The old "do I really NEED effects", or "whats the point in effects" argument...

[blue]

My summary;

As long as you know what your doing and when to use certain effects your good.

I probably was on the traditional path playing with my fingers with no effects for well over 30 years. It wasn't until 2009 when I got away from funk & rhythm & blues and more into harder more progressive rock that I switched to playing with a pick and engaged specific effects. I found it easier to execute the tone and riffs I was playing and wanted to play with a pick.

Effects, there just seemed a need for more sustain than I could figure out how to get straight from my rig. I started using compression,
(not really an effect) chorus and overdrive. I use them sparingly and find them to be very effective.

If your using effects to compensate for any skill deficiencies, that's probably not a good idea.

Blue

Edited May 9, 2015 by blue

[chris_b]

It seems I've led a very sheltered life. I've never owned a pedal or used an effect in my life and, fortunately, I guess, I've never played in a band that wanted that from me. My "vanilla" sounding bass seems to be enough.

I play Don't Stop Believing straight. Doesn't seem to be missing anything to me.

Generally bands who do use effects on bass are not the ones that I'd listen to but I do like Travis Carlton's use of effects when he's soloing.

[xgsjx]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1431146422' post='2768218']
My summary;

As long as you know what your doing and when to use certain effects your good.

I probably was on the traditional path playing with my fingers with no effects for well over 30 years. It wasn't until 2009 when I got away from funk & rhythm & blues and more into harder more progressive rock that I switched to playing with a pick and engaged specific effects. I found it easier to execute the tone and riffs I was playing and wanted to play with a pick.

Effects, there just seemed a need for more sustain than I could figure out how to get straight from my rig. I started using compression,
(not really an effect) chorus and overdrive. I use them sparingly and find them to be very effective.

If your using effects to compensate for any skill deficiencies, that's probably not a good idea.

Blue
[/quote]
You played funk & never found a need for a filter???? You're weird!

I think it's an added skill you need to be able to use effects.

[mononick]

I've been in bands where I don't pedals and I've been in bands where I do. I currently run a fairly modest pedalboard with octave, drive (x2) and chorus but only because this current project really suits these sounds. Actually in my current band the drive pedals and octave are integral and the chorus is the only luxury pedal really.

I am happy using no pedals in other projects, it just totally depends on the gig

[blue]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1431166821' post='2768402']

You played funk & never found a need for a filter???? You're weird!

I think it's an added skill you need to be able to use effects.
[/quote]

When I was playing funk back in the 60s there were no filters and very few pedals if any.

Blue

[Smythe]

Just thought I'd chime in on this one. Lately my "Pedal Affair" seems to be drawing to a close. From around 2008 i started using/collecting pedals at a pretty steady rate. All types you can think of; Fuzz, Octave, Envelopes, Synths, Tuners, Preamps, Compressions, Exciters etc.

By 2012 I was running two pedal boards at a gig with 20+ pedals on them. I was aware that i was using less than half of them on a regular basis, and the others just looked good filling out the board, with the philosophy of " it gives me options and I will use them in the future".

I never got around to using the other bunch and a few sound guys had said to me in sound checks that my tone sounded "too coloured" or "overly dense". With 3 preamps, a couple of compressors and a sonic exciter running, they were probably right,.

When i joined another band early 2014, a straight forward rock and pop covers unit . I only used the smaller pedal board with them, I realised that i didn't actually need this mass of pedals running and i sound clearer with just a few. So i started selling them off gradually.

At present, I'm down to one board and 8 pedals, all fairly subtle, ones that i use regularly and they aren't permanently on. two of which I'm planning on selling soon also.

I've received more positive feedback on having better presence and a cleaner tone since the drop. Maybe in another 12 months I'll be using none whatsoever??!!

[NancyJohnson]

I've put a small board together to give me a bit of front end dirt (Sansamps etc.) and put this together to go into the front of a clean class D head. I was toying with getting a chorus until I used one a couple of days ago.

I play in a couple of power/punky trios and my bass tends to sit full and phat in the mix...just felt that while my bass sounded good in isolation, in a band context the effect was lost; you could hear the bass, but the effect was negligible, especially when the guitarists started using more stomp boxes.

Not for me, I'm afraid.

[Lenny B]

When I play rock or soul it's pretty much a straight 4 string with rounds or flats.

When I play functions then it may be an octave, chorus or filter to approximate the bass on various recordings

When I play with my sefardic Mediterranean band, then I use octave, filter, tremolo, delay, drive, phase, freeze... (Not all at once).

The conclusion is that the dirtier the guitars, the fewer effects I use.

[NancyJohnson]

[quote name='Lenny B' timestamp='1441536806' post='2859547']
The conclusion is that the dirtier the guitars, the fewer effects I use.
[/quote]

Good call.

[blue]

Some guys are clean and other guys are effects guys. Every bass part recorded has some sort of effect or processing.

Me, I run a full blown board, however I only use 2 of my pedals. My EBS compression stays on all night and I use the hell out of my MRX Bass Octave pedal. Occasionally I will use a little phase, delay or chorus.

Blue

[cheddatom]

I would just get so bored using the same few sounds all night long! Without pedals, you only have your plucking/picking style, and your pre-amp controls to change your sound. Although you can do a lot with just these, it probably amounts to 10 sounds at the most. If you add 10 pedals to the mix you've increased the number of possible sounds massively!