What effect pedal do I want?

[Engine207]

I am admittedly an effect newbie. I've never really been interested in sound processing stuff, but last week I played a used 8-string ESP bass at Guitar Center, and it sounded really cool. At first I thought I'd go back and pick it up, but when I got back there a week later, it was gone.

That got me thinking, maybe I don't need another bass to capture that cool sound (I don't have much more room on my bass rack anyway!). I've seen POGs, octave pedals, and BassPods...but I don't really know what will most accurately replicate that full sound.

Can anyone give me a quick'n'dirty education about these effects, or maybe point me to some existing threads where I can do my own research. Are there many effects that combine a number of different capabilities (distortion, delay, etc.) in one package? or is it the old story that a device that does many things, does none very well?

Once I know what to go looking for, I'm gonna go try some out. Thanks in advance for the replies...

[slurpy]

if you do a search theres loads of these threads already.

is it just the 8 string sound your looking for? or are you looking for other effects too? if so what sort of music do you play? what kind of sound are you after?

i personally have gone down the stomp box (single pedal for each effect) route. however as far as multi effects go i know there's lots of love for the link 6 m9 and m13

as far as your 8-string question goes you can find a heap of answers here Instant 8-String (pedal)?? and in my opinion if you can get your hands on an akai unibass it should do the trick

and for multi effects vs stomp boxes you can try here (theres better threads out there than this one but i didnt have the time to do a full search) Pedals vs. multi effects processors

hope it helps

[tony_clifton]

My opinion - get a M9 to find whatever floats your boat. That way you will have 100 stompboxes at your disposal for the price of a couple of individual pedals.

In the end you'll save a lot of money (no need to buy other pedals and cables and power supplies and stuff). The only downside is that it might not have the mojo of a 'real' board.

Edit: have to say I'm not the kind of guy that can spend a lot of money on pedals (student) - only pedal I bought so far is a Turbo Tuner (last one I'll ever have to buy), and if needed I'll buy a Sansamp, but that's it. Effects will be M9.

[Engine207]

Originally Posted by slurpy

if you do a search theres loads of these threads already.

is it just the 8 string sound your looking for? or are you looking for other effects too? if so what sort of music do you play? what kind of sound are you after?

i personally have gone down the stomp box (single pedal for each effect) route. however as far as multi effects go i know there's lots of love for the link 6 m9 and m13

as far as your 8-string question goes you can find a heap of answers here Instant 8-String (pedal)?? and in my opinion if you can get your hands on an akai unibass it should do the trick

and for multi effects vs stomp boxes you can try here (theres better threads out there than this one but i didnt have the time to do a full search) Pedals vs. multi effects processors

hope it helps

Thanks, guys! That does give me a starting point. I've been playing since '79, and avoided effects, thinking they were really a 'guitar thing' and wanting to keep the pure bass sound. I get a bit more open minded to things as my hair changes color then falls out entirely!

My initial interest in effects is the "8-string sound". I just want that sound to inject into a particular part of the song, rather than the overload of playing the whole song with it. Then, of course, my mind traveled to other effects, as long as I'm suddenly open minded (like adding distortion, or chorus, or delay at times).

Most of the stuff I play is hard rock and pop rock music from the late 70's and 80s, though I really enjoy Motown, too. I like my bass sound to be thick and slightly distorted without too much top end. This, of course varies by what song I'm playing and the setting in which I'm playing. I'm hoping the effects of 2010 don't sound as 'processed and fake as they did when I was a lad.

[cheapbasslovin]

Originally Posted by Engine207

Thanks, guys! That does give me a starting point. I've been playing since '79, and avoided effects, thinking they were really a 'guitar thing' and wanting to keep the pure bass sound. I get a bit more open minded to things as my hair changes color then falls out entirely!

My initial interest in effects is the "8-string sound". I just want that sound to inject into a particular part of the song, rather than the overload of playing the whole song with it. Then, of course, my mind traveled to other effects, as long as I'm suddenly open minded (like adding distortion, or chorus, or delay at times).

Most of the stuff I play is hard rock and pop rock music from the late 70's and 80s, though I really enjoy Motown, too. I like my bass sound to be thick and slightly distorted without too much top end. This, of course varies by what song I'm playing and the setting in which I'm playing. I'm hoping the effects of 2010 don't sound as 'processed and fake as they did when I was a lad.

If you're primarily looking for that 8 string sound (or something like it), then you'll be looking for an octave pedal. There's two ways to go with that. One is to get an octave down pedal (Boss OC-2, OC-3, MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, Aguilar Octamizer, DOD Octoplus, EHX Octave Multiplexor) and play your passage up an octave on your bass. It doesn't sound like a bass, but it sounds pretty cool and is 8string-ish. These octave pedals are monophonic, when you play chords the generated notes will jump around rather than form a chord.

