More than 4 effects for Bass?

[MYLOWFREQ]

I got three utility, and five fun effects I like with bass:

High-Pass Filter, EQ, and Limiter are utility effects that are always on.

Octave, Distortion, Envelope Filter, Delay, and Phaser are the fun effects, but they're not on all the time. I can get the synth sounds I like combining these.

IMO, a Tuner is not an effect, but a utility tool.

 

[MCS4]

Depends on the set list. If I wanted to play all of the 20ish originals my current band has written, I would need: a light OD, a mild-to-heavy OD, fuzz, chorus, reverb, octaver, and some type of looper pedal or system to trigger multiple pedals on and off instantly. I also sometimes use a compressor live, and of course always have a tuner on the board. So, that would be nine total. Of course, we don't play every song every time, and I can get away without having specific effects for some parts, so I typically end up with some combination of six to eight pedals depending on the songs we typically are playing and whatever I currently am preferring for purposes of songwriting, having fun, etc.

 

[j0616bass]

I have 2 boards - one for my metal band, and one for everything else (assorted rock, funk, country, blues, top 40, etc).

My metal board has a compressor, 2 ODs, a fuzz, a chorus, and a wah. Comp is always on. One of the ODs is nearly always on at lowee gain just to cut through some guitars, the other is engaged generally when our guitar players are playing harmony solos. The fuzz and wah i use basically on one song that has a bass feature part, and i use the chorus on a couple of spacey bridges. Basically, i could probably do the gig with 2 pedals instead of 6 if i wanted, but what's the fun in that? Haha.

The other board is comp, OD, octave, fuzz, envelope filter, and chorus, which i find covers a lot of ground (from just using the comp, to using several for a synth thing).

Long story short, i guess 6 is my magic number at the moment!

 

[dave64o]

For me, the question was what effects do I need/want for the songs we play? Prior to the pandemic I gigged plugged right into my amp, but I've been playing with them at home for a couple of years. When we went on pause due the pandemic, we starting talking about new songs to work on. Since I could make could use of an octave and a chorus on a couple of them, I decided to finally put a board together. Looking forward to starting to use it once we resume.

I have currently have 3 different types of effects on my board - an octave up/down, a chorus, and 3 different ODs. I have other types of effects pedals that are not on my board (as well as several other dirt pedals that I'm currently not using), but these are the ones that are useful to me for my band's songlist.

I also have several "utility" pedals on my board that I use to tailor my sound rather than as what would commonly be called effects. Those are a wireless receiver, a tuner, an HPF/LPF, a compressor, and a DI.

So depending how I interpret the question, I could answer it in a few different ways:
- 10 total pedals
- 3 different types of effects
- 5 effects pedals (3 are of the same type)
- 5 utility pedals

 

[bylar13]

 

[drumvsbass]

Also...

 

[TerribleTim68]

When I first started playing I was pretty simple, just my bass into a clean channel, nothing else.
As time marched on I've discovered that I like a small amount of reverb, a tiny bit of chorus and little delay. So there's three right there. Add in compression and you've hit the four mark. I still don't really like distortion even though I keep trying. But, to each their own, right?

 

[BtaylorTheRogue]

in an average night, i use a wireless receiver pedal, a compressor, a whammy, a midi trigger pedal, a wah, a bit crusher, a fuzz, a HOG2, a chorus pedal, a freqout, a high pass filter, an aural aphex xciter, and an expression controller.

I don't usually use my delay pedal or my vocal pedal any more, I suppose they could come off.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

I play in several styles, most often in trios so that leaves me plenty of space to cover. Effects and sound design is a big part of my playing so folks expect me to bring the goods. Since I started on guitar and cello that is always an element of my bass playing. I also like to have a mix of sounds to keep things interesting for the listener, other players and to challenge myself. I also like the surprise factor that some effects can bring.
My plain sound is already two effects ( fender baseman & room reverb) feeding to my amp and any effects are usually a combination for example if using an envelope filter or octaver I'll follow that with a limiter or EQ to tame any peaks OR pitch shifter will add delay or doubler or distortion. The possibilities are really up to you as each combination is its own unique result.
For example below is my current jam board that has been going to a funk jazz thing. The 3 dirt pedals stack up necely OD > Fuzz > Saturated OD with filter pedals between and two very odd noise makers. That old Zoom is my anchor full of 40 tones that I have spent years designing from my basis sound to full madness and mayhem.
View attachment 4240845

