Digitech Bass Whammy vs BP 355???

hendrixbikedog · #1 02-21-2011, 04:23 PM

I have a few effects pedals and a wah already but wondering how well the digitech bp355 would sound with the whammy setting compared to the actual bass whammy? Ive done some searching and some people have suggested getting a bp80 as opposed to paying hundreds of dollars for a discontinued Bass Whammy. Its been asked before but seeing what the current thoughts are on it. Right now im purely experimenting with different sounds as i learn to play. I know a processor will have a bunch of different effects to choose from but not sure how easy it wil be to cycle through.

cybersnyder · #2 02-21-2011, 05:11 PM

Invariably the Bass Whammy will sound better. But are you willing to spend $500-$600 on one?

bassgiant15 · #3 02-21-2011, 05:17 PM

I'm curious too.
I have a WH4 and an XP100.

hendrixbikedog · #4 02-21-2011, 05:36 PM

well maybe another question is would i get a better sound spending 500-600 on the bass whammy, or 200 on the processor, and use the rest to buy new pups for my basses? I have a squire jazz 5string and an epiphone les paul.
this is getting a lil off topic but how much difference would it make changing the pots and cap if im not having any problem with my current ones?

cybersnyder · #5 02-21-2011, 05:47 PM

Personally I think it would be silly to spend that much on a single pedal that you would use a very limited amount of time unless you already have all the "bases" covered. Save for the bigger / better bass or amp. There's nothing wrong with what you have already, but you're probably going to want to upgrade at some point. A multi effects unit is a great way to sample a lot of effects. The BP-335 is rather new, but I believe there was a recent thread of some people that have one. You can do a search for that.

Basically, the Bass whammy is great, but it's expensive and I think the money is best spent on other factors of your rig. But it's your money....

Crystalman85 · #6 02-21-2011, 10:57 PM

I have recorded a sound sample of the whammy effect on my digitech bp355. if you're wondering how it sounds, come visit my soundclick website. here's the link.

www.soundclick.com/crystalman85

Chowowbus · #7 02-22-2011, 11:35 AM

Why not just get a current digitech whammy 4? It works fine with bass...
I am not sure the new BP355 has any of the modes the whammys have...it would rock if it did, but i think its just octave up..maybe two..

bassgiant15 · #8 02-22-2011, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chowowbus

Why not just get a current digitech whammy 4? It works fine with bass...
I am not sure the new BP355 has any of the modes the whammys have...it would rock if it did, but i think its just octave up..maybe two..

I agree. WH4 is great on bass! I only wish it had the 5th up/octave up setting.

If there was a mod or hack or something to get that i would totally do it....

the only one i've heard of is the Molten Mod, but you have to have the Molten Midi and then you just step on a button and not use the pedal....

MysterMunky · #9 02-22-2011, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassgiant15

I agree. WH4 is great on bass! I only wish it had the 5th up/octave up setting.

If there was a mod or hack or something to get that i would totally do it....

I agree. I liked my Whammy IV but I just felt like something was missing....(the 5th up/Oct Up). I had mine modded by a company that unfortunately doesn't offer the mod anymore.

I read somewhere that the big yellow multieffects unit that Digitech used to make (i totally forgot the name.... any one remember?) has the 5th up/Oct up harmony setting. I think evilbay sees a good number of these regularly and they should be around $150.

Are you trying to play some specific TOOL also?

Chowowbus · #10 02-22-2011, 04:59 PM

Im in a tool tribute band

and I use my Whammy 4 in several songs. I dont use the 5th up at all for the stuff I do....I have tried other stuff but I end up back to the W4...

SixString · #11 02-22-2011, 05:10 PM

I suggest the eventide pitchfactor. This little box sounds amazing! It has multiple effects on it so you def. get your moneys worth. I find new sounds on it every time I play with it.

bassgiant15 · #12 02-22-2011, 05:10 PM

Yeah i dig Tool. Not really for playing along, but the 5th up octave up is one of the more useful settings I feel.

What was the name of that company that modded yours? I would so pay if I could get my WH4 modded with 5th up octave up!!!

MysterMunky · #13 02-23-2011, 12:28 AM

Molten Voltage did the mod. Too bad they don't offer it anymore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SixString

I suggest the eventide pitchfactor. This little box sounds amazing! It has multiple effects on it so you def. get your moneys worth. I find new sounds on it every time I play with it.

+1 Definitely check it out! One day, I will be upgrading to the one and only pitchfactor.

WhiteNinja · #14 02-23-2011, 02:17 AM

Maybe I can help out here. I've got the guitar version of the BR355 (RP355), and I use it on bass for a couple of effects, mainly the whammy.

It has the 2nd/3rd, 5th/Oct etc going for it. With some tweaking, you can use the 5th/Oct and set it to 5th/6th, 5th/7th etc. Basicially, you can set it up to anything you want. That makes it extremely versatile.

The tracking, though, isn't too great. It does the octave up/down very good (no artifacts), but it struggles a bit with the harmonies. I'm sure the a real Whammy will track better. But the BP/RPs do offer a lot of tweaking and versatility.

I prefer spending 200 bucks on something I use a lot (I use it alot for guitar), then spend 500-600 bucks for something I use occasionally, even if it is better.

bassgiant15 · #15 02-23-2011, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MysterMunky

Molten Voltage did the mod. Too bad they don't offer it anymore.

+1 Definitely check it out! One day, I will be upgrading to the one and only pitchfactor.

Crap!!! I wish they did offer it still. I think that would make a bunch of bass players happy! Looks like i may have to just save up for a Pitchfactor as well....

I guess i could sell my WH4 and my Digitech XP-100 and that would get me part of the way....

I really don't see why they don't reissue the bass whammy. So many people are after them and 500-600 IMO is ridiculous to spend on a whammy effect!

I'd rather put that money towards another bass or something else. I can only use a whammy on certain situations that may call for the effect. To me it would be a no brainer for digitech or if they made a Whammy 5 and just added the 5th up octave up. That would make a bunch of bassplayers happy i think...just my $0.02

Chowowbus · #16 02-23-2011, 11:17 AM

Well if the new multi has all the settings of the bass whammy, than I think i could live with the artifacting...it is actually part of the sound to me...I cant wait to try one of these things out...I love the size..

MysterMunky · #17 02-23-2011, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassgiant15

I really don't see why they don't reissue the bass whammy. So many people are after them and 500-600 IMO is ridiculous to spend on a whammy effect!

I'd rather put that money towards another bass or something else. I can only use a whammy on certain situations that may call for the effect. To me it would be a no brainer for digitech or if they made a Whammy 5 and just added the 5th up octave up. That would make a bunch of bassplayers happy i think...just my $0.02

I agree. I signed some sort of online petition addressed to Digitech asking for a bass whammy reissue. Previously, I had hoped that the Whammy V would have all the Bass whammy settings and more. At this point, I hope the next whammy is similar to the pitchfactor but at a friendly price.

honkimon · #18 02-14-2012, 11:44 AM

It's probably not viable for a lot of you, but I lug around my vintage digitech bp-8 for it's whammy feature. If I'm not mistaken it has the same circuitry / settings as the bass whammy and most certainly has the 5th Up/Octave Up=5uOu. AND it goes for around $99 used. Problem is, it's big. Bonus is that it is a solid multi if used in program mode rather than bank mode. Right now I use it ONLY for the whammy, so when I'm done using the whammy I put the BP-8 in bypass. I will not spend $600 for the Bass whammy, although I do look on craigslist for it often...