Bass Effects

[RLeahey14]

Hey I just landed a gig as a bassist and I haven't played bass for a couple of years so I was wondering what some of the bassists around here used in terms of effects. I was normally just a Cliff Burton guy with distortion and wah although I have been messing around with a Phase Shifter now and I like that.

What is everyone's opinion on bass effects, are the needed?

And for all the bassists, where do you prefer to put them on the effects chain? Before the amp or in the effects loop?

[MeYatch]

I have a Rocktron Tuner, a Behringer Slow Motion (which is a Boss Slow Gear clone) a [url=http://www.buildyourownclone,com]BYOC[/url] envelope filter, a Big Muff Pi, a Behringer Phaser, and a BYOC compression.

I use them almost never (except the tuner), and I run them before my amp.

[4:33]

I use a Zoom B2. Of the vast selection of effects, stomp box, and amp models, it has 40 factory presets, and 40 can be stored by the user. One of my saved presets is a Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face model through an Auto-Wah, reminiscent of (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth. This unit is ruggedly built, and retails for around $99.

[bassist_25]

I currently don't use any effects, though my eventual plans are to implement an Aguilar Agro in a "psuedoswitching system" for a dual-preamp rack setup. The Agro is a drive unit, similar to a SansAmp, though it's a dedicated tube-emulator whereas a SansAmp can be used as a normal preamp.

I'd also like a quality chorus unit. I think that it really helps give the bass a certain attack, particuarly with a pick.

I've considered a multi-fx unit, particuarly a rack-mount that uses a midi-controller. Unfortunately, I see no point in racking a tone-sucker and I don't desire effects enough to warrant an expensive high-end unit.

My advice to any bassist or guitarist looking at effects is to make sure that everything in your chain is true-bypass. Also, make sure that you're unit isn't a bottle-neck in the system. I've seen guys put $200 Digitechs in front of Mesa Rectifiers. That's like dropping a Ford Taurus engine into a Porsche.

[DMFJ03]

My pedal board consists of Overdrive, Flanger, Chorus, Synth Pedal, and the V-Wah.

They are all BOSS pedals.

I likes it I do.

[lonewolf]

My advice to any bassist or guitarist looking at effects is to make sure that everything in your chain is true-bypass.

When you do this, you have to make sure the total length of your guitar cabling is about 30' or less--even with the best of cable. You can't escape capacitance and it will suck off the highs worse than any buffered tone-sucker made.

[CMOR]

True-bypass is most certainly the way to go. But if you like something that's not, there is a solution. I have a Loooper(yes 3 o's) effects loop pedal that is true-bypass and allows me to turn on multiple pedals at once. This avoids the tone suck factor. Believe it or not, I have have actually come to rely on my pedal board to add punch and overall tone to my sound. It's an older SKB-25, I think. I bought it off Orangekick when he outgrew it.
Right now the only pedals I use are an old Big Muff Pi(the green one) and a Zoom 504 multi. If you want distortion and you're looking at a Big Muff, take your time and try a couple out. They all sound different. I tried a bunch out before I found one that I liked for bass. In my Utopia, all of my pedals would say Electro-Harmonics, which reminds me: Does anybody want to take crack at fixing my Bad Stone?

[EyesOfAnguishbassist]

If anybody wants a Boss Bass Overdrive Pedal, lemme know, its like brand new, still got the box, I hardly ever used it and im selling it for 50$