Do I really need to use pedals ... and if so, which one(s)?

[LowendG]

Hello,

This is a strange question I guess but here is my situation. As I wrote in another post I'm in my 70s and hadn't gigged in nine years but was asked to fill in for a local band through the summer. I've played five gigs and have eight more and then the season is done. I don't know what will happen after that but I doubt I will play bass again, at least not for pay.

We play typical songs but nothing really past hard rock ... and even the softer side of that. We've play mostly at RV places and restaurants, so mostly outside or under a pavilion. There is one more bar on our gig schedule and I don't know much about it except that it in an upscale section of a resort town.

So far I've been getting by basically no pedals except for a tuner. I've also used some of the bass presets on my Sonicake Matrix (version 1) which I sort of like ... but at a recent gig it just didn't seem to want to work.

I've been using an old Fender Bassman 150 that has a four-dial EQ settings for mids ... which I still haven't figured out very well. It also has a built-in compressor (which I understand is pretty tame) and a contour switch and other controls. I've switched over to an Ibanez TMB100 which has those active bass and treble EQs controls so it does have a lot of diverse settings.

Finally my question: Do I really need to buy a pedal of some sort ... especially because in all likelihood it will be an expense for an item I will use for our eight gigs and then never use again. Of course I can sell it but I doubt I'd ever use it again. Nobody in the band has complained about my spartan setup ... but I sort of would like to "go out with a bang" in my last gigs. Our next gig is the band's most important ... in about 10 days at the county fair.

I don't really use effects on bass. When I started playing in the mid-1960s nobody seemed to use pedals. It was just the player, his or her bass, and an amp. And' I've tried to follow that minimalist approach to my gigs in the ensuing decades.

But if I WERE to add a pedal .... what would you folks recommend? I'm thinking maybe something with some presets and there really is no single effect I want to try.

You absolutely don't "need" to just go buy some pedal. You only need a tuner. That said, are you sending your bass DI to the house at these gigs? I've used all manner of effects over the years but even now as a pro player I'm mostly playing stuff that just calls for a "straight" bass sound. I only use a preamp pedal in front of my DI to give me control over what I'm sending FOH (I don't trust the DI out on the backline amps I'm usually faced with). But if it's only your amp providing the "room" sound for the bass, then you might as well stick with what you're doing if it sounds good. Effects can be a great way to muck up and "un-focus" a decent bass sound.....
Now, if you want a pedal just to have some fun....for rock it's pretty nice to be able to kick in a little overdrive on some tunes. Can really ratchet up the vibe.

 

[mrjim123]

If you have to ask, then no, you don't need a pedal.

 

[nightchef]

I’ve been gigging on bass in various contexts for a long time (as in, when I did my first bass gig, I would have needed to take my check to a bank teller, because ATMs had not been invented yet). And I’ve done 90-some percent of those gigs with nothing but a bass, a cable, and an amp. Unless you’re playing a style of music that calls for specific effects (e.g. chorus for certain kinds of fusion or R&B, compression for slap), a good bass through a good amp should get the job done.

 

[RandomKaren]

I use no pedals, except at home where I like messing around with pedals. I'd spend time with the EQ rather than complicating things.

 

[Thunderthumbs73]

Hello,

This is a strange question I guess but here is my situation. As I wrote in another post I'm in my 70s and hadn't gigged in nine years but was asked to fill in for a local band through the summer. I've played five gigs and have eight more and then the season is done. I don't know what will happen after that but I doubt I will play bass again, at least not for pay.

We play typical songs but nothing really past hard rock ... and even the softer side of that. We've play mostly at RV places and restaurants, so mostly outside or under a pavilion. There is one more bar on our gig schedule and I don't know much about it except that it in an upscale section of a resort town.

So far I've been getting by basically no pedals except for a tuner. I've also used some of the bass presets on my Sonicake Matrix (version 1) which I sort of like ... but at a recent gig it just didn't seem to want to work.

