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New member has a question about pedals


bsg 75

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Howdy, I am new on this board and am happy to find a place to discuss bass guitar. I have been playing for apx. 3 years, and I am currently in two bands. Both bands play classic rock, southern rock, and some of todays rock and country. I use a Peavey TNT 115 amp and have two Peavey guitars (2 year old Millenium BXP and a ancient Peavey Dynabass). I have never used a pedal other than borrowing a chorus pedal occasionally. I want some information on what type of pedal I should be looking for. We could be playing a Toby Keith song one minute and then a 3 Doors Down song next. I want a good quality versitle pedal that is not too complicated. (I have a friend who plays lead guitar and he bought a pedal that did everything but fold your clothes and it was WAY too complicated for my tastes.) Any ideas???
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Check out theBOSS ME-50B for a good, simple pedal that does alot.

Or better yet, this: Ibanez UE-303B on ebay.

The Ibanez is an awesome pedal, sounds great and is about as simple as it gets. I had a rackmount guitar version, the UE-400, for a long time and loved it. I talked to this guy about this same one, when he had it listed on craigslist here in Denver, and almost pulled the trigger on it (cash in hand and all,) but went ahead and bought a POD X3 Live instead... if I were in the market for another pedal I'd be jumping on it.

Good luck in finding the right rig...

 

DX

 

 

 

Aerodyne Jazz Deluxe

Pod X3 Live

Roland Bolt-60 (modified)

Genz Benz GBE250-C 2x10

Acoustic 2x12 cab

 

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I want my next pedal to fold my clothes for me. I hate doing laundry. :grin:

Welcome bsg 75. The thread fingertalkin pointed out might give you some ideas about pedals, but you might find what you want by experimenting with strings, speaker placement, or an additional cabinet. Don't discount these choices, and good luck in the tone quest.

Visit my band's new web site.

 

www.themojoroots.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Abandon all hope ye who enter the realm of pedals.

 

Oar knot.

 

Pedals can be fun. Pedals can be an expensive habit. Pedals can be a total and complete pain in the ass. Pedals can be a waste of time. Pedals should be tried by the user and decided upon by the same person. No one can tell you what to buy or what's best for you. In the right hands ANYTHING can sound "right". In the wrong hands a volume pedal can be certain death.

 

I hate and love my pedal board. Kind of like Gollum and The Ring. I'd like to never use the damn thing again. Every time I try to get rid of it I always convince myself that the octaver is so nice to have for several songs. And then the overdrive pedal says it wants to stay. And the chorus. And the POS DOD flanger that can reproduce that horrible bass tone in Quiet Riot's "Metal Health" so well... *sigh*

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I'm with Tater Nuts. I have a very elaborate pedal board with some expensive and hard to find pedals on it and I rarely use it.

 

I play with a large variety of bands who all want the same thing, no matter what style of music the band plays: a solid bassist with a good sound.

 

i have never been asked to copy the sound off a recording. Getting the feel right is the important thing. I sound different when I play different styles, not because I change any settings or use any effects, but because I play differently.

 

If you want a pedal, first you need to find out what all the various kinds of pedals do and decide if you want one of them or several. If there are several you want, you then might want to look at a multi-effects pedal, or a modeling pedal. Personally, I hate both those kinds of pedals. I prefer either a real pedal or nothing.

 

On the few times a year that I bring the pedalboard, everyone in the band starts rolling their eyes and saying, "oh, no!". Maybe your bands are different.

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If there are several you want, you then might want to look at a multi-effects pedal, or a modeling pedal. Personally, I hate both those kinds of pedals. I prefer either a real pedal or nothing.

The nice thing about the Ibanez pedal in my link above is that it is actually completely analog, I think that one has 4 different completelty separate effect circuits, taken from their analog stompboxes built into one shell (flanger, chorus, autowah and compressor, some of the most common effects for bass players...) each has it's own controls and switches. You can route them in any order you want and it has an external loop as well, so it's like having a stompbox board in a small package. Actually a pretty good little box.

 

DX

 

 

 

Aerodyne Jazz Deluxe

Pod X3 Live

Roland Bolt-60 (modified)

Genz Benz GBE250-C 2x10

Acoustic 2x12 cab

 

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Check out the BOSS ME-50B for a good, simple pedal that does alot.

This a good suggestion. It's pretty straight forward and does a lot if you want it to. I've been thinking about picking one up since I've been wanting some other sounds for my funk/disco band but I don't have the scratch to build a formitable pedal board right now. They're going for around $150 used on talkbass.com

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(The following comments are very general and offer no specific let alone usable advice)

 

Multi pedals can be good for playing around at home but, like many things that try to do it all, they seem to fall a bit short on most features. Not all of them mind you, but most. Have you ever tried to scale a fish with a 20 blade swiss army knife, it doesn't work well and your pockets are left smelly (really offensive joke deleted).