AAAArrrrrghhhhhh! I was a pedal monger, and it was getting ridiculous! I only stopped out of embarassment! it became a joke at each rehearsal, every time I had a reconfigured board to fit in that "Needed" pedal! only to find it was not! Plus I hated the feeling I was becoming dependent on them to make a pleasing sound! Like a Junkie! I finally got fed up & went Naked no effects at all just amp & bass! How liberating! just a lot of eq tweaking! but I was fine! My tone was sufficient!! in fact my band mates concurred! so I made the effort to go with only 4 and the commitment to really dial them in! Yeah it was a pain, but I now understand them & know how to manipulate them to my liking! A real Breakthrough!
It took about a week or the same time it took researching a new pedal+shiippping time! I realized it was soooo subjective almost futile to try! I like to think that experiment helped my technique too! by trying to find the sweet spot on my bass,& play the same way each time after an adjustment!

 

[MNAirHead]

does a plex count as 1 or 5?

 

[superdick2112]

I use distortion, chorus and phaser, and usually only one at a time.

 

[Lo Ki]

Depends on the set list. If I wanted to play all of the 20ish originals my current band has written, I would need: a light OD, a mild-to-heavy OD, fuzz, chorus, reverb, octaver, and some type of looper pedal or system to trigger multiple pedals on and off instantly. I also sometimes use a compressor live, and of course always have a tuner on the board. So, that would be nine total. Of course, we don't play every song every time, and I can get away without having specific effects for some parts, so I typically end up with some combination of six to eight pedals depending on the songs we typically are playing and whatever I currently am preferring for purposes of songwriting, having fun, etc.

Couple years ago Vocalist Paulette Kasal came to Hawaii and we backed her up for a Madam Ozzy gig. I thought I'd at least need another od/dist pedal if not 3-4 more pedals for different reasons? She and the other band members liked my sound at rehearsal and it was just the Sansamp so I just went with it at the show. 19 song setlist of old/new Black Sabbath and Ozzy (Into the Void, Diary of a Madman, etc). Then did a 10 track setlist at the VIP party afterwards(long night!). Only used the Sansamp and Korg dt10 tuner(still have it but I use a headstock tuner for most gigs). That show ROCKED and was one of the funnest gigs I ever played! I would've definitely used a pedal board though if it were a RUSH setlist! Like you said, depends on the setlist.

 

[Lo Ki]

Depends on the set list. If I wanted to play all of the 20ish originals my current band has written, I would need: a light OD, a mild-to-heavy OD, fuzz, chorus, reverb, octaver, and some type of looper pedal or system to trigger multiple pedals on and off instantly. I also sometimes use a compressor live, and of course always have a tuner on the board. So, that would be nine total. Of course, we don't play every song every time, and I can get away without having specific effects for some parts, so I typically end up with some combination of six to eight pedals depending on the songs we typically are playing and whatever I currently am preferring for purposes of songwriting, having fun, etc.

Couple years ago Vocalist Paulette Kasal came to Hawaii and we backed her up for a Madam Ozzy gig. I thought I'd at least need another od/dist pedal if not 3-4 more pedals for different reasons? She and the other band members liked my sound at rehearsal and it was just the Sansamp so I just went with it at the show. 19 song setlist of old/new Black Sabbath and Ozzy (Into the Void, Diary of a Madman, etc). Then did a 10 track setlist at the VIP party afterwards(long night!). Only used the Sansamp and Korg dt10 tuner(still have it but I use a headstock tuner for most gigs). That show ROCKED and was one of the funnest gigs I ever played! I would've definitely used a pedal board though if it were a RUSH setlist! Like you said, depends on the setlist.

 

[Lo Ki]

4 effects could easily not be enough for some people. if you have compression, eq, a little dirt just for a tubey sound maybe, and an amp model thats 4. and to a lot of people thats just an always on tone shaping situation, havent even got to what some people would consider "effects" like modulation or delay.

