Guitar effects for bass

[niftydog]

Just thought there would be some new info not yet posted.

Fair enough, we all want that, but you can't will a bevy of new and interesting posts to appear, you've gotta spark some discussion.

Like, tell us what made you change tack after 19 years? What stuck you about the Small Clone? What are you using the MXR EQ for? etc.

 

[FronTowardEnemy]

Basically I changed due to the fact I set up a home studio and started recording bands. Most are young people that have pretty bad equipment. I have a decent set up and Waves just wasn't cutting it. I thought some guitar, bass, midi, or whatever effect would be better for my studio.

 

[KeithBMI]

Tons of people use the Muff pedals from Electro-Harmonix.

I believe it's the BF-2 (Boss Flanger) That gets rave reviews also.

 

[FronTowardEnemy]

Yeah, I really Like EH. Some of the newer smaller effects of the original pedals seem to be pretty cool, however I have heard through the local music scene that they cut the bass more than their original.

 

[FrigginChris]

+1 on the EHX muff pedals. I tend to think they sound better on bass than guitar.

 

[FronTowardEnemy]

Very cool, I think I will have to pick one up.
Thanks.

 

[keb]

Err... yeah I love my Small Clone chorus and Small Stone phaser pedals. They sound great on bass. (And guitar (duh), and keyboards... a synth string pad through the Small Stone is bliss as anyone who's a fan of Jean-Michel Jarre can tell you.)

 

[FronTowardEnemy]

My guitarist keeps all his pedals and equipment at my house down in the basement. He has a small stone that I think I will give a whirl. I just really need to see if it cuts the bass down some. I do like how it sounds with his setup, when he plays clean. I think I remember reading somewhere about a mod that can be done to most of the EH pedals to make it more bass friendly in the low end.

 

[EricF]

From my experience with a couple of EHX pedals (English Muff'n and the new Little Big Muff), and from reading what MANY people have posted here, the entire EHX line seems to be very bass friendly. As for other manufacturers, it's kind of hit and miss.

Generally speaking, modulation and delay effects tend to work fine for guitar and bass. As noted by KeithBMI, the Boss BF-2 flanger gets lots of love on TB and is considered to be better than the newer BF-3.

As previously mentioned, OD/dist/fuzz designed for guitar tend to have the most issues with bottom-end loss. Some are fine, others are horrible.

If you have a question about other's experiences with a specific pedal, ask away. It's been a rare occurance that a pedal hasn't been tried by SOMEONE on TB.

 

[JanusZarate]

Yeah, I really Like EH. Some of the newer smaller effects of the original pedals seem to be pretty cool, however I have heard through the local music scene that they cut the bass more than their original.

It all depends on the pedal, really. I can't think of a pedal I tried out from the Nano series that cut the bass down. I haven't tried them all yet, though.

Actually, from my experience, the Nano Stone (the new version of the Small Stone) not only sounds about the same, but it corrects the old "volume drop" problem, and it even boosts your sound a bit, depending on your setup!

I had one for a day, and I'd have kept it were it not for my desire for a chorus instead of a phaser. I bought an Electro-Harmonix Clone Theory instead

 

[JanusZarate]

I think I remember reading somewhere about a mod that can be done to most of the EH pedals to make it more bass friendly in the low end.

I'm pretty sure I've seen a thread about it on here, at least for the Big Muff pedals. It's a capacitor replacement of some sort.

I know for a fact that if you PM tplyons (the effects forum moderator), he can give you some help. He's the "King of Muff" around here, and has modded plenty of Muff pedals!

For the new XO and Nano pedals, modding is nearly impossible - the parts are PCB-mounted and TINY! But, they sound great for the most part, and take up a small amount of space on my board, so I'm not complaining

 

[FronTowardEnemy]

I really appreciate the help. Seems EH is my fav as well as most of yours.

I became so frusterated with these local bands coming in and trying to describe what type of sound they want to get out of theit guitar, bass, vox, snare, kick, and such. Waves Diamond bundle is very efficient software, but time consumeing, and I must say I was a bit hard pressed, with time and patience to try to meet everyones needs.

I felt like throwing in the towel.
However I am an A/E (Automation Engineer) by trade with a degree in electrical engineering and after purchasing my small clone and modding the "pop problem" I dove into basic pedal construction and design to suit my needs as bassist first, producer second. My first was a FUZZ, to test the waters. I just recently gave up on the MXR EQ to my guitarist due to the fact I purchased a Tech 21 B410 to compliment my LM300. I only use one effect for myself, my small clone, sparingly.

Here are what floor pedals I have used in my studio with numerous mic's and preamps.

Vintage A/DA Flanger (No LED)
Marshall ED-1 Compressor
Boss NS-2
Boss GE-7
Boss TU-2
BDDI (Sold) but have LM-300 (Every bassist wants to play through it)
Small Clone
Small Stone (Guitar only)
Home Made Fuzz (Gave away to guitarist)
Home Made LPB (Traded to guitarist for floor board)
Home Made Tremolo (Gave away)
MXR 10 band EQ (Mostly live for room ambiance, guitarist now uses as always on effect)
Boss Digital Delay (I do not like it)
Morley Wah
Morley AB
DOD FX-62 Bass Chorus (No longer have)
Old RAT Distortion (Lost or Stolen)

If I were single without kids (3 boys) I would go rack effects.
Until they are ALL through college, Software, pedals and trial and error for live and studio applications are my only options.

Thanks all-KC

 

[bryanjnkns]

You might try searching www.pedalgeek.com. Seems like they have an endless supply of pedals, most with soundclips for guitar and bass. You could also try www.deathbyaudio.net, they have production pedals but they can also build custom pedals for lower frequencys. I have their "octave clang" pedal, its a octave/fuzz/ring mod, i think. But it's definitely a very wicked pedal!

 

[FronTowardEnemy]

Thanks for the links. For anyone else interested in comprehensive pedal research.... Invalid Link Removed Analog man is a must visit site!
Some really cool stuff. Have to dig deep for bass only effects though.

 

[CHILDISHGAMBINO]

You might try searching www.pedalgeek.com. Seems like they have an endless supply of pedals, most with soundclips for guitar and bass. You could also try www.deathbyaudio.net, they have production pedals but they can also build custom pedals for lower frequencys. I have their "octave clang" pedal, its a octave/fuzz/ring mod, i think. But it's definitely a very wicked pedal!

Do you have any clips of the octave clang? Sounds like a fun pedal.

 

[The BurgerMeister]

Here are what floor pedals I have used in my studio with numerous mic's and preamps.

Vintage A/DA Flanger (No LED)
Marshall ED-1 Compressor
Boss NS-2
Boss GE-7
Boss TU-2
BDDI (Sold) but have LM-300 (Every bassist wants to play through it)
Small Clone
Small Stone (Guitar only)
Home Made Fuzz (Gave away to guitarist)
Home Made LPB (Traded to guitarist for floor board)
Home Made Tremolo (Gave away)
MXR 10 band EQ (Mostly live for room ambiance, guitarist now uses as always on effect)
Boss Digital Delay (I do not like it)
Morley Wah
Morley AB
DOD FX-62 Bass Chorus (No longer have)
Old RAT Distortion (Lost or Stolen)

you might also go for an MXR phase 90. those are great on bass and everything else. it's a different flavor of phase. you may have to do a mod to reduce input clipping if you run a hot signal through it. go to www.vodkamods.com for more info.

you could also spring for a really nice set of pedals, too... maxon ones, i'm thinking. but maybe too much for you because of the kids! the one you may really want to consider is the AD999 analog delay. i'm saving up for that one myself.

as far as digital delay goes, there seems to be none better these days than the guyatone MD3. it's a little unassuming guy, but it's apparently the best sounding 'digital' delay out there for cheap.

being musical as long as you have, i'm sure you know the differences between analog and digital, as far as the sound is concerned. i think it's worthwhile to explore both worlds. they can both be handy, especially in the studio!

one last thing: when i record bass, i find i get the best sound by combining two or more different tones, setting them all to their own channels, and mixing them accordingly. example: i'll run one direct, one through my tech 21 RBI, and one through a little big muff (which ROCKS for fuzz, by the way), and then have fun mixing the sounds together to create one awesome sound that would't have been possible any other way.

rock on! and enjoy!

ps: you may want to look into having your boss digital delay modded to make it sound better. analogman and robert keeley both do this.

 

[darthplagis]

i have always been a guitar effect on bass fan (tho since i got my pink paisley tele P ive been a tube drive only with maybe a little phase kinda guy) the only problem ive ever had sound wise is the bottom end on cheaper modulation units seems to just drop out (i didnt mind as i was bi amping with a tranny fender guitar amp for the top end at the time and FX went there).

just a quick note i just bought my bro a ZOOM G9.2tt unit with 2 tubes/valves in the pre section.......well i tried it out to see how it sounded (i have always used ZOOM till i got my bass podLxt) WOW the tube driven drives sound amazing and you can blend tube/solid pre too andthe 2nd tube is wired to give a sort of valve/tube power amp response (this is editable/variable too) i tried the hughes and kettner tri amp setting (its a moddeling pre, i used to use a H&K tubeman pre till it broke) and it was heavenly richtone with just a hint of dirt when pushed.

but i digress the effect tones from the unit are ace MUCH better than the bass pod!!!! so i bought a one for me the next day.