Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
To all Bass Whammy 5 owners...
- Thread starter soulgolem
- Start date
I own the 2014 Reissue of the bass whammy. It has true bypass so therefore when you are not using the harmony side of the pedal and it is engaged the signal goes through as is. It is not effected until you actually start to push the pedal forward. Wonderful little toy. My guitarist hates me. 
I own the 2014 reissue as well. The pedal is still on heel down. True bypass only works when the pedal is off. Personally I have seen a slight change in my tone when I'm on pitch shifting side, heel down, pedal on. Sounds a little thinner, especially low end. Not enough to take the fun out of it tho
I own the 2014 Reissue of the bass whammy. It has true bypass so therefore when you are not using the harmony side of the pedal and it is engaged the signal goes through as is. It is not effected until you actually start to push the pedal forward. Wonderful little toy. My guitarist hates me.
That isn't actually how it works.
True bypass refers to hard routing the signal from input to output jacks without being electrically connected to the electronics in your device, whatever that device happens to be. The pedal in the bypassed mode is basically another length of cable in your signal chain at this point.
When you click the thing on, you're not going through the electronics. On the Whammy, this means that if the engaged light is lit, you're hearing your signal post processing. There is still some tone loss/change here, even with the pedal rocked fully back...use your ears, it's pretty obvious if you've got nothing else manipulating the signal.
Still a badass pedal, I love mine.
ah good to know, would you say it's playable when it's engaged but not shifted ? reason is i also sing and i have lots of pedals to press while doing so, having the whammy pre engaged would save a lot of time if i decide to get them.
Also both my guitar and bass are going through my pedalboard, kind of a dual setup, when i play guitar, bass is done by another person on a synth, what i wonder is if the bass whammy is suitable also for guitar ? or is it best to get the guitar version and use that one for bass ?
Also both my guitar and bass are going through my pedalboard, kind of a dual setup, when i play guitar, bass is done by another person on a synth, what i wonder is if the bass whammy is suitable also for guitar ? or is it best to get the guitar version and use that one for bass ?
Depends on your style of music and volume of the gig. I'd say if you were to keep it on, some sort of eq pedal following to boost some of the low end and other thin frequencies, could get you by. And I've never played a guitar thru the bass whammy, but I know for a fact that the bass whammy sounds better for bass than the guitar version. I'd say if you play bass more than guitar, keep the bass version.
I went from a whammy 4 to the new bass whammy. As far as the bypass it was a huge improvement getting the bass whammy. But i will warn you the bass whammy is my least used pedal. I just keep it on my board because its so fun to noodle with. There's also a couple tool lines i like to jam between songs (disposition for example) while I'm waiting for singer to catch his breathe and guitarist to retune.
Ever considered a midi set up? The bass whammy has midi, I don't know what else you're using but something like the decibel eleven switch dr. might be worth looking into...
You can notice a difference, but it is way better than previous Whammy pedals by a long shot. I have owned the Whammy II and the original Bass Whammy. When the pedal was engaged, while the heel was down on the treadle there was a very slight but noticeable delay...a lag would probably be the best word to describe it. I absolutely love the bass whammy. I probably over use it...but I am a pedal nut. The octave up and down harmony settings alone are worth it, especially before a distortion or fuzz pedal. The polyphonic chords option makes it VERY valuable to me.
I love mine and my belief is that the pedal is ONLY limited by the imagination of the player. The pedal itself is a powerful tool, but I understand why some scoff at it.
I love mine and my belief is that the pedal is ONLY limited by the imagination of the player. The pedal itself is a powerful tool, but I understand why some scoff at it.
I see no reason why it wouldn't. The big difference between the whammy V and bass version is the bass is designed to handle the lower frequency range of a bass guitar. But the tracking quality should be the same regardless since they utilize the same technology. That's about the best help I can give.
The regular V is the one with the compromise, in that sense. I've seen at least one TGP guitar board with a B-wham, it's fine.
