Getting My First Peddles

IsThisIt · #1 03-02-2010, 08:54 PM

So I've been playing bass for awhile, and I've got a band I'm with now. I want to get a couple of effect peddles, and I currently have none. How do I go about shopping around for peddles? Do I just bring my bass into a local GC and ask to try them out? Sorry if this seems like a stupid question ... I am completely clueless here.

First and foremost I know I want distortion. Any recommendations?

I know I need a tuner peddle (that should be easy enough.)

I would love some sort of peddle to switch over from the EQ's I want for finger playing to slapping, something that saves my settings and then switches over to different ones with a higher treble, lower mid range, etc. . Also- is there a compression peddle or something that allows me to toggle a compressor on and off? Does such a thing exist??

My amp came with a a Sub Octave pedal, so I'm good there.

I'm fully aware I'm coming off as really clueless here- and I am. I'd really appreciate any advice you guys can send my way.

Cheers,

Mike

Swift713 · #2 03-02-2010, 09:20 PM

You're in the right place. If you hang out here and read you'll start learning pretty quick. You could try a multi effect pedal for starters to figure out what you like. You can get a lot of bang for your buck that way. I happen to know there are at least a couple in the classifieds right now

elgecko · #3 03-02-2010, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IsThisIt

peddles

peddles

peddle

peddle

peddle

pedal

One of these kids is doing his own thing...

alirazz · #4 03-03-2010, 02:47 AM

I recommend the humphrey badder bass monkey pedal. It's regarded by many to be the best pedal in its price range (used).

Meddle · #5 03-03-2010, 03:34 AM

Wow if I peddled all my pedals I could buy more peddles with the money earned by pedaling my pedals.

Bootzilla · #6 03-03-2010, 04:21 AM

There are so many tastes in distortion that you should probably first do some research to what kind of distortion sound you want (it's probably overdrive or fuzz and not distortion).

The bad monkey is known to be a great overdrive for it's price and the EH bass big muff is known to be a very good fuzz for it's price.

Also (almost?) every pedal compressor has a footswitch with which you can turn it on and off. For an eq pedal to switch to a slapsound try the GEB-7.

Bassmike62 · #7 03-03-2010, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swift713

You're in the right place. If you hang out here and read you'll start learning pretty quick. You could try a multi effect pedal for starters to figure out what you like. You can get a lot of bang for your buck that way. I happen to know there are at least a couple in the classifieds right now

+1

champbassist · #8 03-03-2010, 08:14 AM

Looking at your requirements, I'd say (like others above me) a decent multi-fx pedal will take care of your needs just fine.

Wootie · #9 03-03-2010, 01:06 PM

You could try to find some reviews and stuff on youtube and co.

For example:

http://www.youtube.com/user/BassGuitarMag

http://www.youtube.com/user/ToneFactor

http://www.youtube.com/user/bassfuzzcom

You might also search the board for a FAQ or watch the "Post your Pedalboard" threads to get an idea of what you want or need.

Personally, i would recommend a nice little Overdrive Pedal (maybe one that can also be used as a preamp like the Sansamp BDDI if your amp is not that good), some decent compressor and maybe a Fuzz to have fun with. If you have the chance to visit a Store near you to try out some pedals you should really do that, but you also should at least roughly know what you're looking for.

Greez
Wootie

Megalith · #10 03-04-2010, 06:14 AM

A couple of things I did when I was first getting into buying pedals, I went on to the "post your pedalboards" threads and saw what pedals were the most popular and getting the best feedback, and from there just watched demos on youtube.

Also, another easy thing to do it get to know the sort of effect you want (fuzz / delay / flange etc) and just search for it here, there's a "best of" thread on here to cover every effect really.

For your tuner, I guess the industry standard is a Boss TU2/TU3 or a Korg Pitchblack.

EQ - Maybe a Boss GEB7? I don't use one but a friend always recommends this one. Not sure on a compressor, do a search on that one.

Myself, I use chorus, delay, flange, fuzz & overdrive. Just head to a music store that has a bunch of pedals and mess around for an hour or two, you wont really get to know the feel and characteristic of a pedal until you sit down and try it out for yourself!