Is having a "cheap" pedal in your chain worth it?

crispygoat · #1 05-30-2011, 09:16 PM

I plan on getting a Pedal Train and a Voodoo Labs II later this week. I've sold all of my pedals and am slowly have started building a new pedal board. As of now, I have a MXR Envelope Filter and a Tech 21 Bass VT Deluxe.

Thing is, I found an old Digitech BP80 I bought when I was starting out on bass. It doesn't have a true bypass or the buffered by pass, whatever you want to call it. The pedal doesn't sound really good, but could be useful since I don't have much pedals as it is. Do you think it's actually worth putting in the effects chain or would you leave it out?

groooooove · #2 05-30-2011, 09:18 PM

why not just put it in, play a bit, then take it out, and play a bit?

why does it matter if i tell you that will destroy your signal, if you cant hear it- or if you hear it and it doesent bother you?

Floyd Eye · #3 05-30-2011, 09:18 PM

Do you like the sound it makes or is it usable? Does it make unwanted noise?

CaptainSir · #4 05-30-2011, 09:21 PM

it would be worth using until you find something to replace it (get more pedals built up)
its really a personal thing. will you use it?
if you will use some of the sounds off of it then i would throw it on the board until i could replace it.

in the end game no i would not keep a bad pedal or a pedal that sounded bad or "noisy" on my board

southpawpa · #5 05-30-2011, 09:22 PM

If you like the sounds, then use it. If you find it alters your tone when bypassed enough to bother you, you could throw it in a bypass loop pedal.

champbassist · #6 05-30-2011, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crispygoat

The pedal doesn't sound really good, but could be useful since I don't have much pedals as it is.

If you don't find any use for it or find that it doesn't sound good, I wonder why you'd keep it

OTOH, if you find useful effects in it then why not? I use a Zoom B1X in my chain for pretty much that reason: it gives me a more than acceptable octaver/pitch shifter, delay (for which I can dial in the specific time in ms) and a couple of other useful sounds.

xikbastard · #7 05-30-2011, 10:15 PM

if u use it put it in, if dun. why bother putting extra weight?

vivifiction · #8 05-30-2011, 10:46 PM

Nope. You said it doesn't sound good, so leave it. Unless if you're going to be using it in your chain, there's no point on having it on your board!

VanillaThundah · #9 05-30-2011, 10:51 PM

I'd leave it out if you dont like it, but if you DO want to use it...put it in the effects loop on the VT Deluxe, at least you can kill it when you need to during a show.

**TheMutt** · #10 05-31-2011, 05:41 AM

Plenty of people have cheap pedals in their signal chains because it works for them. Behringer, Danelectro, Artec, DeltaLab, heck even some of the BOSS line of effects can be had for very cheap. For many, it's not so much the price of the effects (cheap clones anyone?) or the quality (quirky, lo-fi, poor QC vintage effects anyone?) that is the prime reason why someone slaps a pedal on their board. If a pedal works in some fashion or another and it's a sound that is desirable, then by all means use it.

However, if it's something that you don't like the sound of (which by your post it seems like you don't), I'd try to sell off the BP80 and use the cash to get some effects that you will use instead.

blastjv · #11 05-31-2011, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VanillaThundah

I'd leave it out if you dont like it, but if you DO want to use it...put it in the effects loop on the VT Deluxe, at least you can kill it when you need to during a show.

Yeah, this.

Keep it for now, isolate it in the loop of the VT Deluxe so it doesn't have any negative effect on your tone when you're not using it, and if and when you grow out of it, get rid of it.

-JV

G.Bisson · #12 05-31-2011, 10:22 AM

If there is surplus pedalboard space and the pedal is convenient to power: sure, even if you don't like the pedal include it until it has to go. Keep it just for experimenting or to change things up every once-n-while.
But if your never going to use the pedal anyways and the bypass sucks the life out of your signal chain then get rid of it. If it is too much hassle to provide a power supply or special walwart, don't bother because you will be changing it out for something else down the road.

lunarpollen · #13 06-01-2011, 01:52 AM

What matters is whether or not it sounds good, not really how cheap it is. If it doesn't sound good, then don't use it. If it sounds good, then use it! If it sounds just OK (i.e., acceptable but not ideal), then use it for now until you get something better to replace it.

stratovani · #14 06-01-2011, 08:34 AM

I used to keep a DigiTech RP-50 on my guitar pedalboard so I could have those effects that I would rarely use available if I needed them, such as pitch shift or flanger. It was a lot cheaper than buying pedals I would almost never use, and the sound quality, while not great, was just good enough. You may want to consider keeping the BP just for that reason.

My name is Mudd · #15 06-01-2011, 09:53 AM

I had a BP80 a few years ago...imo, the distortions are horrid but the modulations are decent as long as you don't try stacking a bunch of them on top of each other. Note that you can go in and 'tune' the modulations kinda-sorta, and that can help. I'd try fooling with different settings (the factory presets, 41 > 80, are a good place to start sometimes) and see what happens, especially since you already have it.

chubrocker · #16 06-01-2011, 10:39 AM

FWIW, I use a Behringer bass distortion pedal. I got it in a trade to make up the difference for what I was owed. I like it better than the $150 I spent my money on for another "quality" pedal. Listen to your ears and don't get hung-up on stuff. It's taken me 20 years to get to this point.