 

Many of the folks here don't like many, if any effects when playing live because they seem to give little or no benefit to the overall performance. Some of these guys have been playing out regularly for years so I'd take their advice. A little extra grit or drive is usually all they ask for so they turn to a trusty DI (SansAmp - MXR)that gives them that plus the option of running their signal to the house, a great tool to have in your bag of tricks.

 

As for the single effects, stick with the known brands and try before you buy, at the stage you're at I'd stick away from the pricey boutique offerings. Few "designed for guitar" pedals work well for bass. I personally have been wanting one or two pedals from EBS and maybe Electro-Harmonics but I can't justify the purchase right now. Also I wouldn't want to have an effect that is so complicated it becomes unusable.

 

Now here's the kicker, forget whatever people tell you is wrong when it comes to your music, it's your music and if it sounds right and feels right to you, it is right. No great musical innovator got to their level by following the heard, that's how we got most of the stuff we have today. Jaco pulled the frets from his bass, Ike Turner's amp fell out of the back of a trunk, Dave Davies put razor blade holes in his speaker and Lemmy turned down the bass and turned the mids up, all genius in the long run, and all were told differently.

If you think my playing is bad, you should hear me sing!
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I use a multi/modeler and have for years and I love it. Yeah, it was a huge pain in the ass at first but it's like a roller coaster. Once you get over that first big hill you can throw your hands up and go "WHEEE!"

"He is to music what Stevie Wonder is to photography." getz76

 

I have nothing nice to say so . . .

 

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Welcome bsg 75! :wave:

 

Of all the pedals the absolute must have in my opinion for any occasion is a tuner with a mute switch. After that anything goes and it's a matter of what you need and what sounds best to you. For Southern rock and Country you probably aren't going to need any pedals. For rock if you're doing covers it's a matter of what the song calls for.

Lydian mode? The only mode I know has the words "pie ala" in front of it.

http://www.myspace.com/theeldoradosband

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I play with a large variety of bands who all want the same thing, no matter what style of music the band plays: a solid bassist with a good sound.

 

I sound different when I play different styles, not because I change any settings or use any effects, but because I play differently.

 

This is where I'm at. I have tried to like/want pedals, but I end up using a TU-2 (I know there are better pedals, but it seems to get me in tune and it mutes. It's not "true bypass" but it also doesn't "click" when engaged) and sometimes a BBE Opto Stomp Compressor. Even that is iffy most of the time - and the new Sadowsky doesn't seem to need much help in sounding good!

 

But hey, whatever works for YOU is what counts.

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Thanks for the information and thanks for the welcomes to the board. I have just not been happy with my sound on stage, but it may be that a pedal wont fix it. It could be the amp too. We played a benefit a few weeks ago and the band "hosting" the benefit had their gear set up and I got to play through either a 4X10 or 4X12 cabinet and WOW the sound was fantastic. It was a rush rush day and did not get a chance to talk to the bass player about his set up. My Peavey TNT 115 does work but I actually like the sound I get out of my little bitty Laney 10 inch amp I use as a practice amp at home. Thanks again for the advice and look for tons of questions from me in the next few months. IT IS GREAT to have other bass players to talk to.
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Hello everyone, my name is Basshappi and I am a FX pedal junkie.

 

I have 20+ effects boxes, 2 powered pedalboards, a mini non-powered pedalboard and a couple of rackmount units as well. I also collect original Danelectro pedals though I rarely use them.

 

Number of gigs I've used FX on over the past 4 years....0

bsg75,

Great tone is first and foremost and you won't get it from a pedal.

Save up some money and buy a good quality amp, whether you decide on a combo or head/cab configuration is up to you but it should be powerful enough to give you the volume you need for live performance. 300 watts is generally considered the minimum starting point especially if rock and blues is what you're playing.

 

As for pedals, I will recommend 2; The first one is a Tuner with a 'mute' switch, this will allow you to quietly check/adjust your tuning during a performance.

The second is a DI box. a DI enables you to send your bass signal directly to the mixing board. Not only does this make soundmen happy, but if your amp should stop working during a gig you will still be able to continue playing. Some DI pedals (Sansamp and MXR) have a switchable 'overdrive' circuit that enables you to simulate the sound of a tube amp.

 

FX pedals are a whole lot of fun and can lead you in very creative directions but take care of the fundamentals first.

 

 

Cheers!

Nothing is as it seems but everything is exactly what it is - B. Banzai

 

Life is what happens while you are busy playing in bands.

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+1 on the DI. I forgot about that one. Although, if your amp has one built in you may not need one. The tuner and DI are my main pedals.

