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Purist or effects junkie?
- Thread starter smithy78
- Start date
Maybe a different take ...
I use them only as a working tool when needed, out of 4 gigs this week 2 were "Barefoot" (no pedals) 2 with my board.
One gig was a straight blues gig and no pedals, the second a short 1 hour deal with borrowed backline, no pedals but
an active bass, three and four all nighters with the band and the pedal board. I usually play a passive Jazz Bass with the board.
... Don't experiment much, the board is pretty much set ... It's all I need, and I don't see any changes coming.
I use them only as a working tool when needed, out of 4 gigs this week 2 were "Barefoot" (no pedals) 2 with my board.
One gig was a straight blues gig and no pedals, the second a short 1 hour deal with borrowed backline, no pedals but
an active bass, three and four all nighters with the band and the pedal board. I usually play a passive Jazz Bass with the board.
... Don't experiment much, the board is pretty much set ... It's all I need, and I don't see any changes coming.
I like the sound of my bass... I do have 4 pedals, but use them when I want "an effect". Most of the time it is just bass and amp, but if I want something that sounds like an effect, I will use one or more of em.
Ok I'm going to tell a story [everyone groans.
At the time I jointed TBm I had stopped using FX [for the second or third time] cut my hair and stopped dying it funny colors and was playing in a blues band for the most part. I was having fun but felt a little stifled, but I was really buying the whole "bass should be clean and unaffected", now this was only a six month to a year long period, but still......
Being around here reminded my about my first love in playing music, making weird noises, and so I delved back into this with a vengeance and came up with some very odd stuff indeed.
And so out came the OD, Trem and filter pedals again. But after my time of not using FX I really learned about when and where to use them to help the over all sound of the band and not just be "that weird bassist that makes funny noises from time to time"
And this also led to buy more and more pedals, mostly to find ones that work in in a band mix well, but then there are the others that I have so I can make my weird noises.
If this doesn't make sense please keep in mind that I am still that weird bassist that makes funny noises from time to time at heart
At the time I jointed TBm I had stopped using FX [for the second or third time] cut my hair and stopped dying it funny colors and was playing in a blues band for the most part. I was having fun but felt a little stifled, but I was really buying the whole "bass should be clean and unaffected", now this was only a six month to a year long period, but still......
Being around here reminded my about my first love in playing music, making weird noises, and so I delved back into this with a vengeance and came up with some very odd stuff indeed.
And so out came the OD, Trem and filter pedals again. But after my time of not using FX I really learned about when and where to use them to help the over all sound of the band and not just be "that weird bassist that makes funny noises from time to time"
And this also led to buy more and more pedals, mostly to find ones that work in in a band mix well, but then there are the others that I have so I can make my weird noises.
If this doesn't make sense please keep in mind that I am still that weird bassist that makes funny noises from time to time at heart
Not from me, I still need one, the MF-102 it at the top of my list because I have the Moog filter and phaser and with all the extra inputs and outputs that let the moogerfoogers talk to each other looks so fun!
Also I like the samples of the Frostwave Blue ringer and the Studio Electronics ModMax, but man is that thing pricy!
I have 12 or 13 pedals, but I only have a small board and swap them out a lot. These days, I like to keep the active board to around 5 at the outside - including tuner. My goal is to have a board that works as well with an acoustic jam as with a full-rig, electric gig. I've recently become a "compressor always on" guy - everything past that comes and goes lately.
I feel naked without a delay pedal. 
I am an FX junkie at home (my collection is growing and TB Effects forum is to blame). I play around with my pedals a lot.
But when playing in the band it's only delay, a volume pedal (yes, to me this is an effect: volume swells) and... ??? I am in the market for an effect for mellower passages in songs, something like rotary or tremelo.
Guess I am an effected purist.
I am an FX junkie at home (my collection is growing and TB Effects forum is to blame). I play around with my pedals a lot.
But when playing in the band it's only delay, a volume pedal (yes, to me this is an effect: volume swells) and... ??? I am in the market for an effect for mellower passages in songs, something like rotary or tremelo.
Guess I am an effected purist.
No effects for me, I prefer the natural sound. I had some effect pedals back in the 80's (a Boss octave pedal and a phaser, can't remember the brand), but I never really used them with bands, just very occasionally for fooling around at home. Eventually I gave them to my guitarist brother as I wasn't using them. I do enjoy listening to effects used well in a musical way, but have really no desire or need for any effects in my playing.
I'm a junky AND a tweaker!
But I require a good clean sound to start with. That is a priority before it gets chopped, modulated and shifted.
But I require a good clean sound to start with. That is a priority before it gets chopped, modulated and shifted.
Amen to that. Must have a good solid tone as a foundation, AND, most of the time, no effects engaged. But to show up for a gig without at least my small 5 pedal board, (tuner, clean boost, noise reduction, one little filter, and a preamp/di) would be a crying shame. The board with all the wacky stuff mostly lives at home, but I'm working on a project that will hopefully require alot more of the wackiness.
