Dingus Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Just a tuner , and maybe a decent -sounding compressor . For the vast majority of bass playing situations , what people want to hear is a good , solid clean sound . Effects are usually superfluous to that . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Yup, been a sole Boss TU-2 between my bass and my amp in all my playing days. Dabbled with overdrive and limiters. In my world the only one that is essential is the tuner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highfox Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 I like a few pedals, mine goes like this, bass,Tuner, Envelope filter, Octave, Compressor, Chorus. The compressor is always on. The envelope filter would be my first port of call if I was looking to funk things up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 To cover most sounds, I have octaver, filter (with exp pedal & auto wah), dirt & chorus. There's no correct answer to your question though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skej21 Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 Tuner, compressor and a pre-amp/DI for me. I always use the tuner and compressor pedals as they keep things clean and tidy in a live mix and keep the pre-amp/DI for the gigs where I want control over the desk EQ or if I need a little extra headroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 [quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1378816802' post='2204969'] What do these actually do? Not being sarcastic, I really don't know! [/quote] [quote name='Jack Cahalane' timestamp='1378819114' post='2205041'] Me neither! [/quote] Limiting is a specific form of Compression. More on both here: [url="http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/limiter.shtml"]http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/limiter.shtml[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6v6 Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 [quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1378886177' post='2205894'] Limiting is a specific form of Compression. More on both here: [url="http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/limiter.shtml"]http://www.ovnilab.c...s/limiter.shtml[/url] [/quote] The LMB-3 is actually a compressor though, despite the name, since it's got an adjustable ratio (making it a limiter with the ratio at infinity, but a compressor elsewhere in the range) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 TC electronics Polytune followed by their Flashback, just for fun amazing http://www.tcelectronic.com/flashback-delay/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 [quote name='6v6' timestamp='1378887202' post='2205914'] The LMB-3 is actually a compressor though, despite the name, since it's got an adjustable ratio (making it a limiter with the ratio at infinity, but a compressor elsewhere in the range) [/quote] Some genius marketing from Boss right there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 [quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1378831982' post='2205296'] Just a tuner , and maybe a decent -sounding compressor . For the vast majority of bass playing situations , what people want to hear is a good , solid clean sound . Effects are usually superfluous to that . [/quote] Refuse to play music for those people. They are people who don't like music. This is like saying rock and roll is OK so long as it's not too loud and there's no swearing. Oh yeah. For me the pedals I wouldn't be without are an analogue octaver, a low-pass filter, a sample rate reducer and a pitch shifter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shizznit Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 I have a lot of pedals tucked away, but I only use a few essentials. I'm more of a funk player and I use an envelope filter, synth, fuzz and octave. Other than a tuner and a compressor pedal (if required) that's all I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 OC-2......probably?! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 (edited) //And you can't make any assumptions just based on whether the pedal has the word "compressor" or "limiter" painted on it. For example, the Boss LMB-3 is marketed as a limiter, but it has a wide range of control over the ratio, so it can be used for any sort of compression; whereas the Boss CS-3 is marketed as a compressor, but it has an extremely high ratio, so it is really more of a limiter.// Ahh so that's cleared that up then... Edited September 12, 2013 by Jonnyboy Rotten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonEdward Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 [quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1378996579' post='2207532'] OC-2......probably?! Si [/quote] +1 for the OC-2. The general consensus for 'essentials' appears to be: - Tuner > Compressor > Pre-amp/DI (which I'd broadly go along with too). A link to my board (below)... [url="http://simon-edward.tumblr.com/page/6"]http://simon-edward.tumblr.com/page/6[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 I wouldn't necessarily class a compressor/limiter as an essential, IMO. My 'essentials' board is tuner, octave, overdrive/distortion & envelope filter. But then everyone is different in their 'must-haves' Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 [quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1379279672' post='2210868'] I wouldn't necessarily class a compressor/limiter as an essential, IMO. My 'essentials' board is tuner, octave, overdrive/distortion & envelope filter. But then everyone is different in their 'must-haves' Si [/quote] Same here. I don't have a compressor anymore. Essential pedals is determined by the music & sound that you're after. A song that my band have started writing, the Moog Bass Murf set to pattern 10b is essential, otherwise the song never would have came to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBassBob Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 My essentials are: Tuner, HPF (if the amp doesn't have one), overdrive/preamp and compressor. They don't have to be there but they make my life a whole lot easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 [quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1379279672' post='2210868'] I wouldn't necessarily class a compressor/limiter as an essential, IMO. My 'essentials' board is tuner, octave, overdrive/distortion & envelope filter. But then everyone is different in their 'must-haves' Si [/quote] Another vote for this. I would even get by without the OD aswell as the comp but having that option i'll take them with me. Currently my board has the minumum pedals i have use for live performance (see wich in sig), i don't need more and won't use less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FretNoMore Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 (edited) As said already, it would depend on what music you play ... I don't really think any of my dozen or so pedals are really "essential". I could play every song on our current set list with no effects - it just wouldn't be quite as fun. It's nice to know though that the band doesn't fall apart if my pedal board were to go on strike (fingers crossed), just grab a cable and resume playing. The only "always on" pedals are my Line 6 G30 wireless, [sfx] micro Thumpinator, Empress Compressor and a Suhr buffer. Frequently used is a TC Polytune tuner. Everything else (overdrives, octaver, filter, phaser, chorus, equalizer) are mostly mild flavourings for some songs or even parts of songs. Edited September 18, 2013 by FretNoMore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk8 Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Tuner, Compressor, Dirt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dramatis Persona Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Overdrive, Fuzz and Reverb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefrash Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 This is sooooo subjective its unbelievable! My current hip hop band essentially I need all my effects! tuner, compressor, fuzz, pitchshifter, octaver, vibe, delay. When I turn up to pub/function/rock/jazz gig, I can easily go straight into amp. Tuning never really is a problem either, so a quick tune before and at break will suffice. If I were to be involved in a regular rock band, I'd probably go for OD and a fuzz. Probably put a tuner there just for the sake of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biaeothanata-Bassist Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 For me it has to be some sort of overdrive and a tuner. A year ago I would of included a compressor pedal in that but I've not bothered so much with the compression side of it any more. As long as my strings sound twangy still, all I need is the overdrive and tuner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 (edited) Amazed how many people would suggest an OD as essential for someone playing in a disco outfit, or maybe they are only really referring to the genre(s) they tend to play. I really like a compressor for the slap side of things, helps the bass be a little more consistent in the mix, sometimes a lot. It's not always dependent on just the bass either, the sounds used by the rest of the band can make control of the bass more critical too. The advice someone gave of using your multiFX to play the material and work out what to get from there can't be beaten IMO, as long as it has all the types of effect required. Sometimes a synth effect of some sort can be quite important if the material has baselines originally done on a keyboard you are playing on bass, and not all synth effects are equal! If you do (like me) use a 5 or 6 string bass, some synth effects really struggle down at the low end (sound odd, or respond slowly), so check them out rather than buy online without playing them yourself. Edited September 22, 2013 by Karnage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 I don't think it's people suggesting overdrive, just that overdrive is one of their essentials. As mentioned, it's so subjective, however there is certainly instances of overdrive and fuzz in funk/disco, Bootsy, Bernard Edwards, Stevie Wonder etc. Sometimes they were pedals, sometimes they were just basses too hot for the recording equiptment. Just depends on your ears and preferences Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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