• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Am I silly for not using any pedals?

#41
DTRN said:
Just curious. Aside from my tuner pedal I use no pedals. I play the 6 string as well and was once a pedal junky. I divorced myself of the pedals and learned to play a Telecaster straight up into a clean amp (Fender blackface). It was a huge learning opportunity and became more accurate by using only the volume and tone controls on the guitar and all that's available on the amp. I was actually quite surprised on what I was missing, both in my technique (or lack there of) and available tones with just my guitar and amp alone. So naturally moving on to playing bass I found no need for pedals. Am I right or just stubborn. Is there some pedals I should look into? Incidentally, my favorite pedal for guitar was a compressor of all things.
Click to expand...

Given you have spent time on your technique and get a good feeling from that, I'd look into pedals that respond to playing technique, or force you to use a certain technique to get good sound out of. An analog octaver requiers specific technique to get it to sound good. An envelope filter is very sensitive to playing dynamics. A gated reverb or delay requires you to stop playing to make it do its thang, where a spring reverb loves a hard hit now and again. I'd start with one of those three areas so you can build on the work you have already done.

Budget is your only factor especially if you want pedals that do a good job a preserving your instrument cable amp tone. (Comps are great too, but you are familiar with what they do, so I left them out.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: DTRN and Jakeman
#43
You either use your guitar as a synth controller for pedals or as a crutch.

I found Mesa guitar amps were really good for improving technique. They don’t reallly hide bad dynamics and technique.
Also acoustic guitars are good for this. If you play and you sound bad. The end.

I woudlnt use a pedal unless it’s pretty directly relevant to the music or someone asks you too. But if you learn to sound good without it you’ll be far better for it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DTRN
#44
Depends on what you are doing. In my new project, i have to cover pop songs with a bunch of octave and synth bass sounds and i would never be able to do it properly without any pedals. If you play less poppy (poopy?) genres you can get away without em.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DTRN
#48
I just use a compressor and a preamp to give a some boost and definition to my tone. I definitely recommend testing out a compressor if you haven't used one before.

My guitar player has a ton of effects, and our keyboard player has a huge Moog synth....there's just no need for me to add more effects in the mix. If I was playing in a minimal trio I'd probably add an octave and an envelope filter to my pedal board.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DTRN
#49
I just use a compressor and a preamp to give some boost and definition to my tone. I definitely recommend testing out a compressor if you haven't used one before.

My guitar player has a ton of effects, and our keyboard player has a huge Moog synth....there's just no need for me to add more effects in the mix. If I was playing in a minimal trio I'd probably add an octave and an envelope filter to my pedal board.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DTRN
#51
I've been paring down my pedal collection for the last year. I think in my case, I was using pedals to cover up my basic tone because I wasn't satisfied with the tones my amp/cab/bass could generate. My pedalboard now consists of a Sonic Research Tuner, an Empress Compressor, and my Super Bassman's channel select switch. That's down from over a dozen pedals on my board. Getting the right amp/cab was hugely instrumental in helping me simplify things.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DTRN and oldskoolskatedad
#52
This is really a loaded question.
I don’t count a tuner as a pedal. A musician without a tuner is a drummer.
I agree with practice clean unless you are honing some song that requires it. But ‘work’ I do straight and clean.
But if you don’t have at least a fuzz and a backup fuzz and some tube OD and a modulator what kind of message are you sending? When you meet your maker what will be on your board? Nothing?
Would you show up to a party empty handed? Are there only toothpicks on your charcuterie board?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wild Rice Chris and DTRN
#54
I used zero pedals for the first probably 12 or 15 years I played, aside from an old El Generico (DOD, I think?) envelope filter/octave/synth thing which was pretty much only used to make Claypool sounds for fun. In the past 5 or so years, I’ve accumulated a fair number of quality effects pedals, but still only use one (now it’s an always-on Darkglass compressor) 90% of the time. Many, MANY big-deal bass players never touched toe to an effects pedal and never needed to. If you like them, use them. If you don’t, that’s cool, too.
 
#55
Maybe it is just the style of music I play, but it seems like so many pedals just get in the way of the bassline. Granted, I am not playing the most adventurous music that might require a rethinking or restyling of the bassline.

There is a nice freedom to having no pedals. With guitar, I think it is pretty limiting to not use any pedals.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DTRN
#56
All of my bass time is at home, through interfaces, computer, etc. Pedals are much more necessary in this situation, I believe. If I was in a rehearsal room with an Ampeg or GK, or similar amps, it'd probably be just a tuner for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DTRN
#57
I came along at a time when pedals for bass were just not done, and until the advent of the BOSS pedals, most of them were so bad they didn't need lights on them: You'd hear LOTS of noise suddenly and you knew you'd stepped them ON.

Like everything else, I think you should use what speaks to your ideas and creativity, there's no 'wrong answer'. Having said that, just like some guitar players, I occasionally see bassists who could easily do without them, or at least some of them.

Me, I prefer them for 'seasoning': A little chorus/flange, compression/limiting, and occasionally gated reverb is plenty for the JW. I WISH I could use an octave box or auto-wah, but I just don't play much where it would make any sense, but they seem like they'd be fun in the right spot.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DTRN
#60
Most bass players I've known over the years, back to the 80s, haven't used pedals. When I did sound for national touring acts in the 80s, some used pedals, but it was the exception.

Yeah, I'm old. But in addition to "tone is in the fingers" there's a lot to be said for simplifying the signal chain when you're gigging.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DTRN, SiSoldier, Hummergeist and 1 other person

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back