How I would set up my equipment...

[ndrly]

Well, I'm not sure if this is the right thread. But, I think this is a good way to set up amplifiers and effects or something.

The picture shows, in the style of Bass Player magazine, how I would set up my equipment if I had all that equipment.

P.S.

-Yes, my ideal setup is similar to Justin Chancellor's. So? WalBassPlayer (among others) has a setup almost identical to Justin Chancellor's. Anyway, it's not exactly like his. There's no Wal bass, no SansAmp, no Mesa Boogie/Gallien-Krueger amplification (although I'd like to try out GK).

-I'd actually prefer a Micro POG than the full-size model. Well, it's got the same circuitry, but in a smaller, simpler and cheaper package.

-Yes, there are two pitch-shifters there. The POG is just used to simulate having an eight-string bass, or a piccolo bass. The Whammy is used for everything else (except the "detune" effects, which is covered by chorus).

-I'm not sure if the Ashdown models pictured are the exact models I want. I'm not even sure if I'm going to end up with Ashdown amplifiers. But then again, considering the low prices, (well, low compared to Ampeg anyway) it's probably more than likely that I'll be standing in front of an Ashdown or two at my first gig.

-I'm not sure if the RAT pictured is the same RAT used by Justin Chancellor.

-Regarding the Sadowsky preamp, I sure hope that they're still in production when Roger kicks the bucket.

-I'd probably have more basses, but I think I can get by with just three.

-I have three basses for different tone and tuning. The Jazz bass is tuned E-A-D-G, and so is the StingRay, while the P-bass is tuned Eb-Ab-Db-Gb. All the basses have Hipshot Detuners, so they can be drop-tuned (although I think I'd use the StingRay more for drop D stuff).

[syciprider]

How I would set up my equipment...

With a roadie hopefully.

[Magical_Max]

A Roadie would help with two 8x10's.

FX wise only things I would suggest try:
1) moving the Big Muff to just after the Whammy's Wet output, distortion into chorus and then into delay tends to muddy up and sound abit too much.
2) If you're going to use the Rat and EQ together try the GEB-7 on either side of the Rat. EQ before it might help feed the Rat abit more low-end. After it would help shape the sound of the distortion more.

[ndrly]

Originally Posted by Magical_Max

1) moving the Big Muff to just after the Whammy's Wet output, distortion into chorus and then into delay tends to muddy up and sound abit too much.

So, you're saying I should muddy up my sound?

I placed the effects in that order because Justin Chancellor's pedalboard is the first one I've seen, so my setup's similar to his. Also, I heard that distortion, overdrive and fuzz pedals should be placed at the end of one's pedalboard, as they can cause loud leaps in volume.

I'll see what works for me once I get all the equipment pictured in the photo.

[KarateKid25]

Did you end up trying a whammy you liked yet? I thought originally you tried the WH4 and didn't like the sweep of the pedal.

[ndrly]

Originally Posted by KarateKid25

Did you end up trying a whammy you liked yet? I thought originally you tried the WH4 and didn't like the sweep of the pedal.

Something might have been wrong with it. I didn't hear any pitch bend until it was almost rocked all the way forward. Some people said that I should have recalibrated it.

[KarateKid25]

Yeah. I was just wondering if you had had better luck with one yet?

The motion is quite limited, but you get used to it. It doesn't bother me.

Anyway, good luck with the gear collecting!

[ndrly]

Originally Posted by KarateKid25

Yeah. I was just wondering if you had had better luck with one yet?

The motion is quite limited, but you get used to it. It doesn't bother me.

Anyway, good luck with the gear collecting!

I haven't tried the whammy pedal since that incident.

Anyway, I tried my BOSS DS-1 on bass. It sounded great!

[ndrly]

Also, I'm kinda holding out hope that Digitech will reissue some of the Whammy pedals they made in the past, as well as making new ones. They have not yet reached perfection.

[DbNBassist]

Originally Posted by ndrly

Also, I heard that distortion, overdrive and fuzz pedals should be placed at the end of one's pedalboard, as they can cause loud leaps in volume.

Wh..wh..what!??

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by DbNBassist

Wh..wh..what!??

+1... usually, distortion goes first so other effects can act upon it. Distortion after delay and chorus isn't the same as the reverse. Plus, I think you're misunderstanding the whole "volume leaps" thing.

Distortion pedals can cause leaps in volume anywhere in the chain, but only if you have the volume and gain cranked to do that!

