I like a little when I play solo,but I don't use reverb a lot in a live situation but when I do its usually for slower tunes and ballads. I use a Keeley caverns, it has delay also and they both sound great!
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Reverb for Bass
- Thread starter SJan3
- Start date
I use them primarily for ambient noise making.
- The OBNE ReveR is a love/hate thing. It's decent, but not amazing. The added delay and reverse functions are nice options. I find the device has a lo-fi sound, and it seems to distort before my other boxes do, which is fine if that's what you are after. I'm probably spoiled by my stereo Empress unit, so the OBNE often goes unused.
- Empress Reverb - Powerhouse stereo reverb. It has lots of sound engines, presets, and a looper built in. Midi/Expression control is nice too.
- Empress Zoia - Not as Reverb focused as the Reverb itself, but there are some solid reverb engines available for programming.
- The OBNE ReveR is a love/hate thing. It's decent, but not amazing. The added delay and reverse functions are nice options. I find the device has a lo-fi sound, and it seems to distort before my other boxes do, which is fine if that's what you are after. I'm probably spoiled by my stereo Empress unit, so the OBNE often goes unused.
- Empress Reverb - Powerhouse stereo reverb. It has lots of sound engines, presets, and a looper built in. Midi/Expression control is nice too.
- Empress Zoia - Not as Reverb focused as the Reverb itself, but there are some solid reverb engines available for programming.
When I want to get my Ventures meets Dick Dale thing on..
I pop in a little MiMidi 30 dollar blue reverb, barely crack it open, use a pick.
Boom bada bing... Pipeline sounds bitchin!
I pop in a little MiMidi 30 dollar blue reverb, barely crack it open, use a pick.
Boom bada bing... Pipeline sounds bitchin!
It's old-school but I use an EBS Dynaverb.
If it's good enough for Stanley Clarke - works for me....
If it's good enough for Stanley Clarke - works for me....
Only when recording, and then sparingly. Whatever's in the DAW always sounds better than a pedal.
Iron Ether Nimbus or Nimbus SE. It's designed for bass/baritone instruments and doesn't step on your lows. Like all modulation, it works best (IMO) when used with a wet/dry amp setup. But even by itself it works well since the 'verb effect is kept confined to the higher frequencies thanks to the signal being split into hi and low bands before the effect is applied. Afterwards it gets mixed back on the output side so it's sorta like a wet/dry chain even without a second amp.
However, some judicious compression paired with a very short (~65ms or so) delay with no repeats (up to a very mild slapback depending on the room) works even better since it provides an extremely similar sonic vibe without disappearing in a live band mix. That was a trick I learned back in my silk-shirt-shag-haircut progrock band days.
In the studio you can use anything. Reverb (like most bass modulation) only gets problematic when playing live since you can't get the same signal isolation and control of the environment you get with a recorded track.
Remember: Live is live - and - studio is studio. Two separate worlds. So two different approaches are required.
However, some judicious compression paired with a very short (~65ms or so) delay with no repeats (up to a very mild slapback depending on the room) works even better since it provides an extremely similar sonic vibe without disappearing in a live band mix. That was a trick I learned back in my silk-shirt-shag-haircut progrock band days.
In the studio you can use anything. Reverb (like most bass modulation) only gets problematic when playing live since you can't get the same signal isolation and control of the environment you get with a recorded track.
Remember: Live is live - and - studio is studio. Two separate worlds. So two different approaches are required.
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I use reverb for fretless work. EQD Dispatch Master and HX Stomp reverbs sound fantastic for that sort of thing.
IME, delay and phaser work fine w/ bass and are useful as time/mod based FX. Reverb and chorus, not do much (unless you like mud city) and I'd take phasers over flangers.
That doesn't mean one can't successfully use them, it's just my experience over the years and I like effects. As I mentioned earlier any FX can be useful/fun playing solo and/or experimental music, and TC Elec H.o.F sounds great for that.
That doesn't mean one can't successfully use them, it's just my experience over the years and I like effects. As I mentioned earlier any FX can be useful/fun playing solo and/or experimental music, and TC Elec H.o.F sounds great for that.
I've got a Mr. Black Supermoon Chrome about 6 years ago.
For what I dig, it provides some gorgeous bright reverberations that don't muddy up my tone.
Also, the sway is really cool for ambient moods.
Put it side by side with a regular Supermoon Black for a couple of days and hands down preferred the Chrome edition.
For what I dig, it provides some gorgeous bright reverberations that don't muddy up my tone.
Also, the sway is really cool for ambient moods.
Put it side by side with a regular Supermoon Black for a couple of days and hands down preferred the Chrome edition.
