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FX...really need them?


leftyhook
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I've been actively using BC for a few months now and have been amazed at the amount of effects for sale/wanted/on display.

Some of your effects boards are truly mind-boggling! I have to say, of the bands I have witnessed of the past few years, I've noticed that only a low % of the bassists use effects live, or if they have, nowhere near as many as some of the boards here in bass chat.

I wouldn't know where to start with some of your gadgets.!



My few effects have yet to be gigged due to time constrains setting up. I like 'fooling around' with them, but I know I can live without, gig-wise.


I have to ask,

[b]1) what % of your effects do you deem 'essential'?[/b]

[b]2) could you gig without them? [/b]

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yeah, I'd reckon about 50% of the FX are fundamental and get used all the time. Things like octave and chorus will always be on the board, and I'd consider at least one dirtbox essential. The rest, like envelope filters and wah etc... are for when things get a little bit 'further out' :)

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I use all mine, though I only have 5. LPF is always on, though it's not used as an envelope filter for funk wah type sounds all that often. I now wouldn't be without the 5 that I have (Octaver, Bass Murf, Distortion, Chorus & LPF with exp pedal).
It does depend on the type of music you play. For a rock band, you could get away with just 1 or 2 fx at most, but if you play electronica type stuff (such as DnB, Dubstep, House & so on) you'll find that effects become a staple part of your sound.
I play in a folk band. :)

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[attachment=100156:2012-01-25 22.56.16.jpg]

I provide the low end in a Tool tribute band, so ALL of my effects are essential.

Chorus is on 75% of the time, use a fair bit of flange and delay. Then I have three different types of dirt/overdrive. Tremolo for one song.....(not yet played live though), not forgetting mt MXR BEF which I use for four notes in one song and a short solo lol.

And then Whammy wah......Used in about 5 to 6 songs!

People laugh when they realise my board belongs to the bass player.........

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I have 5 pedals, tuner, octave, fuzz, wah and compressor. Only the middle 3 are fx but they get used constantly. If any stopped working i would have to rethink my bass line on the fly because it was written to be used with the fx - imagine playing Sledgehammer without an octaver... it wouldn't be the same thing... The less used is the fuzz (2 or 3 songs) but the rest are used a lot. So my answers would be:

1) 100%

2) no, not without writting new lines

I'm in a funk/soul covers project.

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1: 100%
2: No.

If you are in a covers band and you are trying to accurately reproduce a variety of bass sounds I'd find it pretty impossible without any fx. You'd be surprised how many rock bands bass players use quite a lot of fx .. distortion is the obvious one, but compression, eq, chorus, octavers etc. I not talking about totally over the top .. but live a subtle dose of an effect can add loads to your sound.

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My attitude to effects (on bass) has always been that they shouldn`t change the sound, but add slight different textures. As such, as I only use minimal compression & distortion anyway, none of mine are essential and yes, I could get away without using them.

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I don't really keep anything on my board unless I know that I'll use it live - I was able to downsize from a tourman to a PT jnr using this logic.

No matter what the gig is, I've always got my tuner, compressor and pre/DI with me and on top of that I have my octaver, gain, envelope, modulation and delay effects which I include to taste.

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