• 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 freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Do You Have More Effects Than Your Guitarists

if i had more than this, it'd be a bit silly, i think.

board_wayne1658400106_85529_7007.jpg
 
OK ... I know I'm gonna hate myself for asking this

WHY ?

Now before you jump to the wrong conclusion

I'm really interested in the how and why bass players use effects ... I mean some pedal boards are bigger than the controls at NASA...

Let me state this used to be my only link to my amp.

Cord.jpg


Now this very same cord ... now some 10 years old connects to a pedal board with the 98% mission of giving me
the convenience of tube vibe on a board into a Solid State amp. That's pretty much it for live stuff ... around the house it's still just the cord into a practice amp.

In the old days it was a Fender P-bass and that cord plugged into an Ampeg SVT.


So here is what I'm asking do you really use effects live ... or just for recording, or at home for your own personal playing?

As to the ??? do my guitar players have more effects than me YES ... one used a multi board and went back to analog ... the other just went to a digital board and analog mix.


This is what I use now ... into a Mark Bass LM II

PedalBoard-1.jpg
[/IMG]


:) ... Pretty simple compared to what most guitar players use.
 
One of my guitarists goes through a Korg Tuner and a Boss NS-2 (not really effects, I know) and has a BBE Sonic Stomp in his effects loop. The other one goes straight into the amp.

I use a Rocktron X-tune into an NS-2, with a Big Muff Pi, a Digitech Bad Monkey, and an Ibanez Weeping Demon in the loop. That all goes into my amp, which has a Symetrix 501 compressor and a BBE 362 Sonic Maximizer in the effects loop.

So, long story short, yes, I do use more effects than either of my guitarists.
 
I showed off my pedal board a few weeks ago and now the two guitarists in my band are dredging out theirs. I feel bad, cuz they have maybe 4 pedals between them, I have twice that. And they are broke so they cant get any more right now lol. I feel bad and I laugh at the same time..

bass > guitar
 
Ooh, vintage sovtek small stone. Looks neat-o...never heard one though.

Not as good as the newer ones, and the bypass bleeds terribly. Plus, something that's about 15 years old "vintage"?

IMO, the Sovtek pedals are horribly overpriced nowadays. I had one of each (Big Muff and Small Stone) and sold them because the reissues (black Russian BMP and USA Small Stone, not to mention my vintage BMP) sounded better, I should have hung onto them for a few years and turned them around for twice the money.

As far as the OP, it has only ever happened to me once, when I was using a BMP and the guitard was channel-switching via amp, but then again 1 is the maximum number of pedals I have ever used at a time.
 
WHY ?

In the old days it was a Fender P-bass and that cord plugged into an Ampeg SVT.
Because they "serve the song"(thanks Rick http://ricksuchow.com/press-group-80.html ) soundwise.

In my old days(70's & 80's) it was a Gibson Thunderbird and an SVT & Acoustic 370/301. Wireless unless the NADY went south.

How?
One song we do drops dramatically in the middle with the guitarist switching to an almost acoustic/clean sound. I switch on a Jet Flanger(Mars Cowling, thanks) sim for that section. Works perfectly.

Another song has a 5 string part that almost sounds like keyboards. To save carrying a 5'er for 1 or 2 songs out of 179 I use the octave lowering effect for the intro and outro of that tune where the 5 sound is most prominent.

Whatever fits or serves the song.
Most of my patches are effects-free except for a touch of compression and noise gate.
 
um... one band:
Lead: wah, comp, dirt, dirt, dirt, phase, delay, boost, just got a whammy
9
rhythm: wah, dirt, dirt, talkbox, comp, amp effects, flange, delay,
8 or so

other band:
only guitar: dirt, wah
2... lol

me: wah, dirt, dirt, envelope, blend, boost, octave, chorus, loop, delay, tremolo
11...

I have no idea if I remembered everything, even that I own...

so I probably have more... but cant remember! lol
 
I've got 12 pedals currently, with a BMS and a Small Stone on their way right now which will bring it up to 14. Mind you I don't use any of them all that often, but I've still got em if I need em... Comparatively, my guitarist uses absolutely no pedals at all... But then again he plays an acoustic. :p
 
Because they "serve the song

Whatever fits or serves the song.

And thanks for elaborating on how and why you use certain effects.

Makes sense ... I use the PM (pitch modulation) function and also turn up the fuzz on one tune to emulate the power and feel of an overdriven Hammond B3 organ, since we don't have keys in our band.

But one does wonder when you see as many as three boards full of 7 or 8 effects each, if it's just for the wank factor.

:eyebrow: ... I mean lets face it most guitar players have too many wank toys... makes you wonder about bass players.