How Do You Arrange your Pedals?

[Livewire]

So instead of making a thread asking the talkbass community how I should arrange my pedals, I figure I'd ask how do you guys arrange your pedals and why? Is it to achieve a specific sound, to avoid tone suck, etc. Feel free to post pics too of your board.

I'm trying to figure out where I should put my new EBS octave pedal, any suggestions on how to arrange my chain is welcomed! Currently my setup is:

Pitch Black Tuner
EBS Multicomp
Xotic BB preamp
Tech 21 VT Bass
EBS Octabass
MXR M82 Envelope Filter
Ibanez Flanger

VT bass and multicomp are always on.

What's yours chain?

[bobulibobium]

In the interest of tracking, id stick the octave as close as possible to the start of your chain.

My chain though:

Digitech Whammy IV
MXR Bass Octave
Boss FT-2 Dynamic Filter
EHX Nano Small Stone phaser
EHX Bass Big Muff fuzz
Boss ODB-3 Bass Overdrive
Hardwire CR-7 Chorus
Boss BF-2 Flanger
Hardwire RV-7 Reverb
Boss DD-7 Delay
Aphex Bass Xciter

All of these run straight into the input of my Hartke Hydrive 2x10 combo with the overdrive setting mixed slightly in, and the compressor set to 7.

Edit: You might want to check out the "Post Your Pedalboard" threads for an idea of what other people do.

[BlackIrish]

Hi,
BB to push your signal thru your chain/ drives seem to always work best first in line
Octobass
MXR
Ibanez mid chain buffer
tuner
comp close to last as possible, you want full sound thru your fx and compress after
VT last since its a di/preamp/speaker sim + buffer to push to the amp

the tuner you can really move to what fits on your board but I would rec starting and ending with a buffer. some people like to run fx after the VT but i think it degrades the VT signal quality of the pedal. it is a amp pedal not a real amp and the only one with a speaker sim. unless your running a wet rig also ( do bass players do that) would you mic your cab and put a fx pedal between the mic and the pa? move around the Oct MXR and Ibanez to see what sounds best different brands sound better in different places esp around buffers. but on the fx alone the oct is going to change the freq of your signal the filter will handel that well and should make your flanger sound clearer. fwiw this is just the opinion of a long time pedal head. later

[bigchiefbc]

My chain (and the reason why):

Bass

Devi Bass Fuzz (this goes first because it hates buffers, and wants to see my basses pickups directly)

Boss LS-2
in LS-2 loop:
Digitech XP-100 -> Blackout Musket -> Wilson Freaker Wah (this all goes here because I use them together a lot, and I need the whammy near the beginning for tracking)

Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone (because compression helps the next two pedals' tracking)

Boss OC-2
Behringer BSY-600

Tech 21 Leeds (my other dirt pedal, before any delay or modulation)

Boss DD-20 (I like my delay before modulation)

Morley Deluxe Phaser
DOD FX-72 flanger
Behringer CC-300 chorus

Amp

[PJMiDi]

I've been trying a lot of things out lately but at the moment it goes

Bass

Tuner

Sansamp BDDI (pre amp EQ)

Amp

Post amp EQ

Tubescreamer

Boss OC-2

EHX Electric Mistress

Dunlop Wah

Boss DD-3

back to amp

[t3ch]

On a pedalboard.

[doctorpunch]

Bass
Korg Pitchblack
Whatever distortion I have, I think it's a digitech
Dunlop Crybaby
Digitech Chorus
Tech21 Sansamp
Digitech reverb
Amp

[BlackIrish]

i agree w/ bigchiefbc if you have a fuzz try it first before buffers, drives, distortions and tuners, they rarely sound as good as possible with buffers or other pedals in front.

[sillyfabe]

Fender Jazz Geddy Lee with Rotosound Swing Bass 66

Boss SYB-05 Bass Synth
EHX Bass Micro Synth XO
Boss OC-2 Octave

Boss LS-2 Line Selector

A:
Zvex Mastotron
Way Huge Swollen Pickle
Baddy One Shoe Firecracker Fuzz
Fender Sub-Lime Bass Fuzz

B:
Boss PH-2 Super Phaser
Boss BF-2 Flanger
Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner

Clean:
EHX Enigma:QBALLS Envelope Filter
Boss LM-2B Bass Limiter
Boss PS-3 Digital Pitch Shifter/Delay
VFE Echo Ohce : Analog Delay/Compressor/Slow Gear Clone
Roland RE-20 Space Echo

[bassbrad]

I run my board in 3 sections:
input : MXR NG Line Driver DI> BBE Opto Stomp|> Boss Ge7B
Loop Boss PSM5: {top row}EHX Micro Qtron|> Boss OC2|> Boss SD1|> Hjart Muller Lo:Fat|> Zeibek Cross Drive|>
{bottom row} Boss ODB3|> Ehx Bass Balls NYC|>Akai UniBass
Post Loop: Zoom B2.1u> ElectroniX Submarine

Ge7B to match levels and tones between basses, everything is set for my main squeeze but the other basses need help.
Using the PSM5 cuz it's what I got may get some other looper someday. The loop is so I can set up combinations and just have 1 switch to hit.
With my new amp, GKMB500, I am just using the Zoom for a couple of pitch shifter sounds, specific sounds I have created plus chorus, flange, delay and reverb. Submarine is there for the tasty things it does to my tone.

