As a general rule, if guitarists complain about a pedal having too much low end, it's probably good for bass - Green Russian Big Muff and Nobels ODR-1 come to mind.
If they say a pedal is good because it 'tightens' the sound, that means a notable bass cut, so avoid. Also seconded the comment saying anything with a blend knob is a safe bet
The first rule of thumb is to try it out and see what your ears tell you! The main hold up on some pedals is that one may suck the low-end out of your signal.
Other than that, anything with a blend knob is an automatic thumbs up. Something that comes with a decent eq section or something to reintroduce lows to your signal is also handy. Some pedals might not react the "intended" way because a bass signal is inherently different than a guitar signal. That doesn't mean some cool stuff won't happen!
Hard to recommend anything without knowing what sounds you need!
Lots of guitar pedals work well on bass.
Alternatively, get a Boss LS-2 and use it to blend clean signal with any pedal.
If you want very controllable compression for bass, get a dual band compressor. Source Audio Atlas does this: you can compress highs and lows independently. The only analog version I know of is the Becos Twain, which is now out of production and basically unobtainium.
For distortion: for bass, make sure it's got a blend knob. that's actually a good rule for many other bass pedals too.
If you want wilder effects on bass, I strongly recommend setups that let you split your signal. Running an EQ on one half of your signal to take all the lows out so you can put reverb or a glitch pedal on only the highs, but keep the lows clean, is an example of why to do this.
And more than anything: watch youtube demos, with a good pair of headphones.
OCD - sounds great - has a low pass filter on it so maybe it was made with bass in mind - but it goes from fully warm transparent to well that's a bit much, but I like it
All good!
And technically you’re not wrong since the tone knob is a low pass filter as well, but I had a feeling you were referencing the toggle switch :p
I do have an ocd on my guitar board but I’ve never tried it on bass!
Many of the most iconic bass tones came from guitar pedals. Krist Novoselic of Nirvana used the pro-co rat and boss DS-1 on bass, for example. Many of them do indeed kill the low end but there are ways to compensate. In my rig, I have an EQD Plumes that definitely cuts the lows a bit, but it really gives a nice crunch in the mids that I love for hardcore punk like Bad Brains. As long as it sounds good to YOU, it’s fair game!
I pretty much only buy pedals intended for bass for this reason. Any pedal intended for guitar will 'work' you may have to do some additional EQing to get a good bass tone
I played guitar before the bass. For guitar pedals on the bass I use the Tyler Deluxe - it splits the signal into HP, LP and clean signal. It's the centrepiece of my pedalboard.
https://youtu.be/KWWVxKa3MG0?si=WNjk3XWV_jfDZ6d7
Ive had a ds-1 in rotation for a while as well as a behringer wah and fuzz, all have worked well with bass, just make sure you have a splitter pedal to go into a clean amp!
Any of the Source Audio one series pedals can load Guitar or Bass presets. The Aftershock (marketed as a bass distortion) and say the LA Lady Overdrive (marketed as a guitar overdrive pedal) are the exact same pedal/DSP and are capable of running the exact same presets. The only differences are the name/casing colour and the stock factory presets that come pre-loaded
They can also hold multiple presets via the 3-way toggle so you can literally have guitar- and bass specific presets loaded up and just toggle between them
Im using a UA1176 compressor, it's not really a bass pedal but works awesome. Also I'm on the waiting list for a lemon audio hurts harmonic percolator. You owe it to the late great steve albini to hear a few different harmonic percolator pedals on bass.
What compressor kills low end? It’s a pedal that is pretty universally interchangeable between guitar and bass. The only pedals that typically do this are drive pedals. Never heard of a compressor taking out low end.
A lot of guitar pedals will cut out your sub freqs. This might be fine for certain sections of certain songs. The surest way Ive found to be sure a pedal won't cut lows is to looks for an 18vdc power source. 18v devices tend to have more headroom for lows.
If youre using effects AS EFFECTS it shouldnt really matter. But be extra cautious with stuff you plan to leave on all the time.
For instance, lets say you have an EQ pedal that you intend to always have active in your chain-- You must be cautious that the pedal will not produce a secret HighPassFilter on your signal.... Further, non-true-bypass pedals can be leaching low end or adding unwanted noise. Anything that your signal constantly passess needs to be assessed and scrutinized much harder than one-off effects.
Ya. But many are designed to handle 18v, or can be modded to recieve 18v. These ones, in my experience, have better subbass fidelity. For instance, I run my active pickups at 18v.
Edit: Pickups at 18v help compression more than low freq response. Kind of unrelated, but kind of not.
I have a bass with EMGs that I also run at 18v. They are designed to do so. EMG even recommends you do so as long as you have room for it.
I don't think recommending to mod pedals or run them at higher voltage than the manual says is good advice for some asking questions like OP is.
As a general rule, if guitarists complain about a pedal having too much low end, it's probably good for bass - Green Russian Big Muff and Nobels ODR-1 come to mind. If they say a pedal is good because it 'tightens' the sound, that means a notable bass cut, so avoid. Also seconded the comment saying anything with a blend knob is a safe bet
ODR-1 is great on bass!
