A casual bassist's first three pedals?

[Anjohl]

Hey folks, long term lurker/occasional contributor. Well, after trying several times in my adult life, I guess I'm officially a bassist! A great trade offer on a Fender Precision Deluxe Special Active (those words might be in the wrong order... it's their top line MIM active PJ) fell into my lap in the Fall, and I have been casually gigging ever since at small bar shows backing up a guitarist in a duo.

It's been a really fun way to learn, and having a decent bass out of the gate is a big plus. So of course, now I'm looking at an effect or two. I'm playing into a DI box straight into the house, no amp. I just bought an EHX Bass Clone, and thinking about a preamp pedal (IE, a Sansamp, Nux Melvin Lee, etc) and maybe a compressor.

We're usually doing folkie-stuff, with some reggae, pop, and country. Actually, a fair bit of reggae. But the main thing is that i'm more or less backing up a lead vocalist playing with a mostly clean guitar tone (either acoustic or a semi hollow electric).

Not looking to break the bank, but I don't want to buy something I don't need, or that I'll replace in a year.

What would you guys suggest to flesh out a decent casual rig?

 

[LpPT20]

IMO you don't need any sort of tone shaping pedal, specially if your bass is active, other than a tuner for playing folk/pop/country music, assuming that you will be playing through an amp for monitoring + use a DI for FOH.. unless of course you want to have a specific effect's sound like a chorus/delay etc..

There is a massive amount of consumerism / easy dopamine chasing from gear acquisition, and we are flooded with gear promotion/ads in social media promising all kinds of miracles: buying stuff is a much more immediate rush/reward than practising and improving over time, but from my experience it's a pretty futile exercise, you end up just sounding like yourself anyway.

I say this as someone who has a bunch of expensive pedals .. that I don't really need but enjoy playing with as I have disposable income now, but it's not really a "I need this to play gigs". I've been playing for over 25years, and the first time I had a need for a preamp pedal was when I stopped using an amp as stage monitor and switched to in-ears, and needed a way to shape my monitoring tone, and this was 15 years into my bass playing career.

Just my experience of course

PS (one very large and often overlooked tone improvement device is a set of fresh strings .. that can make a lot more difference than a fancy preamp if you happen to have old strings on )

 

[Old Blastard]

If you need a small, light amp on stage that can plug into FOH, I use a Fender Rumble 40 for exactly that purpose, playing behind an acoustic guitar/banjo playing singer-songwriter.

it's fairly inexpensive and makes a great practice amp, as well. As for pedals, I have a tuner. I like the tones I get out of the amps/guitar just fine.

 

[GotGroove]

It doesn't sound like you'll need much, except for a good decent tone. But you already have an EQ from your active pickups so that's already there. I kinda agree with @LpPT20 saying there's perhaps no need for a preamp or compressor. I've played without both for 20 years and never got any complaints. But if you want a comment on your suggestions and are looking to spend some money:

You can't go wrong with a Sansamp BDDI if that's the sound you're after. It doesn't have a compressor though and you're kinda stuck with the Sansamp sound.

The MLD is nice, but a completely different animal. I returned mine due to connection issues, but I hear they have been fixed and mine could have just been a DOA. It requires a PC to take full advantage of the device. Not a bad thing per se, but it's something to be aware of. It does have a very different flavour of sound but is also more versatile than a Sansamp because you can load Impulse Responses and drastically change your sound. You could play reggae through a Trace Elliot cab and pop through another. It too lacks a compressor, but it does have a HPF and LPF, which may serve you just as well if not better than a compressor. You also get 2 presets, which in your case might be helpful.

If you just want some eq boosts/cuts here and there without actively colouring your natural tone, the EBS Microbass 3 might be worth looking at. It has a compressor, 2 DI's, an effects loop, optional drive channel and tuner. It's slightly more expensive than a Sansamp, but worth it if you want to keep the clean tone of your bass. The only downside is that it can't save presets. My solution was to keep my 2nd channel clean (or with a minimal amount of gain) with just a different EQ and have a 2nd preset of sorts. I sold mine because my needs changed, but I'd happily use one in a pop/reggae band.

There are also some multi's you might want to consider. If you're not in a hurry there's a Zoom MS-60B+ coming this summer, which can do everything listed above, has several compressors and also offers room for some experimentation, should you wish to. It's also a regular size pedal, which is nice.
If you're in a hurry, a line6 Pod Express Bass could also get you there, but your future experimentations will have to be limited as you can't change any of the effects and the parameter changes are limited. It's intended for studio use, although people appear to be using it live anyway. It offers several presets you can play with. There's also a Zoom B2Four that may be worth checking out. Both are in the same price range as a Sansamp.
Just something you may want to try.

