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Suggestions for my first bass effect pedal?

R

Razzi

Jul 16, 2009
15
0
#1
So, I've been playing bass for about 3 years now. I've never had a bass pedal, I've never used one. I want a good one to experiment with.

I can only afford one right now, and I'm wondering which effect would be best to purchase. It's kind of vain but I want something that I can use to easily impress my friends with.

I'm overwhelmed by the choices. Not just the choice of which effect but which specific product to get. I figured distortion is probably the obvious choice. But Chorus seems impressive too.

I have about $75-$100 to spend. Suggestions?
 
#6
Yeah, but my technique is good. Improvable but good. I can't really customize the sound I'm producing with out effects. For instance, I really love playing Muse's Hysteria, but that sounds god awful without distortion. Plus, it's impressive. Seems win/win, no reason not to buy a pedal.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm gonna look at both of them now.
 
#8
If you need people to suggest to you which bass effect you should get first I don't think you really need/want one. Most people get into effects because they're looking for a specific sound. If you can get that sound without effects or don't have any particular tonal goal in mind why spend the money? Don't get something just because a bunch of people have it. Plus, asking "what pedal should I get?" is just like asking "what bass should I get?" You're gonna get a million different answers, none of which will actually mean anything unless you have a goal you're trying to reach.

For every single pedal on my board I can tell you why it's there, show you what sounds I can get it, and the other pedals I considered before buying it. I'm not saying you even have to have a good reason, just something, lol.
 
#9
^^^ What Kwesi said.

There are a bazillion pedals to choose from for bass, and adding one to your signal chain should have everything to do with a sound you're trying to achieve and nothing to do with "impressing" anybody. If you just want to impress your friends, figure out a way to make sparks fly out of your bass while you're playing.

Among the palette of sounds available to bassists via stomp boxes, some are geared toward putting you out in front with an in-your-face tone (overdrives, distortions, fuzzes) and some are more focused on giving you a lush, dreamy, or spacey sound (chorus, flange). Then there's the whole funk factor, which is served by envelope filters.

In any one of these categories there are dozens of good choices. Decide first if you're trying to enhance your sound given the genre of music you play, and then decide whether an effect is really what you need to achieve your goal. Once you get to that level of understanding, you might be able to begin a meaningful quest for an appropriate effect.

Just asking what effect would be "impressive" will lead to a hundred different recommendations of a hundred different effects, all of which accomplish different things musically. You need to get your head around what you might add to your signal chain that would embellish the sound that suits your genre and your band.

Once you're there, start searching this Effects area. Nobody's going to give you a new perspective that hasn't already been discussed dozens of times before.
 
#10
I have a buddy who owns a pawn shop and he had a MXR BASS DI+ for sale to me for very little money.

I didn't want an effect pedal, but once I tried it - I was hooked.

The CLEAN channel is so powerful that you get a whole new operating envelope for tone and attack.

Then it also has a DISTORTION channel and you can add a lot of subtle changes all the way to a buzz saw effect.

The nicest part is the COLOR button that takes everything back to a default legacy setting where you can at least get your senses back if you go too far.

Add in the DI out and another PARALLEL output and you've got the beginning of some very fine effects and a tone-master monster.

I don't know how I existed without it all these years and in my opinion, it all starts here with this MXR pedal.

Gack! I just found MY PIX of MY MXR in the 15th place position on Google Images!

100_6642.png



Whattyaknow!
 
#11
This isn't gonna impress anyone unless you actually have the skill you're talking about. Get a compressor and learn how to use it. Buy one used, play around with it and get the kinda sound you want. Resell the thing if you don't like it. Or like bassbrad said, get a multieffect pedal. My first one was the Boss ME-50B because A) I'd heard great things about the compressor on it and B) I was like you and wasn't quite sure the effects I wanted. You might be able to get one used for $100.
 
#15
There's lots of ways you could go for sure. I wouldn't discourage you from trying anything because you're not sure what you want or because you don't necessarily have a need for anything in particular. I didn't "need" anything when I first started buying effects, but I quickly found uses for the effects I had that I liked, and today I wouldn't be able to do half the things I do musically without the effects that I use.

First thing I bought was a Bass Wah. The old black Bass Crybaby. The new white 105Q bass Crybaby can be had from Amazon I think for right around 100$, and you can definitely score a used one on eBay for cheaper. A bass wah does take a little extra coordination to use, but there's a lot you can do with a bass wah whether using it as a static filter or doing funky percussive stuff or adding some extra spice to a rock riff or what have you. What's more is everybody loves the wah wah effect and you can easily impress your friends with one, I know I did mine.
 
#16
Volume pedal :)

Oh, no a Banshee :D

Seriously folks...

Track down a Digitech BP-200, It's not the best quality but it has a metric assload of mediocre effects to play with, tweak, save/store, and call up on demand as well as a tuner, drum machine, headphone jack and they are on craigslist for 50-75 all the time.

Find what you use and dump the thing for individual pedals or like a Boss GT-6B (make a cover for the knobs if you play live)

tonesponge said:
When I record, I find myself applying a LOT of compression to the bass. Do people use compressors much?
Click to expand...

Onboard compressor typically, I know quite a few who run compressed. And then there are some don't know they are if the sound guy is taking care of it for them through the PA.
 
#18
Razzi said:
Yeah, but my technique is good. Improvable but good. I can't really customize the sound I'm producing with out effects. For instance, I really love playing Muse's Hysteria, but that sounds god awful without distortion. Plus, it's impressive. Seems win/win, no reason not to buy a pedal.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm gonna look at both of them now.
Click to expand...

FYI, effects usually sound like crap on bass which is why most of the top players avoid them. Concentrate on playing. Leave the effects to guitar and keyboard player.
 
#19
I'm grabbing a distortion pedal. Two caught my eye. Electro-Harmonix XO Bass Big Muff PI Distortion Effects Pedal. Looks good, sounds good.

Now, I see a lot of bass players equipped with Boss pedals. So, I was thinking about Boss ODB-3 Bass OverDrive Pedal. I've scoped out some videos on Youtube and I like the way the Big Muff sounds more. But I figured I'd still ask for the opinions of others. :3
 

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