Pedals or No pedals!?

[el murdoque]

My minimal setup is a bass and a cable. I did gig like that. Just plugging into DI and let FOH do the rest.
So I don't need pedals. I don't need cabinets. I don't need an amp. A bass and fingers is all it takes.
Can it be a much nicer experience with a lot more gear? You bet.

 

[ihixulu]

Depends on the gig and my mood. It’s not an ideological thing for me.

 

[gelinas666]

Straight in a Full Tube Head is the sound I start with,then add some color with pedals for different scenarios .. I also use an HPF to filter out below 30hz to keep it tight and right!

 

[Andy Daventry]

I use a Sadowsky outboard preamp, a boss GEB7,and a Sansamp GT2 amp sim. I had a SABDDI but gave it to a friend. I have a Hartke bass fuzz, but don't really have a use for it. I'd amputate a leg* to keep the Sadowsky, but the others are not mission critical.

*not mine. Someone else's.

 

[TheSeagoats]

When I was in my last band I ended up with three pedals, a tuner, an overdrive, and a chorus. The overdrive was for one song, the chorus was for literally two measures. I could have done, and at times did, without all three but it added to the potential tones I had access to. While I'm in college I don't have time for a band but I've added an always on compressor, and I've toyed with an always on Klon knockoff so things are a bit more aggressive sounding.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

On guitar I have tried a ton of pedals. On bass, I really just like to get some natural overdrive from my amp. I can’t remember which I have cranked, I think it’s the gain knob. On my SVT CL. It’s been that way for years now so I forget.

I may have to try my guitar pedals with my bass though. Could be fun.

 

[BurtMacklinFBI]

I love pedals. I won’t try to shoehorn one into a song that sounds best without it, but I do look for opportunities to do something fun and listenable with them. Most of the music I like playing is very suited to pedal use, so I don’t usually have to try very hard to find those opportunities. They’re just a lot of fun to me and add a ton of color and variety to the experience of playing bass.

 

[jdwinva]

I enjoy hearing tasteful use of effects. I don't use them only because I like a simple setup and don't want to be distracted from playing what is right for the song. Saw Tool recently and really was amazed with Justin's range of effects that really work with the songs.

 

[Standalone]

My tone core is 100% in the Hands/Bass/Amp/Cab. GK drives nicely when I dig in, and I love that.
But I'm also a new pedalboard convert. I play in a jam band, and there are great moments for some chorus or more drive. The audience likes some octave and some envelope filtering happening at the right times. So the answer is both.

 

[Afc70]

I use no pedals, quite happy going straight into my amp (or preamp when I use Iem’s).. I’m totally happy just going direct without any pedals. I am open to the idea of building a mini pedal board tho, just to try some out, to see if there’s something that I’d like.

 

[buldog5151bass]

It really depends on what you are playing. When I played Pink Floyd tunes (especially in smaller bands where I had to cover different parts), I had a delay. When I play traditional jazz, I go direct.

 

[bassballs27]

When I first started playing bass back in the late 90's, I started gathering effects pedals.
They were a lot of fun....but I'll be honest I didn't use them much.
For the past 7 or 8 years, I've rarely ever used effects. Only recents pulled out the old ones I had from the when I started playing bass and started selling them off! LOL!

My EHX Bass Micro Synth has probably been the most impressive pedal I've owned. It will do a moog effect which is super cool. I'm a huge fan of 80's music right now, so even though it is for sale.....I'll probably just keep it

 

[Koshchei]

How many fellow bass players don’t use pedals? And how any do use effects? I’m not against them. I just never wanted to rely on anything but my bass, amp, fingers, and occasional pick for tone. If you do used pedals, what pedals can you not gig without?

Pedals aren't something to "rely on", like a crutch. Pedals add dimension to already solid playing. Use them or don't use them; it's up to your artistic vision - there is no right or wrong here.

 

[micguy]

A neck pickup, due to its location, has decent low end (it could use more), too much around 300 Hz (depends on what string you're playing on as to where exactly that hump is), and above that, it's a matter of taste. So, I always end up with something to pull down that 300 Hz (mud) hump down, and give me some flexibility in shaping my tone. And maybe a very subtle overdrive or a chorus - the tunes I'm playing, the vibe of the place, who I'm playing with, etc. - that stuff determines what ends up on the board.

 

[micguy]

Pedals aren't something to "rely on", like a crutch.

An active bass has tone shaping on board. A passive bass with a pedal that does the same thing (or an amp with tone shaping) does not make it a crutch - whatever is in your signal path is part of your instrument (it's an electric bass), whether it's in the bass, on the floor, in an amp, or dialed in at FOH.

 

[Chapster]

I guess you could say I have a thing for pedals...

However, I can (and do) just as easily go out and play directly into an amp. I think that's the most important thing of all when it comes to using pedals. A good bassist knows that he/she is going to be just fine with whatever is or isn't on the floor in front of them.

 

[Koshchei]

An active bass has tone shaping on board. A passive bass with a pedal that does the same thing (or an amp with tone shaping) does not make it a crutch - whatever is in your signal path is part of your instrument (it's an electric bass), whether it's in the bass, on the floor, in an amp, or dialed in at FOH.

I said that it WASN'T, not that it was. I have a ton of pedals that I use to shape and mix up how my bass sounds. My pedalboard right now:

TC polytune2 -> MXR bass compressor -> BOSS Dimension-C into:
a) clean Traynor SB500
b) Ibanez Weeping Demon wah -> Mesa Mark V guitar amp -> fx out: Earthquaker Rainbow Machine -> BOSS CE-2 -> TC HoF2 -> BOSS RC-3 -> TC Triple Delay

 

[Rib 13]

How many fellow bass players don’t use pedals? And how any do use effects? I’m not against them. I just never wanted to rely on anything but my bass, amp, fingers, and occasional pick for tone. If you do used pedals, what pedals can you not gig without?

Asking yourself 'What is the application?' is everything......Before semi-retiring from playing bass, I was mostly in variety bands, dance bands, etc. I can do any gig without effects but in my effort to try harder than the bass player that doesnt use them, I choose to utilize them. Why not? Thats what they are there for......In variety band covers, There was such a wide pallette of bass tones, from Beatles to Marcus Miller, that I always felt some effects, as well as pickup selection and technique selection, were warranted. Chorus/defretter/technique for faux fretless - Octaver for 8-string emulation - EQ shaping/tone control/pickup selection/techniques for classic to modern tones - occasionally synth when not using a keyboard onstage for synthbass.....and half the fun of effects is the sitting/experimenting to try to achieve the tone

I imagine if I played in a band that did less genres, I probably wouldnt utilize it the same way. I dont see myself using much of what I described above if in a permanent classic blues situation, as an example

As it stands, I always use a Compressor as a Limiter on 100% of the time by choice: mainly to reign in transients, especially for slap bass. I can easily play without though - I just like having it

 

[MJ_Sotti]

Passive Fender bass, cord, amp. And Fingers. There's a "tuner out" on my AG700 so I have a Pitchblack sitting on top of it.

 

[ChrisBowsman]

I love pedals. The only stuff I really NEED, though, is a delay and reverb. And fuzz. And wah. And trem. And an envelope filter. And at least 3 different drives. And a looper...