Effects for a covers band

[Apex]

Playing in a covers band I have generally tried to reproduce the sound of the original track rather than develop anything of my own. I started with cheap chorus and OD pedals, which I don't use much but consider essential for the tracks I do use them on. Now I find that I want different OD settings for songs in the same set, and fiddling around with knobs between tracks in a live performance doesn't appeal!

Looking on here for advice I was surprised to find several postings suggesting that if you were in a covers band you didn't need any effects - to me it seems to be the other way round, unless you're representing the song wholly in your own (new) way.

Experience of live guitar work led me to go for singles rather than a multi because there were always too many buttons and knobs to remember to tweak to change settings (even if stored in a patch list!).

So please can anyone recommend an ME processor that is live-play friendly? or should I just bin the idea of effects altogether?

[Happy Jack]

I started the thread below ( [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=51706"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=51706[/url] ) so I'm probably one of the people you're referring to.

Unless you're really keen on grammar, in which case I'm probably one of the people to whom you are referring.

I'm not an experienced gigger, I'm still relatively new to the whole thing despite my age, and pedals & effects can be a real distraction in so many ways. For me, each and every device/unit/contraption has to be able to justify being there.

I've bought all the usual suspects, including simple one-function pedals (overdrive, chorus, reverb, tremelo, etc.) and more complex stuff (synth, multi-FX), and what I realised last week was that virtually every time I used a pedal in a song it was simply to justify having that pedal!

Here's our second set for our next gig - it's a friends & family gig so there need to be lots of crowd-pleasers.

[i][color="#0000FF"]A Horse With No Name
My Babe
Get A Haircut
The Letter
Another Man
One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer
Looking For My Baby
She Caught The Katy
Two More Bottles Of Wine
Don't Waste My Time
Natural Born Bugie
Honky Tonk Women
Brown Sugar[/color][/i]

Encores (if requested )

[i][color="#0000FF"]I Love To Boogie
Tush
Long Train Runnin'[/color][/i]

That set covers - roughly - 1960-80 and offers blues, rock, soul & funk. I suppose we could stick in [i][color="#0000FF"]I Shot The Sheriff[/color][/i] to bring in some reggae, but it's hard to see what other styles we could cover at a pub gig.

I'll be playing the whole lot using a 1975 Fender Precision strung with flats, and with no pedals at all. My rig has a compressor (DBX166A) which I'll be using and an Aphex Aural Xciter which I won't be using (too boomy with this set-up).

I have other basses which are far more flexible tonally than the P, and I have more pedals than you can shake a stick at. I've spent the last week or two trying to work out where they actually ADD anything to my playing, and the answer turns out to be ... they don't!

OK, that's just my opinion, but try this: Look at my set list again and make some recommendations ... "You could use some chorus on XXX" or "ZZZ would sound great with heavy distortion". I'll be happy to try out your suggestions. Just bear in mind that I've already tried most of 'em.

When I form a prog-rock power trio, come and see my pedal board [b][i]then[/i][/b]. Like SkankDelvar said, it'll be like the bridge of an aircraft carrier.

Edited June 21, 2009 by Happy Jack

[nick]

I think it depends on what material or covers the band's doing, being the decider on whether to use effects or not.

The band I'm in, do one set of fairly soul/motown-ish songs. For that I wouldn't (need to) use anything other than my P-Bass with flats straight.
However, the second set is more contemporary; B. Spears Toxic, Killers, U2 etc... For that sort of stuff I use fuzz, octaver, envelope filter,OD.
This is probably also partly due to the absence of a keyboard player, which harks to the other thread you mentioned.

I prefer the use of pedals myself, rather than a multi thing as I don't really change my settings that much once set up.

[ezbass]

I play in a covers band doing everything from reggae to pop to soul to rock. To be honest I could the entire gig without any effects, but I do use a chorus pedal to accentuate certain bass parts (the begining of Stevie Wonder's I Wish for example). Unless you're in a tribute band where slavish reproduction is order of the day, I think you can do completely without effects (unless you're an FX junkie of course), the only caveat to this is if a particular bass effect is the main focus of the song. and there's not too many of them really.

[lemmywinks]

I'd imagine the programmable Sansamp would be a decent option as you can save settings (3 i think?)

I use an MXR M80 for OD, clean boost/eq and DI. I then use a ZVEX Mastotron for fuzzier moments. I recently used this with the M80 and it sounds brilliant, like a 3rd pedal in it's own right (in fact it's the best sound i've had!). Really all i need is the M80 and another pedal to mix it with and i have 3 distortion sounds



Here:
[url="http://www.bassplayer.com/article/sansamp-programmable-bass/Jul-06/17320"]http://www.bassplayer.com/article/sansamp-...ss/Jul-06/17320[/url]

Edited June 21, 2009 by lemmywinks

[chris_b]

[quote name='Apex' post='519706' date='Jun 20 2009, 11:40 PM']....Playing in a covers band I have generally tried to reproduce the sound of the original track rather than develop anything of my own.... Looking on here for advice I was surprised to find several postings suggesting that if you were in a covers band you didn't need any effects - to me it seems to be the other way round, unless you're representing the song wholly in your own (new) way....[/quote]
I have played "Wherever I Lay My Hat" on a fretted bass with no pedals and the audience was singing along quite happily. In my opinion, the effects pedals are for you not the song or the audience.

When you go on stage, in your head are you trying to be Pino or just playing the song? I do the latter and I think I do it better because I'm being me.

[chris_b]

Last night I played "Stand By Me" [i]without[/i] a double bass and it worked just fine....!

[umph]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='519796' date='Jun 21 2009, 10:25 AM']I started the thread below ( [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=51706"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=51706[/url] ) so I'm probably one of the people you're referring to.

Unless you're really keen on grammar, in which case I'm probably one of the people to whom you are referring.

I'm not an experienced gigger, I'm still relatively new to the whole thing despite my age, and pedals & effects can be a real distraction in so many ways. For me, each and every device/unit/contraption has to be able to justify being there.

I've bought all the usual suspects, including simple one-function pedals (overdrive, chorus, reverb, tremelo, etc.) and more complex stuff (synth, multi-FX), and what I realised last week was that virtually every time I used a pedal in a song it was simply to justify having that pedal!

Here's our second set for our next gig - it's a friends & family gig so there need to be lots of crowd-pleasers.

[i][color="#0000FF"]A Horse With No Name
My Babe
Get A Haircut
The Letter
Another Man
One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer
Looking For My Baby
She Caught The Katy
Two More Bottles Of Wine
Don't Waste My Time
Natural Born Bugie
Honky Tonk Women
Brown Sugar[/color][/i]

Encores (if requested )

[i][color="#0000FF"]I Love To Boogie
Tush
Long Train Runnin'[/color][/i]

That set covers - roughly - 1960-80 and offers blues, rock, soul & funk. I suppose we could stick in [i][color="#0000FF"]I Shot The Sheriff[/color][/i] to bring in some reggae, but it's hard to see what other styles we could cover at a pub gig.

I'll be playing the whole lot using a 1975 Fender Precision strung with flats, and with no pedals at all. My rig has a compressor (DBX166A) which I'll be using and an Aphex Aural Xciter which I won't be using (too boomy with this set-up).

I have other basses which are far more flexible tonally than the P, and I have more pedals than you can shake a stick at. I've spent the last week or two trying to work out where they actually ADD anything to my playing, and the answer turns out to be ... they don't!

OK, that's just my opinion, but try this: Look at my set list again and make some recommendations ... "You could use some chorus on XXX" or "ZZZ would sound great with heavy distortion". I'll be happy to try out your suggestions. Just bear in mind that I've already tried most of 'em.

When I form a prog-rock power trio, come and see my pedal board [b][i]then[/i][/b]. Like SkankDelvar said, it'll be like the bridge of an aircraft carrier. [/quote]
no fuzz for zz top? ;o

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

[quote name='chris_b' post='519897' date='Jun 21 2009, 12:42 PM']I have played "Wherever I Lay My Hat" on a fretted bass with no pedals and the audience was singing along quite happily. In my opinion, the effects pedals are for you not the song or the audience.

