Help Me Set-Up my First Effects Board!!

[chaunceytoben]

So I'm looking to venture into the world of effects, but truly have no idea where to begin. Im not looking for anything too big right now, just a small boards with 3-4 effects. Max Budget is $1000 total.

I'm looking for some suggestions. What small, budget pedal board would you use? Would would you fill the board with(i.e. what are the essential effects)? Im thinking distortion for sure, an envelope filter/wah and then....? What are your favorite models of these types of pedals? Thing is I really don't know the first thing about effects...how does power work? Batteries? Do I need to buy one of those power blocks?

Ive been doing as much research as I can online but really haven't come up with anything definitive. Just more options. I know I'm new to this, so please bear with me.

Thanks!

[Pitbull Growl]

Hate to answer a question with a question but, what kind of amp, bass(es) and style(s) of music do you play?

[strke-fender]

I am going to suggest a compressor.

[ryognbass]

personally if you have the steady hands and technology to do so, id reccomend building a board of scrap wood and carpet. if not the pedaltrain jr. or ehx pedaltote will do.

for pedals i reccomend

fuzz- EHX bass big muff
env. filter- EHX qtron or variant
drive- fulltone bass drive/OCD/ exotic bass bb preamp
compressor- too many to list. check with bongomania on this one. his faqs are great.

and as long as you stick with std. 9v pedals, a one spot adaptor with a daisy chain will do the trick.

hope that helps. have fun

[chaunceytoben]

Originally Posted by Pitbull Growl

Hate to answer a question with a question but, what kind of amp, bass(es) and style(s) of music do you play?

My two main basses are a EBMM Sterling 4 HS and a Rev. Rumblefish JJ4. I play through a GK 700RB-II and GK 2x10. I play mostly rock, funk some chilled out acoustic-guitar driven stuff and just a bit of blues.

Rygon- Appreciate the suggestions. That is almost exactly what Im looking for, your choice of pedals/board for my budget. Thanks!

[TheMutt]

Originally Posted by chaunceytoben

So I'm looking to venture into the world of effects, but truly have no idea where to begin. Im not looking for anything too big right now, just a small boards with 3-4 effects. Max Budget is $1000 total.

There's many effects that you could buy for that price range. Really depends on what companies you are looking at, and what level of effects you want (entry level like BOSS/DigiTech/Behringer/MXR & Dunlop/EHX to some extent, or more expensive models that may or may not have greater tweakability, or boutique pedals/special edition pedals that can be ridiculously expensive.)

Originally Posted by chaunceytoben

I'm looking for some suggestions. What small, budget pedal board would you use?

What size do you need/want?
Do you want more room to expand later, or just enough to fit 3/4 pedals (I'd suggest the Pedaltrain Mini, PT-1, or PT-2, the EHX pedal bag, NYC lunch box or six shot, or a pedalboard that you build yourself.)

Originally Posted by chaunceytoben

Would would you fill the board with(i.e. what are the essential effects)? Im thinking distortion for sure, an envelope filter/wah and then....? What are your favorite models of these types of pedals?

There really are no "essential" effects that you couldn't live without, unless you are trying to go for a specific tone.
Envelope Filter - EBS BassIq, 3Leaf Groove Regulator, Boomstick Bottom Feeder/Mojo Hand 442 Red, DOD FX25
Wah - Wilson Effects wah (many different types)
This is definitely a matter of opinion, and there are almost limitless choices. It's best to try what you can in the stores, and order one and make use of the return/exchange policy of the shop you go to.

Originally Posted by chaunceytoben

Thing is I really don't know the first thing about effects...how does power work? Batteries? Do I need to buy one of those power blocks?

As with an active bass, as long as you don't keep the input jacks on the pedals plugged in, batteries will last you quite a while. You don't particularly need a power block, unless you have pedals that are run with negative polarity, have a mixture of DC and AC current pedals, or have different voltage needs (9/18/24 etc). Otherwise, you can just use a 1Spot power supply or Godlyke Powerall and a daisy chain.

As far as effects, I'd say the safest choice is to get a multi effect pedal before you start investing a lot of money in effects. They won't be the most accurate-sounding models most of the time, but they will definitely give you an idea of what there is out there.

[M@ddest_H@tter!]

If your not looking ofr a powered pedal board check out the coffin case board on Musicians Friend....its about 60 bucks...I love mine!

[Swimming Bird]

Best way to do this is try stuff out. You're not going to know what you're looking for in any given pedal until you've played around with a bunch, usually for a long period of time.

That's part of why a lot of people's boards change often -- mine sure does.

Perhaps it's good to whittle it down to a couple different archetype pedals and try them back to back. For example if you want a fuzz, try an EHX Big Muff, a Dunlop Swollen Pickle, a ProCo Rat and an MXR Blowtorch. They all have their merits, and each get love, but they're distinct and have advantages and disadvantages.

