Functions band pedals?

[Golder7]

Hi all,

 

I'm after some friendly advice around which (if any) pedals you would recommend.  I'm in a reticent be functions band playing everything from Hound Dog to Uptown Funk... And everything in between. 

 

One pedal I think I am going to get is a compressor to round my sound up a bit as well as to get s more even sound acrid the board - I loose volume the huge I go on the fretboard, particularly on the G-string. 

 

So, does anyone have any recommendations that error help complete my sound? Or, any compressor recommendations? I've been keeping an eye out for a second hand MXR M87, but happy to consider others.

 

Thanks in advance all.

Steve

[dannybuoy]

There's a Spectracomp going for £50 in the classifieds, I'd start there. Or do what I did, try several way more expensive compressors before ultimately ending there!

Other pedals - an MXR Bass Envelope Filter is fun for Uptown Funk. It has a bit of a vocal quality to it to make your bass line sound a bit like the backing vocals.

Your may want to consider a multi-FX like the Zoom B3n if you find yourself using a lot of sounds and need presets, but a handful of well chosen by pedals has always been my preference.

Edited May 13, 2019 by dannybuoy

[EBS_freak]

Function band pedal? Tuner. That's it.

Go straight into the PA and let that take care of your volume. Tone shaping and a compressor on the desk will usually do a better job than pedals. If you have an amp on stage, keep the volume low and use it just for monitoring. If possible, ditch it all together and go IEMs.

[Al Krow]

...or just get a couple of pedals that meet your immediate requirements

What's your current set up for bass rig and PA? I presume you will be providing all the sound gear for at least some of the functions you're going to be playing at? 

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by Al Krow

[attackbass]

I do a lot of fucntion gigs and I have gone  down this road of buying pedals to recreate sounds, help fill out the sound when a client doesn't book a full lineup.

 

I eventually played one gig with no effects, just a tuner. Did not miss the effects at all, in fact it was much more fun solely concentrating on playing bass and enhancing the songs musicially. Haven't looked back since doing it.

 

For me , effects are more usefull in a creative situation where I am writing/performing original material... or if you REALLY need to have that sound. Also, I found the temptation to go full on Tim Lefebvre in Uptown Funk or great... and rightly got some looks! haha

 

 

[darwin]

I play in a function band playing a wide range of songs. I don't use a lot of effects, only on 4 or 5 songs, mostly Synths or maybe an Octaver. I use a TC Spectracomp and a Zoom B3. In my opinion the Zoom does a great job for the occasional effects user like me and is great value for money.

[Osiris]

It sounds to me that there might be a couple of potential issues here to address before possibly lashing out on a compressor. If you are losing volume on the G string it could be that you need to raise the pickup closer to the string to help make it louder. What bass are you using and what pickups does it have? 

Another possibility is EQ settings, have you got a big mid scooped sound? Dialling the mids back in will thicken out the higher registers. Anywhere from around 800-1200 Hz is a good starting point to start boosting but that will depend on your bass and rig.  

[jrixn1]

I'm in a function band playing everything from Alexander's Ragtime Band to Uptown Funk   I use a Zoom multi-effects pedal, but I only have two patches: one for upright and one for bass guitar.

The bass guitar patch has compressor, amp sim, slight overdrive, and a high-pass filter.  To be honest, I only added the compressor last month and I haven't noticed any difference - the only reason I know I have it is because I just checked my settings for the purposes of replying to this thread 

If you lose volume up the fretboard are you sure there isn't another cause - perhaps an instrument setup or stage monitoring issue?  I use every note on the bass guitar at some point (I think Sir Duke hits the top fret) but I haven't come across this problem.  My basses are nothing that special - a Squier VM P and a Yamaha BB.
 

Edited May 13, 2019 by jrixn1

[Al Krow]

On 13/05/2019 at 11:18, jrixn1 said:

My basses are nothing that special...a Yamaha BB.

Agreed with everything you said, John, apart from that last statement 😁

Edited May 17, 2019 by Al Krow
Fixed.

[Cuzzie]

Tech21 DP3X - compression, drive, Tuner, EQ - amp Or no amp as can DI out 

[Golder7]

Hi all, thanks for the quick responses.

 

My rig is a EB 3eq Stingray as main and a Fender MIM p as backup. Rig is an Ashdown 410t with an Ampeg pf500, though I'm getting an ABM EVO III 500 this week.

 

I have tried raising the pickups on both bases around the g string and it doesn't make much difference. With the ampeg I tend to have the bass between 12-1 o'clock and have the mid selector at 2nd position with the dial at between 1-2 o'clock. Sounds great on its own but feels a bit lost in the mix, I was thinking a compressor could help resolve this?

[la bam]

Dont get ANY pedals, until you know what you want them for.

Otherwise its pointless. Youre just buying for the sake of it (which im sure weve all been there!).

Personally, if youre playing function stuff, to cover a large range of stuff, a Zoom B3 or B3n (or even a ms60B) will do you more than well. Next step up is a Helix stomp.