When you go on stage, in your head are you trying to be Pino or just playing the song? I do the latter and I think I do it better because I'm being me.[/quote]

+1

[Apex]

Thanks for the advice guys. I notice no one seems to think that an ME is a good idea live!

Chris-b you ask a fair question. In my head I don't [u]think[/u] I'm trying to be Pino (as if ) or any one of a dozen professional players who will always be way beyond my standard, but I [u]do[/u] think that I'm trying to put the song across to the audience with an overall sound that they will recognise. Even that's probably a stupid sort of nirvana - we certainly ain't a trubute band! - but it's something to aim for! So you're probably also right in that the pedals are for me.

Thanks for that particular insight - it really does make things easier

lemmywinks - I hadn't really looked at the Sansamp, but it looks like a good halfway house and robust and simple to use once on stage. Might pursue that (for my benefit, of course!).

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

I have a few effects , home use only at the moment.
However, when this band I'm in settles down and we practice more regular
I may sneak in a bit of distotion or something.

Next practice next sunday,I'm just thinking do I bring the Steiney-or the Tele!
(my aggie has no tweeter)

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='umph' post='520085' date='Jun 21 2009, 05:22 PM']no fuzz for zz top? ;o[/quote]

Nah - just turn up the gain on my tube pre-amp!

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='chris_b' post='519910' date='Jun 21 2009, 12:54 PM']Last night I played "Stand By Me" [i]without[/i] a double bass and it worked just fine....![/quote]

Good call.

[nick]

[quote name='Apex' post='520092' date='Jun 21 2009, 05:31 PM']Chris-b you ask a fair question. In my head I don't [u]think[/u] I'm trying to be Pino (as if ) or any one of a dozen professional players who will always be way beyond my standard, but I [u]do[/u] think that I'm trying to put the song across to the audience with an overall sound that they will recognise. Even that's probably a stupid sort of nirvana - we certainly ain't a trubute band! - but it's something to aim for! So you're probably also right in that the pedals are for me.[/quote]

+1 , With you on this.
Certain songs can be enhanced by tasteful use of effects, & if you're doing that, it's no bad thing for the band's overall projection to the audience.
Admittedly most songs can be played without any fx, but if you can add something & give them another dimension, then why not?

For me a nice P-Bass with flats is a tone in itself, as much as a bass with rounds going through fuzz & an envelope filter.

Edited June 21, 2009 by nick

[TimR]

Unless you are running through a PA with a dedicated sound engineer, it is very difficult to manage your effects well. Each effect subtly changes your place in the mix and can have a big effect on the other musicians' sound as well.

An effect well selected in home or practice studio will need careful use of EQ to make it sit well in the mix and depend heavily on the room acoustics.

[cheddatom]

I would get bored gigging without effects. I need to be able to boost the bottom to make choruses massive, and add dirt for riffs etc. I suppose that's about all i'd use on a covers gig (never done one).

Lots of people use multi-fx setups live and they are fine. The problem is you want to be able to "set and forget" about all your patches, but you do have to change them occasionally depending on the gig, which is annoying. Then again, it's a lot easier to carry and set up than a big pedal board.

Both line 6 and boss do a multi-distortion box, so you can switch between different stored distortion patches. It might be worth trying one of these as they're only the size of 2 singles and obviously simpler to use than a big multi.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='cheddatom' post='522323' date='Jun 24 2009, 09:12 AM']I would get bored gigging without effects.[/quote]

But you're a 3-piece doing originals, right?

In your position, I'd be doing exactly what you do, taking advantage of all that sonic space and piling on the effects.

Trouble is, playing [i]Honky Tonk Women [/i]or [i]Long Train Runnin' [/i]with two guitarists and a keyboard player leaves precious little room to experiment with an EHX MicroSynth or a Danelectro Cool Cat.

