Pedal board... or not? That is the Question.

[vvvmmm]

I find pedals inspirational when I'm writing and jamming. Playing cover songs, not so much.

When I fell the need for new inspiration I, eh, change pedal boards.

I have a few, see ...

 

[hieronymous]

I love having a pedal board. It's only in the last few years that I finally set one up.

Mine is pretty boring - compression, EQ for when I play with pick, octaver, and distortion/boost. Oh, and a kill switch that for me is essential - lets me mute the bass between songs or when switching instruments, I don't have to worry about turning the volume down at the amp, plus it has a tuner out (though it's going to be replaced by a Dunlop mini volume pedal soon).

 

[2112]

Never did on my previous tribute and originals projects. But now that I'm in a covers project it's starting to become a necessity. Right now I'm messing around with a TE ELF & Transit-B and a Digitech Drop unit, looking at adding a synth battery and a small wireless. May add dirt and/or VT units later. Want to keep things minimalist.

 

[4stringsjack]

Before Talkbass I had no pedals.

Before Talkbass I had one bass.

Before Talkbass I had one amp.

Then I joined Talkbass. I currently have 11 basses, 3 amps, and 9 pedals.

Talkbass!!! Lol.

Nowadays I use a simple pedal board at gigs. Tuner, Phase 90 (seldom used), envelope follower (almost never used), overdrive (sometimes used), and a Keeley Bassist compressor (awesome, life changing, always used).

But still... TALKBASS!!!

 

[Hevy T]

I have tried using effects and it usually don’t end well!

I own a Mesa di and a zoom v3n but unless I need a chorus or something I just play it straight

 

[Hundred proof]

I used to have octave up and down and "Leslie" style modulation plus drives ..
. But I'm in remission. Now it's just two stages of drive/overdrive into a DI with a through to the amp so the desk and amp get the same signal.

 

[Mo'Phat]

Very difficult to play the music I play without pedals. I move too much to be without a wireless. Easier to board 'em up.

 

[Joeykun]

I keep it simple.

 

[packhowitzer]

I use a pedal board, but it sits on top of my amp. It has my Line6 G50 receiver, a Korg Pitchblack+ tuner, an Xotic Boost (soon to be a Cali Compressor), and an Fdeck HPF-3 high pass filter. All of those things are always on (well not the tuner), so I don't need it on the floor.

 

[bombpop14]

I used to just put my BDDI on top of the amp and only use my tuner when I needed it and had to unplug to tune. When I got my hpf/lpf I decided to try a board and the mini bone by gator was the smallest I could find, plus it comes with a carry bag.

I like it like this much better and I can mute everything with the tuner.

 

[whero]

I don't use a pedal board because I only use one pedal. Putting it on a board would be unnecessary.

For the most part, the kind of music I play and the sound I'm after don't require any filters or modulation, etc. so I have one pedal; a Zoom B1on. I use the tuner, then generally switch between two patches, one that has nothing but compression, and another that adds a bit of dirt and overdrive. I do have some other patches that I use sparingly for specific songs; one with a bit of chorus, one with an octave up, one fretless emulator. That's it.

I'm sure it would be fun to have a bunch of separate pedals to do different things, but I know what I'm like. Life would become a neverending cycle of researching, comparing and upgrading from one chorus, or compressor, or flanger, or octaver, or overdrive, or phaser, or... I believe I would become so obsessed with dicking around with the sound that it would get in the way of me actually playing.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

I can get a bit of distortion by cranking the gain and controlling volume with the master knob. That’s all I use. I play through an all tube SVT CL but you can get this sound if your preamp has a tube.

 

[vvvmmm]

I keep it simple.

View attachment 3150283

Please tell us how you have your switcher set up.

 

[Madhouse27]

I'm 51 years old and for most of that time I plugged my one bass directly into my one amp and let it rip. Now, I have a wall of basses, a closet full of parts, multiple amps and a tabletop-sized pedal board....thanks Talkbass.

 

[scuzzy]

I am now happily running direct from a line 6 hd500x. Their amp models are quite realistic and tweakable till my heart's content. I haven't played without it since I got it. I mostly use various forms of grit. Some pitch shifting/delay/reverb/synth, but that's used sparingly.

 

[foolforthecity]

wireless/tuner, generally.

 

[Joeykun]

Please tell us how you have your switcher set up.

Shure Wireless > TCE Tuner > B7KU > Switcher.
1. TCE Comp 2. TCE Flanger 3. TCE Chorus 4. Keeley Caverns v2

I use a switcher basically for true bypass and the ease of all switches in a row rather than reaching to hit a pedal. Need to keep it simple live!

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I’ve been playing bass for about 25 years. Rock, R&B, Jazz, funk, reggae, fusion...

I usually play going from bass straight into amp, no effects. Once in a while, I’ll use a MuTron III or octave pedal, but that’s about it. Looking through the pages of Talkbass, and more importantly, seeing other players on gigs, it appears I’m in the minority. Is it true most players use some sort of effects board?

It seems Bass players’ pedal boards often are as large and diverse as guitarists...

What say you, Talkbass?

Nope. I like my bass straight up. I like the sound of my equipment, and really have no need for anything else. I do have an overdrive pedal, but almost never use it. Just have it lying around for that special occasion when I want to punk it up a notch.

 

[FronTowardEnemy]

I voted no I go straight in. I like my tube amps with just a bass and cable. Plus I am in a Foo tribute band so there’s that.

I do have a pedaltrain with some good stuff on it if I need to go in the studio or ampless with my IEM’s. I do love effects as well but my current gig doesn’t require them.

 

[Admiral Akbar]

You could fly out to catch my gig tomorrow and try it out

Don't tempt me - I looooovvee California!