Your own sound!

[Mudfuzz]

Hi.

Yes Here I am to start more crap!
First, screw the famous! I mean it. With a flagpole!

When you started to use FX what was the turing point for you. What was the "it" that made you say "this is me" even if it is unattainable as of yet that doesn't matter. I'm talking about self expression. Maybe you did base of at first some musing tool against the Lee, but at some point you stood on that hill top and said "I am me!" Some of us started out with never wanting to sound like anyone else and spent much time trying to figure out what that "me-ness" was.

So share your tails of finding your self in the world of FX.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

For me I am of type two, I never have wanted my sound or playing to be like anyone else... doesn't mean I have achieved that but that has always been my driving point.

"My sound" to me is what I like to think of as a big wall the hugeness: Big amps, fuzz that doesn't cut lows or mids with more a snarl and buzz to the topend then grunt and sizzle.
Tried lots of dirt boxes over the years and the Sovteck muff [green] was my first step as at the time it gave me the lows and dirt I wanted and was CHEAP, yet I always battled with it so I kept looking. Right now I am happier then I have ever been interms of dirt and have settled on the Katana Sound Supper Bass Fuzz, FuzzHugger Great Wall and Moog Freqbox for most of my needs, I am still looking for the right low gain box and have yet to find "it".

Part two, into the swirl: Tremolo, my first amp had trem so it has always been something I have loved and use when ever I can. Phase: the first pedal I have ever own was a MXR Phase 45, by it's self on bass it is almost inaudible but when dirt is run through it I get a sound I cannot get with any other pedal, it phases the dirt's highs but lets the lows through so it sounds blended even when it isn't.

Echo: I like it, when I am not playing with others I overuse it. I like analog and use a Maxon AD900 on my board and a Roland RE-201 for recording and jamming at home.

My other thing is this constant attempt to make my bass a synth and have had much fun and spent much $$$ on this, right now I'm using a MXR M-88, moog freq and a moog LPF for most of it with a moog MP-201 to control the FB, I'm still learning to control it but having much fun.


Next!

[skwee]

The only bass effect I've ever used is a flanger, and only ever use it sparingly. My sound is what each instrument sounds like.

[bassbrad]

I come at it from several directions as a former guitar player interested in electronic music and sounds and trying to find my thing. I have always based my choices in not following the pack especially when it comes to gear- I used what i liked, could afford and made the best of it.
My favorite effect is EHX Bass Balls because it is so dynamic and capable of many sounds and has it's own unique fuzz. I view my pedal board as a sort of modular synth always playing with the effects and the results of trying various combinations.

[paulygonemad]

For me, it was all about finding my own fuzz tone. After shoving a few Devi Ever pedals together, I finally have it.

[Crystalman85]

My signature sound has always been distortion with chorus. it gives me a grungy but heavy sound. I do like how distortion sound on bass. it sounds pretty heavy. and considering that I play hard rock and heavy metal, this sounds suits me well. also I like my bass distortions smooth and heavy. I also like a clean sound with a chorus. Personally I'm a big fan of chorus effects and I do like how they sound on bass. It sounds pretty cool. these are pretty much my sounds on bass.

[TheMutt]

Honestly, my foray into effects started simply enough with trying to cop some cheesy 80's bass tones with a DigiTech Bass Multi Chorus. A friend who is a guitarist purchased a Big Muff for me because he was heavily into Muse at the time and wanted to play some of that stuff. Since then, my pedal collection has ballooned into a massive Pedaltrain Pro with various analog effects, then the addition of some digital effects including two Eventide units. This however became apparent that while I really liked having all of these ridiculous effects at the click of a button, I used maybe 3-4 of them in anything that I played. This started the downward spiral from the huge board of doom down to a simple setup with a Pedaltrain Mini. I am still trying to acquire everything, but my ideal board as I envision it consists of:

Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
Demeter Compulator
Zeibek GeminiDrive (have a handle on one, soon to be mine!)
Malekko Heavy Industry B:Assmaster (waiting for it to be rehoused so it fits better on the board)
Analogman Stereo Bi-Chorus w/ depth switch (it should be here this week in the mail)
Dr. Scientist Radical Red (mini) Reverberator (might have a handle on one of these)

However, I am also intrigued by the Dr. scientist Frazz Dazzler which I want to try at some point.

Generally speaking, I am using effects that I am not trying to cop someone else's tone off of, but instead that suit (at least to me) the music that I am playing and give me the tonal options that I crave (just in case I do need to sound like a particular song).

Edit: Oops, it's not a mini Bi-Chorus.

[Eric!]

