Whammy pedal for bass

fretless_guy · #1 08-01-2008, 11:38 AM

Has anyone ever used a whammy pedal for bass? I don't just mean for the screech/divebomb effects. I'm more interested in setting it to play harmony along with your lines or shifting the pitch up to simulate a piccolo bass. I'm thinking about using one in combination with a looper.

baalroo · #2 08-01-2008, 11:49 AM

wow, great question. you're a true pioneer.

JanusZarate · #3 08-01-2008, 11:51 AM

Well, you didn't do your homework, did you?

Short answer: Yes to all. But by no means a simple yes... the Whammy is a quirky, monophonic, and pronouncedly dirty and digital-sounding pedal.

I'd highly suggest doing a search using the term "whammy" and spending some time reading prior threads. You'll mostly find stuff about the Bass Whammy, but there is a ton of Whammy IV information around here, too.

fretless_guy · #4 08-01-2008, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MysticBoo

Well, you didn't do your homework, did you?

Short answer: Yes to all. But by no means a simple yes... the Whammy is a quirky, monophonic, and pronouncedly dirty and digital-sounding pedal.

I'd highly suggest doing a search using the term "whammy" and spending some time reading prior threads. You'll mostly find stuff about the Bass Whammy, but there is a ton of Whammy IV information around here, too.

Wow, my bad I guess. I did actually do a search in the effects threads with the term "whammy", but didn't see many threads with "whammy" in the title and didn't want to sift through all of the off topic threads. I'll be sure to look a little harder next time.

JanusZarate · #5 08-01-2008, 12:17 PM

Ah...

Well, your first question threw us all off.

TBH, I'm not sure how you'll feel about the results. As long as you're playing single notes, it should be fine, but tonally, I couldn't tell you for sure if you'd like it. Plus, it's easy to get it to garble up if you play fast. Still, a cool pedal regardless. IMO, the manual shifting is the true joy of the pedal, more so than holding it on a given interval.

Most major stores carry it, so give it a go at the shop!

coreyfyfe · #6 08-01-2008, 12:58 PM

I had a whammy IV and I mostly used mine for the the octave harmony and the 2 octave shift. The dive bomb is useless on bass, it goes to zero to fast. The other harmony settings are usefull in some situations, but not many. The expression pedal is definitely fun to use. The tracking isn't great, especially if you move quickly, and on lower notes it sounds like absolute garbage IMO.

You may have a different experience, you can find them in almost any guitar store and definitely in every guitar center so give it a whirl. Plus theyre usually like 125-150 on ebay.

baalroo · #7 08-01-2008, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fretless_guy

Wow, my bad I guess. I did actually do a search in the effects threads with the term "whammy", but didn't see many threads with "whammy" in the title and didn't want to sift through all of the off topic threads. I'll be sure to look a little harder next time.

I forgive you.

You may be happier with a Boss PS-3 or similiar for what you're wanting to do.

SMASH · #8 08-01-2008, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fretless_guy

Has anyone ever used a whammy pedal for bass? I don't just mean for the screech/divebomb effects. I'm more interested in setting it to play harmony along with your lines or shifting the pitch up to simulate a piccolo bass. I'm thinking about using one in combination with a looper.

I do that kind of thing using a BOSS PS-3 and/or PS-5.

This is done with a looper and the PS-5. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCHCxmgf5mU The PS-5 in "pitch shift" mode can be heard at 3:50 and again at 4:20

Thunderscreech · #9 08-01-2008, 03:00 PM

I used a whammy IV once, and heres the conclusions i came to. These are all IMO, and based on a one-time use of the pedal, just as a warning.:

The Only useable part of the pedal is the octave side. the pitch shift sounded dirty and weird, and the divebomb effect wasn't really worth it. Also, it's touchy as all get-out. A little, tiny tip of the rocker sends you into sonic oblivion.

Now, granted that i only used the thing once and didn't have time to get used to it, that may be my bad. I also don't really like (or see the need to) pitch shift all that much.
The octave effects were cool. Down two, however, puts you deep in low-frequency sludge. Down one and up one and Up two are pretty cool effects, but that's all i got out of it.

Again, that's my short experience and biased opinions, but it's a little food for your thought

AlstottMVP2 · #10 08-01-2008, 03:49 PM

I use mine around the house now.

Live, I wouldn't try. May sound horrible at loud volumes.

gibsualdo · #11 08-01-2008, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fretless_guy

Wow, my bad I guess. I did actually do a search in the effects threads with the term "whammy", but didn't see many threads with "whammy" in the title and didn't want to sift through all of the off topic threads. I'll be sure to look a little harder next time.

Try the Advanced Search, it lets you search the thread titles only. You'll end up with about 8 pages of mostly on topic threads.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/search...archid=8615329

Malpractice · #12 08-01-2008, 07:28 PM

I had one. I used the harmony settings on a song,but it gets glitchy. I straight traded it for a whammy 2 and some cash. I got a BOSS ps2 now to hold me over till I get a PS3.

The whammy gets really glitchy and unmusical on some low notes. It started to piss me off so I got rid of it.