Pedal experiments

[Ujin B]

Well, I'm a guitarist converted to bassist, so I have a ton of guitar pedals and very few bass pedals.
Then, one day I decided to try some, to see if nothing exploded (hahahaha). And actually, some don't sound bad, most of them sound acceptable, although others muddy the sound too much. I don't know if it's musical sacrilege or a dangerous activity with a risk of explosion, really.
Of course, the guitar-driven Boss Blues Driver hits the mark on the bass. Has anyone else ever tried it?

PS: The idea, of course, did not occur to me alone. I was inspired by Georgia South, from the group Nova Twins, crazy about pedals and crazy effects.

 

[lomo]

Most modulation pedals will sound fine. Compressors will be hit or miss (often not optimal). Any pedal with an eq for guitar will likely not have the most useful frequency centres for bass. Pedals allowing a blend of clean vs affected tone will be particularly adaptable. None should be damaged so have fun with it.

 

[Killing Floor]

Blues driver is good on bass. Most "blue" style overdrives are good with bass. Some dirt circuits like K and FF types were originally designed to cut bass for guitar leads so the don't fly with basses. Still it never hurts to experiment. I only have a few bass specific pedals, those are usually preamp or compressor types. Time based and modulation effects are usually fine for anything. I am a bassist but have also played guitar for decades and if I buy a new pedal unless it needs a certain EQ type I'm hoping it works on both.
Some makers try a little harder to meet both guitar and bass buyers.

 

[Zbysek]

Many pedals work with Bass if placed in crossover looper/blender…

 

[superheavyfunk]

I use guitar pedals on bass all the time. Some work, some don't. And a lot of pedals labeled "bass" are just repackaged guitar effects, like the MXR Studio compressor.

It's always worth trying - you won't hurt anything by doing so

 

[Michedelic]

Never be hesitant to try insane things…it may not work, but so what? It might inspire you to persue something else you hadn't thought of. I run my fretless through an EHX Ravish Sitar pedal, very wicked sounding. But at the same time, something like that has to work within the context of the band, or the song. It can't be a gimmick for its own sake, or overused. Regard pedals as spices in cooking.

 

[Ujin B]

Hey, thank you all for the comments. Yes, I will continue with the experiments with more tranquillity, knowing that nothing is going to break!
Really, the Blues Driver sounds good...