Sting. Flea. Victor Wooten. Les Claypool. These are just some of the bass players whose styles have been greatly affected by the use of bass pedals. But regardless of whether you’re a bonafide rock star, an aspiring musician, or anywhere in between, bass pedals generally serve to cut through the mix onstage or to help translate a musical idea in a way that has its own unique character.
Reading reviews is an excellent way to determine whether a pedal is worth your purchase but trying a pedal out for yourself is even better. Beyond both of those methods, having a good understanding about the functional purpose of different bass pedals will put you in the best position to find one right for you.
Bass Pedal Types
Octave Pedals
Bass players already cover musical territory that lives deep in the bottom end of the mix, but that doesn’t mean that bassists need to be limited by the range of their instrument. Enter the octave pedal, which technically falls under the “pitch shifter” umbrella of effects. Octave pedals split the bass signal into two separate octaves (one above the played note and one below). The resulting sound can often resemble the tone of a synthesizer; basslines played through an octave effect can also bring an even greater amount of rumble to a part.
Octave pedals are also often equipped with a distortion function, which can result in a fuzzy, thick tone. The sounds generated through experimentation with an octave pedal are often utilized in genres such as dub or reggae music, as well as songs/styles requiring the bass to sound like a synthetic instrument.
Envelope Filter Pedals
Envelope filter pedals function similarly to wah pedals in they sweep through the frequency range of the instrument’s signal. The effect can subsequently make the bass sound thinner or wider. But while a wah pedal’s resulting sound is determined by how far forward or back the pedal is rocked, an envelope filter functions automatically, without needing any movement with your feet.
The fluctuation in frequency sweep is usually determined by the actual changes in volume coming from the signal flow. This effect can be used to give bass parts a synth-like, growling sort of sound which is distinctive and effective in filling out the bottom end of a song. Groups like Parliament-Funkadelic, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Nine Inch Nails have all run bass guitars through envelope filter pedals on songs to great effect.
Overdrive Pedals
Simply put, a bass guitar running through any sort of overdrive/distortion pedal rumbles the room in a way unlike any other. By overdriving the signal, the sound is boosted and given a stronger (often gnarly-sounding) tone. While fuzz pedals, overdrive pedals, and distortion pedals all have their own slight differences, they generally give the bass tone a sound that is fuller and possesses more low-end.
These pedals also allow bassists to tweak the treble, mid, and bass tones, as well as control the amount of overdrive added to the signal. Great modern examples of an overdriven bass tone include Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Around the World,” the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage,” and Metallica’s “Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth).”
Chorus Pedals
Chorus falls under the umbrella of a modulation effect, and can be used on bass parts to give them a shimmering (or “chorus-like”) sound. Chorus pedals duplicate the sound of the original output signal and alter it just slightly enough so it sounds like the note is being voiced by multiple sources. This effect allows the notes to ring out just enough to approximate an echo without going into full-blown delay territory.
Bassists like jazz virtuoso Jaco Pastorius have utilized chorus to give the bass a distinct flavor and character that can really make the instrument sing, especially when employed in the higher register. When combined with other effects such as distortion, chorus bass pedals can truly transform the sound into something else entirely.