Pedals or straight to amp?

[Storky]

When playing live I’ve always gone straight from my bass to my amp (except for a tuner). I often find I’m not happy with my sound and I wonder how many of you folk use pedals or if there are many Neanderthals like me who don’t understand them?

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

I go bass > wireless receiver > pedal board > amp. I could use the effects loop on the amp, but have never bothered.

if you’re struggling with your sound going into the amp, I think we need to know more in terms of gear you’re using.

[neepheid]

It has taken me 12 or so years to acquiesce to using an overdrive pedal, so as neanderthal with an octagonal wheel I hear you.  For what it's worth, the overdrive pedal that softened my previously dead set against effects opinion is the Bass Soul Food.  I'm sure it's considered a toy to the effects specialists, but it was the first one I tried that didn't cost an arm and a leg and I could get a sound out of it I liked without too much faffing around.

 

That said, I think you have to be happy with your blank canvas sound before you start adding effects - it isn't going to help you if you aren't happy with the sound that's going into the effect(s).  I came from a position of liking my basic sound and wondering what else I could do with it.  Joining a band which is instrumentally a trio added some impetus to this - sometimes the single guitar needs a bit of help to fill things out, give a lift in song choruses, that sort of thing.

[Downunderwonder]

Most amps can be bypassed straight into the fx return. If your pedal setup has a line(ish) level output and a noise free DI, that's one way of getting more control of what's coming out.

[Dad3353]

I've always gone from the bass, straight into the amp, and am very happy with the sound. I use a clip-on tuner. I'm somewhat of a minimalist, 'old-school' (being old...), and don't like the 'dirt' sound. It helps having a good bass, amp and cab, though; without those elements, it's just chasing a dahu. My advice would be to get a sound you like with just the basics first, then add pedals etc if needs arise. I may be alone in this, though. 
What's to not like with your current gear, and what is it..?

[bassbloke]

Bass > pedalboard > amp.

 

Over the years I've settled on which elements of the signal chain from fingers > FOH have the biggest impact on my sound. 

 

1. Relatively fresh Roundwound strings

2. Single coil jazz style pickups.

3. Compressor

4. EQ to remove 1kHz

5. Relatively high gain input or light overdrive.

 

90% of the sound processing is done before hitting my amp.  The only thing amp wise that really impacts sound is having a cab with a tweeter. 

 

[lurksalot]

I’m with Douglas on this , I had a zoom multi which I mainly bypassed and used as a tuner , when I got the Rh750 it had everything I needed to dial the sound to suit a room , travelled light with that. I think it looks very tempting to go chasing sounds and tones but it’s a road to pecking my own head, so I don’t 😁

[casapete]

Another ‘straight to the amp’ player here. Like Douglas, I also use a clip on tuner, mainly so I don’t have anything else in my signal path. I have nothing against pedals per se, but for the music I’m involved in I find them unnecessary. The key for me is finding a bass and amplifier combination that have the sound you really want, which in itself can be quite a job before thinking of altering it with pedals. I really don’t understand people who shell out big bucks for top end amps, and then spend even more on an expensive preamps and pedals which alter the basic tone! If you want to do this may as well just run all the F/X into a power amp or powered monitor cab like a lot of people are doing now. 

[ped]

Straight into amp normally when playing ‘loud’ (although depending on the amp I often use a compressor). 

 

At home playing along with stuff and when playing in the studio through the desk I will often bring a couple of pedals for fun and inspiration. I will also audition pedals that I like in a live setting so I know they sound good in both situations. 
 

I like battery powered effects because if the way I use them - no faff, just grab one and plug it in and before you know it you’ve inspired a certain groove or matched a sound you’ve heard on a track. I also don’t have a pedalboard because I prefer to use them individually and pick up one or two at a time depending on what I want to try or what I’ve bought since the last time!

[Lozz196]

In the main I prefer to get my sound from my amp with no pedals, however in my last band I acknowledged that I’d be using so many shared/provided rigs that might be difficult. So I got my sound from a preamp pedal (Tech21 Para Driver) and then no matter what amplification I was using the audience would always get the right sound as all our gigs went through FOH PA. A couple of times the amps provided had broken so it was just my bass/Para Driver, with monitoring providing on stage sound. If good monitoring could be guaranteed I’d be happy enough to gig like that all the time. 

[BassAdder60]

I’ve been in this dilemma too and would reiterate the comments that you ideally want to like your fundamental amp and bass tone and use pedals as flavouring etc

 

Been down the pedal road as a guitarist and it’s hard to be satisfied and I always end up thinking too many pedals etc end up destroying the true sound of the instrument but I guess many are true bypass now but it’s still more cables, power supplies etc etc

 

The only pedal I’m considering is a light overdrive pedal to kick in on occasion to fill the gap when guitarist is widdling etc 

 

It’s good fun experimenting but can get costly

 

Dont overlook the low cost pedals as many are as good as high end boutique stuff

[SteveXFR]

I tried straight to amp and then tried a large pedal board and have settled on a simple pedal board with a tuner, fuzz, compressor and dual channel tube preamp. 

A really good quality compressor  is really useful, I use an Origin Effects Cali76 to sharpen the attack and level out the volume. 

The preamp is great for shaping tone and adding a bit of drive.

[Doddy]

I pretty much always have some pedals in my chain. My standard set up is Bass>volume pedal>tuner>octave>envelope filter>overdrive>amp, but I'll often add to that depending on the gig.

 

7 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

My advice would be to get a sound you like with just the basics first, then add pedals etc if needs arise. I may be alone in this, though. 

 

It all starts with this. A good sound starts with the hands,bass,and amp. Effects are then used to add colour. All the heavy effects users have a great clean tone to begin with.

