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Natural Tone Vs. Effects

B

beast326

May 7, 2009
31
1
Phoenix, AZ
#1
I purchased a Zoom B2.1U Bass Multi-Effects and for some reason I can't tap dance. So I returned it. I feel like I've lost my original tone and replaced it with a tone that sounded plastic. Am I the only one who feels this way? I much rather prefer my original tone vs. a tone from a pedal. I'm "Old School" and never used them until recently and felt like I never achieved happiness with tip tapping for a certain effect. Currently my rig consists of the following:
1-Hartke LH1000 heads
2- Hartke Hydrive 410 cabinets
2- Fender American P-Basses
The Only rack piece I own is my Rocktron Versatune

The tone is AMAAAAAAZING!!! I feel that the only two effects (should I choose to buy another) that I might consider would be a Morley PBA2 Dual Bass Wah Pedal
and a Digitech Bass Chorus.

Any comments? Please help me out. An Old dog "Can" learn new tricks but only with some assistance.

Thanks
Bottom End Brothers
:bassist:
 
#2
If you're happy with your tone, then don't worry about effects. I use them, but sparingly and only if it serves the song, which most of the time it doesn't. If you want to play around with them, I feel that pedals with true bypass is necessary for keeping your tone. But you have some good effect choices. A wah is really fun and a chorus is great for more mellow parts, IMO.
 
#5
For most of playing career, i have had the old school mentality of not using effects. In the past, I've tried several things, and it just doesnt work for me. Lately though, im a bit more open. I now incorporate a boss chorus, a bass big muff and a digitech bass synth wah. I also have a Morley power wah fuzz that i have had for years. I find that individual stomp box effects sound a lot less "processed" sounding than multi effects units.
 
#7
Some of the new Zoom multi fx are well regarded on bass.

Whatever, it wasn't your cup of tea.

Good luck finding some useful effects.

My best effect is not an effect but my highpassing loop blend setup. The bass tones that speak to me the most are the lows. By putting effects only on the highs I keep my cake and eat it.
 
#8
beast326 said:
The tone is AMAAAAAAZING!!! I feel that the only two effects (should I choose to buy another) that I might consider would be a Morley PBA2 Dual Bass Wah Pedal
and a Digitech Bass Chorus.

Any comments? Please help me out. An Old dog "Can" learn new tricks but only with some assistance.

Thanks
Bottom End Brothers
:bassist:
Click to expand...

Absolutely nothing wrong going effectless if its your thing. You have great gear and its totally cool that you enjoy its pure tone, don't let us pedal-addicted bozos contaminate you with our damnation. If you ever go for effects, you might want to favor true bypass pedals, but that's just me.

:)
 
#9
Nothing wrong at all with just a bass and an amp - and even if you have a lot of effects they should be used to serve the music, not for their own sake. For what we play that means no effects, or maybe just some light overdrive, for the majority of our songs.

As to "plastic" sound, I think a lot of this comes from overuse of effects; especially from really poor over the top factory presets in multieffects pedals. You need to dial everything down to useful levels, and maybe blend the effects with your dry tone to get a nice sound.
 
#10
Alot of times effects prove themselves to be superfluous on bass, but using a multi-effects will turn you off from effects generally imo. everything in a multi-effects just sounds very plastic and inaccurate and fake; using higher quality separate pedals may help you find a more practical use of effects.
 
#14
IncX said:
if you ever go with effects ... know that your expensive, really cool whatever pedal is gonna be on a song for 5 seconds tops, and that's it. turn it on longer, you will risk pissing off someone in the band - usually, the guitarist
Click to expand...

So what gives the guitarist the right to piss everyone off for a whole night and I can't do it for even parts of a song? :)
 
#15
I too find that FX cloud my bass tone. Seems, for me, that no matter the quality of the pedal, "true bypass" or not, alters the timbre and feel of my instrument.

I would like some dirt, a wah, and a volume pedal. I think the octave box is a good thing too. Either an active volume pedal or a buffer type pedal may make the difference.
 
#16
klaus486 said:
I too find that FX cloud my bass tone. Seems, for me, that no matter the quality of the pedal, "true bypass" or not, alters the timbre and feel of my instrument.

I would like some dirt, a wah, and a volume pedal. I think the octave box is a good thing too. Either an active volume pedal or a buffer type pedal may make the difference.
Click to expand...

Well, effects are supposed to alter the sound, no? ;)

And, "true bypass" has less to do with how the pedal affects your tone when it is engaged, it mainly means it does not change your tone with the effect bypassed.
 
#17
IncX said:
if you ever go with effects ... know that your expensive, really cool whatever pedal is gonna be on a song for 5 seconds tops, and that's it. turn it on longer, you will risk pissing off someone in the band - usually, the guitarist
Click to expand...

I disagree. If you're playing with a phaser or envelope filter every song, maybe.

If you're using mild OD in a song, or even a little more...it's just going to sound like another channel on an amp. I bet on some clips I made, a guitarist would dig the tone instead of asking if I even used a pedal in the first place.

I take it you were talking about more blatant effects. Funk bands sure use a lot of envelope filter and phaser, though.:)
 
#18
Some 'effects' are great for a clean tone.

Delays and Loopers are awesome creative tools that for the most part will leave your tone unchanged.

There are also effects that can help you dial in your 'clean' tone, EQ, Compression etc.
But if you are happy with your current 'clean' tone then no need to change it.
 
#19
FaithNoMan said:
I disagree. If you're playing with a phaser or envelope filter every song, maybe.

If you're using mild OD in a song, or even a little more...it's just going to sound like another channel on an amp. I bet on some clips I made, a guitarist would dig the tone instead of asking if I even used a pedal in the first place.

I take it you were talking about more blatant effects. Funk bands sure use a lot of envelope filter and phaser, though.:)
Click to expand...

yes, i did mean the really obvious effects. not the always on ones like: compressor, preamp/OD

i am also speaking in the context of "most songs" ... so that usually means, no phasers, chorus, octavers, reverb, delay, etc.

i haul a 7 pedal PT jr ... and i can play without it - enough proof that i dont really need those effects ... i just like having them :)
 

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