😑

[EWH]

 

[mellowgerman]

Very cool indeed. I feel similarly though... I just plug my bass into my amp, without any pedals in between. I've tried so many and had fun with most, but at the end of the day I prefer just hearing my bass and my amp in the mix -- which admittedly are already very customized/optimized to my conceptual tone-whimsies.
A friend of mine from college started a boutique pedal business and I actively follow his product offerings. He has some very cool designs and I imagine a world where I have one of each on a big fancy pedal board, but realistically I know it would just end up being a hard-to-see piece of stage scenery.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

Peter Max...to the max.

 

[hieronymous]

The Seamoon is a very tempting pedal! I would have guessed Yellow Submarine as art influence but the Sesame Street pinball segment is a good call! I love playing along to that, lots of odd-meter measures, I still haven't wrapped my head around it 100%, but you get 10+ tries with this video!



I personally love pedals - I have an always-on compressor, lately I've been using an old BOSS PQ-3B parametric equalizer, I think I finally found my overdrive pedal (Way Huge Smalls Pork & Pickle), and of course octave (just an MXR M288). I do have two envelope filters (MF-101 Moogerfooger, 3Leaf GR-2), but the Moog has issues for playing out (too big, volume drop when on), and my GR-2 was signed by Bootsy Collins so I don't want to use it outside the house. I will check out the Seamoon if I ever see one in person!

Here's my review of the Pork & Pickle, in case anyone is looking for an overdrive:

 

[fronobulax]

I have an always-on compressor

My amp has a built in compressor and I leave it on. I can't hear any difference though. I also never see the light on which says the compressor is doing it's thing. Is that because I tend to play with a light and consistent touch (thus naturally limiting the dynamic range) or might there be something else going on?

 

[chazmo]

That is groovy!

 

[Minnesota Flats]

Not much of a pedal guy, here. When I was playing more guitar, I ran straight into a 5E3 Tweed Deluxe to get natural OD rather than using a pedal. Now that I mostly play bass, I only have a compressor, a preamp and a 10-band EQ between the instrument and the amp. I've flirted with OD pedals but end up never using them since I've had trouble finding one that yields a sweet spot between clean and "too much wool" (for my liking). Darkglass MicroTubes came close, but not close enough. Many bass OD pedals seem to drop out low frequencies as well. Maybe I'm too fussy...

 

[Nuuska]

My amp has a built in compressor and I leave it on. I can't hear any difference though. I also never see the light on which says the compressor is doing it's thing. Is that because I tend to play with a light and consistent touch (thus naturally limiting the dynamic range) or might there be something else going on?

Most likely it is just like you say how you play. If you want to hear the effect - turn the threshold lower - if there is such knob - or play harder and turn master volume lower.

These hints without knowing your amp.

I only use compression on bass channel - on PA mix - just to protect the audience - some unexperienced players might pop up a VERY LOUD single note occasionally.

 

[hieronymous]

My amp has a built in compressor and I leave it on. I can't hear any difference though. I also never see the light on which says the compressor is doing it's thing. Is that because I tend to play with a light and consistent touch (thus naturally limiting the dynamic range) or might there be something else going on?

Every compressor is different. One aspect is the controls - some allow you to adjust the threshold so you can tailor it to your playing. It also helps if you have different basses with different output levels (which I do) - if it has an indicator light that shows when you are hitting the threshold, then you can change that depending on each bass.

Another aspect is how much it colors your sound - some are transparent, some affect the sound audibly. The compressor I use (Custom Audio Electronics/Japan V-Comp) fattens up the sound just a touch.

Not much of a pedal guy, here. When I was playing more guitar, I ran straight into a 5E3 Tweed Deluxe to get natural OD rather than using a pedal. Now that I mostly play bass, I only have a compressor, a preamp and a 10-band EQ between the instrument and the amp. I've flirted with OD pedals but end up never using them since I've had trouble finding one that yields a sweet spot between clean and "too much wool" (for my liking). Darkglass MicroTubes came close, but not close enough. Many bass OD pedals seem to drop out low frequencies as well. Maybe I'm too fussy...

Nope, not too fussy - the loss of bass frequencies is a real issue, especially live. That's what I like about the Pork & Pickle - you can dial in some clean signal, and there is a tone control for the clean as well so not as much clank but nice fat bottom with it turned down.