jazzyvee Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]I've recently (last week) been asked to join a band as guitarist and stand-in bass player. The music is Blues/rock & roll/Reggae. I noticed the current bass player uses a jackhammer pedal on his bass. I asked him why he uses that and he said he uses it mainly because he has a passive bass and needs a bit more Umpfh in his signal. I did notice he varies the controls to add a bit of grit depending on the song we play. [/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]I haven't ever used effects on bass so wonder about safely using an overdrive pedal if I need to stand in on bass instead of guitar since it's a sound the band are used to. My concern is damage to my speakers. My usual bass setup is QSC PLX2404 power amp full on and Mesa boogie Powerhouse cabs I control my volume via the pre-amp and bass and I don't play loud but i get the quality and headroom I need with my basses. I am a bit concerned that sending a distorted/overdriven/clipped signal from a pedal overdrive pedal may damage my speakers. [/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]A second question, would it be better to turn down the power amp, and over drive my valve pre-amp or just use a pedal?[/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]How do you guys do it?[/font][/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 It sounds like you're after a very low gain subtle sort of dirt, so there's pretty much zero risk of damaging your rig Try over driving the pre-amp on your amp first, see how it sounds. The jackhammer is a very versatile pedal though, you might like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBassBob Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Listen to his tone. Do you NEED to sound like him? Is there anything about his sound that jumps out at you? So long as your tone is good and serves the music then I wouldn't worry. If some songs they play have more grit than others then you might want to invest in an overdrive pedal or a preamp for those particular numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elephantgrey Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 dirt doesnt damage speakers, volume does. If you are worried about it, use the output volume control or a separate volume/compressor pedal to bring the volume down to a reasonable level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Watch your tweeter if you have one. Dial it way down/turn it off with dirt IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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