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Am I silly for not using any pedals?
- Thread starter DTRN
- Start date
You're silly for asking TalkBass whether you're silly for not using pedals. 
I agree with a lot of Tb'ers on this thread that pedals get in the way at times. Digging tube/hybrid amps in 2021 and only using a Darkglass compressor.
Pedals are for those of us who couldn't gey a good sound simply plugging a bass straight into an amp. You're doing good!
Totally understand. I like pedals, but stick to relatively simple ones. I'm impressed with today's technology, but same as you I'd get lost down the rabbit hole of an uber-versatile programmable "kitchen sink" pedal. I happen to own an inexpensive one, the Zoom B1on -- got it as a gift from my g/f. It can be fun, but I don't spend much time with it.
As others have said, pedals aren't a necessity, but can be used as you need them or want them. I don't really have a need, but I happen to love overdrive/distortion (mild to aggressive, depending) -- a variety of dirty tones. So, I own about a dozen dirt pedals. Some are transparent, some sound modern, others sound vintage, etc. I will choose one of my pedals based on the music I'm playing, the band I'm performing with... or simply my mood that particular day. Sometimes I choose more than one, because stacking distortion pedals can work beautifully.
I haven't needed other effects, but if I was in a band that played "Sledgehammer" (for example) as a feature song, then I might look into octave, chorus, compression.
TL;DR: If you are happy with the sound of your gear and don't need FX on any songs, then again, no reason to buy pedals. But even though I'm thrilled with my basses and amps when run "naked", I love adding overdrive and/or distortion. And not just for rock: I love subtle/moderate OD for any genre.
I think pedals and other effects might be important to a studio musician, or in a recording session. But I play live, in a dance band. The audience is so busy dancing, drinking, eating, I don't think they are conscious of how I have EQ'd my sound. They feel the bass, and are just in-the-moment. I go straight into the amp. No effects. I don't obsess over the "sound". I dial in what seems good to me and roll with it. Never had anyone complain. Always sounded great in our recordings of the gigs. Each to their own, but I'm not OCD over the EQ.
Mostly-irrelevant comment for many reasons, but I'll go there.
That's because in the studio, FX are typically added after the tracks are laid down. As for those vintage recordings by Jamerson et al: some of their tracks were overdriven (often via the recording equipment itself), and most were compressed. Paul McCartney's bass lines were heavily compressed, per a studio engineer who worked on 'em. These days, all bass tracks are compressed to some degree, as are other instruments and vocals. It's also common for reverb, chorus, delay, etc to be added; can happen even on bass. As I've said elsewhere: if you surf isolated bass lines on YouTube, you'll be surprised at how many are distorted or have other FX in addition to compression, even if they don't sound effected in the mix.
Of course that's the studio. The cool thing today is that pedal technology has improved to the point where it's nearly as good as studio technology. Of course that doesn't mean everyone should compress or distort or whatever outside of the studio. But the compression and distortion available today is at least as good or better than that used back on those 60s recordings.
- Apr 22, 2016
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- Breaking even is the new making money.
My take is use the least you can to get what you want. If you like your setup and sound, you're frikken good to go! It doesn't really matter what anyone else does.
Pedals sound great.........in your bedroom
So true - to make pedals work in a band, you need to use them in a band context to hear what they sound like with all of the other instruments.
I love envelope filters when practicing alone, but I have a lot of trouble getting them to work with the band, even with a compressor, eq, etc. It sees that when I turn them on, my sound essentially disappears.
No. You're silly for reasons other than not using any pedals.
Not silly at all. Bass players got by for years without using any pedals or effects and many still do. Different strokes for different folks. Unless you're playing Ramones covers, then it's all downpicking.
I found that an enevlope filter pedal like a Bassballs is a good practice tool for developing your playing touch. If you're off, it lets you know in no uncertain terms. QUACK!
I have a Boss multi effects pedal. I mainly use a limiter to tame spikes when slapping. It’s great just to explore the sounds your bass can make. It also allows you to concentrate on your technique and tone. But effects are always great when you need them. I love the Octaver, WAH, Synth, Chorus and Reverb. Octave and Reverb is really cool for slap! When using completely different sounds you start to play differently which is quite refreshing.
Don't forget that the engineer, either live or in the studio, is using more processing on your sound than you ever normally introduce using pedals. They typically, live at least, will use an EQ (or two or more including HPF etc), a compressor, and then a hard limiter. In the studio possibly a similar setup (I know I tend to use that kind of setup on bass when mixing in the studio, depending on the instrument used. My Alembic and my EBMM basses I could get away with zero processing in the studio - they were that consistent and uniform in level, eq and tone).
