[Muddslide]

Originally Posted by Scott

That said, I'm pretty much stuck with my DM-2...no complaints here. But I'm finding myself using it, and effects in general, less and less these days, preferring to just let my fingers, the guitar, and the amp do the work.

I hear ya, Scott. Same here. I went through a pretty long phase years back of just being into weird sounds more than really playing guitar. I had a big ol' dresser and every drawer was filled with pedals and patch cables.

I had fun and was able to amuse myself such as: "Let's see...now I want to make the sound of a couple of wet cats fighting on the edge of a UFO as it readies for hyperspace to avoid getting sucked into a black hole while an army of robots scream and shoot laser cannons and Yanni is playing distorted backwards pan flute in the background."

But before long I realized I wasn't playing or really making music that I found enjoyable...wasn't learning or coming up with songs, just soundtrack noises to a bad sci-fi movie.

Even after I got over that stuff, I still was constantly tweaking tings and looking for just the right combinations of sounds...I still like to mess with pedals, but far more subtly...a little tremolo, a little dirt maybe...

The older I get the more I appreciate the majesty of just a good guitar through a good amp played by someone who can play unadorned.

[Synchro]

Originally Posted by fjr_wertheimber

Ya know, I tried an RE20 and just didn't like it at all... Sounded very digital and sterile to me.

Originally Posted by Scott

I dunno...there's a warmth there that I couldn't get out a DD-3 for example. Now there's a digital sound...not dissing it, just saying it really sounds digital(which for one quick slapback, honestly it shouldn't make a difference).

My main beef about the RE-20 is when you cut off the echo effect it seems that the unaffected signal has slightly more "noise" to it...and it's not a defective unit, I have two RE-20s and they both do it. But this is neglible because to my ears this is really a good sounding unit.

That said, I'm pretty much stuck with my DM-2...no complaints here. But I'm finding myself using it, and effects in general, less and less these days, preferring to just let my fingers, the guitar, and the amp do the work.

I'm with you on this one Scott. I don't think it's perfect or anything like that, but it's a very decent sounding pedal to my ear. Good slapback and that deep, dark reverb is a great way to add some splash to the built-in reverb on an amp.

No pedal is without fault, all of them have limitations.

Originally Posted by Muddslide

Even after I got over that stuff, I still was constantly tweaking tings and looking for just the right combinations of sounds...I still like to mess with pedals, but far more subtly...a little tremolo, a little dirt maybe...

The older I get the more I appreciate the majesty of just a good guitar through a good amp played by someone who can play unadorned.

I've spent most of my 43 years as a player not using any external effects. Maybe a little reverb from the amp but that's it.

About 7 or 8 years ago I bought a Boss recorder and had some fun experimenting with various built-in effects. Up to that point I actually had an aversion to stomp boxes. Even now I rarely use them in a live situation, usually just some delay. If you listen to You
Walked Away here, this is an example of my usual "electric sound".

Still, I like to do covers and for some songs one jus' needs some effects to sell the sound. My problem is that I hate carrying a bunch of gear around. I probably own about a dozen pedals, perhaps as many as 14. By BCB-60 holds 6 compact Boss pedals and the RE-20 takes up two slots. Amazingly, my default sound favors another style of delay pedal so I can easily end up with only 2 open slots (a TU-2 tuner always has slot one).

I'm waiting for a Fender Bass VI that's on order from their Custom Shop and once I know the total "damages" for that purchase I may well decide to buy an ME-70, a multi effects unit that is setup like a four-pedal board and doesn't require a lot of programming. After spending all day programming routers, switches, security devices etc I don't want to come home to another programming task.

[Muddslide]

Originally Posted by Synchro

I've spent most of my 43 years as a player not using any external effects. Maybe a little reverb from the amp but that's it.

I'm with you. I gigged most heavily from about 1982 to 1998. In that time I played bass in bands probably 75% of the time or thereabouts.

I still play bass a great deal (and it's actually my favorite instrument for composing...I seem to do best beginning with the "backbone" of a bassline, then building up from there.)

At any rate, I always played pretty "pure" when it came to bass, and I preferred it. I had one friend who went through every new device he could, and 5-strings, 6-strings, 8-strings, fretless 5-strings, basses with whammy bars, active pickups (I really dislike those for some reason) and eventually a huge rig worth thousands and thousands.

I would mess with it from time to time, trying for what seemd like an hour to dial in a tone I wanted. Turned out, when I finally fiddled with all the EQ and messed with the active controls and everything else, I simply arrived at the sound I was getting from my old Fender P-bass through an Ampeg head and cab.

[Synchro]

Originally Posted by Muddslide

I'm with you. I gigged most heavily from about 1982 to 1998. In that time I played bass in bands probably 75% of the time or thereabouts.

I still play bass a great deal (and it's actually my favorite instrument for composing...I seem to do best beginning with the "backbone" of a bassline, then building up from there.)

At any rate, I always played pretty "pure" when it came to bass, and I preferred it. I had one friend who went through every new device he could, and 5-strings, 6-strings, 8-strings, fretless 5-strings, basses with whammy bars, active pickups (I really dislike those for some reason) and eventually a huge rig worth thousands and thousands.

I would mess with it from time to time, trying for what seemd like an hour to dial in a tone I wanted. Turned out, when I finally fiddled with all the EQ and messed with the active controls and everything else, I simply arrived at the sound I was getting from my old Fender P-bass through an Ampeg head and cab.

I know just what you mean about active basses, I cain't stand 'em. I have to play short scale basses and both of mine are passive, a Fender Mustang RI and a Custom Shop Warwick Corvette fretless with the stock, passive J-Bass style pickups. I liove the sounds those get right outta the box.

[merc50]

Not that I can play fer crap but I love my Carbon Copy...and for what it is worth I have caused a couple of buddies to abandon other pedals for it.

[Synchro]

WTH??? Nothing to see here folks. Just keep moving.