I've been using an old Fender Bassman 150 that has a four-dial EQ settings for mids ... which I still haven't figured out very well. It also has a built-in compressor (which I understand is pretty tame) and a contour switch and other controls. I've switched over to an Ibanez TMB100 which has those active bass and treble EQs controls so it does have a lot of diverse settings.

Finally my question: Do I really need to buy a pedal of some sort ... especially because in all likelihood it will be an expense for an item I will use for our eight gigs and then never use again. Of course I can sell it but I doubt I'd ever use it again. Nobody in the band has complained about my spartan setup ... but I sort of would like to "go out with a bang" in my last gigs. Our next gig is the band's most important ... in about 10 days at the county fair.

I don't really use effects on bass. When I started playing in the mid-1960s nobody seemed to use pedals. It was just the player, his or her bass, and an amp. And' I've tried to follow that minimalist approach to my gigs in the ensuing decades.

But if I WERE to add a pedal .... what would you folks recommend? I'm thinking maybe something with some presets and there really is no single effect I want to try.

Tuner. Even if you don't think you need it, cool to have the mute function to unplug your bass, and leave your amp settings and volume dialed in-as is.

 

[Thumpin6string]

A comp or an HPF if your amp doesn't have one and maybe a tuner. That's about it.

 

[Wood and Wire]

Doesn't sound like you actually need any f/x pedals, and for such a short run of gigs you could easily borrow the types you want to try out.

 

[Tom Bomb]

…
One would be wise to pedal, if it helps. My favorites are: the pre (microIIbass), the comp (forest green - hand hammered), a delay (DD#) and a good boost (any of a number of subtle, or not-so-subtle, overdrives etc.), all intended to take a sterile signal and give it some oomph, some class.

That's policy, for what that's worth — something that should happen, and does happen, through any number of tangents and convolutions, intentional and/or unintentional. So that the signal stands alone, more or less, and the environs, inside and outside the box, don't figure so much as they once did. Commonplace now, in our time.
…

 

[superheavyfunk]

Do I really need to buy a pedal of some sort

Nobody in the band has complained about my spartan setup

I don't really use effects on bass.

You’ve answered the question for yourself already in your original post.

 

[darwin-bass]

No, you don't need pedals. But there can be benefit. I have gone from never using any to using a handful and I don't want to go back. Here's my list in priority order. The first 3 are mandatory, the others are just nice to have in my book.

1. Mute switch. Also known as a tuner, but the tuner is secondary. Having a mute switch is really handy for preventing unwanted noise in the PA.
2. Light over drive. Provides some natural compression plus adds some mid clarity to help notes sound like more than just low rumble.
3. High & low pass filter. Limit the bandwith to focus more on the core of the tone.
4. Compressor. Picks up where the overdrive leaves off. Smooths the signal to allow it to set nicely in the mix.
5. Octave. I use this occasionally to sound a bit more like a synth.
6. Chorus. I use it only with my fretless for that great 80's tone. And I feel guilty doing it.

I get my "pedals" via the HX Stomp though I do have a couple of stand-alone units that I also enjoy using.

 

[LG TPAFL]

Yes, a floor tuner because headstock tuner should not be used in front of other people

Why not? I'm a fairly new bass player starting 4 years ago. Why should a headstock tuner not be used? Just curious.

 

[waynobass]

I've been using an old Fender Bassman 150 that has a four-dial EQ settings for mids ... which I still haven't figured out very well. It also has a built-in compressor (which I understand is pretty tame) and a contour switch and other controls. I've switched over to an Ibanez TMB100 which has those active bass and treble EQs controls so it does have a lot of diverse settings.

You've got more than enough knobs to twist. A pedal will just complicate matters.

 

[Ralph124C41]

I would agree with others here in that you are happy with your sound, and as such don't need any effects pedals.

However, I would pick up a DI pedal for use as a backup in case you lose your amp and need to go direct to the house. Any of the Sansamp DIs would be great. They have tone shaping and light cab emulation circuitry.

When I got back into bass a few months back, and started over with gear, my first purchase was a used Sansamp Bass Driver DI (version 1) I found on Craigslist for $100!