Originally Posted by TheMutt

Honestly, my foray into effects started simply enough with trying to cop some cheesy 80's bass tones with a DigiTech Bass Multi Chorus. A friend who is a guitarist purchased a Big Muff for me because he was heavily into Muse at the time and wanted to play some of that stuff. Since then, my pedal collection has ballooned into a massive Pedaltrain Pro with various analog effects, then the addition of some digital effects including two Eventide units. This however became apparent that while I really liked having all of these ridiculous effects at the click of a button, I used maybe 3-4 of them in anything that I played. This started the downward spiral from the huge board of doom down to a simple setup with a Pedaltrain Mini. I am still trying to acquire everything, but my ideal board as I envision it consists of:

Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
Demeter Compulator
Zeibek GeminiDrive (have a handle on one, soon to be mine!)
Malekko Heavy Industry B:Assmaster (waiting for it to be rehoused so it fits better on the board)
Analogman Stereo Mini Bi-Chorus w/ depth switch (it should be here this week in the mail)
Dr. Scientist Radical Red (mini) Reverberator (might have a handle on one of these)

However, I am also intrigued by the Dr. scientist Frazz Dazzler which I want to try at some point.

Generally speaking, I am using effects that I am not trying to cop someone else's tone off of, but instead that suit (at least to me) the music that I am playing and give me the tonal options that I crave (just in case I do need to sound like a particular song).

Mini Bi-chorus??? O_O

[TheMutt]

Originally Posted by Eric!

Mini Bi-chorus??? O_O

Oops! My mistake!
I wish there were a Mini Bi-Chorus.
I'm actually kind of sad I never got a response back from Analogman about the possibility of having a mini chorus with a depth switch coming out of the side of the pedal where the battery should go. (power supply only)
I would have definitely purchased one.

[Chris K]

There's 'what', there's 'why' and there's 'how'.

The 'what' and 'why' parts are very personal. In my case it's a punchy, woody fretless sound. TI Jazz Flats, passive, only on neck PU, pluck over bridge PU, some extra bass on the EQ. (And a +1 to The Mutt for the Sonic Research Turbo Tuner, but thanks to True Bypass it doesn't affect my sound.) For what I want to do, an agressive sound is bad news. Yet I like to draw attention, just like anyone else. Getting it by subtle means is my challenge.

The 'how' is the really interesting part. A this-is-it-experience? A bumpy road of trial and error? A well-planned process of experiment and analysis?

It took me quite some time (and different sets of strings) to get what I wanted. I benefited from my experience as a sax player, when I waded through oceans of horns, mouthpieces and reeds.

Three things I learned:
1. Find examples, not to copy them, but for your orientation; it's important to find out what you DON'T want and why.
2. If you suddenly sound better, not only remember your settings, but also think over why they worked out
3. Share your experiences and seek advice as much as you can.

[tomhanzo]

I started into effects cause i liked the bass in Beck's Minus. I decided to start looking at overdrives and distortions.

I use famous people as a way to figure out how i can get close to what i want. I love BRMC and so i got a tube zipper and tube screamer just to work with what he had. I dont reach for his tone, but i had somewhere to start.

[chrisisnotevil]

I've been playing 15 years now, messed about with various cheap nasty generic distortions cos it was cool and punk rock. Think the first was the dirty channel on a cheap Peavey guitar combo at school, but it all started to come together when I got my Rat five or so years ago, in combination with an Ashdown stack and a Jazz. I just got the idea that this was the sound for me. Never really wanted to sound like anybody else. Since then it's been pretty much my staple tone, but my current band has forced me to seek more versatile dirty sounds to fit round two massive guitars. The knowledge on here about fuzzes, mids and why one needs them and stuff has been invaluable for that.

[Nic.]

It kinda started because I was wondering why I liked the bass sound so much better from a cheap 10w practice amp than my 30w Orange Crush... then I realized it was because the 10w was distorting. I went through quite a lot of stompboxes until I finally found the distortion I wanted from the ZVex Distortron, and now from that and the Box Of Metal. Admittedly I like the sound from some other pedals too, but those were just too damn big to put onto my pedalboard. That's one part of my sound.

The other part comes from using a fretless with flats/tapes. Fretless gives me a lot of freedom to do stuff with my left hand. I don't think many people notice it, but I like it. And flats and tapes... well, they're less clanky, they're percussive (I was a drummer before doing bass, so it feels better to me), and they give me less string burn when sliding.

[Big chicken]

a mild to heavy bass overdrive(overdrive level varies from song to song)with a limiter/enhancer,and a chorus
roto swing bass the the trebble set at 5:00 and the bass at 3:00

[JimmyM]

i have to admit to never being interested in developing a signature sound. i've always been content to cop a sound that works for whatever music i was playing. over the years i've developed a playing style, but to be perfectly honest, i don't see anything especially unique or "signature" about it because it changes from song to song.

