• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

new to effects, need help

T

TheBassBoss

Feb 17, 2012
67
0
Tennessee
#1
I have been playing bass for a while now, with my only pedal being an EHX bass big muff. I joined a band recently, and we play funky and spacey music. the distortion doesnt suit this type of music very well (at least by itself) so im going to need some more pedals. here are the pedals im looking at right now:

MXR M-82 Envelope Filter -for funky auto-wah sounds

Boss RV-3 Reverb/Delay -for some spacey sounds and to add width to my tone.

MXR M-134 Stereo Chorus -Please tell me if getting this and the PH-3 would be redundant. I am looking into this for the sole purpose of getting an "underwater" sound, but it is a little pricey. any other recommendations?

Boss PH-3 Phaser -I have done some research and heard people comparing the MXR M-90 to the PH-3, saying it has a more organic tone, but i am looking for a more digital sound. This seems to be the pedal for that.

Im looking into the price range of max $150 per pedal. any advice is welcome.
 
#2
reverb doesn't work very well for finger style bass or band stuff from what i know and delay only works for tooly stuff. chorus might work i barley use it but its nice to have you should definitely get if your doing funk but i would get a DOD one on ebay nothing compares to the DOD and a danelectro chorus works well for bass especialy for the price and phasers don't work on bass in my opinion
 
#3
Envelope filter you'll want for funk. My new favorite toy is a delay (Boss DD-7), and you can't beat that for spacey. It's even better (well different) than my synth pedal. I also like the delay with a swollen pickle. The two together using the loop can get real spacey.
 
#4
Effects are tons of fun, but it can take a while to figure out what works for you. One trick is to buy a pedal used on the classified forum, then if you don't like it, you can trade it or sell it for the same price you paid for it.

From what you say about your sound, I think you might get the most mileage out of an envelope filter or a synth pedal. Funky and spacey.

Chorus on bass always sounds really '80s to me. I can't say I'm into it.

I always found that delay and reverb always just muddied and confused my sound. Might be cool if you're doing atmospherics and noises, or dub reggae type sounds, but hard to use if your holding together any kind of tight rhythm.

When I think of phaser on bass, I think of that Nirvana song "Come As You Are". You can also do some crazy stuff with envelope phasers. I had an EHX Polyphase for a while that was pretty out there.

Anyway, have fun!
 
#6
Funky - a filter
Spacey - a delay

If you're looking at reverb that might work too (for spacey-ness) ones that can do decent "slapback" delay might be more ideal. I don't know anything bout the Boss unit you mentioned. As some have mentioned if the rest of the band is loud regular reverb settings might get lost in the mix, but if you have alot of room in the arrangements/mix it could be very good too.

I'd say get a filter and a delay on your board first then you can think about modulation effects like chorus/phaser.
 
#9
I own the PH-3 and I really like it. The controls are very versatile and you can get a ton of sounds out of it. It's especially fun to use with distortion/fuzz to add a bit of variety to it. I also have the EHX Stereo Memory Man (delay), but my experience with it is very limited. I've found that it has to be set carefully to avoid massive mud. For chorus I have the EHX Small Clone, but I'm still trying to figure out if that's the pedal for me. It does do the Come As You Are bit perfectly (duh). I have a ton of other pedals as well, but that more or less addresses what you were into.
 
#13
Look at 3 Leaf Audio for your filter needs. Spencer is awesome sauce.

For your delay, do you want analog or digital? For analog, also look at the MXR Carbon Copy, Malekko Ekko 616, and Way Huge Aqua Puss. For digital, Subdecay Echobox, Boss DD-3, and Boss DD-7.

For phasers, check out this thread I made when I was looking for a funk phaser.
 
#15
TheBassBoss said:
i dont really want multieffects. just looking at individual pedals.
Click to expand...

I've been down the exact same road, that's why I suggested it. You'll get one portable pedal that does 6 different sounds, loops, and the quality of the sounds parry the pedals you'll want to buy, only you'll have a LOT of effects to choose from, not only 3.
You may want to look into it, it's the only multi I've ever considered, and I'm hella happy I got it.
Also, tweaking till tomorrow. I didn't go through 50% of the stuff I could. Currently doing ambient noise loops and then playing stuff over.

Also, digital delays are more true to the 'clean' sound, analog delays tend to go darker as the delays go further. Also, I like analog delay oscillation more.
There are digital sounding analog delays and analog sounding digital delays, so you really have to try them first.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back