Worship Bass Pedalboards

[ThumbyAche]

I'm guessing many of you are like me then, where I'll bring my board even though I may only use the tuner on it, or you play outside of weekend services. I take a Boss MS-3 with me to church mainly for the tuner and it fits in my Gruv Gear bag, and I have it just in case I want to throw an octave on one note.

I used to change my pedals around on my pedalboard depending on the songs/set but I usually play a 5-string at church and use my low notes in place if an octave type effect. Also, usually two guitars and keys so I dont really use modulation effects anymore. My Olympic pre has a great drive sound and I can just turn a knob for that if I want some grit. My comp is pretty simple and an eq/boost only if there is a need in a musical moment. Tuner of course. Sound guy happy and great in my IE mix.

Now my regular (outside of church) pedalboard on the other hand...

 

[jmbjandfam]

I used to change my pedals around on my pedalboard depending on the songs/set but I usually play a 5-string at church and use my low notes in place if an octave type effect. Also, usually two guitars and keys so I dont really use modulation effects anymore. My Olympic pre has a great drive sound and I can just turn a knob for that if I want some grit. My comp is pretty simple and an eq/boost only if there is a need in a musical moment. Tuner of course. Sound guy happy and great in my IE mix.

Now my regular (outside of church) pedalboard on the other hand...

Do you use the Cab Sim on the Olympic Pre? I am currently using a TC SpectraDrive (no cab sim) and have been pretty happy with my IEM sound but I am intrigued by the Olympic.

I also have a Zoom MS60B on my board and I have tried some of the amp cab sims but didn't bond that well with them.

 

[scubaduba]

I always use the 8x10 cab sim on the Olympic when going FOH. It sounds great.

 

[ThumbyAche]

Do you use the Cab Sim on the Olympic Pre? I am currently using a TC SpectraDrive (no cab sim) and have been pretty happy with my IEM sound but I am intrigued by the Olympic.

I also have a Zoom MS60B on my board and I have tried some of the amp cab sims but didn't bond that well with them.

I do. Always the 8x10 for me.
Almost always one of my f-bass 5's and the Olympic are most of where my tone is (for me) but I have recently reconnected with the simple yet effective duncan comp and it's just all together awesome.

 

[WilbursaurusRex]

Do you use the Cab Sim on the Olympic Pre? I am currently using a TC SpectraDrive (no cab sim) and have been pretty happy with my IEM sound but I am intrigued by the Olympic.

I also have a Zoom MS60B on my board and I have tried some of the amp cab sims but didn't bond that well with them.

I actually prefer the 2x15 sim with the high boost engaged. both sound great, but thats where I've landed...for now. Regardless its a great sounding unit with a very nice and natural drive to it.

Do you use the zoom for any other effects? how do you like them?

 

[rafitoprtx]

New Chorus pedal. Really good one. Bass Clone

 

[Stellvia]

Do you use the Cab Sim on the Olympic Pre? I am currently using a TC SpectraDrive (no cab sim) and have been pretty happy with my IEM sound but I am intrigued by the Olympic.

I also have a Zoom MS60B on my board and I have tried some of the amp cab sims but didn't bond that well with them.

I love the 2x15 sim in the Olympic in my setup! Ran it direct through the PA at band practice on the weekend for the first time without an amp and it sounded great!

 

[jmbjandfam]

I actually prefer the 2x15 sim with the high boost engaged. both sound great, but thats where I've landed...for now. Regardless its a great sounding unit with a very nice and natural drive to it.

Do you use the zoom for any other effects? how do you like them?

The only thing I'm using the Zoom for currently is a bit of very light (always on) drive. I was thinking that the Olympic may be better suited for that role and then maybe I could experiment using the Zoom for some other things.

 

[TrevorR]

I have a question for all of you pedalboard people, for which I am as well. Whenever I listen to the week's set, I rarely, and I mean rarely, hear any effects on the record. I played an event with Hawk Nelson recently, and their bassist, Daniel, only used a Noble. The task I'm given at my church is to play the track 95-100% accurately, so I don't get to use my board much. Are you in a position to take liberties? Have you negotiated your board into the mix? How often are you using anything outside of gain/comp/eq?

I can take liberties if I wish, but to be honest, in a worship environment the sonic landscape is usually pretty busy. Multiple guitars, at least one keys player, multiple voices, and a few other incidental instruments. If it was a more open setup sonically, I would take more liberty. For me personally, I am more likely to play embellishments in gaps, than be effect heavy. If I take my full board, it is usually because my wireless, and favorite Preamp is on there. At most I generally only use a little bit of chorus, and maybe an octaver if there is a place that it suits.

I think that I'm blessed that the teams I've been part of have taken more of a small rock band approach to worship rather than trying to clone the big Hillsong-type approach. I've always found the production on such albums as flat and indistinct. I could never work out why until the first time I saw a Hillsong video (yes, VHS). Three or more acoustic guitars, two or three electric guitars (or more), three or four keyboards, bass (at least there was only one of them!) horn section, six or seven featured BVs none of whom were noticeably singing parts, just belting out the melody, a percussionist who clearly needs to cut down on the caffeine intake and then a huge choir (also not noticeably singing any parts or arrangement). No wonder it's just a big muddy wall of sound.