Think I'll use the Sansamp and use the ms60b in place of the Smartgate if I do need more effects....or maybe all 3... Boom, pedal board! or if the headphone jack is useable as a 2nd 'wet' output like Warrplayer said, I'll get a b1 Four. Might as well get the X, haha!

 

[Lo Ki]

AAAArrrrrghhhhhh! I was a pedal monger, and it was getting ridiculous! I only stopped out of embarassment! it became a joke at each rehearsal, every time I had a reconfigured board to fit in that "Needed" pedal! only to find it was not! Plus I hated the feeling I was becoming dependent on them to make a pleasing sound! Like a Junkie! I finally got fed up & went Naked no effects at all just amp & bass! How liberating! just a lot of eq tweaking! but I was fine! My tone was sufficient!! in fact my band mates concurred! so I made the effort to go with only 4 and the commitment to really dial them in! Yeah it was a pain, but I now understand them & know how to manipulate them to my liking! A real Breakthrough!
It took about a week or the same time it took researching a new pedal+shiippping time! I realized it was soooo subjective almost futile to try! I like to think that experiment helped my technique too! by trying to find the sweet spot on my bass,& play the same way each time after an adjustment!

That was kinda like my past pedal situation in the early 80's. Loved my pedals, assorted boss, dod, mxr, ibanez. Then one day my power source blew during rehearsal so I plugged straight in and the guys loved it?! And yeah, I think most reviews on music items are subjective because most people's playing styles are different. Mahalo for the reply!

 

[groovepump]

I play in a fairly popular local dance band. I play clean, no effects pedals. I tweak the EQ on the Quilter a bit (maybe for 10 seconds) and we play. When people are dancing and going crazy they really don't take time to notice what effects are missing. And I don't lay out cash for tools that aren't adding to the tip jar!

 

[amper]

This many.

View attachment 4241241

The Spark was supposed to be a Boss FB-2, just to make everything match, but I never got around to buying one. Eventually I might, but it's not a priority. After the GT-1000 v3 firmware update came out, I realised the GT-1000 costs less than my pedalboard if I were to buy all of the pedals new, and since my pedalboard is (or is supposed to be) all Boss, the GT-1000 actually has all of these pedals built-in. And now, the GT-1000Core is out for only $700, and has all the same features. The three buttons on the Core are enough for the pedals I actually need to switch on and off during a song, so I could actually replace my whole board with a GT-1000Core with no compromises. And the Core fits into a single BCB-30X box, instead of my two BCB-3 boxes.

 

[Lo Ki]

I play in a fairly popular local dance band. I play clean, no effects pedals. I tweak the EQ on the Quilter a bit (maybe for 10 seconds) and we play. When people are dancing and going crazy they really don't take time to notice what effects are missing. And I don't lay out cash for tools that aren't adding to the tip jar!

Love my Quilters (2 bb800's)! Although I go thru the front, I leave'm flat and use'm mostly as power amps for preamp pedals. I also love going to the gig with only a Sansamp or MXR, a wireless and a couple cables that fit in the gig bag. So convenient, but then I'm lucky cuz the band I'm in only requires that.

 

[groovepump]

Love my Quilters (2 bb800's)! Although I go thru the front, I leave'm flat and use'm mostly as power amps for preamp pedals. I also love going to the gig with only a Sansamp or MXR, a wireless and a couple cables that fit in the gig bag. So convenient, but then I'm lucky cuz the band I'm in only requires that.

Smart. YOu take what you need, and know what works. Unfortunately, for me, I have to bring backups of cables, power boxes, screws, tools, guitar stands, guitar straps, etc, becuase the other members ALWAYS forget stuff. But I agree with your thinking . . . lean and mean! (and earning the green!)

 

[Sascha Erni]

When I read reviews, one of the main beefs was that it can only do 4 effects per patch which is actually a bonus for me, lol! To each their own, but it made me wonder how many effects do you use on average per gig?

Here, it's preamp, compressor, utility pedals always on, rest to taste. "Taste" is one to two additional pedals. So in conjunction with the always-on-stuff, I guess I could work with the 4-effects-per-patch thing. I'd sometimes miss No5, but that's luxury.

Mind, going with individual pedals, it's more cumbersome than the patch thing.

Just going with a HX Stomp probably would have been easier, and cheaper, for that matter. But this grew over years rather than a single purchase, so, yeah.