Rig set up opinions needed

[coldwater]

I'd like to share with you all my current rig setup and I'm curious to know what you all think. Specifically any thoughts or opinions on anything I may need to change or try. I am generally very happy with this set up but sometimes feel it's lacking a little "thump" which isn't necessarily addressed by turning up the "bass" on the Cirrus. Sometimes having a different set of eyes to look at something can really be helpful. Thank You.

My main bass is a Peavey Cirrus that I run to a pedalboard in the following order, Polytune tuner - Sans Amp BDDI - EBS Multi Comp - MXR Octave - MXR Bass Envelope. From there the chain runs into the effects return of a GK 800RB. Out of the head I run from both 300 watt outputs to 2 - Avatar 8 ohm cabinets a 2x10 stack on a 1x12 lying horizontally.

Again, I appreciate all the help.

[MarkMyWordsXx]

start by plugging into the input, instead of the effects return

[BWileyTally]

Originally Posted by MarkMyWordsXx

start by plugging into the input, instead of the effects return

+1. What he said.

[floridagatorfan]

maybe it's the thin sound of the Gk you hear?

[thefruitfarmer]

If you want more "thump" it could be the speaker cabs, you may get more of that with different cabs. But then again it could be the bass itself or the amp so you would have to swap different parts of your kit around to locate the weak link.

[Gearhead17]

Trying running the bass straight into the amp before the effects. See if the amp can give you most of what you want right away.

The effects could robbing you of some low end, not sure...

Otherwise, I suggest you get a different speaker cab.

[jungleheat]

Your pedal order is all screwed up for one thing.

Tuner first is fine, but then it should go

Octave
Envelope
SansAmp
Comp

Actually, the last 3 you could play around with somewhat, but the octave pedal needs to go first if you want any semblance of good tracking. But the envelope should probably go before the SA, because the SA will compress the signal which will make the effect of the envelope pretty minimal. The comp being after the SA will allow the varying level of the envelope to affect the gain you get, which will give you a more lively animated sound. If you want it more subtle could switch the last two.

And yeah, you could try running into the front end of the amp, but I have to imagine the SA would have a strong enough signal to drive the fx loop return.

[1954bassman]

Try selling everything but the amp/speakers/cord and bass.

[ThudThudThud]

but I have to imagine the SA would have a strong enough signal to drive the fx loop return.

Not necessarily. I have one of the early SABDDI, and it's relatively weak compared to, say, the SAPBDDI.

[RickenBoogie]

+1 take the signal from pedals straight into the amps front end. The loop is likely meant to be used with line level gear, not your instrument level pedals. Beyond that, I'd be looking at 2 matched cabs, rather than 2 mixed cabs, and beyond that, I'd be stacking the spkrs vertically, not horizontally.

[coldwater]

Thanks again for all this input. So far I've rearranged the pedalboard and am plugging directly into the head. Also I'm going to stack the cabinets vertically and see what happens. I'm really looking forward to the 2 shows I have this weekend to check this out in a live situation.

[JonnyAngle]

When I need to check my head, I go bass, cable, amp for a full week. Then I get my effects back out

[countrybass007]

Play with your amp and bass a bit. That rig should give you decent "thump" with a bit of tweaking. I've never been a big fan of lots of pedals between my bass and amp, as it always seem to cause some tone loss on the bass end.

[Wes Whitmore]

It might come down to the eq points of the GK not being what you want. The EQ points on the GK are different than the EQ points on the Sansamp (as is the natural voicing if you are using the GK input now). Are you doing much heavy EQing? Set it flat and try reworking the EQ. Remember it will sound different on stage than in the basement.
Wes

[coldwater]

Just a quick note to thank you all for your input. Based on your suggestions I made some changes and the rig is sounding fantastic both at home and live. What I've done is the following. First, I've rearranged the pedals in the following order: tuner, octave, envelope filter, sans amp and compressor. Then I go directly into the amp instead of the effects return. Finally I stack the cabinets vertically, 1x12 on the bottom 2x10 on top. Thanks again for all the help.