 10:30 AM

I just got a CEB-3 Bass Chorus, & like it very much. It's naturally very subtle so it can easily add just enough depth w/o getting too muddy.

bassman1185 · #17 01-22-2008, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by derelicte

great suggestions guys! thanks so much for replying!!
i'm definitely going to be checking out chorus pedals, octave and the sansamp bddi so far

btw, what are the good chorus pedals out there for ccm?

One thing to remember is that effects are personal, not genre-specific. The one that will work best for you is the one that you like the best. Personally, I like the Visual Sound H2O, but I know I've seen other people saying that they don't like that one. It will be the same for just about anything you find.

Pearl_jammin · #18 01-22-2008, 10:49 AM

Another popular choice is the Boss Chorus Ensamble

manicbassman · #19 01-22-2008, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassteban

I just got a CEB-3 Bass Chorus, & like it very much. It's naturally very subtle so it can easily add just enough depth w/o getting too muddy.

isn't that the one that has an adjustable frequency below which it doesn't affect the signal... therefore it just applies the effect to the mids and highs and leaves the bottom alone... because there's nothing worse than a "muddy" bottom...

thejohnkim · #20 01-22-2008, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calebmundy

A chorus pedal-for real guys? It seems like using a chorus on slower stuff is a fast track to sounding like 1985.

+1

....IMHO....

however it depends on the sound of your band as well. my band def has more of a modern rock orientation (think delirious's live sound on Access: D) so chorus doesn't really fit well for our needs.