Effects
I was wondering if some of you guys use some particular effects board or pedals...I've always played my basses "clean", but I'm thinking to add every once a bit of effects to give more variety to my sound...there are some famous fretless players who have used a lot of effects, like chorus (Jimmy Haslip), synthbass (Bunny Brunel, Alain Caron, Brian Bromberg...), octaver (Pino Palladino), disortion (Mick Karn, Tony Franklin, Michael Manring...) ecc...any thought or advice?
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FretLessSince68
- Posts:307
- Joined:Tue Dec 19, 2006 2:29 am
- Location:On an Island, WA, USA
I like a little reverb for fretless, but have to be careful if the room is reverberant, it quickly becomes muddy.
If the situation allows nuance, then reverb will probably work, but if it gets loud, or someone is not listening, reverb is a negative.
I don't like compression, I use the fingers for that on fretless, although do use comp. on fretted for slap style.
Generally, less is more in the effects department as far as I'm concerned.
One thing I do use in addition to light reverb, and refer to as an effect because it exists in the same unit as the reverb, is programable parametric EQ. With PEQ I can create curves for each instrument and each situation such as vintage R&B, or fretless growl, etc. Very useful.
If the situation allows nuance, then reverb will probably work, but if it gets loud, or someone is not listening, reverb is a negative.
I don't like compression, I use the fingers for that on fretless, although do use comp. on fretted for slap style.
Generally, less is more in the effects department as far as I'm concerned.
One thing I do use in addition to light reverb, and refer to as an effect because it exists in the same unit as the reverb, is programable parametric EQ. With PEQ I can create curves for each instrument and each situation such as vintage R&B, or fretless growl, etc. Very useful.
Last edited by FretLessSince68 on Fri May 18, 2007 5:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
One good note makes my day.
I like using a little reverb/delay for solo type playing. Also like a touch of chorus when playing close to the neck, nice for melodic lines with feeling.
The octave effect is really nice too, I find that works well for solo and accompanied playing. I used to use the Pearce BC1 Stereo Distortion preamp, that was great for feedback and screaming solos but I haven't used distortion for ages now.
My effects are not that elaborate I get it all from a Zoom 607 Bass, which is quite simple and basic. My amp settings are almost flat EQ and I tend to lean towards the midrange bass frequencies and always keep my strings new, I love the growl from Rotosound round 45's on an epoxy board.
The octave effect is really nice too, I find that works well for solo and accompanied playing. I used to use the Pearce BC1 Stereo Distortion preamp, that was great for feedback and screaming solos but I haven't used distortion for ages now.
My effects are not that elaborate I get it all from a Zoom 607 Bass, which is quite simple and basic. My amp settings are almost flat EQ and I tend to lean towards the midrange bass frequencies and always keep my strings new, I love the growl from Rotosound round 45's on an epoxy board.
Thanks for the advices guys...has anyone ever used the synthbass effect(like Roland or EBS) ? I'm very curious about that, a guy that lives near me builds pedals for guitarists and has offered to build me a synth pedal to do something like the keyboard bass, it would be funny to hear my fretless sound like Stevie Wonder's keyboard bass!
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FretLessSince68
- Posts:307
- Joined:Tue Dec 19, 2006 2:29 am
- Location:On an Island, WA, USA
I have a Conklin Sidewinder 7 (fretted) with RMC piezo bridge/electronics providing 13pin (Roland standard) out, driving an AXON AX-100 guitar to MIDI converter. This is really an entire system and not just an effect, but you asked.
The converter can recognize fretless just as well as fretted but your intonation needs to be good or you will hear a lot of strange notes depending whether Trigger Note (no bends or microtonalities) is on or off.
You can get any sound you can imagine providing you have hardware synth(s). The built in Yamaha GM sound board is getting dated but works OK. Terratec currently sells the same unit, with an updated OS and better soundboard, under their name. The sound is awesome when you stack timbres and create a really thick program. BUT, other muscians seem to hate it. So if you want to get into the MIDI bass thing I would recommend that you be the band leader, AND/OR be fortunate enough to play with forward thinking liberal musicians who are not insecure.