What I do have is a spare Hartke Tiltback 10 amp. It is no longer made and the contour switch tip is broken off so I can't adjust it but it does offer 120 watts through a single 10-inch speaker and would be OK at these gigs because volume is not a problem.

 

[Ralph124C41]

If you want to, use what you want and what sounds good to you and in the song.

Budget will dictate what multi-effect may work for you, but look at used Zoom and Line6 HX line units. It will be more than you would need and they should be easy enough to move along when you're done.

I've looked at some Zoom products. In fact I am using a Zoom G1on (I know, made for guitar) just for the tuner function as it can read my bass OK. I just wonder how a bass-specific Zoom would work for me.

 

[davedamage]

There are bass specific Zoom models.

 

[JimmyM]

I wouldn’t spend a penny on it unless…

1. There were more gigs and I really needed a certain effect that really adds something.

B. I wanted to have fun with effects and had a specific goal in mind.

You don’t need to buy an effect because you think you need it. I recommend either buying with a purpose or getting yourself some cheap Zoom multi thing to get an idea of what you dig.

 

[Ralph124C41]

You absolutely don't "need" to just go buy some pedal. You only need a tuner. That said, are you sending your bass DI to the house at these gigs? I've used all manner of effects over the years but even now as a pro player I'm mostly playing stuff that just calls for a "straight" bass sound. I only use a preamp pedal in front of my DI to give me control over what I'm sending FOH (I don't trust the DI out on the backline amps I'm usually faced with). But if it's only your amp providing the "room" sound for the bass, then you might as well stick with what you're doing if it sounds good. Effects can be a great way to muck up and "un-focus" a decent bass sound.....
Now, if you want a pedal just to have some fun....for rock it's pretty nice to be able to kick in a little overdrive on some tunes. Can really ratchet up the vibe.

I am not sending the bass to the house. The band leader said I could do it that way but he thinks the "old school" of just playing it through the amp works at the small gigs we have. So my signal chain remains like it was back in the '60s when I started playing guitar. I started playing bass, however, I think in the 1980s.

 

[Syco_bass]

You can buy my Helix LT listed here in the classifieds and try all kinds of pedals, pre-amps, and cab sims, etc.

I think I'm going to go back to analog pedals and some cool pre-amp pedals. The 2 pedals I've come to really appreciate are a HPF/LPF and a compressor. I can get pretty sloppy moving around on stage, so those two keep my in my lane. Other's I would consider are clean boost or a volume pedal to boost your gain a bit for solos or little parts that you need to cut through a bit more, a distortion and maybe a cab sim/DI if you don't mic your cabinet.

With all that said, when I first got my Helix, I played with all sorts of plug ins, cab sims, amp sims, etc. Once I got "My sound"... I found I only used one patch for every song. So, now I'm building an analog pedal board with those boxes. Why??? IDK...Cause I have GAS I guess. Good luck.

 

[Ralph124C41]

There are bass specific Zoom models.

Yes I know. I've just never used one. Frankly I didn't care for the sound quality of the G1on when I used it on guitar.

 

[Ralph124C41]

You can buy my Helix LT listed here in the classifieds and try all kinds of pedals, pre-amps, and cab sims, etc.

I think I'm going to go back to analog pedals and some cool pre-amp pedals. The 2 pedals I've come to really appreciate are a HPF/LPF and a compressor. I can get pretty sloppy moving around on stage, so those two keep my in my lane. Other's I would consider are clean boost or a volume pedal to boost your gain a bit for solos or little parts that you need to cut through a bit more, a distortion and maybe a cab sim/DI if you don't mic your cabinet.

With all that said, when I first got my Helix, I played with all sorts of plug ins, cab sims, amp sims, etc. Once I got "My sound"... I found I only used one patch for every song. So, now I'm building an analog pedal board with those boxes. Why??? IDK...Cause I have GAS I guess. Good luck.

I do have a regular (guitar-specific) compressor and, as I said, the amp has its own compressor.