FAO Bass players

Pickups, pedals, amps, cabs, combos

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Viljami
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FAO Bass players

Post by Viljami »

Since there are a couple of us here that play bass, I was wondering what kind of rig do you have set up? Effects, amps etc. Favorite effects? Least favorite?
Personally currently my favorites for bass (and guitar, because I'm a dumbass and play my bass quite much like a guitar) effectswise are my Shiva and Yerasov DS-1 for dirt.
The DS-1 is basically a copy of the Boss DS-1, but it has way more low end, making it good for bass and teh doomz. Shiva is for when I want to get my fuzz on.
I always prefer pedals that work with both bass and vanilla guitar, since I attempt to play both (not at the same time). I also use my Starcaster Chorus (the ss.org m@j@) because it handles both and my Danelectro Spring King reverb for, well, reverb. Before you go around calling me a homo-hater, I got it second-hand and cheap.

Stuff I didn't find very useful on bass are wah and delay. I mean the wah was good for the Zep-style full-on fuzzed goodness (pedal all the way down), but otherwise wasn't that useful for me. Delay is good when use in small amounts, but I find it's too much of an hassle to get it to work well in a band if the guitarist also uses delay. Plus I'm a tool, and I can only use delay to make the Edge-sounds.

As a amp I'm using a Laney RB9 and a Ashdown 4X10 to make the neighbours happy. Before I got the Laney I was under the impression that Laneys were just for metalheads, but since I've seen the error of my ways, and have converted. My only bass is my Mustang Bass (Japanese RI in white). Wouldn't mind a baritone or a Hellcat VI (or just a bass VI, duh) or a 8-string bass (Hagström).
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wwrrss
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Post by wwrrss »

Recently I've been fucking about alot with dual rigs.. got some pics from my last gig...

Image

Bass is a 90s Indian factory made P-Bass copy with a Dimarzio Split P.

Lower 4x12 is my bass cab, with the head thats on it's side behind the cab (Harkte LH500)

The Hiwatt and Marshall are my friends who was playing the same gig, usually I use my Laney HCM120H with an SAI 4x12 and sometimes an SAI 2x12 as well.


Image

Pedal wise..

need to get a better signal splitter but here I used a DOD stereo phaser,

signal a > MBM Machine clone > Dwarfcraft Eau Claire Thunder > Boss ODB-3 > Hartke Lh500 + 4x12

signal b > EHX POG II > EHX Octave Multiplexer > Bixonics Expandora > Dwarfcraft TGD > Fuzz Factory clone > Hiwatt + 4x12

using the POG II with maxed out +1 +2 octave to make faux mids/treble, basically the opposite of all the split signal guitarists..

If i'm playing in a band with other players I just use my bass amp, and too much dirt..
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damienblair17
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Post by damienblair17 »

I play an Acoustic 140 bass head into an Ampeg SVT 2x10.

Pedal chain is: Schecter P bass > Tuner > BOSS ODB-3 (overdrive) > Ibanez Weeping Demon (Wah, set low for bass) > EHX BassBalls (Twin envelope filter) > BOSS CEB-3 (Chorus) > amp.

It's a pretty hi gain setup. Amp has a treble and bass control but no mid range and there's a "bright" switch I keep engaged. The whole rig gives me a pretty gritty sound. I use Wah+Overdrive for some solos (basically copying Geezer Butler from Black Sabbath).

My overdrive isn't giving me a whole lot of definition these days. I'd like to find something that breaks up but still has some punch, rather than breaking up and kinda fuzzing out.
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Post by Doog »

MBM Box Of Rock clone, with the boost before the dirt rather than after. Two footswitchable settings of dirt, I ALWAYS get people asking me what it is after or DURING shows.

By far and away my fave dirt pedal for bass.
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wwrrss
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Post by wwrrss »

Doog wrote:MBM Box Of Rock clone, with the boost before the dirt rather than after. Two footswitchable settings of dirt, I ALWAYS get people asking me what it is after or DURING shows.

By far and away my fave dirt pedal for bass.
I love my MBM Machine clone on bass, it's really amazing!!

People never ask me anything after gigs though, I scare people it seems.
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Post by Ankhanu »

I don't have much cash for effects, unfortunately, so my rigs are pretty sparse.

Bass:
.: Schecter Ultra VI
.: Schecter Hellcat VI
.: Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass
.: Yamaha BBN5 (5-string, pretty much retired)
.: Cobbled together P-bass fretless

Effects:
.: Fulltone DP-1 (Distortion)
.: Marshall Jackhammer (Distortion)
.: Boss CEB-3 Bass Chorus

Amplification:
.: Peavey T-Max (currently delivers an intense electric shock if you play through it)
----- Carvin 115 cab
.: Yorkville 200B (200W 115 SS combo)
.: 1972 Fender Twin Reverb

Playing more standard bass type stuff, I'm normally playing bass -> bass amp w/o effects. The Peavey has a solid state and a tube pre, which offers some nice tonal options right from the amp for clean and overdrive.
For grittier stuff, I'll use one or both of the DP-1 and Jackhammer. I hate the Jackhammer for guitar, but I love it for bass; it's nice and grindy.
I've pretty much stopped using chorus, though I used to use it heavily a few years back.

