The bass guitar pedal board is a collection of audio effects used by bass guitarists. They are usually powered by batteries or a power supply and have multiple controls that allow the artist to shape their tone. It also includes a soft case to prevent damage to the pedals.
Bass pedals are essentially organ pedal boards but with a smaller range of notes. They can also have buttons that operate the upper manual keyboards of an electronic or clonewheel organ.
Volume Pedal
Volume pedals are a staple of any bass guitarist’s pedal board. They allow you to control the overall output amplitude of your guitar signal and can be used in all styles of music. These pedals are also very versatile and can be positioned anywhere in your effects chain. Generally, they are placed early in the chain before any power amplifier or cab simulation pedals as they act like a preamp.
Some people even use them at the end of their effects chain to help clean up and reduce the amount of noise from previous pedals. This allows the pedal to act as a last-step volume control without affecting the overall tone of your signal.
A standard volume pedal consists of a treadle lever that controls the output amplitude of your guitar signal. It usually has a maximum volume in the toe-down position and a minimum volume in the heel-down position. Depending on the model of your pedal, it may also have an internal pot that can be adjusted to set the minimum volume and a switch that enables you to reverse the function of the heel-down/toe-down positions.
Using a volume pedal can be very useful in creating sweeping sounds. This is especially true for styles of music such as shoegaze where layers or loops of playing are stacked on top of each other. By slowly increasing or decreasing the volume, you can create a sense of movement and ebb and flow in your playing that can really give your songs and tracks some drama.
Another great feature of a volume pedal is that it can be used with other pedals like wah or fuzz. However, it is important to remember that the tuner should always be placed at the front of your pedal chain as it needs a clean sound to track your bass guitar. If you place the tuner at the back of your pedal chain, it will have trouble tracking your bass and may even cause your other pedals to fail or produce less-than-ideal results.
Wah
Historically, bassists have shunned effects pedals. Pedals often color the tone and bass can sound very muddy when affected by pedals. However, the wah pedal can add a unique sonic element that is perfect for bass guitars.
The wah pedal, sometimes known as the cry baby wah, is one of the most iconic pedals in music history. Invented by Thomas Organ and patented in 1968, it is now manufactured by Dunlop. Many famous artists have used a wah pedal in their musical careers. For example, Jimi Hendrix used it on his Electric Ladyland album in 1967. Eric Clapton used a wah on the albums Disraeli Gears and Wheels of Fire.
Today’s wah pedals are very different from their original model. Some of them have a feature called Q, which controls the sharpness of the frequency boost at the peak. A higher Q value makes the peak narrower and gives a more aggressive sound. While a lower Q value produces a wider boost and gives a more mellow sound.
Most of the wah pedals also have a on/off switch located underneath the toe. This switch is useful when performing live as it allows you to switch the effect off without having to turn off the entire pedal. Some wahs also have a blend knob that lets you mix in the natural bass signal to avoid coloring the tone.
Bass pedals are great for adding a little extra funk to your music. Try experimenting with different audio effects on your bass and don’t be afraid to use them tastefully. You may be surprised to find that a few well placed pedals can really help you express yourself creatively.
Compressor
A compressor pedal works to control the volume range of your guitar signal. This is an essential tool for bassists because a clean bass can easily get lost in a band mix, particularly with a drummer that drives the beat hard. A compressor can help a quiet finger-picked bass part be heard and prevent artificial or harp harmonics from disappearing between hard strumming.
There are many different pedals to choose from for compression. Some pedals even offer a blend button, which allows you to mix the compressed signal with the uncompressed one for an all-around more controlled tone. Some pedals include an attack control, which sets how quickly the compressor reacts to the input signal. For instance, if you’re trying to achieve that classic funk chicken-pickin’ sound, set your attack knob to a high value.
Some compressor pedals also have a ratio knob, which lets you set the amount of compression. Typically, the higher the ratio is, the more pronounced the effect will be. Another important function is the release control, which controls how long the compression continues after you release the pedal’s pressure. A short release time creates a more “pumping” effect, while a longer release can give your signal that coveted sustain.
Generally, compressor pedals should be placed early in your pedal chain. This is because they will compress the clean guitar tone before it gets to overdrive and distortion pedals, which can cause them to change character. However, some pedals, like EQs and modulation effects, work best when they’re at the end of the chain. Pedals that have a sidechain connector jack, like pitch shifters, can be inserted here so they can react to any other pedals that are plugged in ahead of them.
Chorus
Chorus pedals are another type of pitch-shifting effect that can make your bass sound more shimmering and lush. Like octave pedals, chorus effects work by splitting your guitar signal into two and changing the phase of one of them, resulting in the chorus effect. Some chorus pedals also add reverb and delay to create a more ambient effect. Some have more complex editing options and a steeper learning curve than others, but the flexibility can be worth it in terms of the range of sounds you can get from the pedal.
Many bass pedal manufacturers offer chorus pedals specifically designed for bass guitar. These pedals have the same basic features as other chorus effects, but they are optimized to work well with bass and preserve the low-end frequencies that can be buried by other types of bass pedals. They typically feature adjustable Rate and Depth knobs, as well as Bass-specific EQ options.
In music, a good chorus is crucial for a song’s overall sound and feel. It can bring a note to life and make it more vibrant and lush by adding harmonic richness to the tone. Choruses are also a great opportunity to introduce new melodies that add dimension and emotion to the track. Choruses can help a song stand out, and they can also tie together the lyrics of a song by providing context for them.
The Behringer X-Clone Multi-FX pedal is a great option for bass guitarists looking for a quality chorus pedal with plenty of features. It has three different chorus modes – Classic, Dual, and Quad — to give you a wide variety of sounds. It also has a Tap Tempo function for modulation sync and an Expression pedal for control of the effect’s animation.
Tuner
While it may be less common for bassists to use effects pedals than their guitar counterparts, there are indeed bassists out there that do. Most pedals can be used with a bass, however some are better suited to the low frequency range of the instrument than others.
The most basic pedal a bassist will need is a tuner. The best tuners will have a large enough range to tune a bass, such as 17 notes (C to E), 20 notes (C to C two octaves higher) and 25 notes (C to G). Having a true bypass tuner is important too because it takes the pedal out of your signal chain when not in use. Putting pedals in your signal chain that are not in use can cause them to create impedance which will weaken the quality of the tone and affect how accurate your tuning is.
Preamp pedals are a great addition to any bassist’s pedal board as they can add a wide range of natural sounding amp character to the instrument. These pedals can also be used to boost the bass signal if needed and often have a direct output which is perfect for recording.
Other pedals that work well with bass include envelope filters, octave pedals and fuzz. A good quality envelope filter pedal can create a cool quacking effect that can really add some life to your bass tone, especially when used with a funk sound. Octave pedals can be a lot of fun to play with too as they can really add some depth and dimension to the bass.
Graphic EQ pedals are usually not suitable for bass as they tend to be optimized for a guitar’s frequency range which can clash with that of the bass. Most graphic EQ pedals have their lowest frequencies around the middle of the range which will cut off a bass string’s low-frequency tones and can sound very unsatisfactory.