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Pedals that are always on?

#42
WJGreer said:
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.
Click to expand...

Just like The Edge.
 
#43
WJGreer said:
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.
Click to expand...

Oh yea, I'm sure. I'm no stranger to effects (look at my board) and I don't think there is a "right" way to do things but I just prefer to avoid "always on" pedals. Part of it is the fact that my normal sound just requires a good rig. Clean n' punchy. The other part is that when I hit a switch I want a quantum shift in tone otherwise I feel like I've wasted money :D.
 
#44
I have excellent EQ capability in my basses and my amp but I play four different basses: a Birdsong fretless Corto Bass and a Birdsong fretted HY5 both with varitone; I also play an Azola Bug Bass EUB and a Kala UBass. I use the programming functions on the VT Deluxe and the Parametric EQ to make my instrument transitions more efficient.
 
#45
WJGreer said:
There's no right answer.
Click to expand...

I think there is a right answer. The right answer is: it's perfectly fine to rely on pedal effects to achieve your tone and that doing so does not necessarily reflect poorly on your choice of amp, cabs or your playing technique. The end.

Imagine if I said: "you use a tube amp? If you need tubes to get your tone, I think you need to focus on more fundamental things." That would be ridiculous, of course. But if a solid-state player says he/she relies on a pedal for some of that same OD sound, why should that be any different? Hey, at least we're modular. I can change out my OD while still keeping my amp head. :)
 
#46
My BBE OptoStomp (original? circa 2005) is my only pedal aside from my tuner. I set both the VOLUME and COMP dials between 12:00 and 1:00, with the PAD off (down, 0db cut). I try and leave it behind now and then and do without it, but I find just having that slight bit of compression allows me to make my sound work in any venue without too much tweaking, so it always finds its way back into my rig.
 
#50
Extremely happy with the tone of my Jazz or P-Bass thorugh my Yorkville XS800 and 410 cab ... but my Pork Loin and BBE Opto Stomp remain on 90% of the time. Enhances the tone. Amp head has a built-in compressor and "tube gain", but I love my head for the overall tone, these pedals for the extra stuff.

You can see the little stickers I affix to the pedals with my settings, although I also tweaked the internal controls of my Pork Loin so these settings would sound different compared to a Pork Loin straight out of the box.

PorkLoin.jpg
BBE.jpg


BBE might be hard to see ... unity gain for me is about 2:00, compression at 1:30.
 
#52
scottfeldstein said:
I think there is a right answer. The right answer is: it's perfectly fine to rely on pedal effects to achieve your tone and that doing so does not necessarily reflect poorly on your choice of amp, cabs or your playing technique. The end.

Imagine if I said: "you use a tube amp? If you need tubes to get your tone, I think you need to focus on more fundamental things." That would be ridiculous, of course. But if a solid-state player says he/she relies on a pedal for some of that same OD sound, why should that be any different? Hey, at least we're modular. I can change out my OD while still keeping my amp head. :)
Click to expand...

Scott, I find myself agreeing with you once again.:) Puritanism has no place when the ultimate goal is a sound, not a particular setup or technique that 'should' get your sound. I love the sound of my bass straight into my amp, but in a loud setting I prefer some discrete compression that matches the heavily compressed sound of tube guitar amps. I also enjoy the insane amount of clean headroom I can get from my amp, since it means I can use it for gigs at different levels of volume, but I also like a bit of tubey grind that can be dialed in from a pedal regardless of volume.

If anyone can get all that they want from a minimal setup then more power to them. I know my needs and intend to always go for the best possible sound to suit the music I am playing.

Martin
 
#58
I haven't found a pedal, yet, that makes me say on all the way. I use a Status Graphite bass and Eden rig and get an amazing tone from them. I found the Sansamp BDDI took away from that tone a bit. Gotta B3K on the way but my guess is that will be used on some more rockish songs with me still going nude on some clean jams.
 

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