Real Songs That Use Bass Effects

I would love to see (hear) some “real world” examples of how these pedals can make a bassline more interesting. When I say “real world”, I mean like in an actual song that has been performed and/or recorded using chorus, octaver, and/or reverb (individually or collectively). Yes they are fun to play around with, as in the “Happy Birthday Adams Family” I recorded awhile back, but I don’t see a use for them in my actual playing of songs and doing covers.
I’m not being argumentative, just opening a can of worms so to speak :smiley_cat:

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Haha, yeah, that could be a can of worms indeed :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

In the end, it is all very personal and subjective, but I guess you’d be surprised how many recorded bass lines have both chorus and reverb on them. Ask @howard what Hooky uses all the time :grin: , and one of the most famous lines involving an octaver is Tony Levin’s bass line in Sledgehammer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwVDIkC2NMw
Pino is also using octavers frequently, I understand…

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I think almost all of Peter Hook’s basslines use chorus, yeah. Definitely the iconic ones. Very much a part of his sound.

Four of the seven covers my bandmate and I have up use it :slight_smile:

The funny thing is, the chorus Pam is selling (Bass Clone) is the descendent of the chorus Peter Hook has used since the '70s (Clone Theory).

It’s great for cutting through the mix, and it’s great after distortion. It doesn’t have to sound like heavy modulation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Ctwf8tX1Q

I’m actually using pretty heavy chorus there.

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Pretty sure most of the songs from The Cure have pretty heavy chorus too.

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Would not be surprised, used in the same way too.

Pretty sure Severin uses a phaser instead in Siouxsie, but it’s the same reason and basic effect really.

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Apparently, he was quite lucky it he got the settings right the day of the recording :sweat_smile:
Well, that’s what he said during a recent interview :grin:

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Based on some of the comments above, it appears that maybe those pedals don’t suit my favorite genre’s of music. To wit, here’s a list of the covers I’ve created and posted in the Post your Covers thread:

  • Sunday Morning (Soft Rock)
  • Still Got the Blues (Blues Ballad)
  • Stuck in the Middle with you (Contemporary Rock)
  • Moondance (Jazzy Rock)
  • Down Under (Contemporary Rock)
  • Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Jazzy Rock)
  • Big Girls Don’t Cry (Soft Rock)
  • Lyin’ Eyes (Country Rock Ballad)
  • Heard it in a love Song (Southern Rock)
  • Psycho Killer (New Wave)
  • Currently working on (Southern Rock)

Tell me if any of those covers could have benefited from the use of chorus, octaver, or reverb.

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Nah.

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:joy:

Never intended to persuade you not to sell or make you a disciple of the chorus… it’s totally a matter of personal preference and, to some degree, certainly also related to the music you like to play. Personally, I find a bit of chorus (or flanger) is a great effect.

That all said, I have the greatest respect for people consolidating their gear and focusing on what is important for them!

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:rofl:

Don’t know how it is with other people but I tend to go in circles. I started playing on computer, after that I went full analog, then came the Line6 Helix and sold half of my pedals collection and now I’m with pedals again. For me the biggest reason is that I don’t use the computer anymore is that I sit behind a computer all day and I wanted a hobby away from the screen.

For guitar I still do everything on the Helix but on bass I prefer pedals. To me fiddling with knobs has something magical and I enjoy the journey what suits me best the most.

Actually I only use the pedalboard to play with effects (not that often sadly). My default signal chain is bass > compressor > amp.

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Totally with you, @Paul. I tend to avoid labeling something the “ultimate solution” as I have gone through several iterations myself and I guess that is just a natural evolution of a budding bass player. Hopefully, we eventually gravitate towards something a bit more long-term. Some of us get there earlier, some a good while later :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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For those who have somewhat followed my bass journey during the past 2 years on this forum, you know how many times I change my mind, my opinion, my instruments, my pedals, my strings, and everything else. I’m like the little silver ball in the pinball machine, you never know which direction I’m going to go next, and I’m hard to keep up with.

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You mean you’re the Pinball Wizard, Pam? :wink:

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Funny you should say that, because I was thinking of that while I wrote that comment.
When I got home from Vietnam in 1969, Pinball Wizard was on the charts. I bought the vinyl album Tommy and played it so many times over and over again, I wore it out and had to buy it again. Now I’m jonesing to hear it again. What a great rock opera by the magnificent band, The Who.

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It is all part of the journey until you find the gear that fits/suits you.
Just make sure you don’t “tilt” out!

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Yeah not recommended :slight_smile:

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Thats what makes you so fun and exciting to follow.
You never do anything wrong, because you do what you want to do at the time.

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Adam Corolla has a saying… “If it doesn’t make you happy or make you money, don’t do it”

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Well, here’s some examples, Duff McKagan uses chorus on his bass 70% of the time:

Very audible in intro here:

Again in the intro section:

Intro again and around 4 min mark you can hear it along side chorused guitar:

One of the most famous song has flanged bass:

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Chorus all over the place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZXxmhok1AU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-T3yzQbMVE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=674KGKRQBPE

Phaser + reverb:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TAlS7J9Ofk

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