help with bass effects

evenflow1010

Hey there. I play bass, and I'm seeking some better tone. I currently use a squier p bass and a hartke 2X10 140 watt combo amp. I have to say, despite the fact that my equipment is really cheap, my tone's ok. So, I thought that maybe a few good effects would help. I really wanna achieve that ampeg growl, or maybe something with a little distortion to it. Not as extreme as something like a Big Muff though. Any suggestions?

Pearl Jam and toast

i don't know a lot about bass tone but i dunno if Squier is the right way to go for tone..

maybe you've evolved beyond that guitar.

evenflow1010

I'm 16 and I hardly have any cash flow. Therefore, I'm looking more towards a decently priced pedal than getting a new setup. I do have my eye on those Mexi Jazz basses though (insert smily face)

All Those Yesterdays

Just like guitar. Bass is the same way. Its extremely hard to get the tone of an amp, with another amp. Especially in the case of trying to get that ampeg tube tone with a solid state amp. I've been playing bass for 9 years now, and still have yet to find the perfect distortion. Fulltone makes a great drive pedal for bass, but its expensive. Same with the SansAmp Bass Driver DI, that sounds awesome too but not cheap. Now with the 100 watt bassman I split the signal live. I run thru the bassman for the stage volume and send the sansamp signal to the board. I even record with it. But both ways your spending almost 150 - 200 bucks. Its descent but still not perfect.

Sure I like my tones alot but I've never gone, "Thats it thats all I need".

P style bass is the way to go, solid tone, lots of punch. Jazz will thin out some compared to it.

I'd honestly suggest to just save up your coins for a long long time and by a used american made P-bass, You can get a couple year old one that looks brand new for just over $600, with a hard shell. Thats a pretty descent deal if you think about it.

evenflow1010

yeah, that was actually helpful. thanks for the input. i might just save up those $$ for somethin nice.

mccreadyisgod

I'd say your tonal problem is more in the Hartke bass amp than in the bass itself. Like the other folks, I don't think a pedal is the way to get the results you're looking for, but I think saving some cash and trading up your amp will get you the better improvement in tone. Hartke amps have a very distinctive tone, and it won't get you anywhere close to Ampeg territory. Hartke's are best at getting good *clean* punch, and they're very mid-rangy with gobs of presence. Look at an Ashdown for a solid-state amp with some organic tones.

All Those Yesterdays

You can get like new Ampeg B2R's that area year old or so for about half what they are new. That and a used 4x10 cab. would be sufficient. I have a B2R around that doesn't get used much. Just never parted with it because it wasn't worth the loss to me.

Pacomc79

well, you could get a nice hot pickup upgrade. (Guitar Center almost always has PBass duncan designed pickups for $29.99) that would help. Get it set up and put some strings on it that are very vibrant. Boomers etc, that sort of thing.

As for effects. Some kind of clean or overdrive boost will give you that growl. If you have a price range I'll try to stay within that, but you can find some outstanding boosts for 100 bucks that will work.

Wah on bass is fun and the Envelope filter is a staple.


I think the above is dead on. Hartke is about clean and punchy. If you want growl. Go with Ampeg or Ashdown.

Even if you can't swing a B2R you can get a killer BA-115 that will growl all day long for pretty cheap.

An overdrive will help you though. ELectro Harmonix has a great pedal that might work for you there.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Effects?sku=153326 the LPB will warm you up a bit.

All Those Yesterdays

Pacomc79 wrote:

well, you could get a nice hot pickup upgrade. (Guitar Center almost always has PBass duncan designed pickups for $29.99) that would help. Get it set up and put some strings on it that are very vibrant. Boomers etc, that sort of thing.

As for effects. Some kind of clean or overdrive boost will give you that growl. If you have a price range I'll try to stay within that, but you can find some outstanding boosts for 100 bucks that will work.

Wah on bass is fun and the Envelope filter is a staple.


I think the above is dead on. Hartke is about clean and punchy. If you want growl. Go with Ampeg or Ashdown.

Even if you can't swing a B2R you can get a killer BA-115 that will growl all day long for pretty cheap.

An overdrive will help you though. ELectro Harmonix has a great pedal that might work for you there.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Effects?sku=153326 the LPB will warm you up a bit.

I started with a Peavey TKO 115. 80 watt solid state combo, and honestly it wasn't that bad. It was just time for me to move on. At my buddys house that I record at he has a Peavey bass preamp in the rack that I've used sense. Nothing wrong with it.

No matter what you will always evolve. Solid state to tube preamp, to tube, too old school point to point wired and tube rectifier etc. Well may be not everyone, unforunately I have that disease.

jeff's_the_man

All Those Yesterdays wrote:

I started with a Peavey TKO 115. 80 watt solid state combo, and honestly it wasn't that bad. It was just time for me to move on. At my buddys house that I record at he has a Peavey bass preamp in the rack that I've used sense. Nothing wrong with it.

No matter what you will always evolve. Solid state to tube preamp, to tube, too old school point to point wired and tube rectifier etc. Well may be not everyone, unforunately I have that disease.

i have a peavey TNT 115 150w 1X15, which i think has a much (MUCH!) better sound than any hartke ive played, tho it is an absolute bitch to cart around (and no line out!)...... i have also had a digitech bp200 for a while (COMPLETLY USELESS!!!!) stear clear of any of these mulit effects bass pedals, they are crap.

to be honest ive also been looking for a decent bass pedal, just to offer a bit of a change in certain parts of songs etc, but similarly i have no idea where to begin! im just planning on taking a trip down to my local music shop and having a go at everything, and then deciding what it is i want....

cause in the end your the only one who knows what you want to sound like, and thats what makes it so much fun!

good luck