bass foot pedals

[John Steele (deceased)]

What do you guys know about bass pedals... a row, approximately an octave, free standing, and producing bass tones (not unlike organ pedals) ? My questions are:
Are these things made freestanding, or were they removed from organs ?
How is the sound produced ? Is that onboard ?
Any comments from those familiar with them would be appreciated.
Thanks,
- John

[Michael Lee Allen]

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[Jon Light (deceased)]

Someone who knows stuff will be here shortly with your info. In the meantime--yes, there are freestanding bass pedals. I remember seeing a Daniel Lanois set on TV---Sessions at 54th---with Brian Blades on dums and Daryl Johnson on bass. There was a song where, with bass still strapped on, he got down on his knees and played a bass keyboard. They are hooked to a module. I don't know squat about them.

[Bo Borland]

I'm familiar with the Moog Taurus unit. It is a stand alone unit that needs an amp and should be run into the PA too. It had a multi band eq built in that you could adjust.
I worked with a band that would do tunes by Genesis, Yes, and other musically "progressive" bands.
On some songs the bass player would switch to a Rick 12 string, play bass lines on the Taurus, and sing lead and harmony. He was and is one the best electric bass players I ever worked with.
His main bass was a 4001 stereo Rick played into 2 amps and speaker configs. The Taurus ran thru that and also into the PA. He sounded like Chris Squire.
It was a full blown rock band playing the A clubs in the area and it was fun.

[Ken Lang]

I have one that was made by Musiconics, no longer in business. It is a stand alone, has a foot operated push button to select one of two octaves and the pedals reach one octave. Just plug it into a bass amp and off you go. I have used mine off and on for 25 years.

It isn't a bass guitar sound, but it does well in a small or 5-6 pc band when needed.

[Michael Lee Allen]

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[Michael Lee Allen]

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[Michael Lee Allen]

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[Michael Lee Allen]

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[Michael Lee Allen]

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[Jeff Evans]

Far out, man. [Groovy bell bottoms sold separately.]

Guess a player could stand up do some walking bass.

[Tom Keller]

If your talking about modern bass pedals here is a pic of the Roland PK pedal. A great player in my area uses one of these regularly for his restaurant gigs.

[John Steele (deceased)]

Thank you one and all for your responses. Some of those contraptions look pretty interesting. I think the ones I've seen might have been the Taurus.
When I was in college I worked Tuesday-Thursday as the piano player in a Toronto lounge, and on Friday and Saturday night this guy took over who was a great pianist, good singer, and had a set of these bass pedals too. He was cleaning up on the solo piano scene around the city. Since the gigs are getting smaller (bandwise)these days, I've found myself considering the possibilities.
Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
- John

[Jerry Hayes R.I.P.]

I know of a couple of guys who are really adept at using the "organ" bass pedals along with guitar. In the middle seventies I lived in Wichita Falls, TX for about a year and knew a guy who played in the Bob Clark Band named Jerry Bob Tuck. Tuck played guitar and bass pedals and was very good at it. He could do the walking bass patterns and all at the same time as playing guitar.

Her in Va. in the Williamsburg area is a guy named Johnny St.Clair. Johnny does a lot of single gigs using a Gibson acoustic/electric guitar & bass pedals. I've done some duo gigs with him as well as band gigs and he's pretty proficient on them. He does a weekly solo gig in the old town section of Yorktown, Va..........JH in Va.

[Michael Lee Allen]

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[Richard Sinkler]

The Roland PK-5 is a MIDI unit that requires a separate sound module. I have seen people use similar units, but none were stand alone units. The stand alone units mentioned above would be worth checking into also.

[Bob Blair]

I realize this was an old post of John's, but can't help but comment on that picture of the GBX Guitar Floor Bass. The prototypes for that were called the "Wells Foot Bass", and I played a long string of gigs in the Toronto area with the late Joey Sloan, with Jason Wells (who developed it in conjunction with his brother) on lead and foot bass. Jason was quite a guy, and could do amazing things with that contraption, though sound-wise I would have preferred a real bass player. Another guy in the Toronto area who made a living for quite a few years with a Wells foot bass was (if I remember the name right) A. Frank Willis. I lost touch with Jason decades ago.

[Richard Sinkler]

Wow. Didn't notice the original post date. Makes me feel foolish.

That GBX is a rare bird these days.

[Bob Blair]

Hey Richard, I'm glad you didn't notice the date! Fun to be reminded of those crazy nights in the bars of Toronto listening to Jason talk about obscure eastern religions and every other topic under the sun!

He said that the GBX models were not as durable as the prototypes - something about the switches if I recall. He used to sit up there on a stool with a mountain of extremely dated equipment spread out in a semi-circle around him - looked like something off the set of Star Wars.

[Graeme Jaye]

I joined the forum long after this thread originally died, but I can put in my 2 cents worth. I had just such a bass pedal unit in the 1970's. Mine was manufactured by EKO (an Italian company) - 13 note, completely self-comtained, plug into an amp and away you go.

Some info here about various offerings made over the years - http://jpsongs.com/troubadortech/pkbd.htm

[b0b]

I found your chat site and noticed that several of your members remember the GBX floor bass pedals.I have one from the early 70's in immaculate condition and played one for years in my solo country show.However it is out of tune and I cant seem to find anyone with tuning instructions.Im wondering if any one of your members may have such a thing or know someone who does. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Bob Gill

[Brooks Montgomery]

Rich Ortiz plays at a lot of tradeshows that I do. He's sponsored by Costa Sunglasses. He's got the bass pedal thing down really good. .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk_MKrh4vXk

[Bob Blair]

Jason Wells in the Toronto area designed the GBX bass - originally they were called the Wells floor bass. Pretty sure his real name is Jason Arsenault. If Bob Gill can track him down he might know. I haven’t talked to Jason for ages.

[Bob Blair]

OK here is a link to some info - I was right about Jason's last name, but I had forgotten that his brother designed it. The photo in this is actually Jason, although by the time I played with him in 80/81 or thereabouts he had a beard. Unmistakably him though. Same guitar (unusual Les Paul - I think they are kinda rare), same stool, same guy.

[b0b]

OK here is a link to some info