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Do your pedals cost more than your basses?
- Thread starter Alfonso Alba
- Start date
Good point. My small board that gets the most use is cheaper than either of my two main basses (jazz basses). My medium board is rarely used right now but is more expensive than my CIJ jazz and a wash for my Jaco artist series. The large board I have been building for a while will be more expensive than both of them combined.
My current basses cost me $550 and $300. I've spent $400 on a pedal once and $350 on another, and $300+ a few times. But my pedals over the years definitely have cost more than my basses. My Ibanez SR505 may not be a Modulus or Alembic, but it's the sound I like. And the pedals react to those Bartolinis, and when I try my Squier Jazz V with the pedalboard, I have a vastly different sound and volume levels and triggering issues. But this is why finding the bass that helps you achieve the sound you want comes before finding the sound you like out of pedals.
about $500 on the minimal board, I went through the crazy pedal thing years back and gave it all up when I realized what a money and time suck it was, especially since I rarely actually had much use for them. Now it's the always on compressor, preamp and high pass filter, and the sometimes on digitech drop. That's it.
Over the years I've probably spent similar amount of money on pedals and basses. I've spent the least on amps/cabs because I tend to stick with them longer.
Over the years I've probably spent similar amount of money on pedals and basses. I've spent the least on amps/cabs because I tend to stick with them longer.
After a year of playing 1 upgraded my bass. While it was a big upgrade, it's still my only real player.
Other than a tuner for the first 5 years, I was just plug and play. I wanted to focus on technique and dynamics playing clean before adding anything. I did buy 3 amp heads and 2 cabs in that time, since I also joined a gigging band.
The past 1.5 years however, I've definitely got sucked down the rabbit hole of pedals, and now not only has the total cost of all of those exceeded the cost of my Spector, but I probably spent the least amount of time actually practicing and learning the instrument itself in this past year than I have since picking it up in the beginning.
Focusing too much on gear is a good way to ensure you practice the least, so he careful with that.
If 2019 was The Year Of The Pedal for me, 2020 is gonna be the year where I restructure my practice time to be more efficient, learn more songs, and get the most out of what I have... that includes less Talking Bass for more Playing Bass!!!
Other than a tuner for the first 5 years, I was just plug and play. I wanted to focus on technique and dynamics playing clean before adding anything. I did buy 3 amp heads and 2 cabs in that time, since I also joined a gigging band.
The past 1.5 years however, I've definitely got sucked down the rabbit hole of pedals, and now not only has the total cost of all of those exceeded the cost of my Spector, but I probably spent the least amount of time actually practicing and learning the instrument itself in this past year than I have since picking it up in the beginning.
Focusing too much on gear is a good way to ensure you practice the least, so he careful with that.
If 2019 was The Year Of The Pedal for me, 2020 is gonna be the year where I restructure my practice time to be more efficient, learn more songs, and get the most out of what I have... that includes less Talking Bass for more Playing Bass!!!
I suppose so. I've found a spot for most of my pedals on my main board, and looking at it now I have over a grand into what's on there. That's been built up over the past 12 or 13 years, though, and at least half of the stuff is used, and a couple of the pedals were gifts. In terms of used replacement value for what I take to a show, my pedals are probably worth the same as my bass and amp head combined. But they all serve specific purposes - there are only a couple of "special effects", and everything else is on most of the time - so I really think of it all as more of a big, cumbersome modular preamp.
With band#1 I could just plug into a tuner and call it good, but I also use a comp and on one new song we just wrote I use a delay for 4 measures.
Band#2 allows me a little more freedom to get creative... If I get an interesting new pedal we'll work it into an intro/bridge/outro if not write a whole song around it
Joining this band is what started me on my altered sonic quest in stompbox form. My board for band#2 is bigger than both band's guitarists combined
I have about $700 into my pedaltrain mini board at the moment. I have two basses that cost less than that and one that cost more than double that.
Yes, both my bass guitars with setup and upgrades still cost less than my pedalboard, but that's only because I got a really expensive delay which doubles the price of the board, and one of those guitars should have cost twice as much, really. My highest value for a single item though is my amp.