[Wilson_51_]

It has always depended on a mixture of what type of music i am playing. 

 

I went straight into the amp when I used to play in an Backing band for a guy who played Americana . Although i probably had a pedal tuner in there somewhere. Playing in my main band which is a stoner/grunge band i'm an always on medium distortion tone with the option of kicking on a fuzz. 

 

experiment, if it sounds good, it is good!

[DiMarco]

It all depends on what it is you do not like about your sound.

If you are looking for just a more powerful version of your existing tone the Cali76cb compressor Steve mentioned will solve that. I never play without it. The attack is more spicy with it and the bass just sits more comfy in the mix of instruments.

 

The usefulness of any other effects you might want to try really depends on the style of music you play. I'm a rocker so besides the compressor I have a couple of dirtboxes, nothing more is needed in my case.

 

[Reggaebass]

I don’t use pedals really I get the sound I want from my amps, but sometimes just for a  change I use the tech 21 vt bass pedal, which I don’t think makes it better, just different  

[Storky]

Reassuringly it sounds like quite a few go straight to amp. I take the point about getting a good clean sound before adding anything though. I think part of my issue is too many options; I’ve got about a dozen different basses, from Fenders to Rob Allans and Stingrays to Harley Bentons. I also play a bit of upright. My amp set up is a compromise. I use a Euphonics Audio head and 12” cab. It sounds good for double bass but I wanted a bit of colour for electric, so I got one of those Handbox 120 watt valve heads. I’ve also been playing around with a Helix LT, which I’m struggling with. I used it with the Handbox last week at a gig and it was very boomy, took out the Helix and it was better, but not great, the sound was a bit “farty”.

 

I was in GAK a while back, a guy was trying out a sans amp pedal and it sounded great, although a modern sound and I play mainly 60s and older stuff, so I don’t know, but it got me thinking.

[Dad3353]

17 minutes ago, Storky said:

...I think part of my issue is too many options...

 

For what it's worth, I think that this ^^ is the crux of the matter. For playing '60s and older' stuff, there's very little hi-tech needed, and with all that you have at your disposal, there's no reason to not get a Good Sound very easily. I'd suggest an experiment. Use the bass you feel most at home with, the Handbox with all the 'gadgets' turned off and the tone controls set to 12 noon, and play what you like to play. The tone should be right there, and definitely not 'farty', unless you're playing too loud for the cab. Is that 12" cab the only one you have..? It's the only element that I could imagine as being responsible for any lack of conviction in the tone (I could be wrong there; I don't use cabs of the sort for bass, so...).
Try playing like that for a couple of weeks, with the same settings (no cheating, fiddling around...); your ears will become acustomed to your 'core' tone, and your fingers will be able to make a difference (closer to the bridge, 'digging in' a little harder, using a pick, maybe..?). It's only once you have this basic tone firmly established that it's possible to move into other areas, adding compression, or EQ or whatever. Firstly, get the initial, straight 'out of the box' tone between your ears, and move on only once you know what it is you want that's not already 'there'.
Hope this helps. 

[NancyJohnson]

I prefer a Sansamp into the effects return or a poweramp.

 

Just prefer the Sansamp doing the work/shaping rather than it being coloured by going in the front of an amp.

[Downunderwonder]

4 hours ago, bassbloke said:

Bass > pedalboard > amp.

 

Over the years I've settled on which elements of the signal chain from fingers > FOH have the biggest impact on my sound. 

 

1. Relatively fresh Roundwound strings

2. Single coil jazz style pickups.

3. Compressor

4. EQ to remove 1kHz

5. Relatively high gain input or light overdrive.

 

90% of the sound processing is done before hitting my amp.  The only thing amp wise that really impacts sound is having a cab with a tweeter. 

 

You left fingers off the top of the list.

 

Fingers plus a touch sensitive overdrive is my nirvana when overdriven tones are allowed.

[chris_b]

I don't use pedals, apart from a Pitchblack tuner . Never have. I bought a Thumpinator once but it sat on the shelf and I never got around to trying it. I don't recall seeing any bass players on the circuit using pedals either.

 

 

[BigRedX]

12 hours ago, Storky said:

When playing live I’ve always gone straight from my bass to my amp (except for a tuner). I often find I’m not happy with my sound and I wonder how many of you folk use pedals or if there are many Neanderthals like me who don’t understand them?

 

What is it about your sound that you are not happy with?

[chris_b]

12 hours ago, Storky said:

When playing live I’ve always gone straight from my bass to my amp (except for a tuner). I often find I’m not happy with my sound . . . .

What bass? What amp? What style of music? What don't you like about your sound?

[WinterMute]

It really helps to understand that every bass amp is a pre-amp and power amp combination, and that running pedals into the pre on a "bass" or "guitar" amp is running a pre-amp into a pre-amp on many occasions, gain staging being what it is, that often makes it difficult to get the balance of tones right, and many prefer the straight to amp approach.

 

Live of late I go pre-amp (latterly a Stomp, but also a GED2112 or a Bass Pod Pro XT) into a power amp (Crown 1500 is brilliant or a QSC) and an FRFR cab (I had the utterly brilliant Barefaced Big Twin for a while), now I go Stomp into a QSC K12.2 with the QSC pre-amp shaping turned off.

 

If you're modelling an amp/effects/cab why put the sound through another amp/cab coloured set up?

 

It's more of a learning curve with systems like the Stomp/Helix/Kemper etc. but it gives you great control over your tone or tones.

[Cat Burrito]

I've predominately been a bass straight into amp kind of player but I have a post punk / 80s alternative band at the moment where I am having lots of fun with different effects on the bass (& drum machines, samples - things I haven't really used before). Never say never.