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'Bass pedals' are an electronic musical instrument consisting of a pedalboard and tone generation circuitry such as a synthesizer module. They serve the same function as the pedalboard on an organ, and usually produce sounds in the bass range. They are most commonly used by keyboard players as an adjunct to their manual keyboards, but can be played in combination with other instruments, or by themselves.

Contents

History

1970s and 1980s

1990s and 2000s

External links

History

Bass pedal units were a logical continuation of the evolution of the organ. Pedalboards have been a standard feature on pipe organs for centuries, and electric organs of the 20th century (such as the Hammond organ) often included pedalboards. Some manufacturers began building pedals that could be used without a large organ console. These afforded the player great portability, and flexibility in combining them with other instruments and electronic equipment.

1970s and 1980s

A well-known bass pedal device was the Moog Taurus, a one-octave instrument referred to as a "Pedal Synthesizer" in their literature [1]. Even though the Taurus could be used to play a huge range of music, including mid-range or high-register melodies, most players used them for bass lines, and the nickname 'bass pedals' stuck.
Although the Taurus pedals are no longer being made, they are prized as vintage instruments.
Several progressive rock groups (such as Yes ,Genesis and Rush) and the alternative rock groups U2 & The Police used bass pedals. Often, the group's bass guitarist would play in a standing position, meaning that they could only use one foot at a time to play, rather than play sitting down with both feet, as organists traditionally had. Bass guitarists who used the Taurus bass pedals could use the Taurus to hold down sustained, low-pitched pedal points while they performed high-register melodic lines or percussive parts on the bass guitar.

1990s and 2000s

2000-era standalone electronic pedalboards are MIDI controllers, and do not perform any tone generation themselves. The pedalboards have to be connected to an electronic keyboard or rack-mounted synthesizer to produce musical tones. Hammond and Roland produce electronic pedalboards which are designed for use underneath a keyboard or organ. Fatar produces smaller, lighter electronic pedalboards. Despite the fact that they can control any kind of MIDI device, and produce a huge range of sounds such as high-register melodies, these are still often referred to as "'bass pedals'".

External links

★ http://www.retrosound.de/taurus.html

★ http://www.retrosound.de/jenpedalbass.htm