Our pastor came out of the music biz where he had played with and produced a wide range of artists in the 70s. It's always interesting to hear his take on the above. Lol! Still, it works for them so fair enough.

I'm also blessed that we've never got into trying to be a note-for-note [famous worship artist] tribute act. We don't try to play "the track" we tend to play "the song". If you get the subtle distinction. We will use the recording as a template to learn the tunes but adapt them to our band and make them our own. Sure, they may sound 70 or 80% like the recording (and non musos probably think they sound identical) but the V, Pre-Ch, Ch and Bridge are more templates which the WL will arrange for the context and sometimes on the fly as the Spirit leads. I love that approach. For some that would be "taking liberties", for me that is all part of "making it our own". Again the Pastor is always keen that we learn the songs and then make the songs our own. So cool to have a musically literate pastor in charge of the team and the church.

As an idea of the band format we have here's a view from the cheap seats yesterday morning... we might add an acoustic guitar or lose a keyboard but this gives a good idea of the basic format.

 

[glassmoon]

For me personally,

I have a question for all of you pedalboard people, for which I am as well. Whenever I listen to the week's set, I rarely, and I mean rarely, hear any effects on the record. I played an event with Hawk Nelson recently, and their bassist, Daniel, only used a Noble. The task I'm given at my church is to play the track 95-100% accurately, so I don't get to use my board much. Are you in a position to take liberties? Have you negotiated your board into the mix? How often are you using anything outside of gain/comp/eq?

I probably play 90% of the time between 2 settings - (1) stock sound with delay (to give it that shimmer - check out Janek Gwizdala) and (2) a "fretless" vibe for the long note, slower songs. There are times when I will kick in an octave just cos it's where my head is at that moment, and every now and a again, the song calls for some kind of drive. But yeah, my board is not designed specifically for church - it's for me and what I want, when I want as the need arises.
I find as I get older (I'm 48) that I dislike most of what I hear in modern worship - especially the bass. It seems like virtuoso bass playing - and this is NOT a racist bit - in white churches, is a thing of the past. Distorted, simplistic bass is all I get when I get a stem to learn. So if anything of that correlates to your question, it's you need drive and that's about it.
Sad, isn't it...

 

[Adamixoye]

I think that I'm blessed that the teams I've been part of have taken more of a small rock band approach to worship rather than trying to clone the big Hillsong-type approach. I've always found the production on such albums as flat and indistinct. I could never work out why until the first time I saw a Hillsong video (yes, VHS). Three or more acoustic guitars, two or three electric guitars (or more), three or four keyboards, bass (at least there was only one of them!) horn section, six or seven featured BVs none of whom were noticeably singing parts, just belting out the melody, a percussionist who clearly needs to cut down on the caffeine intake and then a huge choir (also not noticeably singing any parts or arrangement). No wonder it's just a big muddy wall of sound.

Our pastor came out of the music biz where he had played with and produced a wide range of artists in the 70s. It's always interesting to hear his take on the above. Lol! Still, it works for them so fair enough.

I'm also blessed that we've never got into trying to be a note-for-note [famous worship artist] tribute act. We don't try to play "the track" we tend to play "the song". If you get the subtle distinction. We will use the recording as a template to learn the tunes but adapt them to our band and make them our own. Sure, they may sound 70 or 80% like the recording (and non musos probably think they sound identical) but the V, Pre-Ch, Ch and Bridge are more templates which the WL will arrange for the context and sometimes on the fly as the Spirit leads. I love that approach. For some that would be "taking liberties", for me that is all part of "making it our own". Again the Pastor is always keen that we learn the songs and then make the songs our own. So cool to have a musically literate pastor in charge of the team and the church.

As an idea of the band format we have here's a view from the cheap seats yesterday morning... we might add an acoustic guitar or lose a keyboard but this gives a good idea of the basic format.

View attachment 3152724 View attachment 3152725

On your comment about a "rock band" mentality and playing the "song" vs. the "track", we are very similar. Probably out of necessity more than anything else.

 

[ItsmeSantiago]

At my church, we're trying to found "our sound" which can be difficult when you have 7 campuses. Part of that quest has been streamlining a lot of the gear at the multi sites, where I'm usually allowed to do whatever I want with effects, but since our sound is coming from the main campus, it's best I do at the satellites what I do at main. I think CCW is a bit stale these days, with a bunch of 70 BPM songs coming out, so hopefully some bass effects end up on more records soon

 

[glassmoon]

Oh

At my church, we're trying to found "our sound" which can be difficult when you have 7 campuses. Part of that quest has been streamlining a lot of the gear at the multi sites, where I'm usually allowed to do whatever I want with effects, but since our sound is coming from the main campus, it's best I do at the satellites what I do at main. I think CCW is a bit stale these days, with a bunch of 70 BPM songs coming out, so hopefully some bass effects end up on more records soon

Oh wow, I laughed out loud at the 70 BPM comment - yeah, it's as dull as paint. And for me, seems to be more about "creating a mood" than anything else.... cos, y'know, that's biblikill (sic)....

