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Purist or effects junkie?

#41
I just use a little compression for an my singer/songwriter acoustic project (see sig). My other project is going to be all about experimentation so I'll be using everything from my OC-2 to my [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] in that project.

I'm on both ends of the spectrum. I'm definitely a pedal junkie because that is the persona I don at home....but I understand its rightful place. I'll be putting together a bare bones board for the acoustic project that will probably only have a tuner a compressor and a DI of some sort.
 
#42
I'm a bit of both really. My approach to the use of effects is very different between guitar and bass.

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Guitar: There are several effects I like to make use of with guitar depending on the application. Compression, dirty boost, low gain OD, medium gain OD, high gain OD, distortion, phase, tremolo, echo/delay, chorus, reverb. Aside from a Strobostomp tuner and a 70's script logo MXR Phase 45 all of my pedals were built by me - some modified kits, some from-scratch builds of modified circuits - each bread-boarded and tuned to work best in the context of my rig. Everything is true bypass except for a single op-amp based buffer I built into my tuner/mute switch. Signal path is:
Modified GGG kit Orange Squeezer compressor ->
Tuner mute / signal buffer -> (tuner output to Strobostomp)
MXR Phase 45 ->
Custom dirty boost pedal based on the Lovepedal COT w/Rangemaster voiced tone control ->
Modified low gain Lovepedal Eternity with diode/LED clipping switch ->
Custom medium gain OD based on the Marshall BluesBreaker circuit with cues taken from the Guv'nor and MI Audio Crunch Box ->
Modified GGG ITS8 (TS808) kit - Landgraff DO / CJOD specs, OPA2134PA op-amp, MOSFET/LED clipping switch, fat boost switch ->
Modified BYOC Shredder kit ->
BYOC Ping-Pong Delay kit ->
Custom tremolo pedal based on the EA Tremolo circuit -> Amp
Pedal board is a PEdalTrain PT-II with a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 supply mounted underneath.

I also use a Boss SE70 1/2-U rack effects processor in the parallel effects loop of my guitar amp (Fuchs ODS-50 1x12 combo). I use this for chorus and delay effects, and occasionally for reverb. I mostly use the spring reverb built into the amp for reverb.

With all of this stuff available for use I will quite often leave my pedalboard at home and take just the amp or the amp and the SE70. All of my guitars have passive electronics and mostly low output PAF style humbuckers and strat style single coils. I prefer the tone and response plugged directly into the amp (no pedals). Tone, dynamics, and response to guitar volume canges are at their best with ~18' cable only between the guitar and amp. The pedal board is used when having a wide variety of sounds is required.

Bass: I haven't found any use for effects other than very subtle overdrive, specifically the sound of an Ampeg B15N on the verge of breakup. My amp as a Markbass Jeff Berlin 1x15 combo - sounds quite a lot like a very clean, loud B15N. My only effect is a SansAmp VT Bass which I use for the aforementioned overdrive. The cool bit is the VT Bass sounds like a more aggressive version of the amps tone. The only other pedal I have for bass is a ST-200 Turbo Tuner for (you guessed it) tuning. I don't use any effects in the amps effects loop.

All of my basses have active electronics (Bongo's - 18v 4-band EQ/preamps) and so I'm less concerned about the electronics the guitars signal passes through so long as the buffers are relatively transparent and there is enough headroom to leave dynamics intact.

------------------------------

While I'm just as likely to leave my guitar pedal board and processor at home as I am to use them the SansAmp VT Bass is always in the signal chain.
 
#44
I'm a foot in both as well,...

I love the sound of a nice clean rig, also love the sound of crazy noise,... but have now grown up and realised in my band there doesnt call for much of that,... my band HATES my noisebox pedal,... yet love when I use fuzz and wah if its in a 'good spot' in the song to do so...

bit of a home addict, bought so many pedals just on a few demo clips alone :( but going to sell them off as they don't get used/can't find uses for them,... I have lost so many hours in my bedroom with headphones and my pedal board though,... a few nice pedals like a ps/3, fuzz, wah, OD, delay and then all the combinations,... and there goes the night! :D
for noize addicts like me, noizebox is my god,... but I just can't find a way for non noise people to like it so it might have to be my secret weapon or just my bedroom toy :(
 
#46
sorry should have explained ;)

subdecay noise box pedal
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
The Noise Box is somewhere in between a chaotic octave generator, guitar synth, and a broken robot stuck in an angry bee hive.

