Pedals offer endless creative potential when used on bass guitar. No matter the scale you play or style of playing bass you prefer, there’s sure to be a suitable pedal out there for everyone – from tone chasers and tone hunters, to bedroom bassists looking for their ideal pedal.
Overdrive and distortion pedals are essential tools for any bassist. From adding subtle grit to your tone to full-on distortion, pedals such as the Darkglass Microtubes b3k or OC-3 Super Octave are great choices that add a twist of sound that stands out.
Overdrive/Distortion
Overdrive/distortion pedals are one of the most versatile effects in any guitarist’s arsenal. Used to produce anything from subtle breakup to aggressive distortion, overdrive pedals often work best when placed first in the signal chain before compression, octave, and fuzz effects are applied.
Overdrive pedals produce a more natural, subdued tone than distortion pedals and can be particularly effective for adding bass notes without losing their punch, adding crunch and drive to rhythm playing, or as lead boost for moments where you want to cut through the mix and shine.
There are various overdrive pedals on the market, each offering their own distinctive tone. How an OD pedal is constructed has an effect on its sound – including how much saturation and frequencies it affects, along with the type of diodes (LED vs silicon). Diodes play an integral part of overdrive circuits; their specific type can have a considerable influence over an OD’s overall tone.
Your overdrive pedal of choice should feature a level control to regulate how much effect is applied; as you turn up the knob, its volume increases exponentially. Be wary not to turn it up too high though as that can quickly become overbearing and ruin the sound altogether.
Distortion pedals tend to be much more aggressive than overdrive devices and typically require higher gain settings to achieve their desired sound. They offer an array of tones ranging from subtle overdrive all the way through to thick, crunchy crunchiness seen when tube amps are being pushed to their limits.
Pre-equalization features are often included in pedal designs to prevent too much low end from being added when high gain settings are used, thus keeping bass sounds clear and powerful at higher volumes.
Some players like to combine a lower-gain overdrive pedal with a high-gain distortion pedal to increase sustain and harmonic overtones generated by both pedals, thus increasing sustain and harmonic overtones produced. Make sure both pedals match each other well when tweaking their EQ settings – this should result in optimal sounding guitar tone!
Reverb/Delay
If you use pedals that make copies of your signal (reverb, delay and harmonizers), it is advisable to put them at the end of your chain so as to prevent bass frequencies becoming overpowered and lost in the mix.
For optimal results when using reverb or delay pedals with tone controls, it’s recommended that they work in concert with your bass amplifier’s on-board controls. Utilizing one tone control for both wet and dry signals gives you more freedom while keeping a clean bass sound when experimenting with various pedals in your chain.
Bassists frequently utilize chorus, flanging, and phaser effects – time-based effects which work great with bass guitars but require practice to find their place with your drum kit. Unfortunately they also tend to muddy up bass frequencies which makes them sound unnatural and makes your music less natural sounding.
Compression pedals are great tools for bass players as they help manage both loud and soft frequencies to help ensure its presence in any mix. Compressor pedals should be put early on the chain for best results as this will prevent unwanted noise from making its way into recorded tracks.
Pedal arrangement can be more subjective than most people realize and is ultimately determined by personal taste and the genre of music you perform. Therefore, the best advice would be to experiment and find what works for you!
Preamp/di and distortion pedals should generally be placed near the start of your chain to create a strong foundation for your tone that can withstand subsequent modifications. Katana Bass pedals offer additional options by allowing you to fine-tune both pure signal and wet/effects signal EQ controls, giving you additional fine tuning capabilities and providing unique bass tones! Check them out here!
Pitch Shifter
Pitch shifting pedals use small increments or an entire octave shifts in pitch to produce different effects. Some pitch shifting pedals may add subtle pitch shifts that add an eerie element to bass playing; others like DigiTech Whammy are better used for dramatic note bending that mimic a guitar’s vibrato arm or vocal transformer effect.
These pedals work best as the initial component in your effects chain, prior to modulation or delay effects, in order to create organic-sounding effects without altering your fundamental tone.
Octave pedals are an excellent choice for bass guitar as they tend to provide greater low-frequency gain and can be used to alter volume levels of your signal, giving your bass an aggressive and full sound. Plus, higher distortion levels have greater headroom, giving it that thick and punchy sound!
Many distortion and fuzz pedals also offer octave effects, often with their own dedicated octave mode. Octave effects have long been used by metal musicians; they can add distinctive tones to any bass guitar for an enhanced sound experience.
In the 1970s, new pedal types such as envelope filters, phasers and flangers began emerging for guitarists to experiment with more complex effects that enhanced their playing styles. Popular examples included Mu-tron envelope filter, Boss DS-1 and Ibanez Tube Screamers – each having become much-coveted classics over time.
Pitch shifters were also increasingly popular during this era; one such pedal being the Digitech Whammy. Capable of producing everything from dramatic note bending to synth-style vibrato and everything in between, this pedal revolutionized guitar performance.
There is now an expansive variety of pitch shifters on the market, enabling you to easily recreate some of the most desirable synthesizer effects. Some are simple with only one or two control knobs for voice and blend; others may feature more advanced features like key/scale/harmony settings and latency compensation buttons to compensate for any delays caused by running their algorithm on a device or plugin.
Envelope Filter/Auto-Wah
Envelope filters (or auto-wahs) are often overlooked when creating a pedalboard. While they might initially seem complex and challenging to use, understanding these effects and how best to employ them can produce amazing results.
These effects work by changing the cutoff frequency of a filter based on signal amplitude. They provide similar functionality as wah pedals but with more precise sound shaping options than ever. Their variety can make this an intimidating pedal at first sight; but once mastered they become immensely satisfying!
The effect first gained widespread fame during the 1970’s when synthesizer players began using it to craft distinctive sounds with synthesizers. Filters could be controlled via control voltage generated when each note was played – giving a distinct sound known as “bwow.” Players like Herbie Hancock and Bootsy Collins found inventive uses for it that became part of their signature sound signatures.
Today there are numerous variations of this pedal available on the market, but one of the best examples comes from EarthQuaker Devices in their Spatial Delivery v3. Although not the first on the scene, this version stands out for being highly advanced with features like expression pedal input and six presets that can easily be accessed with one button press. Furthermore, its range, Q and drive knob provide control of tone shaping to suit different playing styles.
One of the unique aspects of this pedal is that it was handcrafted and built in Finland, making it more expensive than some of its counterparts on this list. But its cost can easily justify itself, with superior sonic quality and intuitive operation: four knobs labeled Mode, Decay, Manual and Sens. With each of these controls allowing you to choose what frequency range the pedal will explore: lows can be highlighted using LP mode; mids with BP; or highs with HP mode.