mild effects dont make a difference?

[lefrash]

I've came to the conclusion that effects on bass need to be fuill on, and theres no such thing as a 'touch of' an effect on bass.

Touch of flange, touch of chorus, touch of phaser, touch of dirt, touch of octave etc.



go full on, or else thr only person that notices is you!!



Anyone else agree?

[KingBollock]

If you notice and you like it then surely it is enough?

[discreet]

I'm not an extensive effects user so probably am talking crap, but in my limited experience when I use effects full-on I lose the essential weight and heft of the bass... I've found that a mix of pre- and post-effect together works best. Which I suppose is 'mild'.

But like I say, that's just me - I know nothing of the arcane arts of the Effects-Master. Sensei! *Bows low*

Edit: Also I suppose it depends on which effect is being used... flange is one thing and a touch of big muff is quite another.
Or is it? Fnarr.

Edited March 8, 2014 by discreet

[icastle]

It's all subjective.

I habitually use a little bit of chorus and personally find things like octavers and fuzz absolutely horrid to listen to.

Doesn't mean I'm right though.

[Truckstop]

Sort of. When it comes to dirt, yeah. I think it's a case of go hard or go home. If you want a touch of grit; buy a valve amp and crank it. Don't buy a pedal and only use 5% of its potential!

Truckstop

[tonyquipment]

I agree with the op but sometimes only a touch of x effect is required in the mix

Again, it's completely subjective to the requirement

Too much effect can complicate the bass signal and make it sound too loose and not sit well in the mix

[Guest FretNoMore]

Depends on the rest of your band's sound ... you won't hear "a touch of" if you've a wall of distorted guitar amps next to you, but maybe you will if there is more air and dynamics. But sure, you probably will have to dial up more effect to be heard in a full mix compared to trying out an effect in the bedroom.

[xgsjx]

It really depends on the effects being used & the type of music.
In my current band with 2 guitars & a drummer it's this...
I don't have my distortion or chorus fully cranked. The dirt is at @ 3/10 & the chorus is about 7/10 on depth (speed varies).
The octaver is 100% wet at -1 oct & depending on the song, I'll add 50-60% dry (which still goes through all the other fx).
Also the Bass Murf isn't fully overdriven, it just has a little grind to it. You don't hear it in the mix, but you know when it's turned off.
The LPF is 100% wet.
My previous band which was acoustic guitar & mandolin/penny whistle, you could hear everything on the bass. So most effects only needed to be mild.

[topheteatwo]

Fuzz and distortion, absolutely

Modulation, reverb and delays, I'd say no, you end up just playing an effects box and not a bass going into an effects box.

[sixdegrees]

I keep most of my effects to a 20/80 wet/dry mix. Any more than that and I find my tone gets a little lost. I imagine it as 'layer' of effect that sits on top of the fundamental tone.
I'm definitely an advocate of 'less is more' when it comes to playing live with effects (which is also my view on chorus settings...).

[thisnameistaken]

Depends on the effect as some have said above. Modulation effects can be a bit full-on if you don't blend them (although blending a phaser can cause complete ruination, be careful with that) but generally speaking I do like effects that completely replace my bass sound. The OC-2 is my favourite pedal.

[chrismuzz]

Sometimes a really subtle effect makes anyone REALLY good even if you can't really tell what actual effect is being used very well. I like a light overdrive over the whole signal with a clean blend, mixed with high gain over a more select frequency range

[bakerster135]

[quote name='FretNoMore' timestamp='1394316020' post='2390309']
Depends on the rest of your band's sound ... you won't hear "a touch of" if you've a wall of distorted guitar amps next to you, but maybe you will if there is more air and dynamics. But sure, you probably will have to dial up more effect to be heard in a full mix compared to trying out an effect in the bedroom.
[/quote]

This is interesting actually, I think I slightly disagree. It's the touch of chorus/flange that propels me over the top of our two noisy guitarists in really heavy sections. Obviously people won't hear a "Come As You Are"-style heavy chorus going on, but the little touch definitely makes the sound more pronounced and therefore makes a difference!...

[elephantgrey]

What about compression? sure you can squeese the hell out of the signal, but a subtle touch of it can really be the the closest thing to a talent simulator there is.