 

[Zooberwerx]

As already mentioned, I'd snag a mid-tier multi-FX (Zoom? Boss?) instead of inundating my board with a bunch of sparsely-used pedals...that comes later in the evolutionary process. A nice compact combo or component rig wouldn't hurt either. The defining term here is "casual" and to that I'll add "used / secondhand".

Riis

 

[Averell]

Hey there. You can buy whatever you want, of course, and if that inspire you, here are my first three pedals.

I started bass in 2019, with a teacher. During Covid lockdown, we continued the lessons with skype. To make things easier, I needed an interface to plug the bass into my computer. And also I wanted to try some effects, but which one ? Chorus ? Compression ? Flanger ? Distorsion ? Overdrive ? So I bought an HX Stomp, a do-it-all gear : computer interface, multi-effects (and good enough), and cherry on the cake : amp modeler. With only one piece of gear, I can try every effect I want, every amp I want, and mix them in any way I want. To learn, I think it's the best option.

After that, I only buy as a physical pedal only the things that are always on in my HX Stomp presets. First a tuner (Petersen Strobostomp), a compressor (Empress Bass compressor), and an EBS ValveDrive, to get a preamp and overdrive.

 

[micguy]

A tuner is first. Something that does subtle dirt second. After that, hold until you feel a need for something specific.

 

[Zbysek]

I would get the following:

tuner
mild dirt
compressor

You might by able to find an all-in-one solution, like EBS Microbass III, Tech 21 Bass Flyrig etc.

 

[Parzival]

EHX Battalion would be great as part of starting out. Not too high on price and it has preamp, dirt, usable compression, and has a DI with separate level out and dry out if needed. That separate level out is huge to me and not included in a lot of preamp/DI pedal/boxes. Has a gate as well but I don't think it is even worth using. Put that with a tuner and then if you need/want another pedal, just figure out if there are any effects that come into play on any of the songs you play a lot. I would vote chorus, but that is just me because I like chorus. You may want an envelope filter or phaser or octaver or etc.

 

[bassdude51]

Interesting thread. Three pedals? TB advice can be very helpful.

From what I read with the music you are playing, doesn't seem like pedal/pedals are something that you really need.

Save your money.

 

[FullumMusic]

You don't NEED any pedals. I bought a couple of distortion pedals and a Wah pedal when i was a teen. Before i was out of high school i sold them all. Played bass professionally without any pedals for nearly 25 years.

So, because you don't need any pedals, your first three pedals should be whatever you think sound cool. Seriously.

Ok, a Tuner pedal is nice to have because you can get very accurate tuning (vs trying to tune with a clip-on when everyone else is playing or it's a loud venue and the tuner is reacting to all the vibrations around you). And it'll mute the signal when you're not playing. Probably the most useful pedal that you'll use almost every single time you play.

And if you're playing direct and you're already thinking about some sort of preamp pedal, and there's one you like the sound of, go for it. (If you're playing an active bass, you already have a preamp.) Playing through a pre with the gain right in the sweet spot sounds fantastic.

Contrary to what other people suggest, i'd say avoid processors like Compression and EQ. You already have a tone knob, or an active pre EQ on your bass, and an EQ on your amp, and probably an EQ on your preamp pedal. And if you're going direct to a live PA, the sound engineer has an EQ that can undo your EQ settings and adjust for the room. As someone who's done live sound i can't begin to tell you the bizarre ways people have used EQ to ruin their tone, or had their EQ pedal set one way and the EQ on their amp the exact opposite way thereby undoing the EQ and they could have just played with the EQs flat.

And unless you know exactly how a compressor works, and how to set it up properly... and also know exactly why you need one for your rig, you don't need one. A lot of what a compressor does can be (should be?) fixed by practicing better technique.

Everyone always wants to suggest Compressors, and yes, Compressors are amazing tools. But they're often misused, overused, or used as crutches when they don't need to be.

That said, a lot of compressors these days have gotten so good and easy to use, so long as you don't overdo the settings, it'll even out and thicken then sound a touch. The tricky bit about compressors is, usually, if you can hear the compression, you've used too much compression. (Always exceptions, of course.) And people usually want to hear the effect pedal they bought, so they overdo it and squash the sound too much and take all the dynamics and life out of their playing. (And as a mix engineer, getting a track that's already been over-compressed means there's nothing i can do to fix it. It takes away my ability to properly process and compress and mix the track because the bassist insisted on using their compressor pedal.) My $0.02 on compressors.

Beyond that, if there's an effect that you love, or if there's an effect used a lot in the styles of music you play, or there's a sound that inspires you to play, that's the effect pedal to get.

