Bass effects are electronic

effects unit An effects unit, effects processor, or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion (music), distortion/overdrive, ...

s that are designed for use with an

electric bass The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...

and a bass amplifier, or for an

upright bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

and a bass amp or

PA system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

. Bass effects are commonly available in stompbox-style pedals, which are metal or plastic boxes with a foot-operated pedal switch or button which turns the effect on and off. Most pedals also have knobs to control the tone, volume and effect level. Some bass effects are available in 19" rackmount units, which can be mounted in a

road case A road case, ATA case or flight case is a shipping container specifically built to protect musical instruments, motion picture equipment, audio and lighting production equipment, theatrical property, props, firearms, or other sensitive equipment ...

. As well, some bass amplifiers have built-in effects, such as compression, overdrive or chorus.

Fuzz

By the mid- to late-1960s, some bands listed " fuzz bass" in addition to "electric bass" on their album credits. Album or performance credits for fuzz bass can be found from every decade since. In the 1960s and early 1970s fuzz bass was associated with

psychedelic music Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as Dmt, DMT, Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, mescaline, ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

, and psychedelic soul/

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

styles. Created by a small and usually simple electronic circuit, fuzz bass tended to be a "warmer", "smoother", and "softer" overdrive-type sound caused by soft, symmetrical clipping of the audio signal which "round doff the signal peaks" them and filtered out the harsher high harmonics. In the 1990s and 2000s, fuzz bass was also used by indie and alternative rock bands.

Overdrive and distortion

Overdriving a bass signal significantly changes the timbre, adds overtones (harmonics), and increases the sustain. In the 1980s and 1990s, overdriven bass was associated with

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...

and Industrial bands. Bass distortion is generally achieved by hard clipping of the bass signal, which leaves in "harsher high harmonics that can result in sounds that are heard as jagged and spikey." Since the late 1980s, manufacturers have produced overdrive pedals specifically designed for the electric bass, which often maintain the fundamental "dry" signal mixed with the overdriven tone.

Chorus

A bass chorus is an electronic

effect Effect may refer to: * A result or change of something ** List of effects ** Cause and effect, an idiom describing causality Pharmacy and pharmacology * Drug effect, a change resulting from the administration of a drug ** Therapeutic effect, ...

used with the

to create a "shimmering" sound. Fundamentally the same as

chorus pedal Chorus is an Audio signal processing, audio effect that occurs when individual sounds with approximately the same time, and very similar pitch (music), pitches, converge. While similar sounds coming from multiple sources can occur naturally, as ...

s used on guitar, these circuits are optimized to suit a lower tonal range.

Upright bass

Upright bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

ists in jazz, folk, blues and similar genres typically use a

piezoelectric pickup A pickup is an electronic device that converts energy from one form to another that captures or senses mechanical vibrations produced by musical instruments, particularly stringed instruments such as the electric guitar, and converts these to ...

, which is mounted on the wooden bridge or between the bridge and the body. The pickup is then plugged into a bass amp or the PA system. Before the signal is plugged into a bass amp or PA system, many players use a bass

preamplifier A preamplifier, also known as a preamp, is an electronic amplifier that converts a weak electrical signal into an output signal strong enough to be noise-tolerant and strong enough for further processing, or for sending to a power amplifier a ...

, a small electronic device that matches the impedance between the pickup and the amp or PA system. Bass preamps also allow for the gain of the signal to be boosted or cut. Some models also offer equalization controls, a compressor, and a DI box connection, which allows the signal to be plugged directly into a PA system or mixing board with an XLR cable.

References

{{Bass (sound) Bass (sound) Electric bass guitars