could this be a true bypass issue?

[Noosh]

ok, so me and my buddy were jammin around tonight and all of a sudden i noticed when i would pluck a note on my bass, specifically in the lower frequencies, i would get a slight distorted sound that i havent gotten before. all my effects are off and this is when it happens. if i turn an effect on its way less noticeable, not that it isnt there, i just cant hear it as well. could this be something to do with some of the pedals not being true bypass, even though ive never heard it before. heck im not even sure whether my pedals are/arent true bypass.

signal chain:
Bass > Korg Pitchblack > Digitech Bass Driver > Ibanez PD7 > Hartke Bass Attack > Morley Dual Bass Wah > Amp

I appreciate the help guys, If im leaving anything out please let me know!

[niftydog]

Checked the battery in your bass lately? Also the batteries in your pedals could be to blame, or were you using a power supply?

[bongomania]

With the possible exception of the tuner, none of those are true bypass. Either way, nifty's right that it's probably a battery problem, not a bypass problem.

[Munjibunga]

Try plugging the bass straight into the amp and see if you get the same thing.

[Noosh]

Originally Posted by niftydog

Checked the battery in your bass lately? Also the batteries in your pedals could be to blame, or were you using a power supply?

Im using a power supply, forgot to mention that, sorry. and my bass is passive, no batteries. but come to mention it, it kinda sounded like a dying battery in a pedal. but i donno

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Try plugging the bass straight into the amp and see if you get the same thing.

yes i tried this too. i think i put it in my original post, but im not too sure, i may have forgotten that as well...

any other ideas?

[niftydog]

Which bass were you using?

If you're taken the pedals out of the chain and the sound is still there then obviously it's not a true bypass problem!

You might be slightly overdriving the input stage of your amp. Set everything to "normal" or "off", centre all the pots and sliders, turn the pre gain all the way down and listen for it again. Or, leave everything set as it is, and when you hear the sound bump the pre gain up a bit to see if it gets worse.

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by Noosh

i think i put it in my original post, but im not too sure, i may have forgotten that as well...

Because it was so hard to find that post?

Anyway, as nifty says- if the sound happens when the pedals are not even in the chain, how could the sound possibly have anything to do with the pedals?

[Noosh]

no, the sound happens only when the pedals are in the chain, when i plug straight into the amp, theres no problem at all, so i know its something to do with the pedals

[niftydog]

Right... so have you tried taking your pedals out of the chain one at a time to see if there's a lone culprit? Or the opposite, only using one pedal at a time?

Are you sure your power supply is up to the job (current rating etc)? Have you tried a different power supply? Have you checked all your patch cables? Tried new/different patch cables?

All the usual troubleshooting stuff - eliminate what's not to blame.

[Noosh]

im way too tired tonight to really troubleshoot anymore, but im going to mess with them all tomorrow and see if i can pinpoint the issue

[bassman1185]

Could it be that your amp's input it just clipping? All of the effects on your board (minus the wah) are drive effects that will cover up a clipping amp pretty fast.