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Pedals that are always on?
- Thread starter whitefuneral
- Start date
I didn't know you had a Thumpinator. Maybe if we can ever get our rigs in the same room you might let me try it between my pre and power amps? I've been thinking about getting one for a while.....
For me, my Xotic Bass BB is always on for a little 'focus' and subtle, touch-sensitive OD, and my BBE Opto Stomp is always on for very subtle compression to help even string-to-string balance and tame the big ol' Drop C a bit (as well as some crazy low end from my Wah, Fuzz, and Synth.....)
-JV
On my GT-10B, I have a baseline patch that I run as my normal tone. It's flat EQ, run through what the GT-10B calls the "super flat" preamp modeler, then with a little bit of dbx 160 model compression. None of it is enough to notice as "effected"; it sounds dry until I take it out, especially with my J-style basses that seem to respond well to a little compression. Really, it just livens the tone up a little.
I also have a version of that patch with a little dirt dialed in. I'm really a clean tone guy, but I am beginning to see that, even for a clean tone guy, a little grit has a positive effect on the bass' presence in the mix, and people don't really even hear the grit.
I also have a version of that patch with a little dirt dialed in. I'm really a clean tone guy, but I am beginning to see that, even for a clean tone guy, a little grit has a positive effect on the bass' presence in the mix, and people don't really even hear the grit.
Sanford and Sonny Bluebeard Fuzz. High Noon across the board. It goes
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I try to avoid 'always on' pedals. If my tone doesn't sound good enough on its own and needs some sort of support then I obviously need to continue working on my standalone tone first.
When I bake a cake, I use the best flour I can find. I don't necessarily want the cake to taste like flour, though.
I don't agree. Using a pedal as preamp/toneshaper can make that final leap into satisfaction. For me, I wanted my sound to be on the edge of break up for clean tone. I use a tube head, the amount of volume to get to that sound that i want is not always appropriate to play at, thus I use a pedal to push the tubes and I consistantly get the sound I want at any volume.
Because I use an always on pedal does not mean that I have a problem with the sound of my amp or bass.
Besides, some people only play with OD or Fuzz out sound and many Amps can't get exactly what they want.
Either way, no right or wrongs if people are happy with how they sound.
scottfeldstein
Roots and fifths and a little extra.
For me it's the SansAmp BDDI (for light sizzle and tubular goodness) and also my MXR M87 Bass Compressor, which I run at 8:1, average playing lights up 4-5 LEDs, attack/release around noonish.
Always-on pedals are kind of a no brainer for tube emulation/grit and for compression. Other kinds of pedals--filters, etc--are "special" effects. you only turn them on when you need them. But grit and compression are often a part of one's full-time tone. The only way you don't use them in an always-on pedal situation is if you have them built-in to your amp head.
Even someone who likes a very hi-fi, clean sound--like some slappers do--would definitely want some good compression. If it's not on the amp, you gotta run a pedal. Simple as that.
Always-on pedals are kind of a no brainer for tube emulation/grit and for compression. Other kinds of pedals--filters, etc--are "special" effects. you only turn them on when you need them. But grit and compression are often a part of one's full-time tone. The only way you don't use them in an always-on pedal situation is if you have them built-in to your amp head.
Even someone who likes a very hi-fi, clean sound--like some slappers do--would definitely want some good compression. If it's not on the amp, you gotta run a pedal. Simple as that.
I used to feel like that, and actually ended up buying and reselling several amps because I couldn't get the sound I wanted without adding a pedal, even though when I added the pedal I was 100% happy with the sound.
I eventually ended up with a big SVT rig and you know what? Even though it sounds amazing by itself, I still need a pedal to put it over the edge from "a sound I love" to "the EXACT sound I hear in my head"!
I think this is the same argument a lot of people make regarding amps when they say things like "if an amp doesn't sound good to me with all its knobs at noon I don't want it." If you get the exact sound you want when you turn some knobs then who cares? It's like saying "This hot rod sucks! It only goes fast when I step on the gas!!!"
I'm not picking on you (like i said, I've been there).
-JV
Agreed.
If you want to go with baking analogies you actually, more or less, start out with the cake and whatever effects you use are usually frosting or fruit on top.
How about "a great steak has to start with a good cut of meat, but the seasoning and cooking technique are equally critical to the result."
My point, of course, is that it's OK to rely on effects to accomplish a goal if the goal requires effects to accomplish. Consider the guy from Muse, who uses excellent basses that I am sure deliver great tone when plugged straight into the amp - yet he could not do what he is trying to do without effects.
There's no right answer.