 

[ItsmeSantiago]

Oh


Oh wow, I laughed out loud at the 70 BPM comment - yeah, it's as dull as paint. And for me, seems to be more about "creating a mood" than anything else.... cos, y'know, that's biblikill (sic)....

Agreed! All of these 8 minute songs of Strymon patches is tired. Make something that gets people moving. In Planning Center, we have a slew of tracks for each song, and one of them is Leeland describing that he likes playing Lion and the Lamb because he gets to used distortion. Let the man loose!

 

[TrevorR]

I have a question for all of you pedalboard people, for which I am as well. Whenever I listen to the week's set, I rarely, and I mean rarely, hear any effects on the record. I played an event with Hawk Nelson recently, and their bassist, Daniel, only used a Noble. The task I'm given at my church is to play the track 95-100% accurately, so I don't get to use my board much. Are you in a position to take liberties? Have you negotiated your board into the mix? How often are you using anything outside of gain/comp/eq?

For many years (decades) I never used any effects pedals (other than an in line tuner). And these days the only ones I'd not want to live without are the tuner and the Sansamp VT Bass DI for some amp and speaker sim into the desk. However, the last four or five I've been enjoying using some effects as an additional texture in worship. This is where my board has developed to...

Of course, the only pedals I consider to be "essential" are the tuner and the preamp/DI (and I'd be fine just with a non amp modelling/speaker sim DI). So why the others? Well, while none are essential each has an (to sound a bit poncy) artistic contribution to make in the right place... an additional layer of emphasis or variation to add to a song or section of a song. And of course, if I'm honest, for 80+% of any worship session they are switched out of circuit and it's just bass, tuner, DI, [FOH/backline].

So how do I use them. Chorus - I've got a pretty light chorus setting (think not as heavy as those 80s pop tunes with chorused bass. Just some extra high end shimmer to add a bit of texture on ballads worship tunes. There's also a setting on my Wal bass which sort of suggests an acoustic/upright bass and a touch of chorus adds to how that works in the mix nicely.

Tremolo - I'm a sucker for old prog and especially Chris Squire who used term, phaser and envelope filters to great effect. The term works well as an extra emphasis on, particularly, sustained notes on, say, a "down bridge section" or on songs that have a more "dreamlike" quality in their chordal structure and feel... say "More Love More Power". But again an effect to use sparingly.

O/D - I really don't use this much and the Bass Soul Food is deliberately a low gain overdrive. I might add that to a driving intro or outdo song... Tim Hughes' Happy Day or Glorious by BJ Putnam. Maybe This Is Amazing Grace alongside playing with a pick. Just to add a bit of punch. However (and this is where it gets interesting)...

Envelope Filter/Autowah - this has one raison d'etre on my board alone, to use with a touch of O/D in front for a sort of pseudo synthy kind of tone. So on tunes like Alive, Let Praise Awaken, Let It Be Known I'll combine the two (and maybe some trem) to add a synthbass sort of tonality while still retaining the punch of the bass tone. It's not exact but it's effective in adding that kind of feel. I used to use a Morley Dual Bass Wah for this but now I'm experimenting with the Eden CaliforniWah. Still to totally nail the sound I want but I'm getting there.

So for me there are still two touchstones for effect use... 1) they should be used sparingly. Like I said for most of the time the loop switcher has them out of circuit. And 2) they should have a job to do and do that job, which should be an artistic choice to enhance the song. Never just "because it's there".

 

[glassmoon]

I j

Agreed! All of these 8 minute songs of Strymon patches is tired. Make something that gets people moving. In Planning Center, we have a slew of tracks for each song, and one of them is Leeland describing that he likes playing Lion and the Lamb because he gets to used distortion. Let the man loose!

For me, personally, as a musician, a churcher and a music love, I just really want to hear the age of the "song" come back. I haven't heard many CCW songs that truly move me in quite possibly 16 years! Not since the Blessed album by Hillsong has there been a STRONG, non-pretentious P&W album. And yes, it's personal taste, and yes it's definitely the musician in me taking preference, but when your bridge is filled with woah, woah, woooaaaaah, there is clearly something wrong.... bring back "Celebrate Jesus" for the older farts like me

 

[ItsmeSantiago]

I j

when your bridge is filled with woah, woah, woooaaaaah, there is clearly something wrong....

For the most part I'm with you on this. It's like "we have a deadline, but we can't think of anything else to write, so does this sound ok?"

 

[glassmoon]

For the most part I'm with you on this. It's like "we have a deadline, but we can't think of anything else to write, so does this sound ok?"

That's exactly how I think that kind of "lyric" cam to being! The Age of Strymon is now synonymous with the Woah, the military snare, the tribal toms... I think Planetshakers have some great music... not so much the singing and words, but at least they are playing interesting music - the rock meets techno meets synth-pop - it means that us bassists (thanks to Josh Hamm) have some cool (at times) bass lines to play. But yeah... we can't wait, cos the pizza man is here, so let's just go with wooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!

 

[Adamixoye]

Relevant:

And the result:

 

[glassmoon]

Relevant:

And the result: