How to use delay on bass without sounding like mud?

[BurningSkies]

From my experience, delays and verbs that have a high pass component work best for bass. Apply those effects to the 'top end' of your frequency range then let your lows remain clean. It stops you from swamping your signal.

...but if you want to stay with cheaper discrete pedal effects you can do this by getting a crossover pedal and using delay and verb in the high-pass portion of the crossover before blending it back in with your clean lows.

 

[Grahams Groove]

Here's a corresponding question: I also have a Canyon. Other delay settings don't do this to me, but I have an incredibly hard time having decent timing if I use the octave mode that doesn't happen to me if I use other settings that sound more like the original signal. Does anyone have a remedy for this?

Is it this problem? If it just sounds like the timing is slightly off in terms of what you play and what you hear, it could be some latency in the octave tracking that gets perpetuated when it is repeated back.

Not trying to be a dick here, but there have been lots of good suggestions and follow up questions to clarify your original problem/issue with no response on your end. You may want to answer some of those questions before posing another pretty vague problem/question...

 

[Bob_Ross]

Turn the effect mix down.

^^^This

cut some lows on the repeat

Also ^^^this...but perhaps more importantly, also cut some highs.

And use less feedback.

And match the delay time to the tempo of the music.

 

[Driven Crane]

use a pick!

 

[JackyOranges]

I could see why my silence can be seen as rude. The purpose of this thread is for the benefit of others by creating discussion, to show how "to use delay on bass without sounding like mud." Because of the nature of this forum, threads like these flow down like honey, so discussions like these ought to be repeated every so often.

 

[Moe45673]

From here: Bass Delay | Bass Gear | StudyBass

How Do I Use Delay on Bass Guitar?
Use Caution with Delay on Bass
Bass players must be careful with the delay effect. When it is set to a long delay time, delay can work against the traditional rhythmic role of the bass.

If you're going for a spacey, ambient sound, delay may be useful. When the delay time is long, the added rhythm of the delayed notes can distract from and blur the rhythm of the bassline. A bassline might lose its punch.

[...]


As with all effects, you have to decide if it adds something to the music or not. When used as a lengthy echo, delay is not a very common effect on the bass. Other instruments use it quite a bit—especially guitarists and singers. It adds a lot of depth and space.

Why Explain Delay If I Can't Use It?!
Don't worry, delay is not useless. Many effects which bass players do use all of the time are built on delay. They often use a very short delay (a few milliseconds). For me to explain other effects like chorus or flange to you, you need to understand delay.

You should also understand delay because others in the band or the sound guy will mention it.

 

[ole Jason]

I feel like these discussions would be better served if they were framed within a very general context of genre/sound. 'Delay on bass' discussions often seem to devolve into talking about the bass' place in the context of guitar/rock music or very rigid traditional roles and sounds. If you start discussing atmospheric, post-rock, ambient jazz, etc. the application and use of delay on bass is very different.

 

[FaithNoMan]

use a pick!

Yep, a pick, a cutting bass tone, and the right part of a song, and it can be as rhythmically as exciting as the Edge, as evidenced by this very Pink Floyd sounding riff here, by Justin Chancellor(Timemarked). The guitar and bass have almost reversed roles for a bit, but it works excellently. There are no rules in music, but you can avoid the mud by being creative.



Here, I'm using delay on this old track I made. The bassline is more traditional and simple, so the delay effect is a lot less accentuated but it's enhancing my Ric's fret sounds and growl and kinda filling in some space I felt needed to be at the time. Please do not compare to Mr Chancellor:

dumbloopLdrums - Output - Stereo Out by Centaurus A

dumbloop bass soloed by Centaurus A

 

[Driven Crane]

 

[Driven Crane]

 

[Vinny_G]

How to use delay on bass without sounding like mud? Like this, for example.

 

[FaithNoMan]

How to use delay on bass without sounding like mud? Like this, for example.

Ugh, how could I forget that one.

“One of these days, I’M GONNA CUT YOU!”

I always think of Jack Torrence.

Nice clips, @Driven Crane!

 

[Jantelagen]

A pick and switching to the bridge pickup has always worked for me

 

[Inconnu]

Yes, definitely cut some lows on the repeat and it should be good.

Yeah... use the analog or tape simulation on your pedal. It will cut lows... no issue using my Canyon.