And I could have got a Line6 HX Stomp for a third of that rig... still no regrets :-D
And I could have got a Line6 HX Stomp for a third of that rig... still no regrets :-D
I have a large and expensive board that includes a pair of Eventide H9's, a Strymon Mobius, Ehx Hog 2, Source Audio Aftershock and C4...and a delightful Boss ES-5 switcher / midi controller. So not an insignificant investment. These pedals offer me a colossal array of tones that can't be achieved any other way. I consider my effects as much "my sounds" as well as the core bass tone.
My basses how ever I built myself. I wrote the very first Bass on line diary of build (www.gmcbasses.co.uk) which is my little claim to fame. I have built a lot of basses, but my primary axes are a 7 string headless fretless hollow body neck though bass (very sweet and the first of it's type ever built) and a 6 string neck through fretted. So they just cost me parts (top drawer), wood (very exotic) and a colossal amount of effort, which is impossible to price. But these two instruments would cost a literal fortune to have had build for me or replaced. So I could argue that they are priceless.
My basses how ever I built myself. I wrote the very first Bass on line diary of build (www.gmcbasses.co.uk) which is my little claim to fame. I have built a lot of basses, but my primary axes are a 7 string headless fretless hollow body neck though bass (very sweet and the first of it's type ever built) and a 6 string neck through fretted. So they just cost me parts (top drawer), wood (very exotic) and a colossal amount of effort, which is impossible to price. But these two instruments would cost a literal fortune to have had build for me or replaced. So I could argue that they are priceless.
Whenever my wife asks me, I remind her it's a LOT cheaper than cars.
20 years ago, I set up a separate bank account, deducting $50 a fortnight, for my music fund. Thats $1300 a year.
This pays for strings, straps, picks, leads, amps, pedals, band purchases (think getting T-shirts or stickers made to sell) etc.
Whatever I sell, that cash goes back into the account.
I've been able to buy some pretty decent gear over the years, and I don't ever feel guilty for spending the money either.
I have more money into my pedalboard than I have spent on any one bass. It's easier to spend a lot without noticing when you're doing it in smaller increments. A $1,000 bass is a big purchase for me, but spending $150 on a pedal doesn't seem so bad... Until you start finding pedals under the bed, in the dishwasher, tucked away under the seat of your car, etc...
Cue Danny Glover’s “rubbers” rant from Lethal Weapon 2.
In these days of running a “less is more” pedal board ... I’m at about $400.00 on the board that includes a Radial JDI and my least expensive bass is a 1983 Peavey T45 bought cheap at $300.00 my other bass is an EBMM Sterling bought used at $1000.00, so it depends on which bass I’m using that night.
My bass is a Chinese made jazz bass with pickups and electronics replacement made by me.. I just love how it sounds and feels...
So yes, my pedals are way more expensive than my bass. It's just my experience in how I ended up "building" my sound. It doesn't mean that everyone should get more expensive pedals than basses!
So yes, my pedals are way more expensive than my bass. It's just my experience in how I ended up "building" my sound. It doesn't mean that everyone should get more expensive pedals than basses!
If you want to save money, make sure you can articulate exactly what you are trying to accomplish when you add a pedal to your collection and what specifically you intend to use it for, and what songs you'll use it on. As soon as I did that I basically stopped buying pedals. I've probably sold 20 or more pedals in the last two years. I don't miss a single one.
Overall I've spent more on effects than basses or amps, but that's because I found core gear I was happy with pretty early on and effects are a bottomless pit of new things. Of the stuff I currently own I'm pretty sure effects are a distant third behind my amps/caps and basses.
This is a pretty great piece of gear that gets me everything I need and more for a basic 'bass guitar' gig. If I was going more 3-piece or experimental I'd be loading up on parallel loopers and harmonizers and bears, oh my.
This is a pretty great piece of gear that gets me everything I need and more for a basic 'bass guitar' gig. If I was going more 3-piece or experimental I'd be loading up on parallel loopers and harmonizers and bears, oh my.
