• 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.

curious how others use their effects

nun lover

nun lover

Jun 7, 2005
541
132
Overland Park, KS
#1
just started getting into effects for bass. in the past i've never used any but now i'm playing more experimental music and wanted to try some new tools.

i began by trying a few guitar pedals i had laying around then purchased some for bass. i've found that whatever effect i'm using, i want it as subtle as possible, with the effect levels at the lowest. is this a waste of time having them set so it's barely noticeable? or are bass effects commonly used to pop out of the mix and be noticed. i just feel like my tone shouldn't have such dramatic changes but maybe that's just me being an effects noob.

i'm curious to see how you guys use your effects.
 
#2
Heck-No! It's perfectly-fine to use effects subtly.

'barely noticeable difference' is also, for example, how one might describe the difference between an $800 bass and an $8000 bass - right? Or why we work on fine-points of angle-of-attack and whatnot on our finger-plucking!

Or why we'd walk all the way to the back of the stage during a song, to turn an amp knob like two-degrees to the right.

Joe
 
#3
hey man use your effects however you want. much like art, everyone's tastes are different. Personally, i like my effects blended all the way into my signal so you hear Maximum effect and minimum real bass. I enjoy Envelope filters for funk and funkyness, Some Fuzz and overdrive, and a Flanger here and there.
 
#4
Nothing wrong with subtlety!

On my amp, my clean and overdrive channels are subtle - smooth, clean tone on one, and slighty gritty overdrive (with reduced high end) on the other.

My board, however, is set up dramatically for the most part. With the exception of my Aphex Punch Factory (set for mild compression), everything else is intended to make a statement:

- EHX Little Big Muff - for thick, warm fuzz solos!
- Morley Power Wah - for adding a flashy sweeping wah to my solos!
- EHX Clone Theory - for a lush and deep chorus effect, or the occasional high-rate eerie tone
- EHX Bass Micro Synthesizer - for otherworldly sounds and synthesized industrial effects

I don't use effects all the time (I'm playing clean or overdriven for about 70% of the time), but when I use them, standing out is important for me.

Lots of people use effects for subtle changes, though. If you don't think your tone should involve high-gain distortion or complete mutations of your original sound, you're not alone! Everyone has different tastes when it comes to effects.
 
#5
I don't use a lot of effects, and 80-90% of my playing is clean, but when I stomp on something I want it to have an EFFECT - I want it to be heard. To me, that's the point. I want my fuzz to make the room buzz like a battery-operated-bedroom-appliance. I want my OD to give my bass tone a big gritty roar. Then again, I don't use any modulation effects (phaser, flanger, etc), so my opinion might be different about those items.

If subtle works for you, then it's all good :)
 
#6
I usually only use filter effects (wahs, auto wahs, synths), so I like them to stand out. The way I see it, effects are meant to make you sound different, so why not let everyone hear that it is different? Also, if I am playing a song that is famous for a certain effect, for example Jaco's use of chorus on Birdland, I make sure that everyone can hear the effect, so that they know what I am doing, and notice the tribute.
 
#7
I generally go bass -> effects -> amp.

Other than that I generally use them for specific passages, not really a leave-it-on-all-the-time type of dude.
 
#8
nun lover said:
just started getting into effects for bass. in the past i've never used any but now i'm playing more experimental music and wanted to try some new tools.

i began by trying a few guitar pedals i had laying around then purchased some for bass. i've found that whatever effect i'm using, i want it as subtle as possible, with the effect levels at the lowest. is this a waste of time having them set so it's barely noticeable? or are bass effects commonly used to pop out of the mix and be noticed. i just feel like my tone shouldn't have such dramatic changes but maybe that's just me being an effects noob.

i'm curious to see how you guys use your effects.
Click to expand...

I personally use a wide variety of effects and the same effect can be used subtly in one song and heavily affect the bass tone (one might not even know that the origin of the sound is a bass).

One thing to consider though. You might have to bring "up the level of the effect-ness" a bit more to be heard in a mix with other instruments and even a bit little more so live.
 
#13
I mainly use OD and find that if you try to be subtle, it will be completely lost live. That said, I rarely use effects and when I do I want them to be noticed.

However, I can understand using a subtle OD, for example, just to thicken the sound.
 
#14
savinggrace said:
(...)
One thing to consider though. You might have to bring "up the level of the effect-ness" a bit more to be heard in a mix with other instruments and even a bit little more so live.
Click to expand...

I'm also with the "when I turn it on, I want it to be obvious to everyone in the room" crowd. I mostly use effects for solo spots, or for texture in "down" spots in the music, although there is one slow song I use flanger on for the whole thing.

Most of my experience is playing live, so I think savinggrace imparts some wisdom that I agree with 100%- the more other things going on, and the lower you are in the mix, the more you need to turn up the "effect" for it to be noticed, and live this effect is multiplied. Also, ask the soundman not to kill the highs in your channel- that high airy stuff can really convey the leading edge tones of effects, especially flanger/chorus and envelope filter effects. I don't like the highs boosted, just not cut. (Well it may also be important for distortion (which I don't use because I have yet to find a pedal I really like) but that will depend on your distorted tone and how much high end you throw in there- hopefully others with more distortion effect experience will comment on that part of it.)

In the studio I think there is a lot more room to use effects more subtley, since the entire mix process can be used to make sure the effect is noticed- the settings I use live for Flanger are usually too gnarly when I record on my Fostex.
 
#16
Find your own way ther is no wright or rong.
Playing with a band most of the time my effects textures are pretty subtle designed to blend and support the band sound and mood. But I do at times go for extreme and over the top sounds as well, it all depends. My sounds are all in banks and wild and crazy is usually a button push or 2 away and I also keep some single effects in line for those extreme moments.
 
#18
Most of what I play doesn't call for FX, and I've gone over a year without using them at all before. But When I do use them I want it to be intense. But extreme FX sounds can sometimes get in the way of my bass being a bass and that is why Barge Concepts VFB-2 is really making things fun for me; I can have my FX at extreme output levels going into each other yet keep it all nicely controlled, and never lose the bassyness of bass, plus the feedback loop gives my even more chances for sick noises:hyper: :bassist: :hyper:
 
#19
it depends on the effect, what i'm trying to accomplish with it, and the setting i'm in. in my main gig (rock trio), i use an octaver and varying degrees of overdrive (from subtlegrittyboost to balls-to-the-wall). the octaver is usually used to thicken the sound and make everything fuller (especially during guitar solos); it's more subtle than anything... in one song, however, it's more pronounced, as the song features an octaved bass riff. on that same note, one of our other songs features a BallzOut OD bass riff. in our ballad, i switch between subtlegrittyboost (choruses and solo) and pure clean (verses). it all depends what you're going for.

also, i think that your bass tone changes noticeably whenever you turn an effect on, subtle or not. it doesn't have to be crazy to be noticeable. it's like adding a different kind of spice to a delicious dish... it's subtle, and the dish is still delicious, but you're tasting a little something different. and you like it. :D

bottom line: to each his/her own. serve The Music.

http://[malware url removed].net/vicious-smiley-1815.gif
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back