Bass guitar pedals offer new tones, texture and dimension to the bass players sound. Pedals that are typically guitar specific such as compressors, distortions, and wahs work fine with basses but some may lose low end frequencies.
Octave pedals for instance are great for adding wild funk to your sound. Envelope filters are also a must-have for any bass player.
Effects
Bass pedals are a cool way to explore new sounds that bring your creativity to life. They’re also a great way to help you solve problems that your bass amp can’t handle. For example, a compressor will help you get the same volume out of your string when playing complex techniques such as tapping, slapping, and hammer-ons. And an envelope filter will let you control the shape and width of your wah or auto-wah tone to recreate classic funky sounds.
While most effects pedals are designed for guitars, there are a few that are perfect for bass, such as the EQ, chorus, and phaser pedals. These are mainly time-based effects that add color and texture to your sound and can often be heard even with a flat bass tone.
A chorus effect works by creating multiple copies of your signal and then detuning them a little to give you a shimmering, echo-ey sound. This is a cool effect to try on bass and it sounds especially good when used on higher notes.
Unlike a chorus pedal, an octave pedal will change the pitch of your bass signal by shifting it up an octave to create a synth-like sound. This is a popular effect for bass and it sounds particularly cool when used with an overdrive or fuzz pedal.
Envelope filters are a classic bass pedal that lets you create a variety of funky sounds and they’re a lot of fun to use when combined with a small amount of overdrive or fuzz. They’re also known to work perfectly fine on their own with bass-specific controls such as the Blend knob which sets the mix of the drive and dry signal, and the Decay and Q knobs which control how quickly and sharply the envelope sweeps.
Reverb and delay pedals are perfect for adding a sense of space to your bass tone and with the flood of affordable, high-quality pedals on the market, you can easily find one that will suit your style. It’s important to remember that these effects should be used last in your pedal chain as they can muddy the bass signal if overdone, so experiment with them and discover how they complement your bass tone.
Modulation
The bass guitar is often the backbone of a band’s sound. With that in mind, using a variety of effects can create a tone that’s uniquely yours and stands out in the mix. Depending on the style of music you play, your pedal rig may include distortion or modulation pedals, along with some standard pedals like an EQ, delay and reverb.
Modulation pedals use waveform shapes, such as triangle, sine, saw and square to create movement within your sound. These effects can add depth to your tone and can be controlled by a variety of knobs including frequency, rate, and depth. You’ll find modulation pedals from many of your favorite pedal makers including Electro-Harmonix, Red Witch, Wampler and Keeley.
Chorus and flange are two of the most common modulation pedals for bass guitar. These effects work by delaying and subtly pitch-shifting a copy of the original signal, then combining it with the source to output. Flanger, on the other hand, works a bit differently, creating notches in the carrier wave, which some might describe as the sound of a plane passing overhead.
Other popular effects that you can use on bass include phase and octave pedals. These are typically used in more advanced settings and should be added to your pedal chain after any EQ and before any distortion or overdrive. These pedals use filters to split your input signal into a lower or higher version before mixing it with the original. This can add a nice effect to your bass guitar, but can be difficult to use on low frequencies as it can cause the sound to become too muddy.
Envelope filters are another type of modulation pedal that can be used on bass. These pedals utilize a control called Decay, which can be turned clockwise or counterclockwise to adjust the decay of the envelope filter’s sweep. You can also adjust the Q, or peak resonance, to set how responsive the envelope filter is to your attack. This can be useful for achieving everything from strangled thin fuzz tones to ripping Velcro-like octaves.
Time-Based
Pedals that delay the sound signal can add reverb or echos. They can also enable musicians to record “loops” of a song, letting them play a section over and over again without having to play the whole thing. Delay pedals such as the Boss DD-3 Digital Delay or the MXR Carbon Copy provide the classic effects of this type, but there are many other excellent models available from manufacturers like Roland and Line 6.
Another kind of time-based effect is the chorus pedal, which splits a guitar’s signal into two, altering one while leaving the other unaffected. The result is the characteristic “shimmering” sound of the chorus, which can be a great addition to bass guitar playing. Chorus pedals come in a variety of shapes and forms, including a phaser, flanger or rotary style, so it’s down to personal choice which one to use.
Other types of time-based effects include the octave effect, which doubles or subdivides the pitch of the guitar’s signal and is very useful for adding some unique tonal colour to bass guitar playing. The octave effect can be particularly effective when used with distortion, which often provides its own built-in octave effects.
A compression pedal can be a fantastic way of bringing out the high frequencies in your bass guitar tone, especially when paired with an overdrive or distortion pedal. However, some compressors are not voiced to work well with bass frequencies and will accentuate the low end of your bass guitar’s sound. For this reason, it’s a good idea to look out for a compression pedal such as the TC Electronic SpectraComp that allows you to load different TonePrints to change its default settings to suit your requirements.
The bottom line is that it’s possible to use a wide range of guitar pedals on a bass guitar, but they will all sound different and some may not be suitable at all. For this reason, it’s worth trying out some of the pedals on offer to see which ones are most compatible with your own bass guitar and its amplifier.
Delay
Delay can add some extra depth to a bassline, or it can be used to create a spacey sound. However, using too much delay can take away from a punchy bass sound and cause the echoes to muddy the rhythm of the beat. Delay is one of the most common effects that bass players use, but it’s important to know how to use it sparingly so you don’t overdo it.
If you’re looking for a delay pedal that offers a lot of different modes, consider this model from Neuro. It has six delay types and a looper that allows you to create up to 80-seconds of new material. It also features stereo inputs and outputs, along with a 3-knob layout that helps you control the mix, time and feedback. You can also connect the Nemesis to the Neuro mobile app for deep editing capabilities and even more delay modes.
Another popular choice is the Boss DD-8, which is another digital delay pedal with a huge variety of modes. This pedal is small and durable, making it a great addition to any pedalboard. It has three knobs that help you adjust the blend of dry and wet signal, the delay time and the repetition rate. It can also run on a 9V internal battery, or you can opt for a power supply (sold separately).
The last option we’ll look at is the JHS Superdelay, which is a simple but powerful pedal that offers several delay types and a single expression pedal jack that you can use to control the mix or feedback of the effect. This pedal also includes a few other effects, like modulation and EQ, but it’s still fairly basic in comparison to other options on this list.
The JHS Superdelay has 24 delay engines, which means you’ll have plenty of choices when it comes to finding the right tone. It also works with the Neuro mobile app, allowing you to edit and save up to 128 presets. It also features a built-in looper, making it easy to create complex phrases and build songs in real time.