What do I need in my pedal setup?

[benchpress11782]

Hello all. I play fretless and fretted solo bass. I play through a markbass 2x10 combo amp. The only pedal I use is the blue sky reverb. Am I missing any other pedals for the best sound? Just wondering if I should be using compression or any other ideas. Thanks so much.

Ed

 

[s0c9]

Judicious use of compression can be a good thing.
See here for details on compressors..
Compressor Reviews

 

[dheafey]

Personally, I can't do without a compressor. From a preamp perspective, I always like a small amount of grit just to add some sparkle, nothing too crazy. If you switch between basses (fretted and fretless) a lot, you may want to look at the Sansamp VT Bass Deluxe. You can do 6 presets on 1 bass or 3 each on 2 basses. You could setup a patch, for example, that gives you a bump in the drive to get your solo out there a bit more than your standard sound. This unit is also a DI and has a low impedance XLR out, but personally I feel these are a bit thin, so I will take the 1/4" out on a preamp's DI and send it to my Radial JDI.

 

[Gearhead17]

Aguilar TLC Compressor. Transparent sounding and easy to get it sounding good. Allows you sit in the mix better. I would not recommend any other pedals. Less gear means less to go wrong in a live situation.

 

[sketch]

The only pedal I use is the blue sky reverb. Am I missing any other pedals for the best sound?

I tend to add pedals when I hear a sound I want, or find I am lacking something.
Is there an aspect of your sound you are unhappy with?

 

[Vlad5]

^^^ this ^^^

Discover what you feel is lacking, or being over-accentuated, then look for solutions.
Usually, eq can fix most problems/needs.

Another thought, get a multi effect unit of decent quality (Zoom, etc..) and try out different effects to see if anything in general appeals to you, then find the best single effect unit (best for you, of course) of the type(s) you like and tweak until happy.

Players here in in the effects forum spend YEARS messing with different effects to find what works for them.
One person's effect of the year can easily be another person's worse tone wrecker ever.
For instance, I haven't got along with any octave pedal I've tried, even the ones most revered here and elsewhere.

Effects are a taste/need thing based on the musical ideas you're trying to convey.
Good luck!

 

[moody]

One person's effect of the year can easily be another person's worse tone wrecker ever.

I'm pretty sure that's the way with me. My always on pedal kills 80% of the bass.

I'll go with the 'try a good multi-effect' suggestion. I spent a lot on pedals to try out that I never ended up using.

 

[Vlad5]

Zoom B3 is a good choice (I've owned one).
Not expensive (relatively), easy to find used, easy to use, lots of effects, decent drives (hard to find on digital effects without dropping serious coin).

Good luck, and search through the effects forums for specific effects and you will find a ton of threads full of information.
There is also a Zoom B3 thread floating around full of advice for using that multi as well.