While my playing doesn't justify the use of pedals at this point, I've lusted after pedals since before I bought a bass. Some background, I picked up bass mostly for a fun hobby, with a little bit of creative catharsis on the side. I feel a few pedals will increase the fun, thus keep me coming back to bass. Now on to the meat: the Canterbury scene of the late Sixties and early Seventies is what helped me make my decision on getting a bass, thus a nice fuzz is what I would like first in my arsenal. After reading many reviews and listening to as many sound clips as I could get my hands on I believe I have settled on the Team Awesome Fuzz Machine as my fuzz of choice, with the Malekko B:Assmaster as my second choice (price difference being the biggest factor. I have also considered General Guitar Gadgets Brassmaster clone, but my severe lack of pedal building experience has led me to believe the extra cash on a premade pedal would be well worth it. It seems I would have enough Christmas cash to splurge on a second pedal as well. I'm not sure if I should go for a second fuzz, or something totally different. I quite like the sound of envelope filters, but haven't don't much research in the field. Chorus seems fun, but my research is also lacking. I recently chatted up the man behind Pro Tone Pedals, as he is local, and said that he makes both a fuzz and a chorus that work well on bass ( the Monster Fuzz and Raven Dirty Chorus respectively). I haven't found much info on either of these being used for bass, but he assured me they both sound great on bass, with the Monster Fuzz being designed mostly for bass. If you have made it this far, thank you. I now solicit the thousands of years experience I know Talk Bass collectively holds, and unlike most people seeking advice I will contemplate all replies and continue my research when work and bass practice permits.
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First pedal purchase
- Thread starter chiron_griffin
- Start date
I have had a Pro TOne Raven and it was okay. Yes it worked fine on bass but I didn't love it.
I think Getting a TAFM is a great idea for a first fuzz spend the extra $15 and get one with the footswitch/gate mod, it essentially gives you 2 different fuzzes in one pedal.
As far as a second pedal I would go for a nice phaser before a chorus (maybe an INFANEM Faye Sing). Or really if I was on your shoes I would get the TAFM and a Zoom B3 multi. The B3 has a tuner, beats to practice with, a lot of good modulation (phaser, chorus, flanger) some okay filters and synths, nice delay, cool stuff bit crusher. I think the B3 is weakest in the Fuzz area and the TAFM will cover that nicely.
I think Getting a TAFM is a great idea for a first fuzz spend the extra $15 and get one with the footswitch/gate mod, it essentially gives you 2 different fuzzes in one pedal.
As far as a second pedal I would go for a nice phaser before a chorus (maybe an INFANEM Faye Sing). Or really if I was on your shoes I would get the TAFM and a Zoom B3 multi. The B3 has a tuner, beats to practice with, a lot of good modulation (phaser, chorus, flanger) some okay filters and synths, nice delay, cool stuff bit crusher. I think the B3 is weakest in the Fuzz area and the TAFM will cover that nicely.
I've mostly heard negative about multi-effects units, but after watching some Zoom B3 clips, I'm nearly sold. It would be a great pedal for my purposes, thanks for turning me on to it. I was just looking at smallsound/bigsound's site at it appears that there is an extra footswitch marked Gate on the current TAFM for sale on Etsy, would this be the mod you speak of?
I went through a bunch or pedals, and more money than I'd care to admit. Recently got interested in the B3 from all the buzz around here and picked one up used. I'm happy with it, and REALLY like the idea of just dealing with one box that can do just about whatever. Analog stand-alone pedals will always beat it on cool factor, but to my crappy old ears, don't sound any better. (Analog) pedal sale in my future.
I gotta say I had the opposite experience. I watched the clips of the B3's Amp modeling and they all sounded too similar and each bass sounded better "Clean". Zoom B3 is the last Pedal I would consider.
Not really a Pedal but I really like Rocktron Blue Thunder. Every setting seems to have a much different effect on tone and sound. In the end, I usually end up with the setting that separates me the most from the "Mix"
If I were to start fresh now that B3 is out I'd do it. I'm just too far down the other path already. A B5 would even be better if they would acually make it.
