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Anyone using delay pedals?
- Thread starter mrcbass
- Start date
I use delay on one of our songs. While I like analog voiced delays like the Catalinbread Echorec and Ibanez DE7 on guitar, I've found that a simple digital delay is best on bass. I use a BOSS DD6.
I used a Strymon DIG in my psy/space band, but usually melodic riffs over looped bass lines.
I'm a longtime fan of the Subdecay (Super) Spring Theory for all manner of uses, not the least being bass with a pick. Its algorithm was built in-house and can do a supremely realistic spring sound, while also being able to get really, REALLY wild. The response to plectrum transients is what we know and love, and even the fixed, tiny pre-delay was crafted to feel like a spring unit in an amp.
Its Room algorithm is also pretty fantastic, and also the one that needs the LPF to rein in the highs, and also loves fingerstyle bass with ambience.
Its Room algorithm is also pretty fantastic, and also the one that needs the LPF to rein in the highs, and also loves fingerstyle bass with ambience.
I’ve used the DOD Rubberneck for a few years. It’s one of my favorite pedals. I tried to sneak in delay during jams whenever I could. The self oscillation button is also great for psychedelic space.
also use the Keeley Caverns for reverb and the delay side for lighter effect, or to mix the two for soundscapes.
this track should have all mentioned above.
also use the Keeley Caverns for reverb and the delay side for lighter effect, or to mix the two for soundscapes.
this track should have all mentioned above.
I like doing rhythmic stuff with delay, but it is hard to make it work in the full band. I have to use a bpm tap tempo into the Canyon in order to make sure I’m in time and trust the drummer not to speed up!
For example, the main bassline of this has a half note delay the whole way through:
For example, the main bassline of this has a half note delay the whole way through:
This is a really rad track and the bassline with delay really elevates the entire song!
Great catchy bassline on "Out of Reach" too, wish that your band mixed you louder!
Thanks, very kind of you to say!
Yeah, probably should have fought my corner harder on that one. Considering mixing took over a year, by the end I just couldn’t be bothered. You pick your battles, right?
PS that should have read quarter note…
Thread Drift: ^^^this reminds me of a composition I wrote many years ago where, for one section, the guitar part was simply the bassline, albeit 8va and offset by an eighth note.
But during rehearsals, the guitarist could never get it right, because after a measure or two he would get confused and simply synchronize with the bass player, essentially playing octave unisons! He had to force himself to ignore the bass line and rigorously count in order to get that "octave delay" effect that the composition demanded.
In hindsight, I probably should have just indicated that the bass player step on an octave up delay pedal set for 8th-note offset at the start of that part!
Hey, Col Pruse! I hope you can do me a huge favor and solve a mystery for me about your Rubberneck pedal. I've been searching for a modern new-ish analog delay pedal that can reproduce a feature of my beloved vintage green MXR analog delay and I think Rubberneck is one of the few that might be able to duplicate it but I can't get my hands on one in order to test it. It's about the effects loop.
On my MXR there is a "delay only" output. It's hard wired as a tails-only output. What i like to do is split my signal in front of the delay sending one of the signals past the delay on to other effects, and the other into the MXR delay and run a line from the tails-only output to a 2nd amp or the PA and hard pan it so my bass has a stereo-like surround sound effect in the room when the delay is running.
Is it possible to duplicate this with the Rubberneck? It would mean testing the behavior of the signal chain inside the unit. What happens if you don't have a cable in the main output but instead you run a line from the effects loop output to an amp? does the signal come through? If not, does it come through if you have a dummy plug in the effects loop return jack (in other words, a cable that's not plugged into anything else, sort of tricking it to think it's got a signal returning to the loop)? If it does come through with the delay sound, is it tails-only or does the primary input signal ride along with it? According to my research the effects loop signal should be tails-only.
I would be super grateful if you could test this out!