[gnasher1993]

I think there's been enough suggestions so far so I'm not going to add anymore but...a budget of $1000 will get you started very nicely in my opinion, especially if you're only looking for 3/4 pedals. Good luck and welcome to the dark side .

[chaunceytoben]

Appreciate all the suggestions so far!

So for my first 3 pedals, how does Fuzz, Envelope Filter, Compressor sound?

[gnasher1993]

Originally Posted by chaunceytoben

Appreciate all the suggestions so far!

So for my first 3 pedals, how does Fuzz, Envelope Filter, Compressor sound?

Sounds pretty good to me if you get good quality pedals. If you have the cash left, perhaps add some kind of modulation (i.e. chorus, flanger) or a delay pedal maybe.

[paganjack]

I would +1 the multi board to start. once you've played with a lot of different things you can get a feel for what it is YOU want from your board. That said, Fuzz, EF, and Comp is a good start too.

get a delay as well.

or a looper- super useful for songwriting if you're into that thing

[Fullmetal]

I suggest instead of getting another effect, get a pedal tuner. Korg Pitchblacks are small, easy to read and have pretty quick tracking. They come pretty cheap too.

However, I say a wah pedal may be right up your street. Check out the Dunlop Crybaby 105Q, or the Morley Dual Bass Wah.

[Eric!]

I think of my set-up as decently minimalist.

ZVex Mastotron > Digitech Whammy > Korg Tuner > EHX SMMH

For distortion, I highly recommend a ProCo Rat II. I miss mine..

[JMDT]

For rock distortion, filter and compressor would work great. So $1000 budget...

You will probably like an a low to medium gain overdrive type distortion pedal the best for those genres. I like the Way Huge Pork Loin the best in this category, but there are dozens of good ones. This one has a bunch of tweakibility and more importantly cuts well through the mix. $169.
http://wayhuge.com/

Filters are very subjective, but the 3Leaf Audio Groove Regulator as an all around amazing pedal. It has no volume spikes like other filters, has zero useless knob settings while also having a number of usable sounds, and also does a good job of cutting in a mix. $200.
filter link

As far as compressor I don't have a lot of experience in this department, but our resident compressor expert bongoman likes the FEALabs Dual Band Optical Compressor-Limiter the best. I can't comment on it much other than the fact that it looks amazing and from the review it looks like it delivers and more. This supposedly will thicken up and even out your tone, while also making it punchier. $345.
compressor

If you just want a few pedals, I would get a pedaltrain mini. This will hold 4-5 pedals depending on size. It is aluminum, so it is strong, but also leightwieght and not bulky. The pedaltrains are also nice in that they are grated so that you can run your chords under the board to remove clutter. $69.
pedaltrain mini

For this application a one spot is the perfect power choice as their are no inherently noisy pedal and there is no room on a mini for a power box. You would want the combo box with the supply and a daisy chain to attach to multiple pedals. $35
one spot

So the grand total is $818. So I'm in budget and you are fully equiped with perfect gear for your type of music.

[JimmyM]

Really, the only truly necessary effect for bassists these days is overdrive. Everything else is optional. Fun but optional. My board is now at 4 pedals...overdrive, octaver, phaser, and envelope filter. But I could lose all of it but the overdrive and still work as much as I always did. And if I'm being totally honest, I could lose it and work as much as I always did, too. But it's used a lot in today's music (though that's obviously genre-specific), so I'd call it a necessity at this point.

[dannybuoy]

Amen to that - my board is quickly becoming filled with different flavours of fuzz and overdrive. I suggest you look at either the VT Bass or Catalinbread SFT for amp-like overdrive, and if you're in the market for a heavy fuzz, the Earthbound Supercollider. Do your research before you splash the cash, there's plenty of reviews and clips buried in them thar threads!

[cheapbasslovin]

I'm gonna have to suggest a Line6 M13. This will keep you busy for months. It's pretty easy to use and most of the sounds are good quality. It will definitely get you into figuring out what you want out of effects without flipping a thousand of them. Once you figure the kind of stuff you like and what you can't get out of that box, then you can start flipping like crazy. Other than that, I love my EHX HOG and won't do without it.

[kaputsport]

Another thing you could go for is an older used multi effect, like a Boss ME-8B, or a Korg multi unit.

I personally like individual pedals. My board has a little of everything and cost a lot of money, but could be subbed for others if needed.

Get at least an octave a fuzz, an envelope filter, compressor and tuner. Next a synth (if wanted) etc, etc, etc...

[FeuerFrei]

I'd say get a fuzz / od, a chorus, a EQ (really helps) and then top it off with the Sansamp Bass, that pedal rounds out your sound to nicely, will fit into all your styles.