Going through maximilist stage

[MSUsousaphone]

First off, I love you Caeman, this is not a troll thread. And I know you didn't mean what started. And you are an FX fan and lover. This is not at you.

But I am in a maximilist stage. My board is getting massive and I'm at the point where I have to kick stuff off that I love.

Yes, my OD is the only thing that gets a ton of use when I'm playing live. But the songs where I kick on the Megalith and drop some fuzz also drops some jaws. The Faye Sing I was running on some choruses to get these massive sweep sounds going...on the low end for a change...mesmerized people in the crowd (really...I saw them staring at my expression sweeping foot in awe, and slight smile and a glint in their eye). I just got the Goatkeeper in, but holy balls, I already have some plans for that that are going to be off the chain, and the Timeline can give me some crazy mind blowing sounds but I mostly use it for lighter stuff that just enhances the sound.

Yeah...each pedal might be turned on twice a show....but ****. That twice a show sounds pretty good.

I rock. Not an adjective saying I'm awesome. I play rock. I hate funk. Can't stand envelope filters. My band would most sound like The White Stripes or The Black Keys had either of those bands had a bass player. It's indie alt with a southern rock element. I lay down the rhythm and I do all of the things a bass is supposed to do. But I'm not satisfied just there.

I listen to music on the radio and hear guitars. I hear the singer. I hear the drums. I can sometimes hear the keyboard. But I rarely hear the bass. And I blame that on the older generation. When singers, guitarist, and keys were enhancing their tones and playing around with new stuff, evolving, you stayed where you were. You thought the staight up bass sound, all nice and in tune, was enough and now bass players of my generation aren't heard on studio releases. I don't even think some of these bass players are allowed in the studio with the rest of the band. Certainly doesn't sound like it. We're a laughing stock. The outcasts. The moochers along for the free ride.

Well some of us don't like being "that tambourine dude" who was just handed an instrument because they were a friend or to fit an image. We want to be heard. If guitar players and keys showed up to a gig with just their instrument and an amp, they'd be laughed off stage. Effects are where it's at. You let us down these past four decades but don't flame us while we're trying to push the envelope you should have pushed way back when.

That's awesome just the bass, a tuner, and an amp is good for you. But just being on stage with the other guys....just being near them....isn't enough for me. I want my sound to be an integral part of what my band is playing. I want the younger generation to look at me and say "I want to do that because that excites me". Not, "hey...that looks easy".

I choose effects.

[Schlatte]

MSUsousaphone 2012. Change - Now. AMERICA!! WOO HOO!!

[DeltaPhoenix]

BRAVO

[alexa.]

I love you.

[Waterpilot]

YES! I'm actually thinking about getting a bigger board. I don't need them all, all of the time, but I love having the ability to switch things up and try things out. Anyone that says I have to use everything I bring, every time, for every song can go to... Well they can figure it out.

Like MSU put it...

I choose effects.

[Pollinator95]

I wish I could afford to go maximalistic. OD>Phaser>Pre is where I'm at at the moment and I don't think my band really calls for more.

I mean... I NEEDZ MOAR FUZZZ
And I totally get what you mean about old-timers raising their eyebrows at anything that doesn't sound like an electrified double bass.

[DiabolusInMusic]

There is no emoticon for facepalm....


But I do kind of look forward to the pedal board madness.

[MSUsousaphone]

I hear you. And to be honest, my band doesn't NEED more. With a singer who can play guitar and sing, two guitars (one is FX loaded), and a keyboard who can play guitar....it's covered. But imagine if AC/DC actually had a bass player who did something other than "come to Jesus in quarter notes". They would be so much more awesome than they already are.

