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Effects for bass guitar

Effects for the bass guitar

EFFECTS TO BASS GUITAR

Although the electric bass is an instrument that usually plays in the shadow of a guitar that holds the pulse and the base of the song, bassists are increasingly eager to reach for a variety of effects that alter the role of bass in the ensemble. The evolution of music is conducive to experiments, and the openness of the bass players to the gadgets of note and appreciation of producers, offering a wider range of bass effects.
Compressor:
Compressor by many is considered a basic effect, essential even in the bassist's arsenal. This effect only slightly changes the sound of the instrument, concentrating its work on leveling dynamics of individual sounds. It is important to note that the electric bass with the modern transistor amplifier has an extremely wide range of dynamics, and the bass player who often changes the technique (fingers, spal, pick) is not always able to fully control it. Properly used compressor is an unobtrusive but invaluable bassist's friend at a concert! It's a good idea to decide on a typical low-end compressor, because although the assumptions are universal, many Keeley schemes like Boss CS-3, MXr Dyna Comp, and the successful and affordable Behringer DC9 can sometimes lose the bottom of the thickest bass string. - especially in the five-string instrument. To make the compressor not introduce unwanted artifacts to the sound, it is worth to choose something from the upper shelf - transparent MXR Bass Compressor or extremely user friendly EBS Multicomp will please most professionals. More demanding one of the two versions of the boutique Forrest Green by Mad Professor or the Italian Markbass Compressore.

Wah / envelope:
"Duck" probably a favorite toy of guitarists, also won recognition among the operators of four thick strings. The intriguing funky effect that has been achieved with the pedal in the up-down position has been a hallmark of many great bassists such as Geezer Butler, Cliff Burton, Robert Trujillo, Flea and Tim Commenford. The choice of bass "ducks" is not too wide, the monopoly basically has Dunlop and their white 105Q swing. This is a very popular duck built slightly non-standard - based on the envelope filter (no coil indicative). The second, equally popular bass duck model is presented by Morley - Dual Bass Wah. Its undoubted advantages are two modes of operation (traditional and funk) and optical design - lack of potentiometer regulating effect of the effect means long and trouble-free operation. Among the slightly more exclusive bass ducks stand out is the Polish BWW-1 Bass Woowee Wah from G-Lab. The quality of workmanship, the multitude of working modes and the sound of this effect were appreciated by musicians from all over the world. EBS ducks, which do not differ in quality from G-Lab, are the same thing. If you have concerns about coordination of hands and feet, you can purchase a "coach". The name is not 100% adequate as most of these effects work on a slightly different principle. While in the classic wah-wah effect of the effect depends on the pitch of the pedal, so most envelope filters react only to the strength of the attack. This requires some familiarity and attention to dynamics - the envelope filter effect usually preserves a fixed set knob, volume, and stronger or lighter jolts affect the depth of the processed sound. The multitude of knobs - as in the case of the extremely popular MXR M82 or Xotic Robotalk - can overwhelm a bit. Both effects pay back the patience of the rich and the noble of the sound. The Moog (Mutron) and Electro Harmonix companies are exceptionally well-known envelope filters. While Mutron is an exceptionally exclusive and expensive equipment for connoisseur, so designed by the same man EHX Qtron in all produced versions often guest in the floors of guitarists and bassists around the world. Needing more control over the sound of the bassists, they should return to the effect of the mysterious name of Enigma, and fans of exceptionally tuned voices will certainly love the Bassballs, an inexpensive double envelope filter with added overdrive - both of which also produced by American company Electro-Harmonix. Fans of easy-to-use combination of top-quality sound will appreciate EBS's BassIQ.

Octave
Bass players love bottom ... sometimes not the extra bottom, but the excellent, fat, reminiscent bit synthesizer sound. That's how we get the octave, which Ashdown has found essential in its "flagship" sound that built in ABM or MAG amplifiers. The octave principle is simple - the device adds an octave less than normally. More advanced can deliver two octaves down or - for digital devices - up. In the case of the octave, the choice between analog and digital effects is extremely important. Analog models are usually more demanding and less accurate than digital ones. Sometimes they need to adapt and ,,clean'' the playing technique to work best. In contrast to digital, they do not deal with the full range of bass guitar sounds - the usefulness of the analog octave most often ends with the C1 or A1 sound. They also can not raise the sound up, and the sound itself is less natural - although the original character of sound may prove to be an advantage, as praised by Pino Palladino and Guy Pratt. They both chose Boss's octave, which can be heard in Michael Song's Earth Song, for example. The analog OC-2 was replaced in 2003 with digital OC-3, but managed to preserve most of the "old voice" by adding some new and exciting features and improving tracking. In the case of analog octavers, in principle, each of the larger companies offers very remarkable specimens. The uncomplicated, somewhat sterile EBS Octabass will satisfy not only the minimalists - especially since the manufacturer declares that devices recognize the lowest note of the played chord. Who want more control over the sound, should pay attention to the MXR bass octave, and the total maniacs of the tunes and perfect tracking will be satisfied with the sound of the Electro-Harmonix - POG and HOG octaves.

flanger/chorus/reverb
This modulation effects are highly appreciated by the bassists who prefer a distinctive style of play, often with solo aspirations. The three basic types of modulation are chorus - adding a second, slightly distracted voice to the basic signal - an essential component of Duff McKagan's sound of Guns'n'Roses, a metallic-sounding flanger - heavily used by instrumentalist Justin Chancellor, giving a metallic sound reminiscent of the passing jet aircraft. The third one, the reverb, is useful in inspired, calm melodies and bass solos. However exaggerated use of reverb can give rise to the impression of not tuned bass. MXR's richly sound and versatile chorus is offered by the company, and the cube giant - BOSS - offers the bassist the subtle CEB-3 model. The BF-3 Bossa flanger is undoubtedly the most popular flanger on the market - can risk saying that BF-3 has a "monopoly" in it. However, if Roland's products are not enough, it is worth to look on offfer of the Swedish company EBS, which UniChorus provides for a perfect, warm chorus and a deep flanger - all in one cube. EBS Dynaverb should be interested in trying out the bass reverb.

Synthesizer
Although modern music is packed with synthesized sounds, few bassists reach for electric bass to achieve them. Most cases "fix" the keyboard synthesizer, but that is not necessary. It is also imperative not to spend your fortune on the amazing "Moogerfooger" floor - there are some very interesting compact synth effects from different shelves. Extremely inexpensive but extremely exemplary is the Digitech Bass Synth Wah. The effect generates very interesting sounds, much higher quality than suggesting that it could be exceptionally bargain priced. Two very similar alternatives are Boss synthesizers and ... Behringer - which is a sensible copy of a slightly underrated Boss. Very demanding will satisfy the Super Synth Markbass or the legendary Bass Microsynth Electro Harmonix. The latter is an exception among the synthesizer dice because it is fully analog, and instead of a few knobs, we have 10 knobs to regulate the operation of an extremely complex system. One difficulty can be to achieve twice the same sound, which on the one hand may be a disadvantage, and on the other, the sound power of this large effects

Whammy:
The effect is one of a kind, unique and in principle impossible in any way to imitate. Recently resumed, bass version of Whammy by Digitech requires a separate paragraph. Whammy allows you to add a smoothly tuned harmony pedal to the basic sound, pull and "descent" of the sound and the effect of out of tune of the instrument. That can not be described! Fortunately, to fully appreciate the Digitech Bass Whammy, it's enough to listen to Toola.

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