Advice for a non-effects user on integrating effects?

mjolnir · #1 05-05-2008, 12:29 PM

Ok, so I don't really venture into this particular corner of TB, mostly because effects in general scare me. I'm a more hold-it-down-and-keep-it-simple (tone-wise) kind of bassist, but now I find myself in a bit of a pickle. I've been doing more lead-type lines in certain songs here and there in my bands, and to get my lines heard I bought a rack effects processor to boost the signal and add a bit of chorus and reverb. Problem is, it's a wuss processor, has no balls at all whatsoever and the effects are lackluster at best.

Now, by some strange bass-ackwards dealings I had an EH PolyChorus fall into my lap and I have no idea what to do with it. I tried asking a fellow TBer I know in person (McHaven) but the only real advice he had was to give the pedal to him...

Here's where y'all come in. I can see three distinct possibilities for the future of this pedal, none of which involve plugging the sucker in-line between my bass and my amp (I don't like the idea of carrying the extra crap around and I run through a wireless unit which I would imagine would cause all sorts of grief for me if I refuse to unrack the wireless AND have a pedal on the ground):

1.) I run the pedal through my effects processor and use both through my simple little 2 button footswitch plugged into the back of the processor

2.) I lose the processor, put the pedal in its place, and use my 2 button switch through the amp (which has a mute function and a function to turn the effects loop on or off)

3.) I stop trying to get into the effects world entirely and just let the thing go to McHaven

Any thoughts? Comments? Concerns?

Can a tone simpleton like me get the hang of this thing? I bow to the effects experts on this one, I'm in VERY unfamiliar territory.

Muchas gracias in advance to all you fine gentlemen.

RickenBoogie · #2 05-05-2008, 02:00 PM

Trouble is, once you give in and add one pedal to the chain, the next one won't be far behind. Before you know it, you're trying to figure which 10 pedals you can't live without, cause that's all that will fit on the board, then you've got 16, and,...you see where it's headed. I suppose you should first decide if the pedal you have now is of real use to you, and if not, run away. Otoh, if it fits your style, welcome to the madness.

kirkm24 · #3 05-05-2008, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickenBoogie

Trouble is, once you give in and add one pedal to the chain, the next one won't be far behind. Before you know it, you're trying to figure which 10 pedals you can't live without, cause that's all that will fit on the board, then you've got 16, and,...you see where it's headed. I suppose you should first decide if the pedal you have now is of real use to you, and if not, run away. Otoh, if it fits your style, welcome to the madness.

+1 Don't get involved in effects unless you really think it will benefit your music. I am a recovering effects junkie and fell down the slippery slope once already. I'm now a clean only guy but that works best for what I do. To each their own but don't mess with it unless it will be of benefit for your music.

mjolnir · #4 05-05-2008, 02:04 PM

Oh, I know it. This is definitely something I want to avoid considering I'm already a bit of a bass monger and amp-o-phile... I figure since I've lived well enough with the effects processor without going nuts maybe I can switch it out with the pedal, do everything the processor does but better, and be happy with that.

I hope.

mjolnir · #5 05-05-2008, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirkm24

+1 Don't get involved in effects unless you really think it will benefit your music. I am a recovering effects junkie and fell down the slippery slope once already. I'm now a clean only guy but that works best for what I do. To each their own but don't mess with it unless it will be of benefit for your music.

I need something for these new lead-ish lines, a boost if anything, which is why I'm considering using this pedal, but no way in hell am I starting up a board. The pedal goes in my rack or I don't use it at all, plain and simple.

mjolnir · #6 05-06-2008, 12:33 PM

Well, I spent some time playing with the polychorus last night, and I decided it ain't for me. Off to Mick it goes...

Swimming Bird · #7 05-06-2008, 01:07 PM

Well, if you need an OD, boost, fuzz or whatever to help your lead lines, get one. I've seen some complaints that the effects loop on the R1000 gets pretty low volume, so you may not want to run through it. I'd say go with option 1 for whatever you end up getting.

mjolnir · #8 05-06-2008, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swimming Bird

Well, if you need an OD, boost, fuzz or whatever to help your lead lines, get one. I've seen some complaints that the effects loop on the R1000 gets pretty low volume, so you may not want to run through it. I'd say go with option 1 for whatever you end up getting.

Yeah, the effects loop needs something with its own gain running through it for it to get any real volume.