You really can cover everything with any of those.

[BigRedX]

It really depends on exactly how your band approaches playing the songs they have chosen.

If your role in the band is to play a bass guitar part that fits the song, and rhythmically holds down the bottom end, then as EBS_freak says, DI into the PA and use the superior facilities of your mixer to compress and EQ your sound to suit the band mix.

On the other hand if you need to accurately nail the specific tonal characteristics of the bass line of each individual song, then you are going to need a good programmable multi-effects and probably also a keyboard synthesiser.

Edited May 13, 2019 by BigRedX

[Muzz]

I play in a function trio which covers (har har) everything from Johnny Cash to Muse, and I've moved to a Helix Stomp (via a Zoom B3/MS60B) which allows a lot of flexibility, especially around songs in dropped (or raised) keys - the Stomp has a fantastic pitch shifter. I won't need anything else; just one small box for the lot.

Plus it's a whole lot of fun playing around with the sounds...and it works with backline or DI/IEMs...

Edited May 13, 2019 by Muzz

[Osiris]

2 hours ago, Golder7 said:

Hi all, thanks for the quick responses.

 

My rig is a EB 3eq Stingray as main and a Fender MIM p as backup. Rig is an Ashdown 410t with an Ampeg pf500, though I'm getting an ABM EVO III 500 this week.

 

I have tried raising the pickups on both bases around the g string and it doesn't make much difference. With the ampeg I tend to have the bass between 12-1 o'clock and have the mid selector at 2nd position with the dial at between 1-2 o'clock. Sounds great on its own but feels a bit lost in the mix, I was thinking a compressor could help resolve this?

Are you using the bass boost switch on the Ampeg? If I remember correctly that adds bass as you'd expect but also cuts some of the mids out, that could possibly be the issue. Try switching the bass boost off if you are using it. 

Sounding great on it's own but getting lost on the mix sounds like classic mid scoop syndrome. If you don't cut out all the mids the bass won't sound so great on it's own but it will fill out the bass sound in the mix. The Ashdown ABM will likely have loads more midrange on tap, just don't use the shape button and don't EQ them all out again!

I seem to think that the ABM EVO III has an inbuilt compressor, I've no idea if it's any good or not but it should give you an idea of whether one will solve your problem. Although from what you are saying I can't help but think that this is an EQ issue. 

[CliveT]

I agree with most that's already said.  In a function band I use very little effects, just a little octave or chorus depending on the song covered.

[Al Krow]

47 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

...use the superior facilities of your mixer to compress and EQ your sound to suit the band mix.

What are these mixers you and @EBS_freak are referring to which have these 'superior facilities'? How much would one of these set you back?

Our pretty good quality Allen & Heath analogue mixer is definitely not in this league!

[paul_c2]

Based on a similar experience, I'd say "less is more" and you really don't need loads of; or any; effects. If you're going to be switching basses (might make sense to take a fretted and fretless) then some kind of mute pedal is handy though. If anything, what you WOULD take is an entirely separate rig - amp, lead, bass - just in case something goes wrong with the first and you can do a quick swap over.

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

What are these mixers you and @EBS_freak are referring to which have these 'superior facilities'? How much would one of these set you back?

Our pretty good quality Allen & Heath analogue mixer is definitely not in this league!

Behringer X18 £327 plus a decent WiFi router, and then control it from your phone or tablet.

[Delberthot]

I've been playing in wedding bands since 1995. I've only just added in a Behringer BDI21 as I stopped using my Wireless which had its own DI out. I've gone back to a passive Jazz bass with two volume controls so started using my Korg DT10 to both mute the signal and tune. My Behringer BEQ700 is there to add some mids as I play with both volumes up full.

I've been on the effects merry-go-round for years and eventually go back to using nothing. What I have is out of necessity rather than buying things for the sake of it.

Start out using one effect/processor at a time. If you think that you need to add anything after this point then add another one. If you buy a whole pile of effects then you'll either go nuts trying to get them all working at the same time or sell them on again without using them.

 

[paul_5]

On 13/05/2019 at 15:22, Osiris said:

Are you using the bass boost switch on the Ampeg? If I remember correctly that adds bass as you'd expect but also cuts some of the mids out, that could possibly be the issue. Try switching the bass boost off if you are using it. 

Screenshot from my Ampeg AVP manual:

 

-12db is a fairly significant amount of cut!!

[Osiris]

28 minutes ago, paul_5 said:

-12db is a fairly significant amount of cut!!

Just a bit 😀

[EBS_freak]

40Hz? Exactly what you don't want in a live gig situation.

[Muzz]

Completely agree; I think the technical term is 'fwubbb'...

[EBS_freak]

When you see pedals like this, it's no wonder a lot of bands sound crap - when you want to hear the bass, it seems counter-intuitive to cut the bass... but that's usually the solution to the problem. Hard hitting lows? Look around 80-180. Leave 65 for your kick.