If you read the first post, I have no hopes of ever being in a band. I'm quite awful (though I shouldn't speak so low of myself with less than a year in) and just do this as a part time hobby. My current economic status gives me about 400 bucks to throw at gear, and I'm quite happy with my bass and amp, and my strings have plenty of life in them. The Zoom has just the kind of features that could seemingly add fun into my experience, as this is what it is all about for me. Between full time work and full time school, bass is just what I do in my free time. While I've had a few offers to be tutored and join a band and many more for jam sessions, I'm quite happy just doing bad covers and using my sparse knowledge of theory to build lines and noodle around.
I don't think you'd break the budget on the Blue Thunder. I really love it. They can be had for about $300. Sometimes just a little bit tone shaping can give you the inspiration to play better. In the end I just end up using A tiny bit of Tube Pre-Gain. Good luck with what you decide.
I'll pitch in for the recommendation for the Zoom B3. For me, it was like having your own pedal store to play with and experiment with. Many of the models are based off of real effects and there's even a few boutiques thrown in to mess with. The drum machine and looper are cool practice tools and it has the out for recording. I've since sold mine but would still encourage trying one out or owning it to get a better idea of what you like. Here's what i learned from owning the B3:
1. The amp models are pretty good, but having a dedicated amp that you like is better. If you think you need a multi just to shape your sound... you probably need an amp upgrade.
2. Effects are fun to play with, but in the end there aren't many that I'll actually use in a band situation. Everyone's different but trying to work in phasers and tremolo and things like that into a song are a challenge.
3. The effects sound great and most audiences will not be able to tell the difference between the b3 and the real thing. Keep in mind though, digital effects in general don't have the same gain structures and aren't as... shall we say... responsive as the real thing. That's why so many people complain about fuzzes in multis and use words like brittle when referring to them.
4. Zoom isn't upgrading the b3 to support the same number of effects as the guitar version. Too many empty promises have been made there. There's a single pedal version coming out with 6 effects. You'll have less control though than the b3 offers and no xlr out, which is pretty important for most people.
Other than that, the only other recommendation if you're just looking for a chorus effect as stated, maybe check out the new mxr bass chorus deluxe? It has a flanger mode too.
1. The amp models are pretty good, but having a dedicated amp that you like is better. If you think you need a multi just to shape your sound... you probably need an amp upgrade.
2. Effects are fun to play with, but in the end there aren't many that I'll actually use in a band situation. Everyone's different but trying to work in phasers and tremolo and things like that into a song are a challenge.
3. The effects sound great and most audiences will not be able to tell the difference between the b3 and the real thing. Keep in mind though, digital effects in general don't have the same gain structures and aren't as... shall we say... responsive as the real thing. That's why so many people complain about fuzzes in multis and use words like brittle when referring to them.
4. Zoom isn't upgrading the b3 to support the same number of effects as the guitar version. Too many empty promises have been made there. There's a single pedal version coming out with 6 effects. You'll have less control though than the b3 offers and no xlr out, which is pretty important for most people.
Other than that, the only other recommendation if you're just looking for a chorus effect as stated, maybe check out the new mxr bass chorus deluxe? It has a flanger mode too.
I'm about *this* far from having both of my pedalboards finished for good (I know, I know... CRAZY TALK! lol), and I'm still thinking about picking up a B3!
5sg.
If you dig the Canterbury sound, I'd do a fuzz based on the Univox Superfuzz (Wattson FY6 or Black Cat Superfuzz) and a good Wah (Dunlop 105Q).
I was looking at the Wattson and the Black Cat, but I've only been able to find them on the bay. After watching numerous TAFM videos I believed it versatile enough to rip of Hugh Hopper's tone, and create some Canterbury inspired sounds. I've had my mouse hovering over the purchase on this TAFM, and am definitely considering using my gift cards and some cash to get the Zoom B3. Hoping for a sale at GC, if I can get it knocked down a few bucks I'll probably pull the trigger.
