Help me construct my pedal board! :D

[dazminiimp]

Hey there! so basicly i've had alot of effects in the past and ive switched from multi effects to singles countless times! but now i want to get some single effects that will give me a really nice full clean sound as well as harsh distortion sound, I like the musey kind of tone and will definatly invest in a akai deep impact pedal but just need help with some other pedals.

So really i just want your opions on what i should get, i already have a digitech whammy and line6 fm-4 and plan to keep them..

So fire away!

Thank youuuuu

[bongomania]

You'll need to give us a little more to work with. What do you mean by "a really nice full clean sound", and how come you can't get that with just a good bass and a good amp? What are you trying to achieve with effects? IMO effects are tools for specific jobs. There's no point going into a hardware store and asking "what tools should I buy?" They'll want to know what sort of projects you intend to work on.

What is the rest of your rig?

[bassguppy]

just an FYI.

If you have the bucks there is a Deep Impact on ebay. Already up to $405.00.

Not my auction but they don't show up very often.

[dazminiimp]

The rest of my rig is, MEsa D-180 head and an ampeg 4x10 cab and my bass is a fender mexican jazz bass. By the clean sound i mean will i need to use eq's after the effects cause i know some pedals can really suck the tone out of the signal. I want to get some effects i can really play around with like weird sounding delays. But mainly i want a nice phat bass distortion and can't really find anythign i like.

As regards to the deep impact i knwo you dont get that many up so ill have to save quite abit for it :P

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by dazminiimp

By the clean sound i mean will i need to use eq's after the effects cause i know some pedals can really suck the tone out of the signal.

Ah, OK, now I get you. Important things to know: While it's true that some fx can "suck tone" either engaged or bypassed, an EQ can never fix that. Wrong tool for the job. The right tool for the job is what's called a "blender loop" or a "bypass loop". You can find out more about those by searching here on the terms "blender", "bypass loop", and one of the popular brands here, "Barge".

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by dazminiimp

By the clean sound i mean will i need to use eq's after the effects cause i know some pedals can really suck the tone out of the signal.

Some, but not all. Bongo's right on his advice - for "tone-sucking" pedals, an EQ pedal can never correct it. Or any pedal, for that matter, outside of bypass loop pedals and blend loop pedals.

Remember, not all pedals suck tone. And don't think that any pedal with a buffer will suck tone, either; there are a lot of pedals with excellent buffer systems. I wouldn't worry about tone-suck until you get a pedal you love that happens to "suck" your tone when bypassed. Deal with it on a pedal-by-pedal basis.

Now, if a pedal is "sucking" low end or tone when on, and you aren't liking the results... then you need a different pedal.

Originally Posted by dazminiimp

I want to get some effects i can really play around with like weird sounding delays.

Hmm... if you want "weird-sounding" delays, look into delay pedals with delay modulation features. We've had a few recent threads on them too.

Originally Posted by dazminiimp

But mainly i want a nice phat bass distortion and can't really find anythign i like.

The subject of bass distortion is so broad, I couldn't even tell you where to begin. We'd need to know what you've tried, and specifically, what you're looking for.

Using Muse as an example... there's a few different bass distortion tones their bassist uses. Is there a particular song that shows us a good example of what you're looking for? There's a range of tones from synth-like fuzz to overdriven grind.

[assboglin]

If you're looking for the Muse sound, you'll need an EHX Big Muff.

And if you want a delay to play around with, I would recommend the Line 6 DL-4. Lots of options.

[infect]

Yeah, I've always been impressed by the line 6 delay modelers. Regardless, if you want a cool pedal to add, you should definately invest in an EHX POG. Sooooooooo many cool tones in that silver box..

[dazminiimp]

hey guys cheers for all the responses!

I will look into the loops and blenders now as for the distortion, i tried out a 'you dirty rat' pedal yesterday and it amazing! conbining that with my fm4 i got some really harsh dirty synth distortion sounds so i will be investing in one of them for sure!!

Im also going to try out the DL4, my friend has one and says its the best delay he has play so i shall try oen of them out!

once again thanks for the help guys! ill keep you up dated with what i buy :P

cheers!

[Swimming Bird]

Another way to get around the tone suck problem is to but a buffer or pre-amp at the beginning of your chain, especially as you're using a passive bass. For one it can give you a hotter signal which will make most envelope and note tracking-based pedals work better. It may also buff up your tone a bit.

Delay-wise, I'm probably the only one I know who dislikes the line6. I loath modeling pedals and I dislike the way the knobs reset when you change delay types. I would recommend any of the Boss DD series (I use a -6, but the -3 and -20 are also good depending). Also, the Boss RE-201 Space Echo redux is a great delay/reverb. Lastly, the Akai Headrush is usually not expensive and is quite a good delay/loop station.

For more delay info, check out the recent Eventide Time Factor thread.

[Hell-Lu]

one question:where should I plug it after the the pedal board if I use preamp and stuff? Like hi gain or low gain? you usually plug it into low gain if you have a passive bass right?

[bongomania]

Do you mean which input on your amp should you plug into? It depends whether the amp designer meant "high gain" to refer to a hot signal from your bass, or high gain applied to the bass at the input stage of the amp. Try both, see which sounds best.