Ambient pad sounds

[Chris Horton]

Help needed please:)


Preferably I would like to produce the pad swell tones from playing my bass........
Does anyone know what pedals etc would be suitable to creat these chilled out ambient effects?

Many thanks

[Lightlyseared]

Volume pedal, compressor, digital harmonizer/octave effects like the POG or Whammy!, EH Superego and Freeze, reverb.. I'm sure there are multis with pad type patches but experimenting yourself is more fun (and expensive).

[BassBus]

You could use all the pedals listed above but at a cost. Best to start with a volume pedal or a Mooer Slow Engine auto volume, if you're lazy like me. The other must haves are a delay and a reverb. Put the delay in front of the reverb with several repeats and then max out the reverb. Job done.

Also look through Andy Othling's series of ambient tips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4R-Gx_gaWU&list=PLgt6WPxUgZIqP5idHHn_kylwTCzNUrHIO

[Bottle]

Second that. To get a really nice ambient swell, you'll need at least one delay and one reverb pedal. Having a couple of delay pedals in series helps as they 'cascade' into one another. Options like TC Triple Delay, Flashback and Hall of Fame, Strymon Timeline and Bigsky, Digitech Polara and Obscura, MXR Carbon Copy etc

My current ambient swells setup on my second pedalboard goes through a Boss CEB3 Chorus then a stereo split through a Digitech Obscura, Mr Black Eterna Gold and a TC Flashback delay then out in stereo. It sound huuuuuge through a three-amp setup (centre dry amp and stereo delays)

The world, as they say, is your oyster

Edited May 21, 2016 by Bottle

[Chris Horton]

Flipping heck!
I had no idea it was so complicated:)

Thanks for the reply's guys that's great
I shall start YouTube'ing the pedals etc you mention

This is a new area of discovery for me

[BassBus]

It doesn't really have to be complicated. You can make it as simple or complicated as you want. Have a look at The Chords of Orion videos. Bill Vincel makes some very creative use of simple delay pedals to get lovely big ambient sounds.

[Bottle]

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1463855352' post='3054605']
Flipping heck!
I had no idea it was so complicated:)

Thanks for the reply's guys that's great
I shall start YouTube'ing the pedals etc you mention

This is a new area of discovery for me
[/quote]
[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1463859213' post='3054634']
It doesn't really have to be complicated. You can make it as simple or complicated as you want. Have a look at The Chords of Orion videos. Bill Vincel makes some very creative use of simple delay pedals to get lovely big ambient sounds.
[/quote]
Agreed. I've just made it that way

[lefrash]

Zoom ms60b. You can have 4 effects at once.... so it can have slow attack > reverb > delay all in one boss sized pedal. I use it for this exact thing!