Worship Bass Pedalboards

[Turn Em Loose]

It may not be fair, but I'm basically banking on this thing to change my life at this point. It had better poop golden eggs. I fully expect it will.

Versions 1 and 2 pooped golden eggs. Current version poops these:

But that's OK. It still tastes like chicken.

 

[jacoby75]

I don't know if it's life changing, but it really did change how I'm hearing myself - and how others are hearing me - in my/our IEM's and even at the FOH.

Well, I haven't liked how I've heard myself for some time now, particularly with drive pedals. An improvement there is all it will take to change my life. I don't ask for much. I'm pretty easy to impress. I think a big part of my problem might lie in how I've been monitoring my setup when I practice through my USB interface. I'm MOST excited just to have the OCSD to use as a good headphone amp to give me a truer idea of the tone I'm putting out in the house. The actual phenomenal cab sim feature will be an added bonus. Granted, that's some bonus.

 

[adamaarts]

So both my VPJR and Boss RV-6 Gabe our this past weekend. VPJR won't go to zero anymore and the RV-6 has something loose somewhere as it pops and cracks with every hit of the kick or even stepping on it. I've troed cleaning out both and checking what I could, but I'm afraid they are both just some expensive paper weights now as I can't use them this way.

Already got a new EHX volume on the way, but it'll be a bit before I can replace the Reverb/delay. Don't have too much extra cash laying around haha

 

[sigterm]

Non-FX related question, TL;DR: does anyone do band leading while playing bass?

...

Anyway, if anyone does this, lead/sing while playing bass, and you have any specific tips/tricks (beyond "practice" ) that would be helpful in a short time frame, I'm all ears...

I know its kinda old but I didn't see it brought up. Skillet leads with bass/vocal, not worship unless you have a youth ministry. Live though I believe they use a backing track for most of the basslines. Great opportunity to bring out the effects. For most of their tones I use a sub n up, angry troll, and spectra comp. They have a good number of swells too, but I'm lacking in the volume pedal space outside my me50b (which i just cant get into). Also I don't have a 5, so the subnup helps (and so does C# tuning). If I get one, they'll probably be the reason. I have one bass per tuning...

Just thinking about what Pastor Johnny's face would like if the band opened with a Skillet tune in the live band chapel... its quite a thought haha.

 

[tedsalt]

Just thinking about what Pastor Johnny's face would like if the band opened with a Skillet tune in the live band chapel... its quite a thought haha.

 

[svtb15]

I need to get a board like that one.. I have a pedal train and my REDDI is too high to fit in the case...

YOur RAT pedal. Do you go THRU it or have it to run PArallel to mix with a straight unaffected signal too?

My NYC pedalboard works perfectly for the REDDI. This is their "Pedalhead" board. You can also order a custom size.View attachment 2978161

 

[Trigga Happy]

I need to get a board like that one.. I have a pedal train and my REDDI is too high to fit in the case...

YOur RAT pedal. Do you go THRU it or have it to run PArallel to mix with a straight unaffected signal too?

I run straight thru the RAT. This one is modded to retain low end though. I used to use it with a blender pedal before that. It's an extremely simple mod called the "ruetz mod". Clip a resistor and you're done.

 

[jacoby75]

I know its kinda old but I didn't see it brought up. Skillet leads with bass/vocal, not worship unless you have a youth ministry. Live though I believe they use a backing track for most of the basslines. Great opportunity to bring out the effects. For most of their tones I use a sub n up, angry troll, and spectra comp. They have a good number of swells too, but I'm lacking in the volume pedal space outside my me50b (which i just cant get into). Also I don't have a 5, so the subnup helps (and so does C# tuning). If I get one, they'll probably be the reason. I have one bass per tuning...

Just thinking about what Pastor Johnny's face would like if the band opened with a Skillet tune in the live band chapel... its quite a thought haha.

I was in a band that toured with Skillet a lifetime ago during the, "Hey, You, I Love Your Soul" era. John's the real deal. They do (or at least did) use backing loops for most every song for loops and background swells. But he plays bass for real. He's a beast. Back in the day he played GMP basses and used to use a Mesa V-Twin preamp pedal and an EHX Bass Microsynth for his synthy bass tones. Played through a Trace Elliott stack. I have seen him just singing at times recently, which I find disconcerting. It's like seeing Geddy Lee or Paul McCartney put down the bass to sing. It just doesn't make sense. (Not that I'm comparing him to either of them, but he will always be associated with lead vocals/bass to me. Not one without the other.) They'd have to use background bass loops, or maybe Korey dubs the bass parts on synth.