The other route is to get an octave up pedal and there your best option is a microPOG (the POG and HOG are way cooler, but way more overkill then you seem to need). The POG series are polyphonic (if you play really dissonant chords it can sound weird, but fifths and thirds form up great). The octave up on these is a little chirpy at times, but in general this will give you a much more accurate 8string sound.

Other octave up pedals are monophonic or have some sort of distortion in their character, which is why I recommended the POG.

If you are looking to get into a whole new way to make sounds, then I would also suggest picking up an M9 or M13. Start with the Bass Octave model and give yourself TONS OF TIME to absorb how the rest of the effects work. Most of the complaints from the M# come from the distortion section, but I don't think they are universally awful. You may not want to keep it forever and ever, but there isn't a better effect tutorial in the world IMO. I love mine and haven't even thought about selling it since I picked it up. That isn't very common for me.

[bassplayerbob]

Originally Posted by Engine207

Thanks, guys! That does give me a starting point. I've been playing since '79, and avoided effects, thinking they were really a 'guitar thing' and wanting to keep the pure bass sound. I get a bit more open minded to things as my hair changes color then falls out entirely!

LOL! you sound like me! I always played straight bass until 5 yrs ago. I own a Boss GT10b multi fx pedal and love it, but it's on for only bits and pcs of tunes for example, For The Love of Money intro i toss on a little flange and grab a pick for the Anthony Jackson vibe, but when we play Higher by Sly Stone,,,ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE!! I turn on the octave,distortion and a wha and let loose!! Thats the only song that i dont have a "normal" bass sound. I would have to double check my pedal but i think there is a preset for "8 string bass" too. Have some fun with them but dont let them takeover your tone.

[PJMiDi]

i always found the clip database helpful myself; lots of actually hearing what a pedal is capable of sounding like. http://www.talkbass.com/wiki/index.p..._Clip_Database

[Engine207]

Originally Posted by cheapbasslovin

The other route is to get an octave up pedal and there your best option is a microPOG (the POG and HOG are way cooler, but way more overkill then you seem to need). The POG series are polyphonic (if you play really dissonant chords it can sound weird, but fifths and thirds form up great). The octave up on these is a little chirpy at times, but in general this will give you a much more accurate 8string sound.

I went to the Electro-Harmonix site and checked out the MicroPOG. It does sound like what I'm looking for. The YouTube vids didn't include a clip of a bass guitar - only an EUB. That leads me to wonder how well the unit holds up to sub-octave frequencies. My Line6 wireless unit specifically provides the range of frequency response down to 20 Hz.

Originally Posted by cheapbasslovin

If you are looking to get into a whole new way to make sounds, then I would also suggest picking up an M9 or M13. Start with the Bass Octave model and give yourself TONS OF TIME to absorb how the rest of the effects work. Most of the complaints from the M# come from the distortion section, but I don't think they are universally awful. You may not want to keep it forever and ever, but there isn't a better effect tutorial in the world IMO. I love mine and haven't even thought about selling it since I picked it up. That isn't very common for me.

THAT'S a great point. I'm not looking to reinvent my sound, only a way to add specific sounds to songs, where appropriate. I am very leery about getting bogged down with gadgetry instead of playing my bass. I don't have tons of time to learn how to exploit a complicated set of effects. I'm neither very smart nor patient, so if I don't easily "get it", it'll be in the classifieds pretty quick. The more I think about it, the more I lean towards a single octave device (like the MicroPOG, with 3 knobs), then adding to it, as I discover the need.

[WaldoNova]

The micropog works great in all frequencies. The sound may be a bit sterile but with the right settings you will be able to get the sound you are looking for. Good luck with this. Less than 1 1/2 years ago I started buying effects and this was the 1st pedal (gateway drug?). I wanted to fill in some additional frequencies while the guitarist solo'd now about 12 pedals, a board and $2,000 dollars later. I am loving all of the experimentation. Have Fun with it!!!!

Originally Posted by Engine207

That leads me to wonder how well the unit holds up to sub-octave frequencies.



THAT'S a great point. I'm not looking to reinvent my sound, only a way to add specific sounds to songs, where appropriate. I am very leery about getting bogged down with gadgetry instead of playing my bass. I don't have tons of time to learn how to exploit a complicated set of effects. I'm neither very smart nor patient, so if I don't easily "get it", it'll be in the classifieds pretty quick. The more I think about it, the more I lean towards a single octave device (like the MicroPOG, with 3 knobs), then adding to it, as I discover the need.