Essential Bass pedal/effect?

[kenstee]

I've just started on the bass (about a month or so)
And I am thinking of getting a pedal/effect to pimp my sound

What is the essential and a definite must-have pedal?

Cheers.

A month? ...just learn to play first. Aside from a tuner nothing else is essential/definite must-have. Spend the money on lessons or a good basic bass-lesson book or three. Over time, you'll know what you are looking for sound-wise and can get the right pedals to achieve it.

 

[jumbo_steelie]

Ring modulator.

yep....nothin better. If ya don't know what to play.....make some crazy noises....

 

[Achtane]

When I became serious about playing bass, one of the main ideas I had in my head was to get a bunch of effects in order to create a shoegaze-type sound. I've been through 11 pedals so far, sold most of them and now my favorite is the Way Huge Pork Loin - an overdrive. I was new and wanted to go straight for the awesome sounds, but I got tired of only being able to not-even-noodle with them and settled for something more mild that I can learn theory and stuff while still having fun using. It isn't an extreme sound.

Wild effects are fun for sure, maybe you have to go through some crazy ones before settling on more versatile ones. Well, not always...of course I would like to have a ton of effects but right now I'd like to focus on musicality.

edit: why did I even type this...?

edit2: If you want something crazy I suggest the Devi Ever Shoe Gazer, my first pedal. Though it does suck the lows from your tone, it sounds amazing (especially if you send it into an overdrive or something like that. Shoe Gazer into VT Bass was HNNNGGGGggg) Even though I messed mine up trying to seperate the two different effects (I had an older model) I love it. It's like a Shoe Gazer/Disaster Fuzz/Tunable oscillator hybrid now.

 

[Atticus]

Essentials are a tuner and a preamp if you have passive pups. Other than that, it depends on what you're playing.

 

[soulplane83]

I'd second the notion to just focus on learning right now. Effects, while awesome, can be a huge distraction.

 

[zippydog]

another thought.

Effects can be really disappointing if your buying them just to stomp on them and see what happens or because you've read somewhere that it's great. Try and visualise the sound your after and buy and effect to suit that sound.
Don't rush and take your time it can be a black hole of money if you don't.

Outstanding advice!! Begin with the end in mind.

 

[Demonator]

Go Danelectro. Very inexspensive, somewhat decent.

 

[PaulMacCnj]

Up until a few months ago, I used no sound processors. Then a friend gave me a compressor and I was hooked! It adds a lot of punch to the sound and I no longer have to keep cranking my amp up into overdrive (peak light blinking) to be heard in the company of loud guitars and drums.

The one I'm using is the PreSonus Bluemax (http://www.presonus.com/products/Detail.aspx?ProductId=23) and it allows good control over the compression settings. This works much better then the built-in compressor of my Eden WT-330 integrated amp, which has a simple, single control for setting the amount of compression. The better units give control over when the compression kicks in and releases.

 

[Kromwarp]

Ring modulator.

yes

 

[recreate.me]

I agree that a tuner is the pedal I will always use most. But my first pedal was an EHX bass blogger, which is fuzz/OD pedal. One setting is essentially the big muff fuzz pedal but simplified then the other setting is a pretty good OD setting. I still use it alot and it's about 75$ so it's a fun cheap good sounding pedal!

 

[Bassman18]

+1 for the Tuner - It IS the most essential thing you will need... but not an effect.
+1 for an Equaliser pedal, but you probably won't understand how to use it and the effect it has over your tone until you start gigging!...not really an "effect" either.

If you wanted to just much around and have some fun, buy an effect such as a Wah-Wah Pedal, Envelope Filter, Delay or a distortion/Overdrive pedal.

Have you heard of Bootsy Collins? He is one of the early pioneers of bass effects such as the Wah and Envelope filter. Also, have a look into Larry Graham, he uses things like Octavers and Fuzz pedals, another early pioneer... Youtube them.

 

[Ayliffe]

Subdecay Noisebox.

 

[Pilgrim]

Boss TU-2 tuner. It mutes when you stomp for tuning - one of the nicest features on any pedal made. Easy to read, too.

After a tuner, I'd say either an overdrive pedal for some grit, or a reverb pedal for fullness. On slow numbers it's surprising how a moderate reverb fills out the sound.

 

[Sean S]

WMD Geiger Counter





Seriously, save the money and borrow pedals, and use the money saved for lessons/books

 

[ThudThudThud]

Without knowing what bass/amp you have, it's going to be tough.

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume (and I'm in no way trying to be condescending here - I'm working blind) that you have a standard 'starter' bass, plus a basic solid state amp. If this is the case, it can be hard to get a satisfying sound out of it. It sounds like a bass, but not like your favourite bass player, or like the pro rigs, right?

Somebody mentioned the SansAmp Bass Driver DI... That's actually a pretty good first (and in some cases, last) pedal to have. You'll probably always have a use for it somewhere in your rig (if only as a last resort-straight-in-to-the-PA pre-amp), you can get overdriven sounds if you like, and it has a great tube emulator on there that could make your SS amp sound (somewhat) like a big tube amp. The EQ can handle anything from slap to metal, and the presence control can be cranked to get that 'Tool' grind too. Worth trying in a store. I got mine new in the early 1990's, and it has been part of my gear since. The value/price has never dropped on these either. Not expensive, but not cheap.

Good sound is what keeps people playing, and this puppy will get you closer to good sound. Often, you don't need anything else.

I liked the BOSS EQ idea too.

Good luck.