[cheddatom]

I was in a 3 peice originals, and I understand your point, but I maintain, I would be bored gigging without at least 5 pedals. I would have no problem using them tastefully and to great effect. The audience wouldn't necessarily notice, but that's not the point, the point is to enjoy the gig, surely?

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='cheddatom' post='522763' date='Jun 24 2009, 05:43 PM']The audience wouldn't necessarily notice, but that's not the point, the point is to enjoy the gig, surely?[/quote]

Damned right, my son! It's just that I still think of myself as a learner, and if the pedals aren't needed then I won't use them.

Different strokes ...

[Urban Bassman]

I used to have a Line6 POD XT Live (Bass) as it had a built-in tuner and more effects and amp sounds that you could shake a stick at...However I found that gradually I ended up with one amp sound that I liked and just used one or two of the effects...flanger/chorus types. I recently changed my rig to a TC Electronics Rebel 450 Head plus a couple of TC cabs. The Rebel has a built-in tuner plus three presets for the amp (EQ, channel volume, Compressor and valve emulation) which you can control with their optional foot controller that has the tuner as well. So I put the foot controller on an pedalboard (Pedal Train) and added a Boss Chorus and dusted of my old DOD Flanger and bingo! all the sounds I'll ever need from two stomp boxes and a rather clever amp. I then sold my POD XT. I play in a rock covers band and I find that unless you are playing something with a very distinctive bass sound, eg heavy distortion or chorus-type effect, then find a tone that does it for you for the majority of the songs and stick in one or two effects as needed for the rest, simple is best. However for it's flexibilty and the sheer number of permutations I would suggest the XT Live if that's where you wanted to go. Personally, I've never had anyone come up to me after a gig and said "on that song your bass sounded wrong"...had quite a few complementing my tone though, which is what it's all about in the end innit!

Hope that helps.


[quote name='Apex' post='519706' date='Jun 20 2009, 11:40 PM']Playing in a covers band I have generally tried to reproduce the sound of the original track rather than develop anything of my own. I started with cheap chorus and OD pedals, which I don't use much but consider essential for the tracks I do use them on. Now I find that I want different OD settings for songs in the same set, and fiddling around with knobs between tracks in a live performance doesn't appeal!

Looking on here for advice I was surprised to find several postings suggesting that if you were in a covers band you didn't need any effects - to me it seems to be the other way round, unless you're representing the song wholly in your own (new) way.

Experience of live guitar work led me to go for singles rather than a multi because there were always too many buttons and knobs to remember to tweak to change settings (even if stored in a patch list!).

So please can anyone recommend an ME processor that is live-play friendly? or should I just bin the idea of effects altogether?[/quote]

[pete.young]

I guess it depends on what you're covering.

In my covers band we have some stuff for which a synth is very handy (Keep me hanging on, Aint Nobody, I Kissed a Girl), some requiring envelope filter and compression (Canned Heat, Twisted), bit of chorus occasionally comes in handy (Feelin good, pretending to be an upright bass), distortion (Standing in the way of control, shut up and drive). I also have an octave down pedal but I find I'm using that less and less since I switched to 5-string. And a good tuner is handy.

Of the multi-effects, the only one that appealed to me was the Boss one, the ME-50B ? It's configured like a bunch of stompboxes so I think it's more usable in a live situation, if your brain works in a stompbox kind of way.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='pete.young' post='524141' date='Jun 25 2009, 09:40 PM']... we have some stuff for which a synth is very handy (Keep me hanging on) ...[/quote]

Pete, don't tell me you also do the Vanilla Fudge version!

[pete.young]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='524257' date='Jun 25 2009, 11:19 PM']Pete, don't tell me you also do the Vanilla Fudge version! [/quote]

Unfortunately not. The Kim Wilde version. Blush.

[Mickeyboro]

We do a snatch of the VF version in the middle of Robin Trower's 'Little Bit Of Sympathy'.

Sounds an odd idea but it works.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='Mickeyboro' post='525475' date='Jun 26 2009, 10:55 PM']We do a snatch of the VF version in the middle of Robin Trower's 'Little Bit Of Sympathy'.

Sounds an odd idea but it works.[/quote]

You guys are weird.