 

[Rickter]

Speaking of bass synth pedals, I've started trying to get a tone similar to the bass synth in (secular reference) White Zombie's "More Human Than Human". Recently tried a Boss SYB-3 loaned to me by a coworker and was not impressed. Can anyone recommend a bass synth pedal that is decently versatile, that could possibly get close to the "More Human Than Human" bassline sound, but still do other decent bass synth tones?

 

[sigterm]

I was in a band that toured with Skillet a lifetime ago during the, "Hey, You, I Love Your Soul" era. John's the real deal. They do (or at least did) use backing loops for most every song for loops and background swells. But he plays bass for real. He's a beast. Back in the day he played GMP basses and used to use a Mesa V-Twin preamp pedal and an EHX Bass Microsynth for his synthy bass tones. Played through a Trace Elliott stack. I have seen him just singing at times recently, which I find disconcerting. It's like seeing Geddy Lee or Paul McCartney put down the bass to sing. It just doesn't make sense. (Not that I'm comparing him to either of them, but he will always be associated with lead vocals/bass to me. Not one without the other.) They'd have to use background bass loops, or maybe Corey dubs the bass parts on synth.

That's awesome you got to tour with them! They've always seemed like a good group, even their member changes have seemed to be amicable. I really don't like hearing these great basslines without anyone on stage with a bass or keyboard, but he's doing a good job hyping up the audience. I saw a YouTube video of them and at one point it looked like someone off stage was on a keyboard. He does play a pretty sweet 5 for a few songs, but unless the video editing is bad the backing track was still running. I have no doubt he's the real deal though, they've always had great bass on their albums and it's prominent in the mix, which I like.

 

[jacoby75]

That's awesome you got to tour with them! They've always seemed like a good group, even their member changes have seemed to be amicable. I really don't like hearing these great basslines without anyone on stage with a bass or keyboard, but he's doing a good job hyping up the audience. I saw a YouTube video of them and at one point it looked like someone off stage was on a keyboard. He does play a pretty sweet 5 for a few songs, but unless the video editing is bad the backing track was still running. I have no doubt he's the real deal though, they've always had great bass on their albums and it's prominent in the mix, which I like.

They really are great people. Of course, it was a different band back then except for John and Korey, but their hearts are definitely in the right place. I'm sure anyone else they brought on would be cut from the same cloth. That was one of my favorite things about being in a Christian band. Getting to meet other bands and find out which ones are the real deal and which are just in it for the entertainment (not that Christians don't also need to just be entertained and not preached to sometimes, but that's a different conversation). Skillet's definitely one of the good ones. And back then when they were more of a "Christiand band," as in pre-crossover success, doing altar calls every night and stuff, John did a great job of bringing the gospel. It was fun to watch. Maybe they still do that. I don't know. It's been a long time.

 

[Adamixoye]

I know its kinda old but I didn't see it brought up. Skillet leads with bass/vocal, not worship unless you have a youth ministry. Live though I believe they use a backing track for most of the basslines. Great opportunity to bring out the effects. For most of their tones I use a sub n up, angry troll, and spectra comp. They have a good number of swells too, but I'm lacking in the volume pedal space outside my me50b (which i just cant get into). Also I don't have a 5, so the subnup helps (and so does C# tuning). If I get one, they'll probably be the reason. I have one bass per tuning...

Just thinking about what Pastor Johnny's face would like if the band opened with a Skillet tune in the live band chapel... its quite a thought haha.

Yeah I don't know if you caught that I ended up doing this and it went pretty well! That was on New Year's Eve morning, I haven't done it since but I might give it a whirl again under the right circumstances.

I going to see them this weekend for the first time. I've been a fan since their debut album in 1996. I never got to see them at that time, which would have been my favorite time to see them (while I love them overall, they've definitely, IMO, my love for specific songs and albums varies by a fair bit). A few years later ("Invincible" era, maybe?) I was planning on going to a show that got canceled due to weather. Now I'm going with (almost) my entire family - my 6-year-old opted to stay with Grandma instead, but the older two kids are stoked.

