Do I need effects pedals?

[lizardking837]

I use zero effcts pedals on most jobs -country, rock,blues, jazz, etc, No thrash metal, emo, Bjork. I own a Artisan Guitar amp with reverb and echo (used sparingly) for small jazz club gigs (lots of bass solos).
I own a Sans Amp Tech21 NYC, but use it only when I bring a Fender Japan Precision with wimpy pups.

Do I need to make some changes?s - To get Down And Boogie And Become Risque



There'll Be A Change In The Weather And A Change In The Scene
How Is That?
I'm Gonna Start Wearin' Leather And Change My Routine
I'll Wear Dark Glasses Maybe A Toupee
I'll Get Down And Boogie And Become Risque
I'll Start Wearin' Make-Up Like Jackson And Prince
You'll See Me Ridin' In My Mercedes Benz
Nobody Wants You When You Just Play Guitar
There'll Be Some Changes Made Tomorrow
There'll Be Some Changes Made
Y'know Chet, You're Never Gonna Get To Play That Rock & Roll
Why Is That?
You're Kinda Country, A Little Bit Old
That Hurts
But Your Money For Nothin' And Your Chicks For Free
Well, Them Groupie Girls Ain't What They're Cracked Up To Be
Well Not All Of Them Anyway
Well I'd Really Like To Find Out For Myself, Don't You Know
I've Had A Kind Of Quiet Life Down Here On Music Row
Oh I Know
Well Uh... Like A Man, What Do You Think?
Man, I Don't Know
I Really Think That I Can Make The Grade
Daddy-O Daddy-O
There'll Be Some Changes Made
I Think I Was Sharp There
Just Play One - Just Play
Yeah
You've Played Before
Watch It, Watch It
Stand Back Boy
Well I'd Really Like... To Find Out For Myself,
Don't You Know. 'Cause
Like I Said I've Had A Sheltered Life
Down Here On Music Row
I Don't Believe So
Well What... What Do You Think Mark?
I Dunno
I Really Think That I Can Make The Grade
There'll Be Some Changes Made
Now Listen To This I'm Gonna Play Some Rock And Roll
There'll Be Some Changes Made... Yeah
There'll Be Some Changes Made
Now Let's All Play
Anybody Hurt?
I Learned This At... At Summer Bible School
Well, I Never Could Trust A Saint
I'm Only A Part-Time Saint
Pretty Good But You're No Mark Knopfler
What About That One There?
Not All That Bad
I Like That
I Like That
Don't Make Me Look Bad Now, Don't Make Me Look Bad
Respect For Your Elders
There'll Be Some Changes Made

You don't, but they're fun. I'll admit, I don't need the majority of the pedals I have, but my god it's fun to turn on a flanger or chorus and give your bass a ton of texture. I love my synth pedal that I can switch between an octave-fuzz and auto-wah....and then cranking on a whammy pedal to come up with some bizarre sounding stuff....

But no you don't "need them."

 

[Killing Floor]

Even if you don’t use them you still need them.
Even if you have multiple similar devices that never leave the box you still NEED them.

 

[vvvmmm]

You don't need 'em unless you wanna sound like Bootsy or Peter Hook or you have a stack on 11 or you want yer GK to sound like a 'peg or yer fretted Jazz to sound fretless or ...

Also, they are especially fun playing originals, improvs, and at jams.

Plus, what else are you gonna spend under a cuppla hunnert on, food? Phone? Car payments?

Finally, when yer inna bar you can ask a prospective partner if they wanna go home with you and check out yer pedals, some with etchings.

 

[Fuzzbass]

But ultimately, only you know if you need them or not.

This!

Technically, I don't *need* effects for any of the bands I perform with, and every so often I go pedal-free. That said, I love overdrive for all forms of music: aggressive grind for rock, tubey harmonic warmth at minimum for everything else.

A number of my BLs have specifically said that they love my tone, noting that it's one of the things that differentiates me from the other bassists they use. So, that might be an argument for "need" instead of "want", but I believe they'd hire me even if I was un-effected (so to speak).

I only own overdrive/distortion and compressor pedals -- I rarely use comp, but it can be highly useful. Other FX are also cool on bass, but I'm a lazy effect user and definitely don't need those so I don't bother. But I gotta have my overdrive/distortion for rock because it makes my ears happy, and also makes my bass rig sound cranked to eleven even when I'm not playing loud.

 

[primusfan1989]

No, you do not "need" any pedals, they're fun to play with but often are not a necessity

 

[neddyrow]

I play upright in a bluegrass/Old time fiddle band and shouldn't need an effects pedal. But sometimes we get a little weird as we transition in between songs. I found an envelope filter that adds a little color to keep things interesting. We are not quite Billy Strings status but like to jam out from time to time to break up the monotony of playing one bluegrass or fiddle tune after another.

I say go for it.

 

[JW56789]

Yes.

 

[JW56789]

No.

 

[SteveC]

I use a compressor these days. In the past I have not, but I think now that I have a good one (Empress Bass Compressor) I see the benefits. I get my warmth from my REDDI Tube DI. Those and a tuner/mute so I can tune/change basses is all I really need.

 

[FilterFunk]

For your situation, it seems like a better question than "Do I need effects pedals?" is "Do I want effects pedals?"

It sounds like you want to make some kind of change, and pedals might help.

 

[HolmeBass]

Yes, you do. Just look at what pro bass players are doing. The vast majority have pedal boards now, even if small and just a tuner, pre, and maybe some light dirt.

But I also believe every bassist needs and envelope filter.

 

[Ken Morgan]

I haven’t used any effects live since 1979 when ‘Take a this Job and Shove It’ was on the charts. Recording I often use a limiter, and envelope shaper, and just a touch of ambient reverb when I ran direct.

Some things need effects, but I’m never called to play those things.

 

[Pings Bass]

No.

 

[jerry]

For me its according to what the gig calls for. No hard rule either way.

 

[butterfingers1]

No.

Although a HPF (high pass filter) is useful but quality amplifiers often have this built-in.

 

[220_Hz]

Coming from an effects lover:
you don't NEED to have any pedals on your current board if you're already satisfied by the tones from your current repertoire of songs. However it's fun to be able to have some extra effects at your feet fro when you want them. HPFs and LPFs don't strike me much as "pedals" but more as utilities to help your amp and speakers, or to dial into a muddy sounding room.

I usually have at least an overdrive and a compressor, but I like chorus for when there's a moment of bass soloing

 

[gmarcus]

I've played in bands where I didn't need any effects other than a nice fat tone from the amp and other times effects were and integral part of the band sound. It depends what the band needs to sound like. Currently I'm working with a board that has progressive levels of overdrive and fuzz so I can fill more space and make the band sound bigger or back off to open a hole for the singer. I'm also working with the guitar so that when we both kick in the drive or fuzz it is complementary and creates a bigger sound instead of mud. I'm staying completely away from all modulation, reverb and delay as the guitar player has that covered.

 

[Jek Porkins]

Nah you don't need them... But just wanting them is good enough! I rarely use them anymore but I still keep buying new ones! I use totally lame excuses to boot! My enabling wife does not help as she lets me get whateva wheneva!

 

[the bat]

Ah yes the genre of Bjork. YES you need to buy 6 pedals to get going, then a few more later on.

 

[ThunderV]

I use compression as well a a very mild overdrive....these stay on all the time. I also run a multi effects pedal which is mostly in bypass except when I need some heavy dirt or octave.....last but not least....I run a wah pedal. For a long time, I used nothing but a tuner. I will say that the effects that I currently use work well for my current band.