Now that I play VI most of the time, I also use my guitar amp a fair bit for less standard bass playing, makin good use of the the amp's vibrato and reverb. Obviously a Twin imparts a completely different tone character than a bass amp, and it's great for more Cure-like toenz. In a set now I bring both the bass amp and Twin and switch between them for different songs, depending on the role I'm filling with the VI.
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Post by Dannymec »

In my main band, I play bass. I started playing music on a bass guitar.
It's Just Vanity bandcamp


My rig is simple, light, and easy. Just the way I like it.
I use an Aeodyne Jazz bass into an MXR M-80 DI and a Gallien Krueger MB210 combo. I'll use a planet waves pedal tuner sometimes, but that doesn't always have batteries. The GK is great, it can be punchy when I want it, and smooth and low all other times. I usually keep the gain at 3, the EQ roughly flat with treble and mid treble around 1 and bass and mid bass around 11. Amp can be carried in one hand at 33 pounds.

I'll roll the tone down nearly all the way on my bass for the smooth parts and dime it when I need to be punchy. I hardly ever use the J pickup on my bass. It's too thin and transparent. I'm like the P-bass sound, just not the feel.
I'll throw the pedals, cords, power cables and my bass in a hardshell case and carry that in my other hand. I can comfortably walk into shows in one trip.

Image

Overall, I'm quite satisfied with this setup. I have no plans to change things. Only thing I would change is maybe a Blue Ric 4003? That'll be awhile.
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Post by brandon. »

El Degas P-Bass with stock covered humbucker (what?!) -> Acoustic 370 -> Yorkville 8x8

Awesome, reliable, bulletproof.
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Post by kim »

a simple but non muddy chorus is nice for bass, bos bass chorus, not the two knob guitar one, not that nice for bass.
an octave up like oc2 and a good fuzz that let's through enough clean for bite, like great destroyer on a 'normal' fuzz setting. remember you're not supposed to do wild noisy things, 99,9% you're the funding, then when it's time to shine, you make use of some good fx to piss of the lead guitarist but make a crowd piss their panties.
i also find just a good old boss bass overdrive to be pretty good at getting a nasty bite in your sound, or when using tube amps, just a good booster, like mclusky's sound. the chorus for more melodic joy division like lead bass parts.
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Billy3000
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Post by Billy3000 »

I've never really used much effects in my bass setup. Mine is:

Basses:
MIA Standard P bass
Rickenbacker 4003
78 Fender Musicmaster bass (I never gig with this one, I just play it for fun)
And I recently borrowed my borther's Mark Hoppus bass which sounded awesome

Pedal:
Sansamp DI (most useful thing ever for a bassist, I recommend it to everyone!)

Amp:
Ampeg SVT 2 Pro (all tube) into a Mesa Powerhouse 1000 cab (4x10 and 1x15 all in one cab)

I've never played around with much effects as a bassist, I don't find too many of them to be that useful in the type of stuff I play. I have been wanting a good bass fuzz pedal for a while though. I don't really need an overdrive or distortion pedal as my amp is definitely gritty and grindy enough on it's own, and the sansamp has a really nice drive sound for my DI signal. One of my friends uses a BBE Sonic Maximizer pedal which he explained as helping your attack sound more lined up with the note for a punchier sound. I have thought about playing around with one of those.
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Post by Haze »

My guitar rig doubles as my bass rig :lol: Bassman 50 into a 2x12, M13 and TGD do the rest. Bass is a B&B Jazz bass w/ flats, soooo smoooth.
Image

I wish I had better speakers, or better yet, an actual bass cab with a 15 or 2x10s. I think if I gigged bass I'd have a small ampeg, like a BA115HP, and a Sansamp.
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Post by h8mtv »

Ampeg Micro Vr head on a 115 cab and a 112 cab. Squire bronco bass with DMZ rails humbucker for single coil slot, on the board I run a Hardwire delay, Ibanez DE7 delay, opamp Big Muff clone, Meathead fuzz clone, Small Clone clone, and two phasers I built. I also play guitar thru the same rig.
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Berto
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Post by Berto »

Bass:
Ernie Ball Stringray

Effects:
BYOC 5 knob compressor
Digitech Whammy
ProCo The Rat (90's)
Zoom PD-01
Boss CEB-3 bass chorus

Amp:
Hartke HA2500

Cab:
Homemade 2x12 based on a Gallien Kruegar cab

I love the rat for getting a fuzzed out sounds and the chorus is great because it doesn't muddy up the signal, like some can

I use the rat in goats and ghosts and I use the boss chorus in rts
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laterallateral
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Post by laterallateral »

Epiphone Thunderbird + 80's whiteface RAT + Truly Beautiful Disaster + Traynor Monoblock II + 2x15 cab of unknown origin
Last edited by laterallateral on Fri Sep 19, 2014 3:05 pm; edited 115,726 times in total
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avj
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Post by avj »

Well, first off I just want to say I only just now realized Berto was in Wolcot with cobascis. I'm ashamed to only figure this out now, and also: sweet.