Point taken I use it very sparingly, if at all — just a tincture does the trick. Atmospheric's the best angle here. Those who prefer delay can manage a verb effect much more subtly and effectively, as noted above, in other realms, somewhere a little way back from the beyond. The Afterneath can be a runaway train. Not always ideal, I imagine. The Kosmos can do some wond'rous 'verbal things with relative ease. Again it's best used very sparingly, on bass, is great for ambient effects but also more plain Jane stuff, like spring and hall reverb which can be divine — it can also do a lot of the stuff strymon's famous for, well under that mighty meaty budget.
I don't bother with any of it, most of the time, for bass …, when just a little delay (DD3 etc.) will do the job. There will come a time, I'm sure I'm kinda looking forward to it too. There's some very off beat pedals looming large these days and I'd very much like to try my hand at some more mental, atmospheric, out there stuff. … One of these days
I use it very sparingly, if at all — just a tincture does the trick. Atmospheric's the best angle here. Those who prefer delay can manage a verb effect much more subtly and effectively, as noted above, in other realms, somewhere a little way back from the beyond. The Afterneath can be a runaway train. Not always ideal, I imagine. The Kosmos can do some wond'rous 'verbal things with relative ease. Again it's best used very sparingly, on bass, is great for ambient effects but also more plain Jane stuff, like spring and hall reverb which can be divine — it can also do a lot of the stuff strymon's famous for, well under that mighty meaty budget.I don't bother with any of it, most of the time, for bass …, when just a little delay (DD3 etc.) will do the job. There will come a time, I'm sure
I'm kinda looking forward to it too. There's some very off beat pedals looming large these days and I'd very much like to try my hand at some more mental, atmospheric, out there stuff. … One of these days 
That's the beauty of the HX FX, I can endlessly browse.
For a traditional verb, I use the plate, high passed, short decay. Very clean, pretty, and unmuddied.
When I'm tripping, I use all the others.
My Boss GT-1B multieffect has a decent digital reverb. Don't need much more than that.
What I do in my studio now - where I've become the bassist, my bassist is now the jazz chord whiz on guitar, and the lead guitarist is beginning to "get it" relative to playing jazz - is to simply turn on the PA and open up a couple mics across the room. I put the reverb on there, and that gives us a decent approximation of the old Columbia Records 30th street studio. I mean not really, but we can imagine it as such while we are playing. In any event, the real charm is that it puts us all in the exact same virtual room. So when I'm walking on a standard like So What, and there are chords going and a soloist going, it's got a decent hint of that jazz studio vibe that you hear on so many of those classic bebop and post-bop recordings.
What I do in my studio now - where I've become the bassist, my bassist is now the jazz chord whiz on guitar, and the lead guitarist is beginning to "get it" relative to playing jazz - is to simply turn on the PA and open up a couple mics across the room. I put the reverb on there, and that gives us a decent approximation of the old Columbia Records 30th street studio. I mean not really, but we can imagine it as such while we are playing. In any event, the real charm is that it puts us all in the exact same virtual room. So when I'm walking on a standard like So What, and there are chords going and a soloist going, it's got a decent hint of that jazz studio vibe that you hear on so many of those classic bebop and post-bop recordings.
I use it sparingly, often with chorus, slow gear effects, or lightly on upright simulations. The verb included in my Boss GT-1B sounds just fine, so I have no need for another pedal.
EHX Holy Grail has been my go-to for a long time. While I have some others that offer a lot of wonky sounds (EQD Afterneath, OBNE Dark Star, etc.), I can use the Grail in most application. I honestly keep it in my gigbag as a "backup" sort of thing. Hall setting at 9:00 gives me just enough air to make my bass feel a bit more organic and to warm up my EQ.
Oh, and I can use the Flerb in a pinch to get some New Wave swirliness (yeah...I'm that guy).
~NvN
Apparently there are about 3 answers in this thread.
1. I do not use reverb for my bass sound
2. I use it on my fretless (insert pedal name)
3. I use it sparingly for melodic passages (insert pedal name)
Myself...I use a (now discontinued) TC electronics T2. It's got huge reverbs with modulation. It's not very subtle but I love it! I also love ambient/drone music. I wish I could play bass in an empty parking garage 24/7. If this thread were a song I would drown it in reverb.
1. I do not use reverb for my bass sound
2. I use it on my fretless (insert pedal name)
3. I use it sparingly for melodic passages (insert pedal name)
Myself...I use a (now discontinued) TC electronics T2. It's got huge reverbs with modulation. It's not very subtle but I love it! I also love ambient/drone music. I wish I could play bass in an empty parking garage 24/7. If this thread were a song I would drown it in reverb.
Nice to see Mr Black getting mentioned. I've always been drawn to the voicing of the Bloodmoon more than the Supermoon or Supermoon Chrome, but haven't had a chance to play one yet.
Has anyone here used a Mr. Black Bloodmoon? Can it create long swelling pads?