Almost every distortion pedal on the planet has both a gain knob and a volume knob (with some rare exceptions). If you don't want a volume boost, just tweak your knobs accordingly.

As for your setup proposal... looks cool to me, with two exceptions:

- As per what I mentioned above, I'd definitely move the Big Muff to sit between the POG and the Whammy. Try that out when you get those pedals, and thank me later.

- As an experimental alternative, try using the stereo output of the Clone Theory instead of the dry out of the Whammy. While your results will be different than what you'd get the Whammy's dry out option, it'll allow you to enjoy stereo chorus tones.

[ndrly]

Here's a new setup. I've just added a true bypass looper (to prevent tone suckage as well as helping turn on multiple effects). It's an Xotic X-Blender, but I've heard that the Barge Concepts models are cheaper, and just as efficient, if not more so. I'll see if any local shops stock either.

I forgot to mention - the Sadowsky would likely mainly be used for live stuff. It can do two jobs at once - providing a DI, and boosting the level of a passive bass so it cuts through in a live setting. In the studio, I'd probably use it exclusively as a DI box, as I would not need to boost a passive bass in the studio.

[JanusZarate]

Hmm... I still don't agree with the placement of the Big Muff, but I'll let your personal testing decide whether or not it's best for you.

You won't find Barge Concepts products in stores, AFAIK - they're too small a builder, and I don't think they've built any pedals for any shops I know of in the States - much less, anywhere else in the world.

[assboglin]

I would put that big muff after the whammy and before the chorus. But that's me. I prefer overdrive/distortion/fuzz pedals before the modulations. Plus, to me, a delay before the fuzz is going to sound like junk because you have all those low volume delayed notes hitting the fuzz pedal, not clipping through it right and depending on the fuzz that can freak it out as well. For general applications you'll want the already fuzzed sound to be delayed.

[ndrly]

Oh I see. Now it makes sense. Delay pedals should be last in the chain because then, it will sound the most natural.

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by ndrly

Oh I see. Now it makes sense. Delay pedals should be last in the chain because then, it will sound the most natural.

The same could arguably be said about chorus, but there are unusual and cool tones to be had when it's in front of distortion.

[Liko]

2 major types of effects:

Gain effects - increase/decrease signal
Synthesizer effects - analyze the signal and combine or replace it with synthesized signals

All other effects are specializations of these two. Modulation (chorus, phasing, flanging), delay (reverb, echo, delay, looping), signal generators (harmonizer, octaver), simulators (acoustic simulators, amp-in-a-box) and signal replacers (MIDI interfaces, synth pedals) are synth effects. EQ, OD, distortion, limiting, compression, expanders (noise gates and dampers) and filters (telephone/bullhorn effects, hum reduction, wah pedals) are all gain effects. Most digital effects and DSPs, even though they may reproduce gain effects, are technically synth effects because the effect converts the signal from analog to digital and back to analog, and the original analog signal is discarded after the digital conversion.

As a general rule of thumb, gain effects go before synth effects to minimize tone loss. By boosting gain to the maximum level before running it through other pedals that lose tone, you mitigate the tone loss of the non-gain pedals. However, it's a rule with many exceptions depending on the desired effect.

For instance, reverb should generally be the last thing in your signal chain, because it reproduces an acoustical effect (bouncing around the room) that is naturally the last thing that happens to a sound before it enters your ear. The same is true for chorus pedals; they're usually next-to-last in front of reverbs. But, placing it in front of a distortion effect gives you a lo-fi "tape distortion" sound where the distortion appears to happen as a result of the mixer, mic or recording deck being overdriven instead of the instrument amp.

Compression generally comes before distortion, to sustain the square wave as long as possible, but placing the compressor AFTER an OD pedal allows the tone to decay from OD back to clean without the volume changing, which is useful for a more vintage tone. Wah pedals are generally the first thing in the chain (after tuners), but placing a wah after distortion creates some wierd effects.

Signal-replacement pedals such as MIDI interface boxes are an exception to the "gain first, synth last" rule, often because such an effect requires a specialized input (like a Roland MIDI cable). On top of that, since the input signal is not part of the output, anything you do to the signal before it enters the synth pedal is generally wasted. Delays, loopers, harmonizers and octavers are also often placed in front of gain effects because they are more easily able to generate the desired effect when given a clean signal. The combined signal can then have the desired effects applied.