 

If your amp is one of the old model TNT-115s it's a pretty one dimensional sounding combo amp and you could probably do better. They were kind of similar to my TKO-65 I have laying around as a practice amp and it's nothing to get excited about.

Lydian mode? The only mode I know has the words "pie ala" in front of it.

http://www.myspace.com/theeldoradosband

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Somebody recommended a DI but he was wrong where others were right.

 

Get true bypass whenever you can or a good AB switch. Watch out for "tone suck" which may not be evident when practicing alone.

 

After reading more I agree with everyone but Davio that a new amp and speaker cab is what will make you truly happy. How much money are we talking here, loads of members would love to spend it for you.

 

- Consider used

- Consider venue size and total power needed then reconsider

- Consider consider separate amp and speaker cabinets for flexibility

- Consider weight

 

If you only have a few bucks look for a used SansAmp or MXR80

If you think my playing is bad, you should hear me sing!
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I had a TKO-115, which was pretty much the same thing... not very versatile at all, but it was a good little combo nonetheless, for what it was.

As you can see, bsg 75, there are a lot of very different opinions on pedals, their use and their value for bass players.

I personally use a POD X3 Live for everything... I don't always use the effects and/or models, but it is also a tuner, volume, a/b switch, line mixer and monitor mixer and DI box all rolled into one... kind of expensive if I were to only use it that way, but for the other features it offers, it is well worth the price to me. [EDIT](Just to clarify things... I don't use an amp on stage at all, just direct to the house and in ear monitors all the way...)[/EDIT[]

As far as complicated, like moot said above, there is a learning curve, but once you get it figured out, it is a walk in the amusement park. The nice thing about multi-effects units these days is that most of them have a very nice, easy, intuitive computer interface. Programming patches on the board itself can be very complicated, cumbersome and time consuming, but plug it in to the computer via MIDI or USB and it becomes as simple as point-and-click or drag-and-drop... this makes the process much more fun and a whole lot quicker. Pretty much flattens out the learning curve, actually.

Another nice thing is, at least with Line 6 and Roland, there are tons of user created patches out there to download and install on your unit.

Someone hit it on the head above, though, the best thing for you to do is to go in to a store and test drive some effects yourself, along with a few amps. You may find that you are much happier going clean and just using the amp for tone. You might be better off spending your money on a new amp instead of effects. Then again, there are amps out there with built in models and effects as well... Line 6 has some great modeling bass amps... (here I go again with the Line 6 garbage...)

I think I'll quit while I'm a Head.

 

DX

 

Aerodyne Jazz Deluxe

Pod X3 Live

Roland Bolt-60 (modified)

Genz Benz GBE250-C 2x10

Acoustic 2x12 cab

 

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I used to use an elaborate pedalboard with a BP200 modeler, Boss BassEQ, Digitech Bass Driver, Bass Chorus, Hartke Bass Attack preamp/DI and my trusty Fender pedal tuner. I've since realized that all my basses sound better with a clean, dry signal. My rig consists of a Carvin BX600 head, Hartke 410 paired with a custom Jensen 15" cab. Thats it. Clean and simple. I use my amp's EQ and compressor to get the tone I desire. If I ever opt to use a pedal again, it would probably be a SansAmp DI. Thats it. Just like everybody here has said, it's YOUR tone thats important. You'll find your sound eventually, with or without a pedal.

Fender

Ibanez

Carvin

Hartke

AKG

 

www.bandmix.com/bigmacbassman/

www.myspace.com/bigmacsundogz

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Really the only little box (not really a pedal) that I use any more is my Yamaha NE-1. It's just a filter that cuts midrange frequencies, with a parametric frequency knob & another knob to select how deep the frequencies are cut. In action, this means that you can make huge changes in your tone just by turning one knob a little bit. They don't make them any more, but you can still find them kicking around sometimes. If I could have just one outboard gadget, that would be it. (And I do, and it is!)
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+1 on the DI. I forgot about that one. Although, if your amp has one built in you may not need one. The tuner and DI are my main pedals.

 

If your amp is one of the old model TNT-115s it's a pretty one dimensional sounding combo amp and you could probably do better. They were kind of similar to my TKO-65 I have laying around as a practice amp and it's nothing to get excited about.

 

Yeah, my wife and I have been discussing the possiblity of a different amp. In addition to the sound, it is a pain in the butt to move. The TNT 115, although not super heavy, is just so boxy and hard to handle. I bought it used and the reason the guy sold it was that he was older and did not want to have to keep moving this monster. I can see why he got rid of it. I will start considering other amp options. Of course, the TNT has a direct out and, although I have never done it, I have seen someone run a cabinet off of a TNT 115 during a show. (it was an older model though and did not look exactly like mine.) Hell, I am so new at all of this, I really dont know what to do...

