MXR Pedals don't sound right on a P??
 

Hi, So I posted here some weeks back about getting an octave and an envelope filter. I purchased the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe and the MXR Bass Envelope Filter.

I have an active 5 string - with EMG J's and an Aguilar OBP-3. The bass thru these pedals sounds phenominal.

BUt for some reason, the same pedals sound woofy and unclear thru the P. I did tweak around a lot with the eq, but I just can't seem to get a sound I like. The P is a 50's style Precision P stock, although I will be adding a 62' Fender Pickup to it soon.

ANy suggestions to make it sound better?

Thanks!

Put a boost or o/d pedal in front of the EF.

Mxr even released a video with those pedals using a p bass sounded epic!

Honestly, the first thing that popped into my head was that you were probably using old/bad/sad/wrong strings.

The two basses have different output impedance and volume.

You have 2 options.

1) reset the pedal every time you change bass. Not the best solution.

2) put some kind of boost in front of the pedals that you use for the P only. You want one with a nice flat EQ, but with a tone control. The reason for the tone control is that with the imp. change you'll notice more high frequencies because you'll not be getting the cable's resistance "tone suck" that you normally would.

I recommend the Visual Sound clean boost, because it has long battery life, super flat EQ and has a passive tone control. It's also not expensive.

+1 ... I use a P with the MXR BEF and it's behaves a lot better when I have my OD in front feeding it a little more juice. Without it, I get a "woofy" sound on low decay settings and need the have the sensitivity at 3 o'clock (unless I really hit the strings hard, which is not my style).

It's not an issue with a P-bass ... it's more about passive vs. active.

One other thing: Env. filter are very input sensitive. Hence the sensitivity knob. You'll probably have to make the pedal more sensitive for the P.

Cool. Thanks. I have a Bass RC Booster. I'll try the RC Booster before the BEF.

I'm having the exact opposite result with my MXR BOD. Sounds perfect with my passive Fender Jazz, however, not so great with my active Warwick (MEC pickups, Aguilar preamp). Gets very glitchy with the tracking when I move to the upper registers. The strings on my Warwick are older so I'm wondering if I've lost some fundamental needed to drive the pedal (just a theory).