A casual bassist's first three pedals?

[Jeff Elkins]

A lot of valid points and good suggestions. This, though:

I have no use for an octaver or an auto wah (Mu-Tron), but some people like those. I can only think of one song I might want to cover that uses delay on bass, and while I did once apply chorus or maybe flanger to my bass in mixdown on one album as a special effect, I wouldn't bother with that live.

… reminded me of something else that may be helpful to think about. IME, chorus, reverb, and sometimes delay or vibrato can reduce the audible attack of the bass. Obviously, this is not a big deal in plenty of situations (including aspects of improvisational playing, as mentioned by the OP). But if other band members are depending on you for time keeping, hearing your string attack clearly is desirable. I play many of my gigs without a drummer, and the most important aspect of my job is usually timekeeping. I’ve found that reverb and chorus can make it difficult for my live performance partners to hear my downbeat.

 

[mouthmw]

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.

Considering you're not using an amp and going straight to FOV, I'd look into pedals that emulate a mic'ed amp sound. Sansamp BDDI is a classic, or maybe some other Tech 21 flavor (VTDI for example). For a more boutique options, you got Origin Effects Bass Rigs or maybe Jad Freer CAPO. I'd keep it simple though, and stick to Sansamp stuff.

I'd grab a tuner and a dirt pedal along with it.

 

[Anjohl]

Considering you're not using an amp and going straight to FOV, I'd look into pedals that emulate a mic'ed amp sound. Sansamp BDDI is a classic, or maybe some other Tech 21 flavor (VTDI for example). For a more boutique options, you got Origin Effects Bass Rigs or maybe Jad Freer CAPO. I'd keep it simple though, and stick to Sansamp stuff.

I'd grab a tuner and a dirt pedal along with it.

Great advice. I have a Boss Tuner pedal, and I have a cool Klon copy (for electric guitar) that I am going to try out on the bass on Friday.

 

[panzerfaust]

if tuner pedal isn't counted, me myself go for DI (ampeg SCR DI), mxr bass compressor, and mxr chorus while other go for octave.


those simple pedal adequate enough to fill the gap between accoustic guitar and cajon in my band's album


Riak Api Unggun

 

[Anjohl]

if tuner pedal isn't counted, me myself go for DI (ampeg SCR DI), mxr bass compressor, and mxr chorus while other go for octave.


those simple pedal adequate enough to fill the gap between accoustic guitar and cajon in my band's album


Riak Api Unggun

I have an EHX Bass Clone I am going to play around with already, and the venue typically has a DI.

 

[joel the bass player]

Back in my earlier days I was pretty happy with just a tuner pedal. Then I got tired of being handed crappy DI boxes to plug in so a preamp/DI pedal was next. Then Drive. Those three things got me along ways, before I dipped my toes into fuzz, compression, and octaves. Having options is nice, but so is a simple small board (which I kind of have now, but also have a larger board).

TU-2 > Tone Hammer used to be enough. Probably could be if I had to downsize. I didn't even have a board and a lot of the time had phantom power or batteries so I didn't even have to plug in any power.

 

[MrAB4003]

If you don't know what pedal you want, you don't need a pedal.

Only exception is a tuner pedal, but you can get by without one.

If you don't know what pedal you want, you don't need a pedal.

Only exception is a tuner pedal, but you can get by without one.

This is very wise advice! I also get by without a tuner pedal just fine.

If you feel that you need pedals, a distortion pedal and a compressor are the first two you should get. The third one is up for debate, depending on the type of music you play, whether you regularly gig or not, what kind of bass tone you're trying to get, and your personal preferences. I'm in the process of figuring out what that third pedal should be for me.