I can honestly live without every other effect except delay. I tend to create some wild soundscapes with delays. However, I also create some foundational percussive layers as well that still act as the bassline. They simply inspire me. If you start looking at a delay as an instrument you play rather than an effect, it can blow your mind.
I find it interesting (though not at all surprising) that the reverb is an effect on the intro, but isn't there when the song proper gets going. The places I play, there is plenty of reverb (decent sized rooms do that to you), so I never feel the need for any more. Indeed, time based effects fight what I'm there to do, which is define the timing and feel with the drummer. If you're doing spacey stuff, i can see it, but in most genres, bass is best left "un time effected" - at least live.
Dr Scientist- The Atmosphere..it does so many great things, even does delay on some settings. I never knew reverb could be so fun on bass. I use it in my band anytime I can get away with it..
I love my Atmosphere! So many great engines and controls in there. I think that the Ventris overall beats it out for sheer variety and control with the app, but the Atmosphere has a few weirdo engines that I use a ton like the gated reverb setting. And, of course, it's way smaller and immediate than the Ventris imo.
Man, this is killer stuff! I want to be on the lookout seeing you guys play around here!!
I know it's biased because we're on a bass forum in a thread talking about delay, but your basslines totally fill out the songs sonically and rhythmically. Super cool tone on Chill Pickles too
It's crazy, I've literally got an Echo Puss going into an Afterneath right now while working a bit on my 6-string piccolo bass technique. Of all things, these exact two pedals and nothing else before my tiny Hotone amp lol.
I've never ever seen a single Echo Puss in the wild!!
Sidenote, I opened mine up a long time ago, and found the trimpots that calibrate the feedback and delay time controls; diming the delay time and turning up the feedback one a bit extends the max delay and opens you up to total self-oscillation if you max the big knob. Luckily the Tone control feeds it, so dial that down and you can get long, Carbon Copy-esque trails without the self-oscillation. And yeah, it was designed to be musical, so even the modulated echoes are sweet and controlled.
The Afterneath is brand new to me, but its ability to run like a granular delay as well as like a smooth reverb, and with the v3's exp/CV control, drew me in. Haven't done much with it yet on bass, but since I do dabble in 6-string bass (non-piccolo), I see it being an incredibly atmospheric soundscape shaper. Found one used at an awesome price for the win... CME exclusive paintjob, even lol
My ambient board's got an Alexander Quadrant Audio Mirror on it, a cool delay modeler that sports MIDI control and a set of delay algorithms with exactly the versatility I need. It definitely gets put to use, too.
The first couple of times I ever heard delay on bass (knowingly) were a John Pattitucci album and a performance of Return of Kung Fu World Champion by Hiromi Uehara (here if you wanna see about the latter) with her trio at the time. 6-string / upper-extended-range bass in both cases, and while I partake in basses with extra highway lanes, I also frequently use it with my Lakland Skyline 4-string to great effect.
On a P or something, I'd probably get the most use from delay by setting it to a slapback and using a pick, or a really wide-open, spacey sort of place. It won't fit most standard bass roles, but sure brings a lot when there's room, for it.
The first couple of times I ever heard delay on bass (knowingly) were a John Pattitucci album and a performance of Return of Kung Fu World Champion by Hiromi Uehara (here if you wanna see about the latter) with her trio at the time. 6-string / upper-extended-range bass in both cases, and while I partake in basses with extra highway lanes, I also frequently use it with my Lakland Skyline 4-string to great effect.
On a P or something, I'd probably get the most use from delay by setting it to a slapback and using a pick, or a really wide-open, spacey sort of place. It won't fit most standard bass roles, but sure brings a lot when there's room, for it.
I'm using a Strymon El Capistan because I adore tape echo. I mostly use it for ambiental effect during psychedelic and experimental moments. Sometimes I kick it on during a solo, especially in combination with fuzz or modulation effects. I might add a bit of spring reverb when I'm looking for that extra ambience. Sometimes I use it for rhythmic repeats, but whatever the case, tap tempo is a must for me.
