old school bass effects

[Thaos627]

I was wondering if anyone made pedals the old way or if anyone knows how to get old school effect sounds.

i know of cutting the speaker to give it a fuzz sound (i also know u can do a few other less destructive things to do that too). i want to know more effects like this.

[RickenBoogie]

Old school bass effects? Cranking a tube bass head well beyond it's limit's is what they did way back when. NEVER cut a bass speaker though.

[topo morto]

Just straight overloading any gain stage is usually fun.

From driving the mic input on this hard, I get tones that are better than half the dedicated bass OD's I've tried:

[NKUSigEp]

You could turn the volume knob up and down really fast on the ol P-bass. :-D

[fraublugher]

Fender sublime re-issue fuzz

[dannybuoy]

P-bass plus a VT Bass and/or SFT pedal.

[mjac28]

Originally Posted by dannybuoy

P-bass plus a VT Bass and/or SFT pedal.

+1 and I think most of the stuff was done in the studios depending on how old you are talking about.

[henryjurstin13]

Originally Posted by NKUSigEp

You could turn the volume knob up and down really fast on the ol P-bass. :-D

HA!!!

[Koog]

Old School Bass Effects = No Bass Effects.

Koog

[Jared Lash]

Split your signal to two tape reel machines and mix the output to a third recorder. Now put your finger on one of the reels and voila, you have a flanger.

A used Boss BF-2 will cost thousands less, but if you want true old school sometimes you gotta pay the piper.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by Koog

Old School Bass Effects = No Bass Effects.

Koog

That's true. Paul McCartney never used fuzz, and Jamerson never had an overdriven signal. Larry Graham certainly never used fuzz, an octaver or a jet phaser.

Sure, Phil Lynott used flanger, Anthony Jackson a phaser, Jaco had chorus, reverb and looping and Bootsy had the kitchen sink (fuzz, filter, octave, delay etc) but is 35 or 40 years ago really "old school" at this point? Seems pretty modern to me.

[Snaxster]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

Larry Graham certainly never used fuzz...

Say what?

From a B&S interview with Larry Graham:

“It was actually on the (1968-released) second album we cut - ‘Dance to The Music’ - that my style started to become popular. Because, with me having been a guitar-player previously, it meant I had no fear of experimenting with pedals - whether it be a wah-wah, or fuzz-tone, or whatever was available at the TIME. And it was actually when I used the fuzz-tone on ‘Dance To The Music’ that my thumpin’-and-pluckin’ style first took off...”

Sly & The Family Stone - Dance to the Music, 1968 (straight up fuzz)

Graham Central Station - The Jam, 1975 (not quite fuzz, but in the vein)

Brother, Larry Graham invented fuzz bass guitar right after he invented slap bass guitar. He is the source, and every fuzz or slap bass player forever, in any genre, owes him.

Best,

Snaxster

[grygrx]

Originally Posted by Snaxster

Say what?

From a B&S interview with Larry Graham:

“It was actually on the (1968-released) second album we cut - ‘Dance to The Music’ - that my style started to become popular. Because, with me having been a guitar-player previously, it meant I had no fear of experimenting with pedals - whether it be a wah-wah, or fuzz-tone, or whatever was available at the TIME. And it was actually when I used the fuzz-tone on ‘Dance To The Music’ that my thumpin’-and-pluckin’ style first took off...”

Sly & The Family Stone - Dance to the Music, 1968 (straight up fuzz)

Graham Central Station - The Jam, 1975 (not quite fuzz, but in the vein)

Brother, Larry Graham invented fuzz bass guitar right after he invented slap bass guitar. He is the source, and every fuzz or slap bass player forever, in any genre, owes him.

Best,

Snaxster

You missed the sarcasm.

[Snaxster]

Originally Posted by Koog

Old School Bass Effects = No Bass Effects.

Koog

Koog, that is quotable.

I think it's also true: in the beginning, bass had no effects.

Best,

Snaxster

[Snaxster]

Originally Posted by grygrx

You missed the sarcasm.

Haha! Actually, I considered the possibility.

But let's see if they were being sarcastic or serious.

Anyway, though I try to avoid playing 'misinformation monitor', since it was about Larry Graham I couldn't let it slide.

[Snaxster]

Originally Posted by Snaxster

Haha! Actually, I considered the possibility.

But let's see if they were being sarcastic or serious.

Anyway, though I try to avoid playing 'misinformation monitor', since it was about Larry Graham I couldn't let it slide.

Never mind: I recant!

I just re-read the whole post and the sarcasm is central to it. My apologies, Jared, and thanks for keeping it real!

Best,

Snaxster

[Pilgrim]

Back in 1967 when I started playing electric bass, there was only ONE pedal I knew of: Univox SuperFuzz.

Sold mine a couple of years ago on Ebay for more than $400.

[Ubersheist]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

That's true. Paul McCartney never used fuzz, and Jamerson never had an overdriven signal. Larry Graham certainly never used fuzz, an octaver or a jet phaser.

Sure, Phil Lynott used flanger, Anthony Jackson a phaser, Jaco had chorus, reverb and looping and Bootsy had the kitchen sink (fuzz, filter, octave, delay etc) but is 35 or 40 years ago really "old school" at this point? Seems pretty modern to me.

35 years ago seems "old school" to me. I've actually been actively pursuing an "old school" sound like Bootsy or some of those other players from the 1970s. That seemed like it was the start of some creative usages of effects on bass. By the 1980s, it seems like generally things got blander on bass, and I just sort of remember hearing alot of chorus, but not much else (with a few exceptions).

The EHX Bassballs was a reissue that came out in the mid 1990s, mostly after Lenny Kravitz's "Fly Away" came out. The bassist used a 1970s Bassballs on it. That song brought the demand back for the Bassbalss, so it was reissued. The Bassballs Micro doesn't sound any different in my ears, and has a great vintage 1970s sound.

The EHX Bass Microsynth has some great vintage sounds, too. I bought it specifically for that.

There are a ton of great fuzzes and overdrives out there that'll get you some great older tones, too. The one I picked up was the B:assmaster Barker. The B:assmaster Germanium may have a bit more old-school tone to it.

The Jet Phasor was a great pedal that's tough to find now. However, you can replicate it moderately well with a higher end envelope filter, a bit of fuzz and a standard phaser. The envelope filter should have 2-pole or more setting to get a more throaty sound to the filter. The Bassballs is a 2-pole filter, btw, but limited in the sounds it produces. I picked up the MXR Phase 90 since it reminded me of the tone the bassist on "Stranglehold" had.

I hope that starts to answer your question.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

That's true. Paul McCartney never used fuzz, and Jamerson never had an overdriven signal. Larry Graham certainly never used fuzz, an octaver or a jet phaser.

LOL!

[Thaos627]

A bunch of you keep sayin 35 years ago, I never said 35 years ago that would of been in the 70s. I'm wantin to know about the effects in the 50s & 60s.

only person who even understood my question said to use a tape reel to get a flanger effect. i believe some models did have a switch on them that did the effect too.

what about the echo effect? i hate delay & reverb but echo sounds great, i heard they used springs to get that sound but im not sure how.