How do your bandmates feel about your Effects Board?

[tumpinjahosafat]

I get the impression that my guitarist is against it, yet wont tell me flat out. While the drummer and singer have no musical knowledge vocabulary so i get the "O man! Do that WARRRROOBBEEL Noise dude!" Ive got some Delay/Synth/Overdrive/Flanger/Phaser. Im thinking of just trimming down to Overdrive and Phaser for the shows because i feel like an ass lugging the whole pedal board around to only use select effects once throughout the whole show. Am i being an ******* by indulging in effects pedals? Thoughts


Edit: We are in a Metal Band together (Link in Sig if it helps)

[nad]

I've been told more than once that I play Lead Bass. My current band loves my Noise Box. I think I'm safe.

[tumpinjahosafat]

Nice, do you have a link to some songs from that band? I love hearing how people use effects.

[Adam Ray]

My bandmates are jealous because my setup time is about 2 seconds now. They also encourage lots of pedals and strange noise though because we have to fill up all the space we can considering we are a progressive instrumental rock trio.

[Mixmasta J]

I personally don't use very many effects when I play, and I usually gig without them. If you feel like it isn't an extra effort to carry it around, and more importantly, you think it adds to the songs, I would say keep on keepin' on.

The key is to be tasteful, and as long as the music benefits I see no problem as the motto of "do what is best for the song" is very important.

[kirkm24]

I don't think your being a jerk for it. I guess you just have to ask yourself if they are truly necessary or if they really add anything, if they don't then stop using them or change the way you use them. If they do, then keep using them and use them the way you have been without worrying about what others think. I used to use effects but decided to stop using them because I always felt like I was forcing them into the mix or stepping on other bandmates toes. I guess when you play with a keyboard player, there isn't a lot of room for the bass to be using effects since the basses' role becomes more groove oriented. Anyways, I have found that 99.5% of all bass players could get by just fine without effects and still hold it together but if you want to add a little salt and pepper they're good for that. I'm not anti-effects I just don't see much need for them in the styles of music I am currently playing. If I get anything again it would probably be an overdrive and an envelope filter but nothing else.

[nad]

Originally Posted by tumpinjahosafat

Nice, do you have a link to some songs from that band? I love hearing how people use effects.

In my signature is all the crap I do.

http://www.myspace.com/avolitionband
I'm a bit buried in the mix for that demo, but you can hear my Psilocybe, Blue Berry, Analog.man Chorus, and... I think that's it. Our second demo was recorded last week and features my Blue Ringer, Analog.man Chorus, Malekko Echo 600 Dark, and Blue Berry. Hopefully I'll get a better mix this time.

[mustang-monk]

if guitarists can have hude pedal boards why not bass. unless the effects are negatively affecting the music its great

[Gasman]

My band loves my effects. I've got most everything except a ring modulator, and I change it up for each song. I, too, play "lead bass", but two bands ago I was strictly a pocket player, which was fun too- just bass and amp, beautifully simple, as long as you've got the right bass and amp. I will say, though, that adding just a hint of overdrive with quickly enhance the overall sound of the band, even for a pocket player.

[Jostein]

I just bought an octaver because our big band leader recommended me to do so. And I'm having a lot of fun with that. I also have an EBS Unichorus that I have begun to use for solos now. And now I'm looking for more effects.

I think it's typical for us bass player to very reluctantly add anything to the signal chain that we are not 100% sure we will get use for, whereas guitar players tend to add every possible and impossible effect just because it's cool. I think it's time for us bass players to relax about those things and have fun.

And to quote this guy: "Too much is not enough!"

[acleex38]

My friend Drew sits in with our band a lot during our weekly jam sessions and he's an effects dork - we started playing together after he approached me to sell pedals he wasn't using.

Since he joined us, I've added a bunch of pedals and a board (20 years without any pedals, prior to that), our bandleader/rhythm player/lead singer has a pedalboard (before that, he only had a Boss Metal Zone that he loaned to our former lead player), and our lead guitarist who went from a Digitech multi-effects box to adding a board w/a boost pedal he built assembled from a kit, a 3-loop pedal, another distortion, and a chorus...along with some other stuff.

Even our pianist was excited by the sustain pedal for her new keyboard - nobody is hassling anyone else about too many effects or pedals.

That said, they're used sparingly and only where appropriate. If they were getting overused, it would be a problem. I go effects-free 2/3rds of the time.

[Chronicle]

I just got into a band and they saw my board and was pretty impressed with it. They aren't total gear nerds like me so they didn't know what half the stuff did. They like the sounds i can pull off and think it will add more uniqueness to the sound they want.

[andvari7]

The last time I was in a band (five+ years ago), I received no complaints about effects from my bandmates. Five years later, I've jammed with the guys a few times (twice with effects), and the effects opinions haven't changed much. I guess I'm lucky.

[bigchiefbc]

My bandmates love it. Because we only have one guitarist, the effects really help fill some of the space that a rhythm guitarist might. Plus, we play a lot of covers, so the effects really let me go from one completely different tone to another very quickly

[KarateKid25]

Im not in a band as such, but I play with some dudes from time to time... One drummer I play with uses effects, so it kinda takes the spot light off me. A bass player can get away with using effects more than a drummer

[OptimusPrime]

Same answer as on that other site. My board has 8 pedals plus a DC Brick. The guitar player I play with has a wah, distortion and synth pedal. He thinks it's weird that I have more pedals than him. Then I call him lazy and tell him to get a job.

[Swift713]

I've been told that I play "lead bass" a couple times this year but people I play with seem to like what I'm doing. I mostly just use compression or overdrive or occasionally an envelope filter in a band setting.
I actually feel like my guitarist's effects can get in the way sometimes but he seems to be settling down.

[KarateKid25]

My girlfriend used to wonder why I had so many effects as a bassist...

Since then, she has grown to appreciate the sounds. Now she says guitars are harsh and annoying. Mission complete.

[Swift713]

Most guitars are harsh and annoying . Just a bunch of treble, no depth.

[heroincredible]

I play in a three piece with a guitarist who never uses effects (has one clean channel and one for distortion). I don't go overboard with effects, just where the song needs that little extra push. I haven't used a single effect for a whole tune, just bits and pieces through about 4 songs.