I play guitar and a Moog synth in Bright Nights, and I originally tried using my Ampeg B-100R—not great, and I blew the output transformer. I don't have any photos of my rig, but I can hang no problem with the bass player that's using an Ampeg B-4R with an 8x8 and 2x15. I'm using a '73 Fender Vibrosonic (Twin with 1x15") with a modern Acoustic 4x10 cab, which puts out an unbelievable amount of bass and can even drown the bass player's rig out with a low enough octave setting on the Moog.

If I was playing bass again, I'd definitely go for one of the Acoustic 4x10s and a 200-300 watt solid-state head of some sort.

For the hell of it, here's a thread where I asked about bass amplification. (WARNING: wonderful isaac eaton linked an image on the second page that is detected as a phishing attempt, so any mod can feel free to remove his [img] shit.)
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Din of Win
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Post by Din of Win »

I <3 Effects

Basses:
-'96 MiJ Fender Jazz
-'98 MiM Fender P
-'95 Ibanes ATK300
-'92 Ibanez CT 5-string
-'82 Peavey T-20
-'83 Peavey T-45
-Squier Bronco (hiiiighly modded)
-'10 SX Jaguar Shortscale
-'08 Gretsch G2202 shortscale

Heads:
-Traynor YBA-3cs
-Ampeg V4-b
-GK 400rb
-GK 800rb
-Kustom200
-Earth Ultra Colliseum Tube 300(or something like that)
-Crappy Behringer Ultrabass

Cabs:
-Ampeg 2x15
-Ampeg 8x10
-Acoustic 6x10
-Acoustic 4x10
-Peavey 4x12
-Peavey 1x15

Pedals:
-Boss ODB-3 (bass overdrive)
-Boss CEB-3 (bass chorus)
-Boss BF-2 (flanger)
-Boss TU-2 (tuner)
-Boss DD-3 (delay)
-Boss OC-2 (octave)
-Boss OC-3 (octave)
-Boss RE-20 (space echo)
-Boss RC-30xl (looper)
-Boss GEB-7 (bass EQ)
-Boss DS-1 (distortion)
-Boss SYB-5 (envalope filter)
-DOD Grunge (distortion)
-DOD-250 (overdrive)
-MXR Phase 90 (phaser)
-EHX Cathedral (reverb)
-EHX Memory Man (analog delay)
-EHX Memory Boy (analog delay)
-EHX Holy Stain (multi effect)
-EHX Bass Muff (fuzz)
-EHX Pulsar (tremolo)
-EHX Black Finger (compressor)
-EHX Bass Microsynth (synth)
-EHX Frequency Analyzer (ring mod)
-Digitech Whammy IV (whammycrazyness)
-Digitech Bad Monkey (Humphry's Mod overdrive)
-Digitech Digiverb (reverb)
-Digitech Bass Synth Wah (envalope filter)
-Danelectro Spring King (reverb)
-Sanfordandsonny Bluebeard (fuzz)
-Akai Headrush E-2 (delay)
-Line-6 DL-4 (delay)
-Ashdown Bass Chorus (chorus)
-BYOC Armstrong (octave/compressor/ring mod)
-BYOC Large Beaver (triangle muff fuzz)
-BYOC Octave Fuzz (fuzz)
-BYOC Mighty Mouse (RAT clone, distortion)
-BYOC Overdrive 2 (overdrive)



That's more or less it. I rarely use more than 6 effects on bass, in a live sittuation... Fuzz, OD, Delay, Chorus and Flange.
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Bacchus
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Post by Bacchus »

Din of Win wrote: -Squier Bronco (hiiiighly modded)
Pics? I'd love to see this, I'm sure others here would too.
Image
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Billy3000
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Post by Billy3000 »

BacchusPaul wrote:
Din of Win wrote: -Squier Bronco (hiiiighly modded)
Pics? I'd love to see this, I'm sure others here would too.
Agreed! One of the student rock bands I've been working with had a bronco bass at their lesson yesterday, and I got to play with it on the songs where the kid playing bass switched to piano and I really liked it! So much that I might consider a bronco project over the mustang bass that I've been wanting!
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Din of Win
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Post by Din of Win »

Ahhhhh..... it's not THAT modded...

Kind-of... but moreso on the inside....


Mods:

-Seymour Duncan Hotrails pickups
-New Tone and Volume pots
-Fender Tone and Volume knobs
-Schaller tuners
-Musicmaster Bridge
-Painted black rim around pickguard


Live shot:
Image

Artsy shot:
Image

W/it's twin:
Image

shortscale trio (the Bronco is leaning on the wall, it's not THAT short):
Image
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Post by Rayjaysonic »

Bass - Rickenbacker 1996 4003 Left Handed

Amp - Vox T25 Combo

FX - Big Muff Pi, Russian Small Stone Phaser

Don't like to use much in the way of FX to be honest, the Rick sounds so nice I don't mess with it. A bit of fuzz now and again is always as requirement of course.

I love the Vox T 25 but it gets lost easily in a live situation. I would love an Ampeg Micro VR Head with a SVT210AV Cab. Tiny little stack with loads of power.
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