[MantisBot]

I was plugging my stuff in in all kinds of arrangements for awhile, trying to figure out what in the heck to do.

Then my effect happy friend told me a basic arrangement maxim that has improved my tone quite a bit:

1) Tone control/envelope fun (tuner > Vox Snakecharmer > Nano Bassballs)

2) Distortion (guv'nor clone > ODB-3 > Bass Big Muff PI)

3) Pitch shifting/delay effects (PS-5 > DD-20)

4) Signal boost (FZ-2 on gain mode)

Keeping the basic order concept here seems to work well. Of course, experimentation is the best way to get to know your board inside and out, so go to town!

Oh right, the why of it all...

Compression and envelope filters first sends a clearer signal to my distortion. Also, many envelope filters are triggered by finger dynamics. Putting them after a distortion pedal destroys most of that, thus usually leaves them fully activated.

A cleaner, clearer signal sent to my happy distortion section leads me to the pitch-shifting / delay section. Distortion doesn't seem to make much difference to the ps-5 (especially when I'm jumping up 2 octaves), so putting it there made sense. Having the delay after that feeds the DD-20 a totally effected signal. Also, playing many notes through distortion at the same time sometimes makes a horrible sound. Putting a delay before your distortion section is basically playing a bunch of notes at the same time but with odd harmonies. My distortion pedals hate that. They hit me when I do that, so I put the DD-20 after them to dodge beatings.

I put the boost pedal (yeah, I need a real one) at the end of the chain for soloing and what-not so that I can boost everything. I found that putting the boost toward the beginning of the chain over-distorted my distortion and basically pissed off the rest of my pedals. Putting it at the end simply gave me a signal boost (which is what it's for really, right?).

Reasoning had! Now I've got to go post a picture of my board in the most recent "Post your board" thread...

[MrGotBass]

Originally Posted by t3ch

On a pedalboard.

[pit7]

1. Fender Precision Bass

2. EBS Multicomp

3. Amp


Sometimes a Jazz Bass...sometimes a SansAmp...sometimes a few beer.

That's it...that's the whole f****** thing.

[bassyeah]

Explain your board

[t3ch]

Originally Posted by MrGotBass

I lol'd.

[slurpy]

My chain goes,
Tuner, Flanger, Muff, Octave, Synth, Tremolo, Echo

i run the flanger first purely for tone manipulation. ive found if i run the flanger into the distortion and play a harmonic i can make the harmonic quaver fairly violently.

but muck around with it and see what sounds best to your ears.

[Jake of Bass]

Currently have TU-2, LMB-3, VTD and then in loop of that I have MBSS, CEB-3, loop return and then into the amp.

I previously had TU-2, LMB-3, BDDI Programmable, LS-2 then loop A was BSW, CEB-3, return, loop B was just a DD-3 by itself, using the A+B mix setting on the LS-2, then into the amp.

I like the tuner first (picks up the bass the best, and I notice small discrepencies with pitch pretty easily) then LMB-3 next to tidy up the dynamics of my playing a little, then the VTD as it's the one pedal I use all the time (the LMB-3 is as well but it's set-and-forget). I then put the MBSS and CEB-3 into the loop so I can change between an overdriven or clean tone straight into the effects without tap dancing on my board. I have yet to get everything sounding the way I want as I haven't even heard what it sounds like with the loop or had more time to tweak the MBSS to something I really like, but that's the joys of working 2 weeks without a day off between two jobs, have one more week to go till my next day off...

[Ric5]

I arrange my effects in parallel. That way I can mix clean and dirty signals.

http://www.3dentourage.com/425/effects.htm

[cybersnyder]

Turbo Tuner
EBS MultiComp
EBS OctoBass
Maxon AF9
pedal named after a boat that goes underwater
(Space reserved for my Gnomeratron)
BOSS GEB-7
EBS Chorus
Line 6 M9

I'm working on scenes for the M9.

[Vic Winters]

Pitch Black - Mute/Tune
Bass Big Muff - True bypass when off, has clean blend when on. No need to be in a loop.
LS-2 (Send) - For bypass/blending.
Bass Synth Wah - Clean octave tracking.
M9 - Delays after synth, dirt before wah.
105Q
LS-2 (Return)
VT Bass - Amp sim/grit before DI, can be used with or without other effects.
M-80 - To send it all to the FOH.