I was in a band that toured with Skillet a lifetime ago during the, "Hey, You, I Love Your Soul" era. John's the real deal. They do (or at least did) use backing loops for most every song for loops and background swells. But he plays bass for real. He's a beast. Back in the day he played GMP basses and used to use a Mesa V-Twin preamp pedal and an EHX Bass Microsynth for his synthy bass tones. Played through a Trace Elliott stack. I have seen him just singing at times recently, which I find disconcerting. It's like seeing Geddy Lee or Paul McCartney put down the bass to sing. It just doesn't make sense. (Not that I'm comparing him to either of them, but he will always be associated with lead vocals/bass to me. Not one without the other.) They'd have to use background bass loops, or maybe Korey dubs the bass parts on synth.

What band are/were you in?

That's awesome you got to tour with them! They've always seemed like a good group, even their member changes have seemed to be amicable. I really don't like hearing these great basslines without anyone on stage with a bass or keyboard, but he's doing a good job hyping up the audience. I saw a YouTube video of them and at one point it looked like someone off stage was on a keyboard. He does play a pretty sweet 5 for a few songs, but unless the video editing is bad the backing track was still running. I have no doubt he's the real deal though, they've always had great bass on their albums and it's prominent in the mix, which I like.

They really are great people. Of course, it was a different band back then except for John and Korey, but their hearts are definitely in the right place. I'm sure anyone else they brought on would be cut from the same cloth. That was one of my favorite things about being in a Christian band. Getting to meet other bands and find out which ones are the real deal and which are just in it for the entertainment (not that Christians don't also need to just be entertained and not preached to sometimes, but that's a different conversation). Skillet's definitely one of the good ones. And back then when they were more of a "Christiand band," as in pre-crossover success, doing altar calls every night and stuff, John did a great job of bringing the gospel. It was fun to watch. Maybe they still do that. I don't know. It's been a long time.

Just to revisit the band for a minute...I had heard a sample of their music in the store and maybe two songs on a local radio show so I asked for their debut album for Christmas in 1996. Popping the CD for the first time was a mind-blowing experience. I listened to mostly Christian music at the time and I had never heard anything like their mix of experimental grunge/garage rock fused with pianos, strings, and ska/pop-punk influences. The first time through "I Can" was an emotional and sonic rollercoaster that I was not prepared for. And "My Beautiful Robe" remains one of my all-time favorite songs.

It was also around that time that I picked up bass (I remember I was 15, my age that Christmas, but I do not remember if I picked up bass in late 1996 or early 1997), and seeing that John Cooper was playing both bass while being a vocalist blew my mind as well. I also noted that he played a six-string, and you can really hear that low B on a few songs including "My Beautiful Robe." Now that I think about it, it's like this was before I picked up bass because I started on a 5-string largely to have that low B.

 

[jacoby75]

What band are/were you in?

I was in Buck. Our tour with Skillet is still one of the all-time highlights of my bass-playing career. We were this nothing band trying to break through and they were so cool to us and a lot of fun to watch play.

 

[Adamixoye]

I was in Buck. Touring with them is still one of the all-time highlights of my bass-playing career. They were so cool to us and a lot of fun to watch play.

Do you have a Spotify or YouTube link to some of your stuff? I vaguely remember the name, but it's a hard one to Google...

 

[jacoby75]

Do you have a Spotify or YouTube link to some of your stuff? I vaguely remember the name, but it's a hard one to Google...

LOL. Uh, no. Those weren't things when we were around.

 

[jacoby75]

Well, whadd'ya know? Somebody did put our old album on Youtube. Here's a link.

 

[jacoby75]

Here's the one and only music video for Samaritan:

 

[jacoby75]

We were idiots. Ska makes you do dumb things.

 

[Edstarnes]

I love seeing the effects you folks are using. I am spoiled at our church. We have a superb PA and some amazing artists with decades of experience. I enjoy it playing, but I love to watch the others play.

Anyway, I made another pedal board. I'm in between jobs. Waiting to see where God calls me next.

 

[Edstarnes]

Here is my full rig. I only use the amp and cab for our second campus.