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Pedals for R&B/Soul Music

#21
This is interesting,I've never used pedals but now I'm contouring it,Tone Hammer sounds like a good one,my question is can you plug into your amp and if you can what settings do you do on your amp and do the settings on the pedal affect the amp settings,or is this pedal just a DI
 
#22
If you've got a tube preamp on your amp you could just turn that up. You'll hear the sound get fuller and warmer and start to get compressed before it reaches the levels where you'll get noticeable overdrive, anything in that range will sound good for an old-school soul sound.
 
#23
kevteop said:
If you've got a tube preamp on your amp you could just turn that up. You'll hear the sound get fuller and warmer and start to get compressed before it reaches the levels where you'll get noticeable overdrive, anything in that range will sound good for an old-school soul sound.
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I use GK Solid state amps,do I just set everything flat on the amp and use the pedal to shape the tone?
 
#24
I would use that as a starting place and play around from there depending on what you're looking for. I like to cut some of the highs and boost the lows and low mids some for a warmer sound, or boost the high mids and highs to get the more rock tone. It really depends on what you're looking for?
 
#28
Pet Sounds said:
What Pedals Would James Use? Maybe none?
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James would crank up whatever he used till it distorted and dime the bass knob. For live work he usually used low wattage tube amps, although he did have a spell using a SS Kustom amp. Not everyone has a low wattage tube amp they can do this with and not everyone can get away with cranking an SVT, so they will often sub out a pedal in its place. But Jamerson most definitely had overdrive in his sound...whether it came from an amp, preamp or pedal is pretty well immaterial.
 
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#30
I agree that the Tone Hammer is a great choice. It's very versatile and also works great for other styles as well. (love mine). When I saw the title of this thread I immediately thought of the Catalinbread SFT. I use mine a lot with my British Invasion band to get that lo-fi, slightly dirty tone which also works well for old R&B.
 
#32
bassproduction said:
for deep R&B bass ive been using the DOD FX25 with the sensitivity at minimum and the range at 1 o'clock. using a '62 pbass with flats into a mesa strategy and 6x10 has this large round sound nice for ballads and slow burners.
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This is an excellent suggestion. An envelope filter set for a mild low end gurgle and not a duck quack can sound gangbusters for a 70's R&B sound. The song "Dazz" by Brick comes to mind.

 
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#34
Kukulkan61 said:
I have a QTron that I got like 20 years ago and never really messed with it,I'm gonna try it out with the tips from this thread,Thanks
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I'm in the same situation. I play in a "Classics" band and am going for that fat, warm but present and clear classic Fender tone. I also play GK and have been mostly happy after experimenting with the eq (rolled off Hi's and Hi-mid, boost low-mid add a touch of bass). However, I just picked up a Diamond and although Ive only been playing it at "home" level, so far I'm very happy. I think it will really add the fat warmth and presence once I can gig with it at full volume.
 
#35
FirewalZ said:
I'm in the same situation. I play in a "Classics" band and am going for that fat, warm but present and clear classic Fender tone. I also play GK and have been mostly happy after experimenting with the eq (rolled off Hi's and Hi-mid, boost low-mid add a touch of bass). However, I just picked up a Diamond and although Ive only been playing it at "home" level, so far I'm very happy. I think it will really add the fat warmth and presence once I can gig with it at full volume.
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Yup even tho I have the Qtron and a Boss octave I never tried them on gigs,I always liked a clean sound from my Bass to the amp,maybe I'll start toying around with the pedals again and maybe.....
 
#36
The VMT is a great choice if you need a DI/awesome preamp, but if your on a real budget the Digitech Hardwire cm2 can sound EXACTLY like a cranked SVT... I have to play some Rn'B and Funk and often use the DOD fx25 envelope filter a few different sounds (depending on my attack) or the Electro-Harmonix Bass Micro-Synth for early Michael Jackson bass tones, and a Boss OC2 for different beefy sounds.... These are just my favorites though!!
 
#37
bassproduction said:
for deep R&B bass ive been using the DOD FX25 with the sensitivity at minimum and the range at 1 o'clock. using a '62 pbass with flats into a mesa strategy and 6x10 has this large round sound nice for ballads and slow burners.

im also looking fwd to trying the new EH Bass Soul Food.
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I do almost the same with mine except I set Range at 1:00 and sensitivity at about 2:00, if I play light I can get a super dub bass, if I play normal its very funky, but I also have it clean blended in its own loop with a boss limiter... I love the fx25!!
 
#39
I got the Tone Hammer amp which has the Tone Hammer circuit that's in the pedal. A+ amp, killer tone.

I also run a compressor full time, so it fattens up the tone but you can't tell it's there. I just got the Sansamp Programmable Bass Driver DI; it's one of those things that you can't imagine not using after you hear the tone. Icing on the cake is GHS flatwounds.

I am loving the vintage tones I get. I am a big fan of the Jamerson sound and the Carol Kaye sound.
 
#40
Ace, pick up a used Zoom B3. $150.

Hook it up to your computer, via usb (powers the B3),download the editor, put on your headphones and go.

Turn on your music, through the B3, cop the tone, learn the song, practice it with the drum machine, or loop the chord progression with drums or a click. Sit outside and play on battery power. Use it direct into a mixing board.

The thing is like a Swiss Army knife, for less than the cost of a single boutique pedal. You'll learn a ton about how all kinds of effects work.

The more I mess with mine, the more I like it.
 
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