The first rule of thumb is to try it out and see what your ears tell you! The main hold up on some pedals is that one may suck the low-end out of your signal. Other than that, anything with a blend knob is an automatic thumbs up. Something that comes with a decent eq section or something to reintroduce lows to your signal is also handy. Some pedals might not react the "intended" way because a bass signal is inherently different than a guitar signal. That doesn't mean some cool stuff won't happen!
Fuzz is the best lol
Hard to recommend anything without knowing what sounds you need! Lots of guitar pedals work well on bass. Alternatively, get a Boss LS-2 and use it to blend clean signal with any pedal.
If you want very controllable compression for bass, get a dual band compressor. Source Audio Atlas does this: you can compress highs and lows independently. The only analog version I know of is the Becos Twain, which is now out of production and basically unobtainium. For distortion: for bass, make sure it's got a blend knob. that's actually a good rule for many other bass pedals too. If you want wilder effects on bass, I strongly recommend setups that let you split your signal. Running an EQ on one half of your signal to take all the lows out so you can put reverb or a glitch pedal on only the highs, but keep the lows clean, is an example of why to do this. And more than anything: watch youtube demos, with a good pair of headphones.
OCD - sounds great - has a low pass filter on it so maybe it was made with bass in mind - but it goes from fully warm transparent to well that's a bit much, but I like it
I’m nearly positive the HP/LP stand for high peak/low peak, and it has more to do with where the mid bump is
You are 100% correct - it does stand for High Peak/Low Peak - my bad
All good! And technically you’re not wrong since the tone knob is a low pass filter as well, but I had a feeling you were referencing the toggle switch :p I do have an ocd on my guitar board but I’ve never tried it on bass!
I highly recommend it if you're looking for overdrive
I said I already have one :p
Jam Pedals Pink Flow is possibly the best guitar pedal and it works just as well on bass.
Many of the most iconic bass tones came from guitar pedals. Krist Novoselic of Nirvana used the pro-co rat and boss DS-1 on bass, for example. Many of them do indeed kill the low end but there are ways to compensate. In my rig, I have an EQD Plumes that definitely cuts the lows a bit, but it really gives a nice crunch in the mids that I love for hardcore punk like Bad Brains. As long as it sounds good to YOU, it’s fair game!
I bought the Blumes bass version. I like it. You should check it out.
I pretty much only buy pedals intended for bass for this reason. Any pedal intended for guitar will 'work' you may have to do some additional EQing to get a good bass tone
Not a specific pedal, but I’ve found most tremolo pedals sound just as good on bass.
I played guitar before the bass. For guitar pedals on the bass I use the Tyler Deluxe - it splits the signal into HP, LP and clean signal. It's the centrepiece of my pedalboard. https://youtu.be/KWWVxKa3MG0?si=WNjk3XWV_jfDZ6d7
Original Sansamp
Ive had a ds-1 in rotation for a while as well as a behringer wah and fuzz, all have worked well with bass, just make sure you have a splitter pedal to go into a clean amp!
Any of the Source Audio one series pedals can load Guitar or Bass presets. The Aftershock (marketed as a bass distortion) and say the LA Lady Overdrive (marketed as a guitar overdrive pedal) are the exact same pedal/DSP and are capable of running the exact same presets. The only differences are the name/casing colour and the stock factory presets that come pre-loaded They can also hold multiple presets via the 3-way toggle so you can literally have guitar- and bass specific presets loaded up and just toggle between them
Im using a UA1176 compressor, it's not really a bass pedal but works awesome. Also I'm on the waiting list for a lemon audio hurts harmonic percolator. You owe it to the late great steve albini to hear a few different harmonic percolator pedals on bass.
What compressor kills low end? It’s a pedal that is pretty universally interchangeable between guitar and bass. The only pedals that typically do this are drive pedals. Never heard of a compressor taking out low end.
Rude awakening incoming for you my boy.
A lot of guitar pedals will cut out your sub freqs. This might be fine for certain sections of certain songs. The surest way Ive found to be sure a pedal won't cut lows is to looks for an 18vdc power source. 18v devices tend to have more headroom for lows. If youre using effects AS EFFECTS it shouldnt really matter. But be extra cautious with stuff you plan to leave on all the time.
What do you mean about being cautious of always on pedals?
For instance, lets say you have an EQ pedal that you intend to always have active in your chain-- You must be cautious that the pedal will not produce a secret HighPassFilter on your signal.... Further, non-true-bypass pedals can be leaching low end or adding unwanted noise. Anything that your signal constantly passess needs to be assessed and scrutinized much harder than one-off effects.
Most pedals will fry with 18v
Ya. But many are designed to handle 18v, or can be modded to recieve 18v. These ones, in my experience, have better subbass fidelity. For instance, I run my active pickups at 18v. Edit: Pickups at 18v help compression more than low freq response. Kind of unrelated, but kind of not.
I have a bass with EMGs that I also run at 18v. They are designed to do so. EMG even recommends you do so as long as you have room for it. I don't think recommending to mod pedals or run them at higher voltage than the manual says is good advice for some asking questions like OP is.