Bass pedals aren’t just for guitars anymore. In fact, many bass players use pedals to add depth and clarity to their tone.
The effects pedals used by bass players fall into three categories:
Overdrive and fuzz are your bread-and-butter bass pedals. They can take your signal to the next level, adding a gritty, classic tube amp sound.
Compressor
The compressor bass guitar pedal helps smooth out your peaks and gives you more sustain, it’s an essential tool to have on any board. A compressor is like a volume limiter for your bass, it squishes down the difference between loud and soft notes to create a more even dynamic range which sounds professional. If you listen to bass music from any genre, funk, rock, metal or country the chances are a compression pedal was used on the recording.
In its basic form all compression pedals work the same – you set a threshold level, and if your signal rises above that level it is compressed, below that point it is not. The controls you will find on most compression pedals are:
Attack control – this determines how quickly the pedal reacts to your signal. A fast attack ensures the bulk of a peak is reduced by your chosen ratio, while a slow attack allows more of the original signal to pass through, giving it a more natural sound. Release control – this determines how long the compression continues for once the initial peak has passed, a short release time means the signal is squashed, a longer release means that each note decays naturally.
Many pedals offer the ability to blend your uncompressed and compressed signals together, this is a very handy feature which gives you the best of both worlds, allowing you to use less compression for a cleaner sound or more for a more full effect. This is especially useful in live settings, it can help to tame that wild slap or finger pluck on a string and keep it under control.
The Markbass Compressore is a great example of a high-quality compressor pedal. The build is sturdy, although the large size might be a turn-off for those with limited pedalboard space as it does take up more room than a Boss compressor. The controls are intuitive and easy to understand, an on/off true bypass footswitch and an indicator light are located at the top with GAIN adjusting the input gain and THRESHOLD controlling the sensitivity of the compression circuit.
Overdrive
Whether you need just a touch of saturation to help your bass cut through a mix, or something that really makes your tone come alive, there are plenty of overdrive pedals available that can cater for all kinds of styles and genres. These pedals can vary from small, gritty boosters that add a subtle valve amp style crunch, through to searing high-gain distortion and fuzz units that can transform your bass into a snarling beast!
One of the more versatile overdrive pedals for bass that we’ve found is Fulltone’s Operation Overlord. This pedal features a choice of modes, with Low Peak giving you a more transparent boost that preserves the tone you’re playing through, and High Peak providing a more aggressive overdrive. The pedal also has a wide active EQ that can be used to sculpt the tone, enabling you to shape it for any situation.
Another great option is the Laney Blackheath Bass Distortion. This is a pedal that can be used as a slight overdrive for just a hint of grit, or a full-blown distortion with three different flavors to choose from. This gives you plenty of flexibility, and is particularly useful if you’re using the pedal alongside other effects in your chain, such as a wah or delay.
The Laney Blackheath Bass Distortion features two silicon clipping diode settings, plus wet and dry controls to allow you to blend the distorted signal with your clean one. This is a good feature for bassists who want to make sure that their distortion isn’t too overwhelming or overpowering, and helps keep your bass sound nice and tight.
This pedal is often referred to as a Blues Driver, but it’s a fantastic pedal for far more than just blues. It’s a take on the TS808 circuit, and can deliver everything from a light blues-style saturation to a big, fat fuzz that really stands out in a mix. It’s also super easy to use, and can be tweaked to suit a variety of musical styles and situations.
If you’re looking for a really versatile overdrive / distortion pedal for bass, then look no further than the Keeley Steak Sauce. This is a pedal that can be played as an overdrive, or a fuzz, with a few simple changes to the settings. It can even be used to tame your amp’s EQ, by cutting the treble or bass frequencies.
Filter
There’s a certain amount of sonic magic that can be imparted to a bass guitar through the use of a filter pedal. These can shape and alter tone to create a range of otherworldly effects, from swelling the volume after the initial attack (like the classic wah pedal, as made famous by Jimi Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile) to producing unique waveform sounds that are reminiscent of older analogue synthesizers (triangle, saw-tooth, square waves, etc.).
Unlike EQ pedals, which focus on enhancing specific frequencies, and taming those that feel offensive (think treble boosters), filter pedals work by introducing harmonic overtones and giving the sound an expressive vocal-like quality. They’re renowned for their ability to totally transform the sound of a bass guitar and are often used by bass players for funk playing styles, but can be employed in a variety of genres.
While there are many different ways that these pedals can be designed, most of them share a common set of controls. They’ll usually have a drive control that affects the overall amount of filtering effect, as well as a Q knob that lets you adjust the cut-off frequency. There may also be a mode switch that changes which frequency bands are affected by the pedal; LP filters pass low frequencies through, while high-pass and band-reject filters only allow higher frequencies to pass through.
Another control that you’ll find on most of these pedals is an expression pedal input that allows you to change the parameter by simply rocking your foot. This can be a great way to add hands-free tonal shaping and can be particularly useful in live settings where you need to keep your feet planted while keeping an eye on the stage.
Many filter pedals will also include a pitch shifter, allowing you to shift the incoming signal up or down an octave, for more unusual effects. Some will even let you add feedback to the pedal, giving it a portamento-style sound as it feeds back into itself. The best bass envelope filter pedals will have power supply circuitry that’s built to withstand over-voltage or polarity mishaps and will offer true bypass switching to preserve your original tone in bypass mode.
Chorus
Chorus is a common effect that can add a rich, swirling sound to your bass tone. It works by creating multiple copies of your original signal, and then slightly altering their pitch and timing to create a chorus effect. Most chorus pedals have controls for adjusting the rate and depth of the modulation, which allows you to find the perfect sound for your bass. Chorus can be especially useful for bass guitar, as it can help the instrument stand out and add a melodic presence to your bassline.
When used sparingly, chorus can be a great way to bring attention to your bassline while still allowing the other members of your band to take center stage. It can also be used to add a sense of depth and space to your bassline, which can make it sound more expansive and full. If overused, however, chorus can quickly sound dated and old-school, as it tends to only affect high frequencies and doesn’t do much for low end.
While most chorus pedals have a control for adjusting the intensity of the effect, the Julia Chorus takes this to a whole new level. With a switch labeled Dry-Chorus-Vibrato, this pedal allows you to change the ratio of dry to wet signal sent to your output. This can be set at minimum to hear no effect, at noon for a traditional chorus setting, or at maximum for 100% wet signal for a classic vibrato setting. This is a very versatile pedal, capable of everything from mild smooth chorus to seasick vibrato and all the variations in between.
Tech 21’s Boost Chorus Bass avoids the seasickness of most chorus pedals by adding a control to adjust the Detune parameter of the voices. This allows you to thicken up your chorus while retaining the fundamental characteristics of each note. It also has the typical speed and depth controls to allow you to adjust how intense or subtle your chorus is.
The Mooer Bass Chorus Deluxe is another solid option for bass guitar, particularly for those who prefer a more delicate chorus effect. With all the controls at minimum and the Deep switch disengaged, this pedal provides a beautiful swirling effect that makes it sound like you’re playing a bass guitar through a still pond. Cranking the knobs up brought out the expected warbling but never became too overbearing and remained pleasant even at higher volumes.