And a bass using FX is in a totally different spectrum than the guitare using effects. Totally new element.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

I definitely concur with the spirit of this thread. I don't know if my planned pedalboard (in progress!) fits the "massive" category or not, I definitely don't need all those effects working all the time, but they have their place and some of them are even finding some application in situations I would never have thought of. I don't know if this is just a fever and eventually will go back to my much simpler setup, but right now I'm enjoying all those nice little (and not so little) touches that good pedals can add to a tonal palette. Building a nice pedalboard with the effects I like the most after lots of research is so much fun (in spite of the suffering wallet) and I'm enjoying it a lot.

[steve_rolfeca]

The ultimate irony.

I'm soooo old, that I came up during the days when nobody told guys like Geezer Butler, Greg Lake, Leo Lyons, Noel Redding, Greg Reeves, Chris Squire and company that they needed to stick to the root. For the last 20-odd years, I've been blaming younger guys for all the moronic, U2-inspired, 8th-note bass lines that I'm currently forced to play.

And now this thread comes along, and points out that there's a younger generation of bass players coming up, that are just as frustrated as I am.

I'm not a big pedalboard fan, but I say go for it. Effects or not, bass can and should move people, and be the biggest, most powerful, ground-shaking instrument on a rock stage. It's about time!

[M Sterling]

I just realized I need a PT pro...to go next to my PT1...I belong here...

[Aaron_D]

OP You clearly dont play country.

My generation is lucky this genre is so bass heavy with clean and in tune prominence.

[behndy]

the divide i don't get is people like Captain Silly Pants up there that wants a facepalm emoticon.... if you don't like effects.... why post about it here and why would you care? just don't listen to the music that people make where that's how they roll.

i don't listen to country or straight up rock or a lot of pop music 'cause it doesn't do t for me.... but i wouldn't slag them for doing art the way they want to. that's the sign of a DOUCHER. i try to be as not lemon flavored astringent tasting as possible.

DUR. IT'S DIFFERENT. I WANT TO SHOW HOW CLOSE MINDED I AM. FEEL MY FLOPPY POSTING POWER.

[MSUsousaphone]

Yeah. I don't listen to country much at all. But the guitars haven't gotten as much into effects in that genre as other ones have. Kinda both staying clean and unevolving. Not saying "unevolving" in a derogatory way. I think country folk like keeping it close to the roots and so that's not meant as an insult.

[Rawrrbass]

I'm to the point where my board is pretty full as well. Depending on the what my band ends up playing, I might only use two or three pedals, when my board is up to 12 at the moment.

But playing in a prog/pysch rock band, effects are definitely welcomed by my bandmates.

[insomniac2295]

Originally Posted by MSUsousaphone

That's awesome just the bass, a tuner, and an amp is good for you. But just being on stage with the other guys....just being near them....isn't enough for me. I want my sound to be an integral part of what my band is playing. I want the younger generation to look at me and say "I want to do that because that excites me". Not, "hey...that looks easy".

I choose effects.

[Unrepresented]

My board has been full for several years. The only thing that changes is the number of pedals that're hanging off it and stacked in my rehearsal space.

[tigerbass]

I agree 100% MSUsousaphone.
I am in an original 3 piece rock band that is hard to categorize. Kinda rootsy, swampy, sometimes acoustic, sometimes atmospheric, sometimes just rockin balls out etc.
My guitar player is amazing and is a bit of a minimalist i.e. Marshall amp, delay, mxr Phase 90 and mutron wah.
But what really makes us stand out, be different, and be able to pull off all these genres and sound authentic and good and original doing it is the versatility I bring with my loaded PT-Pro.
We don't need keyboards or anything because I can pull any type of tone, effect, or soundscape we need. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say "I didn't know you could do THAT with a bass?!"
Not only that but when we play live I can perfectly recreate any sound we put on record because I did it! haha

[isthimus]

now you see.

dont get me wrong, i love ya to bits for saying this, and i agree that the bass should be an integral part of the band. i'm in two projects atm an in both the bass is important, plays melody as well as harmony, etc etc.

but my setup is bass > amp. :P i just like a clean sound...

[HolmeBass]

I'm taking the plunge for a PT Pro too. The new band is just such a sonic playground it's pretty much required.