I have it setup so that it is basically an auto wah into a descending breaking up between the octave and normal frequency that when stopped breaks up even further like a gated synthy starved fuzz,... not exactly the most musical effect but I love playing with it to see what crazy noises I can make with it... at the moment slapping very quickly turns it into a ray gun type sound but as you can imagine doing that alot can be very irritating (especially to my band mates who don't overly like it full stop :ninja:)

my board for band / home use is bass -> Boss Tuner -> Ps/3 (pitch shifter/delay) -> subdecay noise box -> Ibanez PD7 (od/distortion) -> subdecayflying tomato mutant fuzz -> Hardwire DL-8 Delay/looper -> Ibanez Weeping Demon Wah

I want more pedals / keep thinking of different pedals to put in but this is using up EVERY available bit of real estate as it is on a gator pedal tote board... only thing I can think of is replacing the PD7 with either my BF3 or carbon copy delay (not sure if it would be usable but wouldn't mind testing pitch shifter into delay into delay :bassist:)
 
#48
Started as a purist, just plug Bass into amp-Cool and simple. First effect was a Korg Phaser back in the mid 80's to play Stranglehold, still pretty much a purist. I was converted to junkie because my bands guitarist was always late to rehearsal while me and the drummer were early. We'd jam and I would start cranking the drive on my Sunn Beta and get killer distortion, then add this effect, then that and so on. We did a few original songs with just bass, drums and vocals and quite a few non-musician friends loved the stuff.

Ever since then my wallet's been much thinner. Now I am looking to put together a new band this summer once some personal issues slow down. Will be bass, drums and probably keys with everyone sharing vocal responsibilities. Should be fairly experimental with tasteful use of bass effects. The challenge is translating the sound at low volume to club volume, some times that is an issue I found when using effects in the past.
 
#50
I haven't used effects in a long time, except for my sansamp RBI, I don't know if that counts. That's more of a preamp. I have an audition coming up, where the previous bassist used lots of effects, so I'm digging them up from the grave. But I don't think I'm going to be able to match the tone of his Bass Pod. Check it out on the track "Lonley".
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If anyone knows how to get that sound with disortion (Pro Co Rat, and Sansamp RBI), Boss OC2, Crybaby Wah, Yamaha FX500B, and a Dod EQ, let me know :eek:
 
#51
chump stain said:
I haven't used effects in a long time, except for my sansamp RBI, I don't know if that counts. That's more of a preamp. I have an audition coming up, where the previous bassist used lots of effects, so I'm digging them up from the grave. But I don't think I'm going to be able to match the tone of his Bass Pod. Check it out on the track "Lonley".
Link Removed
If anyone knows how to get that sound with disortion (Pro Co Rat, and Sansamp RBI), Boss OC2, Crybaby Wah, Yamaha FX500B, and a Dod EQ, let me know :eek:
Click to expand...

if its bass playing the intro / verse parts,... I'm no help for you :( really loud delay/distortion/pitch shifter with single/few repeats?
 
#53
I'm probably the same as a bunch of others around here. I enjoy both the sweet pure sound of bass and amp, but I also like sounding like a helicopter when I want to. When I first got back into jamming and my pedal addiction started, I was using them very much. The tunes me and my buddies were playing were mostly covers, plus there was usually at least two guitars, so any effects I found would get lost in the mix/solos:eek:. But now its usually me and two other buddies, one on guitar and the other on drums. And since they don't have any effects other than the ones I lend them, I get to make all the noises I want now. Its great for the creativity, but murder on the wallet.
 
#54
fuzz/OD, compression and eq but my amp does all of those things for me. so i guess those aren't really fx pedals. i use the switch pedal that came with the amp to turn them on and off so maybe they do count. when not playing thru my amp i use an Ibanez pd7 or ts7 or an EHX bass big muff pi: usually if i am at a gig with an in house back line or at a friend's place with their amp. i do have an EHX bassballs and an EHX small stone that i may use some time but for now its primarily just bass>amp.
 
#57
I have developed a use for modest effects. For instance, havin the Ibanez PD-7 OD on in distortion mode + active ATK bass with highs completely cut and bass boosted = awesome 70's fuzz. DOD FX25 envelope filter with sensitivity way down = disgustingly low dub sound. Other than that, I play mostly just clear bass, but when I can I have my DD-7 Delay on low volume. I see no reason not to have that on subtly all the time.

Those are the only 3 effects I own, and I'm not gassing for anything else at the moment. Wow, did I really just say that??
 
#59
FWIW.. I think as soon as you put effects in your chain, you're taking away from the power of your own tone. Pedals to me are a good way to not be you. Bass doesn't need pedals anyway. Every time I start to think about my tone, I go pick up my bass and <mediocre amp> and try to make it better with my own hands.
 

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