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Influential Effect Usage

#42
For me: reading an interview (can't precisely remember the mag, but coulda been BP) with Montreal bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur and she mentionned using chorus as an almost always-on effect (if my memory serves me right). Searched for songs with bass chorus, bought a CEB-3 and here I am, years later, addicted to pedals and chorus still being a effect I use as often as I can.
 
#46
For overall effects, without a doubt... Doug Wimbish. Caught him in Tackhead way back in 89/90? and was completely blown away by his chops and tap dancing display. Incredible work. TM Stevens also comes to mind for a similar bold use of effects around the same time.

Anthony Jackson for his chorus use, Geezer and Cliff for the heavy fuzz, distortion and wah usage. Tangerine Dream between 78-85 was a huge influence in general. Tony Levin, Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp (King Crimson in general) also heavily come to mind. Those are probably still have the heaviest influence in my formative exploring early on, leading up to today.
 
#47
Mel Schacher from Grand Funk.
Who knew fuzz that nasty could be so much fun?

Years later, it was Bootsie.
with the right pedal, even dis white boy can funk:bassist:

Only other fella I can think of was Jon Camp from Renaissance.
Saw him in concert, and it was a real eye opener about using effects without having it sound like an effect, if you take my meaning.
 
#48
I picked up bass because of Flea,
I picked up Sansamp because of my Silverface Bassman was lacking a punch,
I picked up chorus after using Gallien Krueger RCB 100 bass amp, which had great chorus on board.
Than Justin Chancellor inspired me to pick few more pedals.
Chris from Muse inspired to get Big Muff and blend it with Synth,
Than I started to follow Andy Othling and his ambient guitar parts on youtube...

And I was lost with GAS...

The story continues
 
#49
Mike Gordon of Phish, although I've always been an effects guy ever since I used suck at guitar but could compensate with effects. I would loop amazing ambient songs drenched in delay and reverb. That was always fun.
 
#51
nojj said:
Only other fella I can think of was Jon Camp from Renaissance.
Saw him in concert, and it was a real eye opener about using effects without having it sound like an effect, if you take my meaning.
Click to expand...

That's funny! I was gonna say Jon Camp also ...but because he was the first bassist I heard who to my ear was using effects in a conspicuous way!

Saw Renaissance at The Felt Forum in 1975 and the bass solo in "Ashes Are Burning" was completely psychadelic, all swirling echoplex and phase shifting/flanging. It was eye-opening; I remember thinking "wow, guitarists aren't the only ones who get to make outer space sounds!"

It was only later that I started listening more closely to Chris Squire with Yes and realizing "hey, there's tremolo (or wah-wah, or leslie, or fuzz, etc etc) all over his bass!"
But for some reason Squire's use of effects seemed far less overt than Camp's.

Of course, then Squire did the Tormato album, and overt became the name of the game. :)
 
#52
Another bassist who's use of effects was fairly influential on me was Tony Levin's stuff in the early 1980s with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson. His use of envelope-controlled flanging and/or really short slapback delays for adding subtle depth and motion colors to his palette -- along with his occasional industrial machinery noises -- really turned me on to the idea of animating the low frequencies.
 
#53
Doug Wimbish! The guy just gets it. Really nice person, too - I had the pleasure of opening for Paula Cole when Doug played for her. Doug was super nice, approachable and a joy to talk to!

Skip to about 25:00 minutes in - Doug does some really cool stuff with easy to find pedals!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPekZmNeuDs
 

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