Reverb on bass + second hand Ric 4003 questions

[seraphim7s]

Two questions into one post - behold my economy

 

Anyway, I'd love to get some reverb on my bass, but I need a pedal with some kind of a cut off or filter or something, because I only want it to affect frequencies above, say, 500-700 Hz. Are there any pedals out there that can do this? I'd like it to be as near to a natural hall reverb, or vintage plate reverb as possible. It would be nice to get something that has a knob for decay time as well.

 

Also, what is the going rate for a second hand Rickenbacker 4003 in the US? They are pricey and rare in the UK, and it may well be cheaper to buy one overseas and ship it here, what with the pound being so strong.

[fretless]

I guess no on the pedal , but you could do it with a crossover , some pre's have multi-fx loops , you could do it with a custom loop pedal that had a blend and a eq pedal . Ric's are going big and holding strong I think you would be very lucky to find something in the 1k range . Good luck

 

BTW the EBS reverb is the best I have heard in a pedal

[guitargod0dmw]

I have no experience with reverb on bass, but it sounds like you might be looking for some sort of rack unit. I know the Lexicon makes really good digital reverb units, but that might not be your thing since you want a vintage type of sound...

 

The Lexicon PCM 91 is the studio standard for reverb...but it ain't cheap!

[seraphim7s]

I guess no on the pedal , but you could do it with a crossover , some pre's have multi-fx loops , you could do it with a custom loop pedal that had a blend and a eq pedal . Ric's are going big and holding strong I think you would be very lucky to find something in the 1k range . Good luck BTW the EBS reverb is the best I have heard in a pedal

 

Hmmm ... 1k is about 500 pounds, and a good price for a used Ric here would be 7-800 pounds? So it still could be worth it! I am not sure, however, if I would have to pay VAT on a second hand item. Import duties are negligible (3.2-3.7%)

[jackcheez]

Reverb and bass are like honey and ketchup.

 

Each to his own.

[johan.sie]

hmm

 

i tried Boss RV-5 on mine, not bad .. but now .. i am thinking of trying EHX's holy grail .. seems to have good reviews

[bnyswonger]

Agreed, not an effect I'd go for on bass. I'm pretty sure my Boss SE-50 has high and low pass filters on the 'verb...that's a half rack unit that will do a crapload of other effects too.

[Onkel Bob]

There's a Led Zeppelin song where John Paul Jones uses reverb on his bass... I wish I remembered which...

[fretless]

'Verb is used more on a fretless I think .

[psychepsilo]

Uhhhh.... why am I having such a hard time logging in, and why now that I'm logged in can't I utilize the "reply with quote" button without it telling me I'm not logged in (and not letting me)?

 

Anyway... neither here nor there. On to the question at hand...

 

Don't let anyone fool ya, reverb IS used on bass sometimes, just not all that often. I like to use just a touch, usually a little ambience, sometimes, which sounds pretty good... and other, more psychedelic times I layer reverbs and subtle delays to great effect (hehe... pun). Most of the songs that I've heard on Vic Wooten's solo albums use reverb, especially on the songs that have fewer layered bass tracks on them (LOTS of reverb on "Classical Thump"). When there are less instruments playing, as in less sound filling in the gaps and spaces... like when soloing for example, reverb is great to "fill out" the sound and help it sink deeper into the psyches of your listeners.

 

I know you were asking about a pedal, but I doubt you'll find one that will do what you're asking of it, even in a multi-FX one (the EQ thing simply isn't a feature that most instrumentalists would be looking for or using, that's more of a FOH or studio sort of thing). I personally use a Digitech Studio Quad for almost all my FX needs. It's incredibly useful in a variety of ways... for one, since it's a 4 channel unit I can run 4 basic effects on 4 different things if I want (like a vocal verb, a chorus on bass, a plate on the snare, and a channel leftover). They also can be layered together to create multiple effects on a single channel (which is also fun and useful because it's easy to do things like try the FX in different orders to learn how they sound that way). In addition to multiple FX, with multiple routing possibilities, the Quad features "modifiers," which will, basically, help you do exactly what you're saying you want to do... there are also dynamic modifiers so you can set it to do things like when you're playing harder the signal gets affected, when you're playing softer it doesn't, or vice-versa... things like that.

