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I've already got the main effects pedals? What else do I need
- Thread starter Jackheeds
- Start date
Or challenge yourself with a wild-card pedal — something that's loads of fun at home, but difficult to actually sneak into a conventional set list ...
ex:
Count To Five.
ex:
Count To Five.
I've recently found a chorus is a good all around effect if used sparingly like only on a intro or solo or bridge. It's not one I set and forget either. I change the rate and /or depth depending on the song.
B.
B.
High Pass Filter (HPF) was the "2019 Talkbass pedal of the year." Highly recommended.
IMHO it's also worth getting a good DI, if you don't have one already.
IMHO it's also worth getting a good DI, if you don't have one already.
Let's just get this out of the way...
You don't NEED any more pedals, or any at all, for that matter(except for a tuner, you NEED a tuner).
Now, having said that, there's plenty of stuff out there to fill up space on your pedalboard! What kind of music are you playing? If you're into any kind of rock/metal, especially the heavier genres, you're probably gonna want more dirt. You've got one distortion pedal, but you may want some fuzz, and a few different flavors of overdrive. I've got a pedal set to very SUBTLE od, plus I've got another one set to higher gain od(so I don't hafta keep twiddling knobs. I just turn one off and turn the other one on). If you want some modern sounding distortion, you'll want to get some Darkglass on your board. There's no shortage of demos for ANY Darkglass pedals. I like the X-series stuff. Plus there's the Tech 21 dUg pedal, the DP-3X. That is a FANTASTIC modern distortion sound!
You playing old-school funk? Gonna need some kind of envelope filter. Probably gonna want some kind of modulation as well. Those guys used all of it-chorus, phasers, flangers, tremolos. You can go individual, multi-, analog, digital, or almost any combination of all those.
Ambient? Stoner? Noisemaker? Reverb and Delay should be on your list. Again, you can go individual, multi-, analog, or digital. I use a digital multi(Keeley Caverns V2)because I don't use reverb or delay that much. If you just want to make weird noises, there's stuff like bit crushers and there's some fantastic synth pedals available.
We haven't even talked about "utility" pedals like HPFs, DI's, loop switchers, blenders, or buffers...
Welcome to TalkBass and the rabbit hole of effects, enjoy your stay...
You don't NEED any more pedals, or any at all, for that matter(except for a tuner, you NEED a tuner).
Now, having said that, there's plenty of stuff out there to fill up space on your pedalboard! What kind of music are you playing? If you're into any kind of rock/metal, especially the heavier genres, you're probably gonna want more dirt. You've got one distortion pedal, but you may want some fuzz, and a few different flavors of overdrive. I've got a pedal set to very SUBTLE od, plus I've got another one set to higher gain od(so I don't hafta keep twiddling knobs. I just turn one off and turn the other one on). If you want some modern sounding distortion, you'll want to get some Darkglass on your board. There's no shortage of demos for ANY Darkglass pedals. I like the X-series stuff. Plus there's the Tech 21 dUg pedal, the DP-3X. That is a FANTASTIC modern distortion sound!
You playing old-school funk? Gonna need some kind of envelope filter. Probably gonna want some kind of modulation as well. Those guys used all of it-chorus, phasers, flangers, tremolos. You can go individual, multi-, analog, digital, or almost any combination of all those.
Ambient? Stoner? Noisemaker? Reverb and Delay should be on your list. Again, you can go individual, multi-, analog, or digital. I use a digital multi(Keeley Caverns V2)because I don't use reverb or delay that much. If you just want to make weird noises, there's stuff like bit crushers and there's some fantastic synth pedals available.
We haven't even talked about "utility" pedals like HPFs, DI's, loop switchers, blenders, or buffers...
Welcome to TalkBass and the rabbit hole of effects, enjoy your stay...
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If you don’t know what else to get because you're already happy with the sound you’re getting from the gear you’ve already own, then (IMO) it’s the ideal time to stop adding pedals. You’re always better off working at getting the most from what you already have.
You have ONE overdrive? Like many of us on here, you seriously need to start the search for the elusive "sound in your head" overdrive pedal. Be prepared to buy (and return most of) several dozen pedals, and.....never be truly satisfied.
Or work with what you've got. But what fun is that?
Or work with what you've got. But what fun is that?
This is TalkBass. You need all the pedals.
DropTune is a digital octave pedal. I am a huge fan of analog octavers (Boss OC-2 is the classic, and MXR and EBS make good, widely available examples. My favorites are Broughton Synth Voice Deluxe and 3 Leaf Octavbre but they are less accessible.) Zach Rizer has a good video that explains and shows the difference on youtube.
Gotta be a fuzz!
I have an OD, a distortion, and three fuzz pedals. (One, the Voodoo fuzz octave, was a gift from my son and I'll never get rid of that.)
I actually use the OD the most, then the distortion. Fuzz I actually use only sparingly... but it's also the most fun to just play around with, and different fuzzes can sound crazy different. If you're looking for a pedal that you don't actually need, but it'll be fun to have, fuzz is the way to go.
I have an OD, a distortion, and three fuzz pedals. (One, the Voodoo fuzz octave, was a gift from my son and I'll never get rid of that.)
I actually use the OD the most, then the distortion. Fuzz I actually use only sparingly... but it's also the most fun to just play around with, and different fuzzes can sound crazy different. If you're looking for a pedal that you don't actually need, but it'll be fun to have, fuzz is the way to go.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
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- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
Parallel processing
1 - First I run into an equalizer
2 - Then I split the signal into 4 parallel signals with a rolls mixer.
3 - I run one of the parallel lines into the Line6 bass pod where I model an acoustic 360 with a rat or big muff distortion pedal. I use this to get a retro growlly distorted sound. Or I also model an Ampeg fliptop with the Rat Distortion pedal. And I also Model an old Marshall amp. With the bass pod I can get a wide range of clean or dirty sounds and various effects and model different amps and speaker cabinets.
4 - The second parallel signal goes into a MXR bass di+. I use this pedal to get a clean modern sound. It also has a distortion button that can give a moderate to extreme amount of modern distortion.
5 - The third parallel signal goes into a Marshall Guv'nor. This gives me an old 60s marshall stack sound. This can go from a small amount of distortion to an over the top marshall sound. This effect can give you a the classic Jack Bruce Cream tone.
6 - The fourth parallel signal goes into a Tech21 VT Bass pedal. With this effect I get a slightly dirty Ampeg SVT bass amp sound with a tube like growl.
7 - Then I remix the 4 signals back together and run it into a bass amp, or pa, or studio mixer. Because the signals are parallel I can mix clean and overdriven sounds together and still get effect and a sound that punches through the mix.
Schematic diagram of my effects.
I can't stand analog octave pedals.... it's all your own experiences I guess.
digital octave pedals sound FAR more realistic to me - the tone is a digital copy of your own tone, pitch changed.
analog octave pedals create an analog synth note an octave (or two) from your main note... and the tone always sounds completely artificial to me, and they glitch far more than digital ones to to me.
Also, I love polyphonic pitch changers, which typically requires digital tech... analog just can't do it.
But I do know some folks love the boss oc-3 and other good analog octave pedals.... just not me.
chorus is one of those effects that is genre independent... I've heard a bass with chorus on it in everything from country to Jazz, from funk to metal, and from ambient soundscapes to trap.
You cannot go wrong with having a chorus on your board. You might not use it all the time but when you do (and you will), you'll be glad you have it.
The synth tone is exactly the attraction for me! But nice job describing why someone might prefer a digital octave/harmonizer pedal. (Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of really cool digital octave, harmonizer and pitch-shifter pedals out there - Eventide H9, Digitech Whammy, Meris Hedra, etc - but they’re a different thing and have their own uses, pros and cons).
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If you don't know what you need, you don't need anything.
thanks, I meant OC-2 (I need proof reading lessons)... but yes, you're right, good point.
