If I could only have one pedal it would be the EBS Compressor. Quite, effective and very musical. I also love the tube setting that adds a tiny bit of grit and character. Aside from that I stopped using pedals just to have pedals. Maybe a tuner.
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If you don't have a backup for ANY possible gig failure that's where you should spend your $ - bass, head (or combo), strings, cables, cords, batteries, tuner, etc. Personally, the ONLY thing I don't backup is my cabs.
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Personally if I only had 2 pedals (not counting my noble preamp) I’d get a tuner pedal and an overdrive/fuzz thing. 100% need the tuner
My usual rig is a rumble 500 and a Cort P-bass with an EMG passive A5. I've never really employed petals and I was real happy when pedal board tuners came out.
So... I have a pedal board and it has a tuner, a bass Chorus, Octaver, and a small Looper which is really tiny and that's it.
What I like about the Rumble is when I put it on the Vintage that's the sound I go for, so I usually just hang out on the Vintage setting. When we're live it's usually on 5, if I need a crank it is there, however when you crank it, a lot of the subtleties of the note disappear or is mixed with everything else and are not distinguishable.
So... I have a pedal board and it has a tuner, a bass Chorus, Octaver, and a small Looper which is really tiny and that's it.
What I like about the Rumble is when I put it on the Vintage that's the sound I go for, so I usually just hang out on the Vintage setting. When we're live it's usually on 5, if I need a crank it is there, however when you crank it, a lot of the subtleties of the note disappear or is mixed with everything else and are not distinguishable.
If I were in your shoes I'd be looking at the ParaDriver DI pedal from Tech21. I had the rackmount version before (RPM), and it's got all the EQ you could wish for. Sansamp pedals always feel to me like they have a natural compression going on, so you may not need a separate compressor pedal.
IMVHO/YMMV/What do I know?
IMVHO/YMMV/What do I know?
In decades of playing I only use three pedals: a tuner, a compressor (Maxon) and a parametric EQ (Empress). Never felt a need for anything else.
I’ve gigged in a variety of bands using few to zero effects. That said, I did like my rack compressor and my rack tuner.
The compressor/limiter I used had both input and output db meters (leds), so I could visually see how hard I was hitting the compressor and how hot a signal I was sending out. And then I could compression to even out my playing a bit and eliminate any stray volume peaks.
The tuner was helpful bc even holding a fretted note it could tell me if I was sharp or flat. And the bands I played in would be so loud, that hearing my bass clearly was not always possible. So the visual tuner helped me know I was still in tune.
After that, it really just depends on what songs you do, how you play, how loud your band plays, and what you need to get the tone you want. Really won’t know that until you’re playing with the group a while.
I did use a compressor pedal for a while, though I had it set up pretty invisible, at which point I wondered if I even needed it. Some of my amp had a built in simple compressor too. Another bass amp I have has a real nice overdrive.
The compressor/limiter I used had both input and output db meters (leds), so I could visually see how hard I was hitting the compressor and how hot a signal I was sending out. And then I could compression to even out my playing a bit and eliminate any stray volume peaks.
The tuner was helpful bc even holding a fretted note it could tell me if I was sharp or flat. And the bands I played in would be so loud, that hearing my bass clearly was not always possible. So the visual tuner helped me know I was still in tune.
After that, it really just depends on what songs you do, how you play, how loud your band plays, and what you need to get the tone you want. Really won’t know that until you’re playing with the group a while.
I did use a compressor pedal for a while, though I had it set up pretty invisible, at which point I wondered if I even needed it. Some of my amp had a built in simple compressor too. Another bass amp I have has a real nice overdrive.
A pedal tuner (it helps when you need a quick tune and mutes
A HPF pedal is very useful (a HPF/LPF is even better IMHO).
An O/D or Distortion pedal for those occasions you might need some bite.
I use two different 'tone stack' pedals, a Fender and an Ampeg SVT
I've recently added a simple compressor to the mix.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Good question. I should have mentioned: Some instrumentals, like very old Beatles Cry For a Shadow. Late 60s rock, like Cream and Hendrix, and a couple of 90s tunes. Rock and roll for people to dance up a sweat to and buy more beer.
Yes, Summer Tanager are around and sometimes they're in my little area, I'm at and sometimes they're a few miles away at this Reservoir & Nature area... this year only one couple but some years I see two or three. I have a lot of Cardinals and Carolina Wrens in the yard, and Mexican finches. Some gold finches too.
A compressor and parametric are great tools for bass guitar. I would highly recommend the Boss BC-1X Bass Comp and the Tech21NYC Q\Strip.
I totally agree that most people can live without a compressor, but after a tuner, for bass guitar, my first recommendation is still a compressor. A compressor can improve your tone in ways that your fingers cannot, just because of the nature of how pickups and amps work. Compressors don’t just compress or limit, they can also be used to expand apparent dynamic range.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Sounds like unless you want to get an overdrive, you don't need any effects.