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Running another cabinet uses a speaker output.

The direct output goes to a mixing board.

 

I am so new at all of this, I really dont know what to do...

 

Just do what we all do. Buy stuff. :eek:

 

But it does seem like an amp head and a speaker cabinet (or two) should be what you should be thinking about at this time.

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Yeah, my wife and I have been discussing the possiblity of a different amp. In addition to the sound, it is a pain in the butt to move. The TNT 115, although not super heavy, is just so boxy and hard to handle. I bought it used and the reason the guy sold it was that he was older and did not want to have to keep moving this monster. I can see why he got rid of it.

The TNT 115 was the first bass amp that I owned too. They ARE hard to move. At least a lot of the newer combos have better handle placement and are easier to carry.

If you're thinking of a new amp and money is an issue, don't discount Fender's value lines. They have some pretty decent gear.

Used is a little harder to find what you want and I don't think 300W is a minimum requirement either, unless you're playing extremely loud. 100W is enough for a lot of places, especially if you buy something newer.

Happy hunting.

 

Visit my band's new web site.

 

www.themojoroots.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jeremy is correct as usual that a speaker out and a direct out

are very different things. Also a Peavey has those preamp out and poweramp in jacks which were used for piggy backing amps back in the day. I don't think I've ever used those features.

Watch out for some of those old school Peavey amps with a direct out. I have an old Peavey megabass head and although it has a 3-prong mic style direct out it is a high impedance direct out and not all that mixing board friendly. Currently I use a plain no frills DI that cost about $30 that works just fine for me.

+1 on the separates too. Combos are convenient but are not always that versatile.

Lydian mode? The only mode I know has the words "pie ala" in front of it.

http://www.myspace.com/theeldoradosband

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Yeah, my wife and I have been discussing the possiblity of a different amp. In addition to the sound, it is a pain in the butt to move. The TNT 115, although not super heavy, is just so boxy and hard to handle. I bought it used and the reason the guy sold it was that he was older and did not want to have to keep moving this monster. I can see why he got rid of it. I will start considering other amp options. Of course, the TNT has a direct out and, although I have never done it, I have seen someone run a cabinet off of a TNT 115 during a show. (it was an older model though and did not look exactly like mine.) Hell, I am so new at all of this, I really dont know what to do...

 

I, too, have a TNT 115, and I disagree with you, sir. It is super heavy - especially if you are fifty, fat, flabby and flactulent.

 

I bought a Boss ODB-3 for my heavy metal project (deceased).

I bought a Boss CHB-3 for my stoner rock project (deceased).

I bought a Boss HR-2 for my classic rock project (deceased).

I bought a Boss LMB-3 because, unlike a real bassist, I have lousy control (it's still lousy).

I bought a Dunlop Q-Wah for my Sabbath tribute band (deceased).

I'm trying to convince my wife to let me have a Gator pedal board to keep them all in.

 

I currently play a 3/4 upright in jazz projects and don't use any of the pedals. Haven't in two years.

 

What kind of music are you playing? What kind of sound do you want? Take the ax out to the store and road tests. Me, I avoid the Boss 50's, the Digitech Multi's and the like. I don't think they are very durable and can't take the abuse from giging (IMHO).

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

 

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Me, I avoid the Boss 50's, the Digitech Multi's and the like. I don't think they are very durable and can't take the abuse from giging (IMHO).

 

You're not very durable.

 

I have drug my Digitech B200 around for 6 or 8 years now and hundreds of gigs and the only thing I noticed was it doesn't like low voltage.

 

 

"He is to music what Stevie Wonder is to photography." getz76

 

I have nothing nice to say so . . .

 

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Yo, bsg 75, here's my take.

 

First, I think you wanna be sure you dig your rig. That Peavey may be doing right by you, but I recommend considering whether it would be mo betta to save a little more dough and upgrade your amp/cab set-up.

 

Second, something like the programmable SansAmp Bass Driver DI, with 3 channels might do the trick for you. Fellow mod, Tom Capasso, uses one and I think has been quite pleased that it gives him a couple of different sonic flavors, but it's not overwhelming.

 

Third, I have accumulated a number of pedals over the past severeal years. I'm very happy that I have them. They are loads of fun and do wicked cool things to my sound. HOWEVER, like others have said about their own experience, it's rare that I actually use them. In my current band, which plays original rock tunes, there is one tune in our setlist for which I light up a bunch of them (distortion, envelope, chorus -- compressor and SansAmp DI are on most of the set) for a bass break/solo and outro. It makes me very happy -- and, more importantly, it works for that tune.

 

I hope that helps.

 

Peace.

--SW

 

spreadluv

 

Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars.

Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk.

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