Beck effect

[Nathan in NJ]

I'm interested in a pedal that would make my bass sound as if I plucked the string with the volume pot down and then quickly turned it the whole way up. Like what Jeff Beck does (did) effortlessly with his little finger. But automatic. Is that basically what a synth pedal is? I guess that's the same sound? I have an extra dbx rackmount compressor. Would I get this effect if I set the threshold really low and the ratio really high and cranked the output?

 

[mike buzzetti]

Volume pedal ! I used one for years just for that effect , works GREAT , an automated pedal would suck , foot control is 100% linear and under your control.

 

[sunbeast]

If you want a pedal that does this automatically there are a number of options these days with different amounts of tweakability of the note envelope to allow you a level of speed and consistency that a manual volume swell would make really difficult. The general effect is just an envelope generator or envelope trigger (one is dynamic to your playing and one is just the same envelope no matter what once it triggers) that triggers with a slow attack on the AR envelope. Names it can go by are “Slow Gear”, “Auto Swell”, “Attack Delay”, and a number of others (there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on this name convention!).

Boss came out with an effect called the Slow Gear that was one of the first popular versions of this effect but with limited tweakability (it’s been cloned and modified countless times and you can find models of it in lots of digital multi-FX like Line 6 Helix as well). EHX has the Attack Decay pedal, Malekko the Sneak Attack (both of these offer a lot of tweakability to get synthy textures), TC Crescendo (and countless other cheap basic Chinese swell and auto volume designs like it). There are also a number of delay and reverb pedals that have swell effects added internally- one of my favorites is on my Meris Mercury 7 Reverb, which has a dedicated Swell footswitch and control over the attack speed. And as you noted, lots of synth-type effects have “Attack Delay” engines like this built-in as well (I used the EHX Bass Micro Synth for this purpose for years).

 

[mike buzzetti]

If you want a pedal that does this automatically there are a number of options these days with different amounts of tweakability of the note envelope to allow you a level of speed and consistency that a manual volume swell would make really difficult. The general effect is just an envelope generator that triggers with a slow attack on the AR envelope. Names it can go by are “Slow Gear”, “Auto Swell”, “Attack Delay”, and a number of others (there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on this name convention!).

Boss came out with an effect called the Slow Gear that was one of the first popular versions of this effect but with limited tweakability (it’s been cloned and modified countless times and you can find models of it in lots of digital multi-FX like Line 6 Helix as well). EHX has the Attack Decay pedal, Malekko the Sneak Attack (both of these offer a lot of tweakability to get synthy textures), TC Crescendo (and countless other cheap basic Chinese swell and auto volume designs like it). There are also a number of delay and reverb pedals that have swell effects added internally- one of my favorites is on my Meris Mercury 7 Reverb, which has a dedicated Swell footswitch and control over the attack speed. And as you noted, lots of synth-type effects have “Attack Delay” engines like this built-in as well (I used the EHX Bass Micro Synth for this purpose for years).

He did ask like JEFF BECK did ! thats pure volume control , the one problem I see with using swells/synth is the speed , it will not adjust for tempo changes you would need to adjust the swell time. ?? Just my opinion..

 

[bholder]

Craig Anderton's seminal work on DIY effects includes an envelope triggered attack modifier like the Slow Gear. I built one in college, worked just fine, wonder if I still have it in a box somewhere...

 

[jerry]

Anthony Jackson uses a volume pedal for swells on bass to great effect.

 

[Jeff Hughes]

I use a Mooer Slow Engine pedal. It does a volume swell. There are other volume swell pedals, but I like this one the best. The cool thing about the Mooer is the signal stays open or strong after the swell.

I had high hopes for the TC Crescendo pedal accept that it closes up and cuts the signal off after the note begins to die.

I love that slow engine though, and I would never give that up.

 

[Nathan in NJ]

Volume pedal ! I used one for years just for that effect , works GREAT , an automated pedal would suck , foot control is 100% linear and under your control.

I understand, but I'm not talented enough to get the timing right. I'd have to practice for hours and hours and hours.

 

[Nathan in NJ]

He did ask like JEFF BECK did ! thats pure volume control , the one problem I see with using swells/synth is the speed , it will not adjust for tempo changes you would need to adjust the swell time. ?? Just my opinion..

Oh I didn't think about that. Tempo changes. But still, I'm going to check out some of these pedal suggestions.

