How to Use a Bass Guitar Pedal

Using bass effects pedals can help you explore new musical territory.

Historically, electric bass players have been left out by equipment manufacturers when it comes to effects. That's changed over recent years, as more and more pedals have been manufactured for bass. Noted players like Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck) and Juan Alderete (The Mars Volta) have made careers out of their creative use of bass pedals. Whether you have a distortion/overdrive pedal for some heavy rock, or an envelope filter/auto-wah for some drippy funk, setting up your pedals properly allows you room to explore.

Things You'll Need

• Instrument cables

Instructions

1. Set your pedal (or pedals) on the floor in an area where you normally play. You should be able to actively press and depress the activation switches without hindrance.

2. Insert the cord that comes from your amp head into the output jack of the pedal, then run another instrument cable from the input jack of the pedal to the jack on your bass. If you're using more than one pedal side by side, run a cord from the output jack on the first pedal to the input jack on the second pedal, thus creating the proper signal chain.

3. Plug the pedal(s) into a power source using the appropriate adapter (generally 9 volts). Conversely, ensure all pedals have current batteries. Power up your amp, then press the pedals' footswitches to see the activation lights. Play a note. If no note is heard, recheck your signal chain, or your power sources.

4. Once everything is working, play many more notes. The unaffected signal is called "dry," meaning the pedals are off. Effected bass signals are "wet," meaning the pedals are on.

5. Turn the knobs on the pedals until you achieve the sound you desire. In distortion pedals, for instance, you can control the level of distorted output, so turn the knob until you find a certain setting appealing. Memorize or write down this setting (and future settings), because different songs may require different settings.

References

• "Bass Guitar for Dummies;" Patrick Pfeiffer; 2003