 

Since EQ's are also built in, you have 4 effects available at any time, and there are multiple routing possibilities for the signal you could do something like.... split a single input-> send both signals first through an EQ-> 1st half of signal gets everything below 1k (or your desired cutoff point) cut completely and then goes to reverb, 2nd half of signal gets everything above 1k (or blah blah) cut and doesn't go to reverb (or perhaps a different one)-> when the signals are combined at the output, walla... you have reverb where you want it and don't where you don't.

 

 

Just to ask... what sort of thing are you going for with this idea?

[rpsands]

You might want to try the boss chorus pedal for a similar type effect. It has a high pass filter for the chorus built in if I recall correctly, and should sound great as a result. Chorus and reverb do sound like crap on low low freqs.

[johan.sie]

ditto,

 

or Woot's norwegian wood, amazing grace

very nice

 

Uhhhh.... why am I having such a hard time logging in, and why now that I'm logged in can't I utilize the "reply with quote" button without it telling me I'm not logged in (and not letting me)? Anyway... neither here nor there. On to the question at hand... Don't let anyone fool ya, reverb IS used on bass sometimes, just not all that often. I like to use just a touch, usually a little ambience, sometimes, which sounds pretty good... and other, more psychedelic times I layer reverbs and subtle delays to great effect (hehe... pun). Most of the songs that I've heard on Vic Wooten's solo albums use reverb, especially on the songs that have fewer layered bass tracks on them (LOTS of reverb on "Classical Thump"). When there are less instruments playing, as in less sound filling in the gaps and spaces... like when soloing for example, reverb is great to "fill out" the sound and help it sink deeper into the psyches of your listeners. I know you were asking about a pedal, but I doubt you'll find one that will do what you're asking of it, even in a multi-FX one (the EQ thing simply isn't a feature that most instrumentalists would be looking for or using, that's more of a FOH or studio sort of thing). I personally use a Digitech Studio Quad for almost all my FX needs. It's incredibly useful in a variety of ways... for one, since it's a 4 channel unit I can run 4 basic effects on 4 different things if I want (like a vocal verb, a chorus on bass, a plate on the snare, and a channel leftover). They also can be layered together to create multiple effects on a single channel (which is also fun and useful because it's easy to do things like try the FX in different orders to learn how they sound that way). In addition to multiple FX, with multiple routing possibilities, the Quad features "modifiers," which will, basically, help you do exactly what you're saying you want to do... there are also dynamic modifiers so you can set it to do things like when you're playing harder the signal gets affected, when you're playing softer it doesn't, or vice-versa... things like that. Since EQ's are also built in, you have 4 effects available at any time, and there are multiple routing possibilities for the signal you could do something like.... split a single input-> send both signals first through an EQ-> 1st half of signal gets everything below 1k (or your desired cutoff point) cut completely and then goes to reverb, 2nd half of signal gets everything above 1k (or blah blah) cut and doesn't go to reverb (or perhaps a different one)-> when the signals are combined at the output, walla... you have reverb where you want it and don't where you don't. Just to ask... what sort of thing are you going for with this idea?

[BB5000]

Look for a reverb that has a 'gate' preset that has adjustable decay times: This way you can set the reverb to open and close with the notes. I used to do this with the old BOSS reverb pedal and it works just fine, though only on slow tunes with long notes. For fast stuff, I'd just bypass.

 

Generally the problem with reverb on bass is the 'blurring' that occurs: OK with guitars or keys, but turns quite muddy quickly with low notes.

[Darkstorm]

For bass with reverb has found room reverbs set for light reverb with the reverbs tone control rolled off a little (around 6-7 on my zooms) works best for me. Adds a little bit of stereo width/depth and a sense of room presence or ambience.

[isaac42]

Used Rics are going for anywhere from $1000 to $1500 or so, depending on color and condition.

[johnny6644]

There's a Ric in my newspaper right now, a 4003 Jet Glo in black, with hard case, at 1100 bucks.

[isaac42]

 

There's a Ric in my newspaper right now, a 4003 Jet Glo in black, with hard case, at 1100 bucks.

 

 

Get over there! If it's in any kind of condition, you can flip it for at least another $100.

[psychepsilo]

hmmmm....