I was thinking about getting a fulltone bass drive and a delay, like the one EHX puts out, and setting them up in a rackmountable case.

McHaven · #9 05-06-2008, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjolnir

Well, I spent some time playing with the polychorus last night, and I decided it ain't for me. Off to Mick it goes...

Oh Brandon, You've made me ever so happy. Now, to find a use for a polychorus.

Sean S · #10 05-07-2008, 01:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McHaven

Oh Brandon, You've made me ever so happy. Now, to find a use for a polychorus.

Who needs to find a use to purchase an effect?

Honestly, I've pared my pedal collection down to octave, fuzz, and delay. I *had* phaser, wah, tremolo, echo, as well as a couple of multi's (Digitech BP80, Ibanez PTB-3). It's nice being simpler sometimes.

mjolnir · #11 05-07-2008, 06:22 AM

That's how I feel about it right now. To Mick's credit though, whenever he came by my apartment and started messing with the pedal he was getting sounds out of it I couldn't even comprehend much less reproduce myself, so I'd say it's definitely in much more capable hands at this point.

I'm still thinking about sticking the fulltone bass drive and a delay in a rackable case and going with that, but I want to play around with other options a little, see what I come up with.

McHaven · #12 05-07-2008, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjolnir

That's how I feel about it right now. To Mick's credit though, whenever he came by my apartment and started messing with the pedal he was getting sounds out of it I couldn't even comprehend much less reproduce myself, so I'd say it's definitely in much more capable hands at this point.

I'm still thinking about sticking the fulltone bass drive and a delay in a rackable case and going with that, but I want to play around with other options a little, see what I come up with.

I want you to know I totally forgot to study for my final last night and I blame you

mjolnir · #13 05-07-2008, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McHaven

I want you to know I totally forgot to study for my final last night and I blame you

It's the pedal's fault. I had nothing to do with it.

Nyarlathotep · #14 05-07-2008, 10:52 AM

You mention a boost.

Y not just get an MXR Micro Amp. If your head is a tube one (to lazy to search for it), you can get some overdrive that way.

If your head is SS, try out the full-tone.

And dont be afraid of FX, they're more afraid of you. We stomp on them after all.....

mjolnir · #15 05-07-2008, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanielTulip

You mention a boost.

Y not just get an MXR Micro Amp. If your head is a tube one (to lazy to search for it), you can get some overdrive that way.

If your head is SS, try out the full-tone.

And dont be afraid of FX, they're more afraid of you. We stomp on them after all.....

My head's SS, one of the old Carvin Red Line series III's.

The issue I have with effects is that my rig is a rack rig. I have two racks, one for my head and one for all the other stuff. Put that together with my cab (a carvin 810) and I have three items to carry plus my basses which comes out to roughly 160lbs. If I start adding effects I'll have another item to carry, not to mention the extra weight. That's why I tried going multi effects, but like many of y'all I learned real quick many multi effects are absolutely useless, that's where I got the idea to basically take any pedals that would be useful to me and build them into my own rack unit.

I took a look at the inside of my Carvin processor earlier, and after a little help from Mick (he let me take his delay pedal apart) I figure I can fit three, maybe four separate effects in there. So here's what I know what I want so far:

Fulltone bass drive
EHX #1echo

After that I'm at a loss. Any ideas?

MakiSupaStar · #16 05-07-2008, 11:26 AM

you don't know what you're doing. Give it Maki.

mjolnir · #17 05-07-2008, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

you don't know what you're doing. Give it Maki.

Yer damn right I don't...

Sorry though, Mick's closer, hell he even picked it up.

McHaven · #18 05-07-2008, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjolnir

Yer damn right I don't...

Sorry though, Mick's closer, hell he even picked it up.

I got a polychorus for a steal, as well as free drinks. Talk about an awesome deal.

Nyarlathotep · #19 05-07-2008, 02:38 PM

Hehe, ya, multis can be quite lackluster, hence the "ex-POD person" in my sig....

Good luck

mjolnir · #20 05-07-2008, 02:46 PM

Ok, so I'm not exactly sure why it happened, but I just bought 2 new pedals, a Holy Grail Reverb and a Nano Muff Overdrive.

The Carvin multi is getting gutted tonight, and I'm going to start altering the case so I can safely mount the pedal circuitry in there. Way I figure I can probably fit two more pedals in after these. Any thoughts?