Guitarist + 16 pedals = nightmare

[JakeBrownBass]

[quote name='solo4652' timestamp='1335350157' post='1629572']
I think it's this point that's rattling round my brain. I work hard at keeping my equipment simple. The guitarist (and, increasingly the singers) seem to enjoy using effects for the hell of it, and then get into time-consuming trouble with equipment problems. "Why don't [i]you[/i] use some effects, Steve?" Because I don't feel I need to, I don't like the complexity they bring, I don't understand them and they seem to distract you guys a lot of the time. I'm not going to change my approach that much and neither are the rest of the band. So, I guess it's time for me to think about whether it's the right band for me.

This morning, I can't stop playing this: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L4aeowB_YE[/media] Love the stripped-down, less-is-more vibe. It's so different from the loud, two over-driven effects-laden guitars, women singers using effects to sound like men (why?), can't hear yourself think, all-instruments-should-be-miced, let's play this no matter whether the audience might like it, approach I've been battling with recently.
[/quote]

Wow, thanks man, glad you enjoy it!

With regards to pedals, if they all get used & YOU want to use them and they make a difference in sounds to you, forget what anyone else says.

Personally on my board i have a tuner, an EBS micro bass, Thumpinator, a volume pedal & a stereo di for my synth.

If i didn't play keyboards as well i'd probably have a much bigger board with synths & octave pedals on it but i don't need them.

I played a cover of Man In The Mirror last month & i'm sorry Pietruszka but playing that song without a synth sound be it on bass or on keyboards, people would notice.

Subtle dirt on bass does make a difference to the whole tonality and texture of a piece if that is what's required for it. You don't need to have conversations about it to make it be deemed important.

[gtrimptov]

1. Whether people notice differences is not the criterion. After all, they're more likely to notice changes for the worse. What matters is the overall band sound.

2. For guitar FX, it is very hard (impossible?) to beat a high-end multi-fx unit. Example: Dweezil Zappa. Ideally through full-range flat-response amplification, though of course it can still sound great through guitar amplification. (Also if you are modeling a classic amp/cab and put the signal through a [i]guitar[/i] amp, then obviously the modeling won't work, however pleasing the result may be.) And you'd probably need a midi foot controller. So we are talking quite a lot of cash, but probably cheaper than having twelve individual best-of-breed pedals. Many guitarists (conservative bunch) are too set in their ways (or too poor) to take Dweezil's approach.

3. Whether it's multiple pedals or multi-fx, you've got plenty homework to do figuring out how to use the gear.

[paul_5]

I've got more pedals than most of the musicians that I play with regularly. I'm always the first one set up. It's just a question of knowing your gear and, more importantly, knowing [i]why[/i] you've got a particular pedal and exactly what it does.

Rehearsal is when everyone comes together to integrate what they've been doing in their own time away from band practice, not to 'tinker'.

[chrismuzz]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1335350462' post='1629577']
As I've said before, nobody needs a tuner. If people can tell you're out of tune then you're not using enough effects.
[/quote]

Brilliant! I'm going to live my life by this from now on

[pantherairsoft]

[quote name='pietruszka' timestamp='1335296341' post='1628956']
20?! Thats just a shop isn't it?
Dan
[/quote]

They are as much the instrument I play as the bass is... in fact some of them can be played without the bass.

If I hit serious financial issues though they do double as a shop for emergencies. (BTW- the 20 excludes bypass loopers, expression pedals and CV controllers!).

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1335302614' post='1629117']
Big Dug is a killer track!

[/quote]

Thanks dude. There is s**t load going on in that track... I 'think' it uses more effects than any other track too (2 parallel effect loops, fuzz, envelope, low pass filter, delay, compression, bit crushing with LFO controlled Low Pass in the 'chorus' sections) -it's a minefield . That song is guilty of tap dancing and while it sounds pretty wicked it isn't that much fun to play as I have to press quite complex combinations of buttons in little time with great accuracy while playing in time... We do it live all that often - Just special occasions


Where the OP is concerned... difference is that this is what I do. Synthesised music using a bass, in an analogue way. The board is a visual thing as much as the music is an audible thing. I spend hours and hours every week literally living and breathing my set up. If something sounds slightly off live I can identify the cause pretty easy. I can play with one hand and one foot while fixing cables with the other - I know as I've done it live! If you are going to use masses of stuff like that you NEED to put that kind of time and effort in. My set up is a case of lift the lid off, plug it in at the mains, one cable to the amp and one to the drum machine. It's a 30 second set up. If your guitarist wants to do that then tell him, if it ain't this tidy then he can go knickers:
[IMG]http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h44/pantherairsoft/Amp%20Cab%20Pedals/IMG_0521.jpg[/IMG]

[discreet]

[quote name='pantherairsoft' timestamp='1335479310' post='1632122']

[/quote]

Wow. I've got a BDI-21. *slinks away*

[pantherairsoft]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1335483901' post='1632180']


Wow. I've got a BDI-21. *slinks away*
[/quote]

That's a good thing. You identify what you need for your sound and your music and run with it. Just shows how different gear suits different music. If you had my set up at your gig it would likely sound a mess (or go unused!). If just had your BDI our set would loose a fair portion of it's impact!