Pedals or No pedals!?

[Grahams Groove]

It's well known that musicians are naturally lazy. Just some are lazier than others. You can't beat, clean technique.

I actually agree with you on that last point, and your first point applies to humans in general. So, that's nothing new. Again, the two things are not mutually exclusive. You can have impeccable technique and still find uses for compression in your sound. Likewise, you haven't made the point that "clean technique" does everything a compressor will do.

 

[Lagado]

clean technique is singular....clean techniques are plural....I use one because I play with multiple techniques....My multiple techniques are clean enough each where I mainly use Compression as a Limiter ---- but the percussive nature of slap bass alone, with the sharp thump spike, is enough for me to prefer using one

Slap has different intensities, take this, it isn't slap exactly, more picking. That takes a very light approach and a good deal of control:

 

[Grahams Groove]

Slap has different intensities, take this, it isn't slap exactly, more picking. That takes a very light approach and a good deal of control:

Okay. So, you still haven't proven your point. That is more double thumbing with some plucks rather than hard pops. If you want the sound of more percussive snappy slap/pop playing, there's a certain level of attack necessary that is inevitably louder than controlled fingerstyle playing, chordal playing, etc. Like this sound...

 

[Lagado]

Okay. So, you still haven't proven your point. That is more double thumbing with some plucks rather than hard pops. If you want the sound of more percussive snappy slap/pop playing, there's a certain level of attack necessary that is inevitably louder than controlled fingerstyle playing, chordal playing, etc. Like this sound...

If the track has slap and fingerstyle in it, I bump the volume a little and lay back on the fingers so I can keep that extra in reserve.

 

[Ostie]

No pedals. I’m working on getting tone from my fingers and amp. Back in the eighties I used a Boss chorus and a compressor, but it ain’t the eighties anymore.

 

[jazzyvee]

None at all.
Like a previous poster said, I have nothing against them but for now I want to do everything from my fingers and my bass and have my signal path clean and un-adulterated as much as possible.

When I was learning to slap I was advised to get one to get a more consistent attack but I didn't like the way it treated my bass signal so I sold it. If I need a compressor on a gig, I'm sure the FOH guys use some that are much better quality than I can afford and know how to user them properly.

So far I have not been asked to use effects on bass and have no reason at this time to do so. I might make an exception if I was doing a track by Parliament Funkadelic... P-Funk!

 

[Grahams Groove]

If the track has slap and fingerstyle in it, I bump the volume a little and lay back on the fingers so I can keep that extra in reserve.

I thought you said it was all in the dynamics? That's using a volume knob, not hand-technique. Likewise, what about tracks where you are playing finger-style lines and throwing in single string 'pops' in the midst of a line? i.e. There's no time to even address a volume knob between notes.

 

[Lagado]

I thought you said it was all in the dynamics? That's using a volume knob, not hand-technique. Likewise, what about tracks where you are playing finger-style lines and throwing in single string 'pops' in the midst of a line? i.e. There's no time to even address a volume knob between notes.

This is getting silly. Don't worry about it.

 

[Grahams Groove]

This is getting silly. Don't worry about it.

I'm not worried, just defending a very reasonable point regarding tools of the trade. I'll leave at this - next time you happen to see Pino after a show, you might tell him to ditch the compressor & work on cleaning up his technique.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

I do gigs with and without pedals. I don't rely on them, I use them.
None of them are necessary but all of them are fun, it just depends on what music I'm going to be playing and my mood. So it could be just my bass, cable and amp or I could choose to have a drive, filter, pitchshifter, vocoder, volume, Synth or modulation pedal. If it's a jazz gig I might use none, if it's funky I might use all. Bass guitar is a modern instrument, with a vast textural and dynamic range, effects can be used to enhance it.

I used to have 3 must-Have pedals when I played(Tech21 vt sansamp, Keely compressor, & aphex Bass exciter), I was convinced they were essential to my tone! until the power supply failed & caused much distress, so I went "Naked" for a while, then realized it was my right hand! not all the accessories I've accumulated! None of my bandmates heard a difference, but I went back to using the T21 VT,& Aphex. I started getting a lot of compliments on my Tone! so It became a neccessecity again! then I started adding to it! a phaser, an octave. My preference are pedals I dont have to fiddle with while playing. I like things I can set & forget and leave it always on. I dont like feeling dependent on having Something "extra" to define my tone. they're a crutch.
Lately I stop using them, mostly for convenience. One less heavy case to keep track of! yeah I'm lazy & paranoid, I dont judge! you do you!

 

[Lagado]

I'm not worried, just defending a very reasonable point regarding tools of the trade. I'll leave at this - next time you happen to see Pino after a show, you might tell him to ditch the compressor & work on cleaning up his technique.

View attachment 3764539

I've only worked with guys who knew Pino back in the day and I've spoken to his brother on a couple of occasions. Like I said, this is getting silly...

