Recommend a Bass Guitar Pedal for my Son
Recommend a Bass Guitar Pedal for my Son
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Discussion

jesusbuiltmycar

Original Poster:

4,872 posts

270 months

Monday 5th December 2022
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My 13 year old son started learning Bass in September - he is mainly into Rock music and is very keen.

For his birthday I got him a distortion pedal and want to surprise him for Xmas. I know very little about musical instruments, but know he would like another pedal .

Thanks for your suggestions

Davidos

201 posts

213 months

Monday 5th December 2022
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What's your budget?
Which model distortion pedal did you get him previously?
Does he have a favourite bass player that he wants to sound like?

jesusbuiltmycar

Original Poster:

4,872 posts

270 months

Monday 5th December 2022
quotequote all
Budget about £100

His current favourites bands / riffs he plays are by Black Sabbath, Nirvana, Gorillaz, Green Day and Tool

He likes the intro to ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ but isn’t that keen on Metallica

He is also a big fan Royal Blood.

Pistonpants

260 posts

103 months

Monday 5th December 2022
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I’m not too keen on effects for bass, but I’d get him one of these… I’ve got an earlier one and there is a lot of stuff packed in. He can work out what effects he likes then maybe get dedicated versions in the future.

https://www.gak.co.uk/en/zoom-b1x-four-bass-multi-...


Davidos

201 posts

213 months

Monday 5th December 2022
quotequote all
Pistonpants said:
I’m not too keen on effects for bass, but I’d get him one of these… I’ve got an earlier one and there is a lot of stuff packed in. He can work out what effects he likes then maybe get dedicated versions in the future.

https://www.gak.co.uk/en/zoom-b1x-four-bass-multi-...
Would also suggest a multi effect pedal like this for someone starting out, as you get the most sounds for your £££'s whilst your finding out your sound.

Yahonza

2,737 posts

46 months

Monday 5th December 2022
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Possibly a Chorus or a Compressor. The compressor tightens the sound a bit the chorus adds and extra layer of modulation.

anonymous-user

70 months

Monday 5th December 2022
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Pistonpants said:
I’m not too keen on effects for bass, but I’d get him one of these… I’ve got an earlier one and there is a lot of stuff packed in. He can work out what effects he likes then maybe get dedicated versions in the future.

https://www.gak.co.uk/en/zoom-b1x-four-bass-multi-...
+1
This was the first pedal I bought for my son, great value.

LeoSayer

7,544 posts

260 months

Monday 5th December 2022
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How about a positive grid spark amp which has unlimited effects via smartphone. Works for guitar and bass.

Mastodon2

14,043 posts

181 months

Monday 5th December 2022
quotequote all
If you must get him a pedal, get him a compressor, if he plays rock or metal, he will want one at some point.

However, you'd be better off putting the money towards a decent amp. If he is just playing a little practice amp, getting him something decent (not a Fender Rumble) with a couple hundred watts will be the biggest upgrade. He'll need one if he wants to play with others, as little practice bass amps just can't keep up with drums and guitar amps, plus even just practicing at home on a good amp is a joy.

Nico Adie

654 posts

59 months

Tuesday 6th December 2022
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Some sort of harmoniser/octaver pedal would be a good shout (Whammy Ricochet) - the Zoom Multi effects are also excellent, so much better that the 505's that were around in my salad days!


chemistry

2,756 posts

125 months

Tuesday 6th December 2022
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The Zoom (or other multi effects) is a good suggestion.

Alternatively, build one yourself?!

https://www.jedspeds.co.uk/basskits

Llew

268 posts

223 months

Tuesday 6th December 2022
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As a seasoned bass player I would recommend either of the following staples:

Octave pedal - Something like a Boss OC-2
Envelope filter - Something like a Q-tron

Don't bother with chorus or compression just yet, a young eager player would find they can be more creative with something which makes the bass sound really different... Multi FX are okay but the sounds are average and it's easy to end up losing focus due to their being too much choice, in my opinion it's better to have a limited "palette" and learn to work with what you've got. Then you can slowly build your signal chain with quality pedals.

Another pedal to consider might be a looper - I've got a Boss RC-30 which is a brilliant tool. They encourage creativity and are also great for inadvertently improving timing.

jesusbuiltmycar

Original Poster:

4,872 posts

270 months

Tuesday 6th December 2022
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Thanks for the replies guys - I will have a look for a multi-effects pedal and report back when I have ordered something

TCX

1,976 posts

71 months

Tuesday 6th December 2022
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Vote for multi effect pedal, especially with a drum pattern effect, playing with drum, metronome will vastly improve his playing,also if it has a looper so you can listen back to patterns

Fusss

286 posts

96 months

Tuesday 13th December 2022
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Sansamp BDDI is the only thing he will ever need, honestly.

Can create so much with it, so much tonal variety, makes relatively inexpensive gear sound really good.

Anything Darkglass is great - Currently use a B7K.

I play in a touring metal band, I have the sansamp as a rackmount but pedal version is available, and the Darkglass is great for a "modern" metal tone, but can be dialled great for heavy rock.

Swervin_Mervin

4,744 posts

254 months

Tuesday 13th December 2022
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jesusbuiltmycar said:
Budget about £100

His current favourites bands / riffs he plays are by Black Sabbath, Nirvana, Gorillaz, Green Day and Tool

He likes the intro to ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ but isn’t that keen on Metallica

He is also a big fan Royal Blood.
A lot of those play with fairly clean sounds tbh.

On the music front - does he listen to any other Metalliica from the Cliff Burton era? I can well udnerstand not being fussed about the later stuff, but the Burton era has some cracking basslines.

jesusbuiltmycar

Original Poster:

4,872 posts

270 months

Thursday 15th December 2022
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Ended up getting him one of these second hand from Reverb

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Boss-GT...

Davidos

201 posts

213 months

Thursday 22nd December 2022
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jesusbuiltmycar said:
Ended up getting him one of these second hand from Reverb

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Boss-GT...
Excellent choice - they sound great