Tremolo, Delay.

[stewblack]

Genuine question. Do any of you bass bashers use these effects?

I'm confused because they appear counter productive to our job as part of a rhythm section. I don't want my notes to wobble in and out, nor to repeat themselves, and yet these effects always appear on bass multi pedals.

So if you find either or both of them indispensable to your sound, how do you use them? Any specific song examples?

PS

Are there perhaps effects which baffle you too? Why not let us know?

 

 

Edited March 6, 2022 by stewblack

[Stingray64]

Very useful for synth bass! Delay can be great for making sequencer sounds by having mix at 50% and feedback at 0. I also use it regularly as something similar to reverb but less muddy when making lead sounds or chord parts (so basically not bass on a bass which comes up in small bands quite often, particularly in church worship) but these parts are almost always less important than the actual bass parts I’m playing.

 

For tremolo, I personally rarely use it because I prefer using a filter instead of volume for wobbles. I have made a huge number of synth patches for gigs but I think the only time I’ve used trem is for Bonkers.

It can be useful for lead sounds too since it makes your sound less bassy, but again thats only really for when you don't need bass at that moment and there isn’t a more appropriate instrument for the lead part.

[stewblack]

Great response! Thank you.

[Woodinblack]

I use delay - there is nothing about it that takes the rhythm away from the bass, if anything it enhances it. The delay is fixed, you know when the repeat is coming back so you are doubling your notes.

 

Take this for instance, Pneuma by tool, which if I linked correctly is at 1:12, when the bass comes in with a slapback echo, so it is one single echo at a fixed time, and the band is sync'd to that

 

 

Or something more old school like Pink Floyd

 

Where the bass is thickened up and runs entirely with a lot of echo.

 

I use it in a couple of songs, whole lotta love in the bit where the guitarist is doing something - me and the drummer do a section on a low e, then low e, higher e before going into the bass solo part (yes, there is a bass solo part in ours), at which point I kill the echo.

 

[Boodang]

I used to use a bit of reverb but then I got into Janek Gwizdala who uses delay instead. I've got the TC Electronic flashback with the Gwizdala toneprint which is basically a triplet repeat in a low mix... this has now replaced my reverb on the pedalboard.

As for tremolo, no idea as that just seems too bonkers for bass and haven't found a use for it yet.

[Doddy]

I like to use delay set to a dotted crotchet when I'm playing more dance style music. It gives a different feel to just play the first note and let the delay fill in the rest of the bar, than attacking every note.

I don't use tremolo a lot, but have a listen at how guys like Juan Alderete and Tim Lefebvre use it to add some choppiness to the sound. 

[PaulThePlug]

Not a real fan of the Tremolo Continued Wobble, or Auto Wah, but love a light Chorus, Phaser, or Flanger on a bass to give 'Space' and 'Movement' to what is usually a repetative phrase... well it is for me as a Hawkwind Fan!

Convention is usually for the Delay to go at the end of the chain. Resulting in more of the same... Back im my skinny string days I liked to have my Phaser after the delay so the repeats 'Moved'.

Try a Delay with a Few repeats, followed by a Slow Trem...

Spose also depends if you are allowing the notes to ring on and join up, blending, or syncopating or muting to some degree or stopping before the next note for a defined repeat.

Edited March 7, 2022 by PaulThePlug

[KingBollock]

I tend to use Delay in place of Reverb. Not a fan of Tremolo, but I can see why it is a thing. However, Ring Modulation and Bit Crushers… I just don’t get them at all.

[stewblack]

@KingBollock I tried to like a bitcrusher but it just sounded like my bass was broken. 

Ring mod? Never tried.

You have a great handle btw.

[KingBollock]

1 minute ago, stewblack said:

@KingBollock I tried to like a bitcrusher but it just sounded like my bass was broken. 

Ring mod? Never tried.

You have a great handle btw.

There has been Ring Mods on every multi effects unit (bass and guitar) I have ever owned. Bit Crushers have only popped up on later ones.

 

And thanks. I have been using this name since 1997. It has been the cause of some mirth when having to give my email address in shops, or when I get parcels delivered from companies where I am signed up as this (which is everywhere that my wife doesn’t have an account).

One year I did an “ego search” and discovered that I had come third in a Best Usernames On The Internet thing (they mentioned where and when they had seen it, so I know it was definitely me and not the robbing scrote on Steam..!).

[Woodinblack]

I can think of a few tracks where bit crushers are used well, mostly it has to be said on industrial music, where it probably came from some broken digital effect in the first place (most effects came from some fault to start with!).

 

[Boodang]

8 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

I can think of a few tracks where bit crushers are used well, mostly it has to be said on industrial music, where it probably came from some broken digital effect in the first place (most effects came from some fault to start with!).

 

Gwizdala's really into bit crushers and he gets some interesting sounds... too mad for me though. 

[danbowskill]

tremolo is fantasic on long held notes, especially on heavy doom type music

[Nail Soup]

Question to OP …. would these effects make more sense if you can set the timing to the beat/tempo of the song ( as is possible in a DAW or if your pedal has tap tempo feature)?

[Cosmo Valdemar]

I use both, but it all depends on the situation - if I'm playing Sweet Caroline down the local they won't be on the board but they get a lot of use at home. 

If you approach bass like Chris Squire or Justin Chancellor, they have their place and can be used extremely effectively. 

I use a Behringer tremolo, very cheap but sounds great, and an old Marshall Echohead which is just gorgeous.