Reverb Vs Delay

[uk_lefty]

For bassists do you have a preference of reverb or digital delay? I like a bit of reverb on fretless but heard Marcus Miller say he prefers digital delay because in his view reverb sounds muddy.... Obviously Marcus knows what he's doing but for those of us without his supreme talent, years of experience, and time to tinker with settings... What do you prefer and why?

 

Today, I have no opinion on the matter. I had a digital delay, I now have a reverb I received in a trade, I've had multi fx pedals that do both. I've never really explored it.

[itu]

Try a little bit of reverb after dist/fuzz. My need for delay is long... a looper is really good for training. 

[Waddo Soqable]

I'd generally have a bit of reverb on there by default myself, then add a little bit of chorus as req. 

[pbasspecial]

I recently picked up a mini Mooer Echoverb that allows you to do either or both at the same time. Nice little pedal. 

[Baloney Balderdash]

I use my Zoom B1Xon, loaded with all reverb effects from that generation of Zoom digital effect models via a 3rd party firmware hack, for reverb effects, and a NUX Tape Core Deluxe (Roland RE-201 Space Echo tape delay emulation) for delays.

 

And yes, I have a subtle always on reverb from that Zoom multi effect added to my basic "clean" signal, consisting of a very subtle plate reverb, with a 10ms pre-delay, stacked into a subtle spring reverb.

 

Regarding whether Marcus Miller knowing what is best for everyone just because he is a master at playing bass, that is simply nonsense, first of all being great at playing bass doesn't automatically make you an expert in audio manipulation/using effects, secondly different applications, what kind of gear you otherwise use, and contexts, what kind of music you play, requires different approaches, plus there is such thing a personal preferences.

 

Just because delay might work best for Marcus Miller doesn't mean it will be the best option for everyone in every possible application and context.

[BigRedX]

Until recently I have never used reverb on any bass sound be it bass guitar or synth, simply because it ends up making what should normally be a fairly rhythmic part sound unrhythmic and indistinct. I use delays quite a lot, but always matched to the tempo of the song either by MIDI sync or a tap tempo function, and unless I'm using dotted 8th note delays they are always relatively low in the mix compared with the dry signal.

 

However I have recently completed recording a new song where I ended up using a massive reverb sound on the "bass solo" part. Admittedly the arrangement drops down to kick drum, bass sequencer and a low-level keyboard pad at this point in the song so there is plenty of sonic room for all that reverb.

[Boodang]

For a long while it was reverb, especially as I played mostly fretless.

Then, i came across a blog by Gwizdala where he was talking about why he uses delay rather than reverb. Got a tc electronic flashback and experimented, and now my reverb pedals are in storage. Delay, all the way!