Recommended Pedals

Hello, this is Mieno, the bassist of the Hammond organ instrumental band BANANA NEEDLE.

It’s a bit late, but today I’d like to introduce the pedals I’m glad I bought in 2023.

First up is the Space Echo that BOSS has reissued.

BOSS / RE-202 Space Echo

You might think that tape echo is just like delay or reverb, right?
That’s what I thought too, but I was blown away when I actually used it!

It’s completely different!!!!!!

Well, saying “completely different” might be a bit misleading, but tape echo works by playing back the sound recorded on a tape as it passes through the playback head, just like its name suggests.

While the reissue doesn’t actually have a real tape inside, you can really feel the sensation of the sound passing through the playback head!

A single-pedal version

BOSS / RE-2 Space Echo

It delivers a great sound even when used with a bass, without any low-end loss, but personally, I recommend the three-switch RE-202 over the single-pedal version.

For starters, if you press and hold the left pedal, the Warp function kicks in.

Warp increases the feedback and creates a dreamy sound.
It’s like the recorded sound keeps looping, allowing you to envelop the room with layered echoes.

Then, if you press and hold the right pedal, the Twist function kicks in.

It makes the echo oscillate and creates an aggressive spinning sound.

You can really feel that
“Whoa! It’s spinning!!”

And there are also the excellent Saturation and Wow & Flutter knobs.

The Wow & Flutter knob simulates the modulation that occurs when the tape rotation becomes unstable, just like with real magnetic tapes.

After trying out various delay modulations, I thought, “Ah, this must be the origin of them all.”

The Saturation knob pleasantly adds distortion, giving you that sweet overdriven tone.

Of course, it’s not just a bass pedal, so it’s also perfect for guitar and keyboards!

Since it has stereo in and stereo out, you can use it with keyboards without any worry.

Though, to be honest, it’ll probably mostly be used with guitars or keyboards, haha.

The current draw is 140 mA, so it might be difficult to power it with some power supplies.
But it’s truly a fantastic pedal, so definitely give it a try!

Next up...

Rainger FX / Break Box

Rainger FX is known for its unique pedals.

Basically, it’s a distortion pedal, but if you step on the big black knob in the middle...
You’ll get a turntable scratch sound!!!!

This pedal seriously surprised me.
Of course, it’s excellent as a distortion pedal with high gain and low noise.

It’s easy to use with its volume, tone, and gain knobs, but the interesting feature is the Chorus Speed knob.

This chorus effect gradually comes in when you’re playing long tones, and if you don’t add any attack, vibrato starts happening automatically.

‘Automatically’ sounds a bit off, but the way it kicks in just right feels great. It’s like the chorus effect follows you around.

The Pitch knob lets you adjust the scratch sound, making it go from a longer to a shorter one.

Sometimes I’ll do a bass solo with just the scratch sound, and it’s honestly so fun! If you see this pedal around, definitely check it out!

So, I’ve introduced some interesting pedals from 2023, but now I’d like to share some pedals I’m currently interested in for 2024.

Drumroll...
Tadaa!

Warm Audio / RingerBringer Modulation

Oh man, the look of this one is just unfair!
It hits all my weak spots!

You can never have too many modulation pedals, after all.

ZVEX / Fuzz Factory

The Fuzz Factory is my dream!!
I’ve been eyeing it for ages, and this year I’m finally going to get my hands on one!

ZVEX / Vertical Fuzz Factory

Now that there’s a vertical version, I’m torn between that and the hand-painted one...

Vital Audio / VA-15 AC

I’m also thinking of getting a new power supply.
Vital Audio is reliable.

The red design definitely catches your eye.

Anyway, I know these are not exactly bassist-like pedal choices, but how did you like them?

As long as there are things I want, my gear lust will continue.

Let’s all enjoy the rest of 2024 with some new gear and have fun playing!
See you next time!

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