The whole guitar to MIDI thing is a pain much of the time. I took it out on the gig a couple of times but stopped after the guitarist made it clear he wanted the bass to sound exactly the way it sounded in 1962 (get in the back of the bus, BOY!, and turn the treble down). The thing is intimidating to some other musicians.
Another problem is the technology, having to carry more gear that is complicated and sometimes malfunctions.
I use it mainly as a MIDI controller now in my composing studio.
The converter can recognize fretless just as well as fretted but your intonation needs to be good or you will hear a lot of strange notes depending whether Trigger Note (no bends or microtonalities) is on or off.
You can get any sound you can imagine providing you have hardware synth(s). The built in Yamaha GM sound board is getting dated but works OK. Terratec currently sells the same unit, with an updated OS and better soundboard, under their name. The sound is awesome when you stack timbres and create a really thick program. BUT, other muscians seem to hate it. So if you want to get into the MIDI bass thing I would recommend that you be the band leader, AND/OR be fortunate enough to play with forward thinking liberal musicians who are not insecure.
The whole guitar to MIDI thing is a pain much of the time. I took it out on the gig a couple of times but stopped after the guitarist made it clear he wanted the bass to sound exactly the way it sounded in 1962 (get in the back of the bus, BOY!, and turn the treble down). The thing is intimidating to some other musicians.
Another problem is the technology, having to carry more gear that is complicated and sometimes malfunctions.
I use it mainly as a MIDI controller now in my composing studio.
Last edited by FretLessSince68 on Fri May 18, 2007 5:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.
One good note makes my day.
Yeah, you're right JV, the natural fretless tone is wonderful and of course it's the sound di per se that made me want to play that particular kind of bass, anyway I want to add every once a bit of colours to my playing when I'm doing more "free" music and not sessions...a little bit of chorus to start would be wonderful and as I see many of you guys use it..
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FunkDaFied
- Posts:83
- Joined:Thu May 10, 2007 1:36 pm
- Location:France
- Contact:
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point19
I use the following:
Compression
EQ
Noise Gate
Chorus
Pitch Shifter
Envelope Filter/Pedal Wah
Occasionally, I'll use distortion, delay, flange/phaser, and modulators.
While I use Zoom and Alesis effects processors primarily, I typically tell other bass players who do not want or need all of the effects to stay away from them. Having all of it in one package is nice, but a lot of the effects sound way too digital (primarily in the low to mid price range). It is more economical to just buy a decent pedal or two than a decent pedalboard for the one or two effects that you want.
Now, a MIDI system I would love to try....
Compression
EQ
Noise Gate
Chorus
Pitch Shifter
Envelope Filter/Pedal Wah
Occasionally, I'll use distortion, delay, flange/phaser, and modulators.
While I use Zoom and Alesis effects processors primarily, I typically tell other bass players who do not want or need all of the effects to stay away from them. Having all of it in one package is nice, but a lot of the effects sound way too digital (primarily in the low to mid price range). It is more economical to just buy a decent pedal or two than a decent pedalboard for the one or two effects that you want.
Now, a MIDI system I would love to try....
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FunkDaFied
- Posts:83
- Joined:Thu May 10, 2007 1:36 pm
- Location:France
- Contact:
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Arjen
Using a compressor costs a lot knowhow in my opinion. I mean a compressor is adjusted just right when you don't notice it. But after a few years of using one, I now know the benefits it offers me for my sound.
If you tend to dig in harder during a song a compressor could keep your sound adequate and just right. For me this is a tru invention.
about other effects... sometimes I would step on my chorus to make the bass sound a little thicker in the mix. I also own an old Roland delay, wich takes hours to adjust, so live this effect stays in the car backstage.
If you tend to dig in harder during a song a compressor could keep your sound adequate and just right. For me this is a tru invention.
about other effects... sometimes I would step on my chorus to make the bass sound a little thicker in the mix. I also own an old Roland delay, wich takes hours to adjust, so live this effect stays in the car backstage.