 

[Grahams Groove]

I've only worked with guys who knew Pino back in the day and I've spoken to his brother on a couple of occasions. Like I said, this is getting silly...

Yet you came back for a 3-degrees-of-separation name drop. It is getting silly...

 

[Lagado]

Yet you came back for a 3-degrees-of-separation name drop. It is getting silly...

Stay in school.

 

[Grahams Groove]

Stay in school.

Neat burn.

 

[Backdrop]

For a long time I only used a tuner and a Rat. Occasionally threw in a Big Muff and a couple older Ibanez pedals (chorus & delay).
Few years ago I joined a band after not being in one for almost 10 years. Then I discovered this site and started reading too much. Then a year or two after that I got a Bass VI. Now I have 8 pedals on my board. Plus another 2 or 3 that stay home.

 

[Matty Koff]

I feel like this post would've provided a quicker answer with a poll.

Effects are great, depending on your band situation, whether or not you're looking to get creative or mimic the greats.

I like noises.. I have a loaded PT-3 full of effects. Sometimes I don't feel like lugging it with me.. and heck it's bass. Clean tone works 90-95% of the time. At the same time.. I just set up my spectrum intelligent filter to work like a typical wah pedal using a midi expression pedal...my c4 also has that capability and my aftershock distortion pedal is capable of some yummy overdrive/distortion/fuzz.

I LOVE the sound of my OC-3 with only the -1 octave wet signal. Something the spectrum and c4 can both do as well. I'm not against playing some electronic dance music within a band setting.. hybrid drum kits and crazy guitar/bass effects.

Even when my pedal board is plugged and ready to go however, I mostly just run with my valve compressor turned on and otherwise clean. The more I'm learning to use these Source Audio pedals however.. the more I think they might find value in how I shape my tone.

I could live without them in most cases.. but they're stupid fun to have.. make playing at home alone a lot more fun too. Finding what works in the mix and in some cases balancing that to work in a recording situation.. seems to add some work to the process.

 

[lermgalieu]

I use a compressor, tuner and distortion. I could play a gig just fine without any of them (and have, many times). But just because I can doesn't mean I should.

 

[Grahams Groove]

I feel like this post would've provided a quicker answer with a poll.

Effects are great, depending on your band situation, whether or not you're looking to get creative or mimic the greats.

I like noises.. I have a loaded PT-3 full of effects. Sometimes I don't feel like lugging it with me.. and heck it's bass. Clean tone works 90-95% of the time. At the same time.. I just set up my spectrum intelligent filter to work like a typical wah pedal using a midi expression pedal...my c4 also has that capability and my aftershock distortion pedal is capable of some yummy overdrive/distortion/fuzz.

I LOVE the sound of my OC-3 with only the -1 octave wet signal. Something the spectrum and c4 can both do as well. I'm not against playing some electronic dance music within a band setting.. hybrid drum kits and crazy guitar/bass effects.

Even when my pedal board is plugged and ready to go however, I mostly just run with my valve compressor turned on and otherwise clean. The more I'm learning to use these Source Audio pedals however.. the more I think they might find value in how I shape my tone.

I could live without them in most cases.. but they're stupid fun to have.. make playing at home alone a lot more fun too. Finding what works in the mix and in some cases balancing that to work in a recording situation.. seems to add some work to the process.

Indeed. I think of effects the way I think of solos or slapping or drum fills. Just because you have them at your disposal, that doesn't mean they need to be used most of the time. With more "effecty" effects, I think sprinkling them in at just the right places is part of learning how to use them.

Agreed on the creativity/play aspect of them, as well. If I'm tinkering around at home, sometimes playing with a new pedal or just a new sound will get my musical brain thinking another way. It can be a nice spark.

Lastly, the SA stuff is pretty incredible. I only have the C4 at the moment, but I've owned 3-4 others. The idea of building a board around an SA/Hub setup is appealing due to how well everything can interact & sync up. They've definitely changed my views on analog vs digital as well...

 

[fishdreams]

The idea that I am supposed to only play what "a bass is supposed to do" never made sense to me - there is what I want and need to do to make music with the tool at hand. So I like to think of my bass as a tool to make music with-any music. I use pedals to make tones and sounds to step outside the realm of what I can do with fingers, pick, or knives and forks on the bare strings.

 

[Grahams Groove]

The idea that I am supposed to only play what "a bass is supposed to do" never made sense to me - there is what I want and need to do to make music with the tool at hand. So I like to think of my bass as a tool to make music with-any music. I use pedals to make tones and sounds to step outside the realm of what I can do with fingers, pick, or knives and forks on the bare strings.

Well said. Whether it was new roles for the bass in music, new forms of bass instruments, new playing techniques, new equipment & effects, etc. this is the attitude that was needed to progress this instrument over the decades.