 

[Badbasics]

My first pedal was a Boss OC-5 octave. Then added chorus/ reverb, ect ect. It never ends really

 

[bassicmike]

Buy a tuner. That's it.

Every time I try pedals for a band experience, I wind up saying 'nope' and ditch them.

Concentrate on playing the music. A great bassline is better than effects.

 

[Badbasics]

The EBS line is cool . I gig'd with a rock group using the Billy Sheenan pedal. After that, I put it back in it's box..

 

[TeeSee]

Don't need no tuner even. 'A' should be in your soul. harmonically tune the other 3 strings or tune to your guitarist. I got by 30 years w/o owning one

 

[Badbasics]

I know a cat that's hip to perfect pitch, and when I try it he laughs and tells me to get the conn tuner out..

 

[mikezimmerman]

For the first 30+ years that I played bass, a tuner pedal was pretty much the only pedal I owned....

You don't NEED any pedals. I bought a couple of distortion pedals and a Wah pedal when i was a teen. Before i was out of high school i sold them all. Played bass professionally without any pedals for nearly 25 years.

So, because you don't need any pedals, your first three pedals should be whatever you think sound cool. Seriously.

Ok, a Tuner pedal is nice to have because you can get very accurate tuning (vs trying to tune with a clip-on when everyone else is playing or it's a loud venue and the tuner is reacting to all the vibrations around you). And it'll mute the signal when you're not playing. Probably the most useful pedal that you'll use almost every single time you play.

And if you're playing direct and you're already thinking about some sort of preamp pedal, and there's one you like the sound of, go for it. (If you're playing an active bass, you already have a preamp.) Playing through a pre with the gain right in the sweet spot sounds fantastic.

Contrary to what other people suggest, i'd say avoid processors like Compression and EQ. You already have a tone knob, or an active pre EQ on your bass, and an EQ on your amp, and probably an EQ on your preamp pedal. And if you're going direct to a live PA, the sound engineer has an EQ that can undo your EQ settings and adjust for the room. As someone who's done live sound i can't begin to tell you the bizarre ways people have used EQ to ruin their tone, or had their EQ pedal set one way and the EQ on their amp the exact opposite way thereby undoing the EQ and they could have just played with the EQs flat.

And unless you know exactly how a compressor works, and how to set it up properly... and also know exactly why you need one for your rig, you don't need one. A lot of what a compressor does can be (should be?) fixed by practicing better technique.

Everyone always wants to suggest Compressors, and yes, Compressors are amazing tools. But they're often misused, overused, or used as crutches when they don't need to be.

That said, a lot of compressors these days have gotten so good and easy to use, so long as you don't overdo the settings, it'll even out and thicken then sound a touch. The tricky bit about compressors is, usually, if you can hear the compression, you've used too much compression. (Always exceptions, of course.) And people usually want to hear the effect pedal they bought, so they overdo it and squash the sound too much and take all the dynamics and life out of their playing. (And as a mix engineer, getting a track that's already been over-compressed means there's nothing i can do to fix it. It takes away my ability to properly process and compress and mix the track because the bassist insisted on using their compressor pedal.) My $0.02 on compressors.

Beyond that, if there's an effect that you love, or if there's an effect used a lot in the styles of music you play, or there's a sound that inspires you to play, that's the effect pedal to get.

 

[BassBrass]

just to throw something out there, a Joshwah into Diamond Compressor. The Diamond has some eqing so you don't need a preamp and the joshwah can do dubish slow envelope tones. A drive might be good too before the envelope, and I recomend the Creation Audio Labs Grizzly because of it's EQing, it helps with reggea, taking out highs and/or high mids. (can you still getthese? https://www.creationaudiolabs.com/grizzlybass

 

[thunesBARROW]

Compression and EQ can be helpful in a live setting. I like to think of them more as problem solvers than effects.

 

[Cleezmo]

I am in the camp of 'you probably don't need any pedals'. A tuner pedal, sure, and maybe a compressor if you did that, but effects....I mean it depends on the genre. It sounds like you don't need dirt or chorus or octaver or anything like that based on your description of the material you're playing.

I play in a cover band that does a huge range of artists/tunes from 60s to 2000s (usually with our slightly-different arrangements), and the only effect I use with any regularity is a chorus pedal on like 3 tunes. And I could easily just play without it if needed.

Having a bunch of pedals is great if you're actually using them, but in my case I moved long ago from 'tweaking stuff to sound close to the original bass tone of each song' to 'set a solid overall tone and use it for 98% of the gig'. But obviously YMMV, that IME/IMO, etc. - and if buying some pedals gives you joy in playing them, by all means do so...