Whether your clean bass tone could do with a dose of atmosphere or your lightly distorted bass sound is screaming for a little depth, sticking a bass modulation effect pedal between your bass and your amp is an excellent idea.
The Three Most Popular Bass Modulation Effects
If you're on the verge of picking up your first bass guitar stompbox, then it's wise to start off with one of the three most popular modulators: chorus, flanger and phaser. At more civilised settings, chorus provides a wide bass sound with natural fluctuations in pitch, making it seem like there are two bass guitars. If you want to go one step further, go for a flanger effect. The original method of producing this effect involves two identical studio tapes that are played back with two identical tape machines, where one is slowed down by pressing down on the flange of one of the tape machines to create a delay. Phasers are another type of bass guitar effect that's capable of adding an extra dimension or movement to your sound. A phaser effect changes the phase of every second note, which can easily result in sweeping, aeroplane-like sound effects.
Vibrate or Shift Your Bass Sound
Besides the flavours already mentioned, there are various other interesting modulation pedals you can get for your electric or electro-acoustic bass. The oscillating sound of a vibrato effect is always a safe pick, especially if you're rocking a fretless bass. If you'd rather make your bass sound tremor in a different way, then be sure to browse through our tremolo pedals. Or, if your ears prick up the second you hear the rotating sound of a leslie cabinet hooked up to a deep-diving tonewheel organ, then by all means, grab a rotary-style effect pedal to flesh out your bass rig. For more bass effects, go to our range of Bass Pitch Shifters, Bass Filter Effects or Bass Fuzz Pedals.