[Mark Olson]

I started playing bass through a vintage Marshall, and for awhile I played Fender amps, then Ampegs, but at last I've come full circle and am back on a Marshall. It's my sound, a sound that pretty much nobody uses these days but I love it. The amp is THE most important part of my tone.

I started playing bass on a Dano Longhorn. Great bass. Moved on to various Fenders, but now I have my Gibson SG. What a terrible bass! It's honestly the worst sounding bass I've ever played. I love it. If I do get another bass, it'll be a custom shop SG. Again, something no one uses these days (well I've seen a couple people running an SG through a V4, but not a Marshall like me).

Pedals I've tried everything I could get my hands on. I love trying out sounds. But I'm not one of those shoegazer guys. My philosophy is less knobs = more tone. My amp only has a volume and tone, that's it. I HATE EQ knobs. I just want it to sound good right out of the box, no tweaking necessary. I'll no longer tolerate more than three knobs on a pedal. When I use a pedal I want MY sound, not ten different sounds. I'm not a tweaker. I recently got a custom wah, the main feature of which is there are no knobs, just my one setting. Take that and give me a two knob Fuzz Face or a one knob boost and I'm good to go. If I feel like it I'll throw in my three knob delay, but I'm getting tired of it's three knobs. I only use one setting anyway!

[Pandafist]

Playing 16th note leads w/ a Green Big Muff > Chorus > Analog Delay > SVT or GK 800RB + SFT through an 810

badoosh

:humpity dumpity:

[theunknowndude]

I'm like JimmyM,... for that reason my pedalboard for my band actually devolved into just a few useful things,... playing in a thrash band is my main area,

my signature tones would have to be these:

clean - 5 string fretless with noticable mid hump... love that middy fretless sound

overdrive - Ibanez PD7 on OD setting,... it sounds pretty 'guitarish' but very awesome for certain parts to maintain a wall with my guitarist thats just nice and creamy...

fuzz - devi ever hyperion blended wth clean via LS2... love the hyperion, love it blended,... used with a slight boost on the heavier songs to cut through as it boosts, it grinds, and yet with blend can still hear everything clearly (unlike the pd7 which kinda mushes everything)

OD and weeping demon wah - used intermittently for either accentuating certain verses or the start of my 'trip out' bass solo

chorus - used to thicken or highlight certain areas,... sometimes I ALMOST want to just leave it on the whole time cos it really makes the A, D and G strings on my fretless just sing... usually used with OD setting to stand out in a 'bridge' part of one of the songs where I almost mini solo...

Delay - use it occasionally on intro's and at the start of my bass solo...

everything on at once... THIS is my tone,... imagine creamy shredding snarling delaying distortion/fuzz/clean all melded into a bucket, then tripping you out,... THIS is what I love and live for,... unfortunately my other band members hate it so usually reserve it for peices I make up myself or for doing my little trip out bass solo for when my guitarist has to tune down for our last song on the set.

my other signature sound though it could be done before I dont know,... but boss PS3 set with original signal and +1 octave and +2 octave via expression pedal with a turbo rat running after it,... it sounds like the tardis meets the doomiest sickest brassiest distortion you've ver met,... add other effects after this and I can easily waste an hour of my life playing nothing but listening to the chaos coming from the speaker

[gnasher1993]

My signature sound would probably be:

Chorus -> Delay -> Reverb -> Delay

I've never heard anyone play and thought, "I wish I sounded like that." Loads of players have inspired me but they've all inspired me to have my own sound.

[jpTron]

I had a pedal board with a bunch of stuff on it, but lately I've found myself only bringing my VT bass to practices and running it with the mids boosted and the drive and character at about 1 oclock. Grindy tone that I'm loving. It works well for my band and the sound we have.

[Fishyfan]

well my first pedal was a Digitech Bass Synth Wah. i got it because it seemed natural to me to get a pedal, and because it had Synth written on it, i thought it would make it sound like i was playing a synth. that didnt really work out the way i wanted it to, but im glad i got it. it grew from there.

my signature sound? well the sound im rockin right now is a Rickenbacker with the Bridge pickup going into a Boss LS-2 with Loop A going to my massive two pedalboard on a keyboard stand rig. mostly ive been using one of the fuzzes and a touch of modulation on that side. Loop B goes into a Boss RT-20 that i never turn off. i mix the two sounds and this way i get closer to the ultimate goal which is to have a real Leslie in the rig. the neck pickup goes into another LS-2 with an Ampeg Sub Blaster and some other effects in Loop A, mostly the Sub Blaster tho. Loop B has an MXR Blue Box strategically placed so i can change the Blend knob with my foot depending on the needs of the tone. the bridge pickup goes into a Vox AC50, which is not bright enough, and the neck pickup goes into a Mark Bass Little Mark III pushing a 410 Markbass cab.