 

[sunbeast]

He did ask like JEFF BECK did ! thats pure volume control , the one problem I see with using swells/synth is the speed , it will not adjust for tempo changes you would need to adjust the swell time. ?? Just my opinion..

He specifically asked for that Jeff Beck thing, "but automatic".
I do both depending on the application, and of course there are things either can do that the other can't. If you are trying to do really expressive swells with varying lengths of envelopes then an auto-swell effect will be more limiting, if you want consistency and speed then the manual (volume pedal or potentiometer) variety will be more limiting and more work. That said, some of the auto-swell options do display different response dependent on the intensity of your playing so you can get some shorter or longer attack dependent on how hard you play and where the sensitivity of the effect is set (most of them do seem to have a fixed envelope though, more like a synth that triggers the same attack and decay with each triggering which is useful when trying to us as a more synth-like effect of course). Almost all of them have an adjustable "attack" control that controls how long before the peak of the volume swell.

 

[mikewalker]

...I'd have to practice for hours and hours and hours.

You say that like it's a bad thing...

 

[bholder]

He specifically asked for that Jeff Beck thing, "but automatic".
I do both depending on the application, and of course there are things either can do that the other can't. If you are trying to do really expressive swells with varying lengths of envelopes then an auto-swell effect will be more limiting, if you want consistency and speed then the manual (volume pedal or potentiometer) variety will be more limiting and more work. That said, some of the auto-swell options do display different response dependent on the intensity of your playing so you can get some shorter or longer attack dependent on how hard you play and where the sensitivity of the effect is set (most of them do seem to have a fixed envelope though, more like a synth that triggers the same attack and decay with each triggering which is useful when trying to us as a more synth-like effect of course). Almost all of them have an adjustable "attack" control that controls how long before the peak of the volume swell.

The one thing all of the automatic swell effects have in common is that to get them to work reliably, you need to be careful about being consistent in your own attack on the strings. Learning how to trigger it to get the desired swell can take some time. But way easier than coordinating with a foot pedal (at least for some of us).

 

[sunbeast]

I understand, but I'm not talented enough to get the timing right. I'd have to practice for hours and hours and hours.

Another thing I didn't mention is that what Jeff Beck and many guitarists do depends on significant compression to really sound powerful (a driven tube amp, drive and/or boost pedals, or an actual compressor or a combination of any/all). Many/most of the auto-swell options allow a volume boost when engaged or have some built-in compression that make up for the loss of the loudest portion of the attack envelope.

 

[sunbeast]

The one thing all of the automatic swell effects have in common is that to get them to work reliably, you need to be careful about being consistent in your own attack on the strings. Learning how to trigger it to get the desired swell can take some time. But way easier than coordinating with a foot pedal (at least for some of us).

I find some are much more forgiving than others- the designs have come a long way since early versions like the SlowGear or the basic Attack Decay in the EHX Microsynths that required very consistent playing to trigger consistently. My Meris Mercury 7 is super forgiving while also seeming to have some expressive capabilities.

 

[Altitude]

With the volume pedal it's the "Lifeson Effect!"

 

[DJ Bebop]

I'm interested in a pedal that would make my bass sound as if I plucked the string with the volume pot down and then quickly turned it the whole way up. Like what Jeff Beck does (did) effortlessly with his little finger. But automatic. Is that basically what a synth pedal is? I guess that's the same sound? I have an extra dbx rackmount compressor. Would I get this effect if I set the threshold really low and the ratio really high and cranked the output?

Grandpa budget here.
I use this...

It has both the swell-type effect in there plus you can program the expression pedal for a volume pedal as well as wah, and whammy, think Mono Neon.

You can do the same thing with the B1X Four or B6. Great budget boxes.

 

[CryingBass]

Yep. Tubes Swell. Automagically

 

[bholder]

Craig Anderton's seminal work on DIY effects includes an envelope triggered attack modifier like the Slow Gear. I built one in college, worked just fine, wonder if I still have it in a box somewhere...

Forgot to mention the book name, duh: Still available as "Electronic Projects for Musicians" - https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Projects-Musicians-Craig-Anderton-ebook/dp/B0BPMSLYZ4/ref=sr_1_1

 

[alex1fly]

Can't do it automatically. Sure there's envelope pedals but in practice you'll find that you want to change the swell speed. There may be a way to control swell speed of an envelope pedal with an expression pedal.

 

[Goatrope]

I think this would do the trick.