my pedal board plan :D

[Doolz]

ok, after much research i think i have worked out my pedal board, or at least what i plan on purchasing to form my board.

my plan is

Bass>
Korg Pitch Black Tuner>
EHX Micro Pog>
Robot Factory Meat Wad-Boss HM-2 In the loop>
MXR El Grande Bass Fuzz (when it's released)>
Humphrey Modded Badder Bass Monkey>
Chunk Systems Octavius Squeezer (when its released)>
Subdecay Noise Box>
Co Pilot FX Android (4knob Version)>
Morley Dual Bass Wah>
Subdecay Echo Box>
Amp.

phew.

of all those i currently own only the HM-2 and the Badder Bass Monkey. im planning on purchasing all these over the next 6-7 months.

ideas/suggestions/opinions?

[Dave Muscato]

The only two of those I've heard of are...

"Bass"

and

"Amp"

haha!

[nad]

Two things:

1) Some pretty serious pedals there, I would suggest going one at a time so you can get to know and love each one, individually, in a very special way. It helps to experience how each new pedal interacts with everything else on your board, not to mention various basses and amps, which can be a time consuming process. Then again, getting like 9 pedals all at once can be overwhelming in a completely fun way. Imagine a hyperactive dog surrounded by a pile of dirty blankets, several tennis balls, 5 people who just returned from a showerless camping excursion, and bacon all at once.

2) I love my Noise Box. It has the powers to annoy/astound like nothing else.

[Doolz]

hahaha. if only i could afford to just order them all right now, but, alas, its going to be a long, slow process.

also after a bit of scouring through post your board threads i have decided that i will probably not go with the el grande fuzz when it is released, but rather the Earthbound Audio Supercollider.

any opinions on the order?

[beyondthe48]

get a better wah then the morley - the sweep just isnt enough as far as im concerned.

[Swimming Bird]

I agree completely with Nad.

Order wise, you know the deal -- figure it out once you get these pedals. However, as a general trend I've found envelope filters dislike being before octave devices, so to get consistent triggering with the Meatwad, but it before the mPOG. The Octavius is going to have a side-chain input, yes?

[Doolz]

Originally Posted by beyondthe48

get a better wah then the morley - the sweep just isnt enough as far as im concerned.

i compared the morley to the 105q, and i think that the sweep is pretty adequate, but another big factor is that it does have a bigger sweep than the dunlops and it is switchless. the switchless factor is a big deal for me. that way i dnt have to start the wah toe down or anything, i can leave it in any spot to start it up from. plus its pretty cool

Originally Posted by Swimming Bird

I agree completely with Nad.

Order wise, you know the deal -- figure it out once you get these pedals. However, as a general trend I've found envelope filters dislike being before octave devices, so to get consistent triggering with the Meatwad, but it before the mPOG. The Octavius is going to have a side-chain input, yes?

as far as i know, the OS has regular input/output and an input for the 00Funk. im not entirely sure what you mean by side-chain input though...

[rustynuts]

Hmmm....My 105Q is switchless.

[prsbass]

I think it's a very well thought out and researched list. The variables of playing techniques and the signal your bass sends may function perfectly or horribly with all them but you will only know that after they arrive.
Have fun and post progress clips/pics/videos

[Doolz]

well well well
this list has really changed a lot over the last couple months and i have a new job so progress will begin shortly . its quite different now haha.

the updated list is:

Bass>pitchblack>micro pog>meatwad (Boss HM-2 in the loop)>PulseFuzz*>Bass Monkey>XOBass Micro Synth>Nano BassBalls>Android Ringmod (w/ exp.)> dr. scientist Cosmichorus> dr. scientist Tremolessence>PS-3>PS-3>SMM/h>amp

*This is the squarewave fuzz from the Robot Factory Pulse synth, just without all the envelope/lfo modulation. it is my solution to the question i asked here: Dance/Electro Fuzz (thanks kevteop)

i also decided that after a/b'ing the 105Q and the Morley bass wah, i like neither. i dont think i will end up buying a wah at all, but if i do it will probably be the wilson.

[kevteop]

Originally Posted by Doolz

*This is the squarewave fuzz from the Robot Factory Pulse synth, just without all the envelope/lfo modulation. it is my solution to the question i asked here: Dance/Electro Fuzz (thanks kevteop)

Since I posted in that thread I've received my Pulse Synth. You'd want to blend it 50:50 with clean bass signal or an octave down to get that sort of sound, but it should manage it.

FTR I've got a Boss LS-2 in the loop of my Meatwad, with an OC-2 on one side of it and the Pulse Synth on the other.

[JJBass30]

Originally Posted by beyondthe48

get a better wah then the morley - the sweep just isnt enough as far as im concerned.

I agree with this i had a morley for about a year and it was to suddle a sound so just make sure thats what u want

[Doolz]

as i said 2 posts above yours, the list has changed
no wah.

[JJBass30]

Originally Posted by Doolz

as i said 2 posts above yours, the list has changed
no wah.

o woops sry, hey when u get the android ring mod let me know what its like i almost bought it a few months ago but wasnt sure

[Doolz]

Originally Posted by kevteop

Since I posted in that thread I've received my Pulse Synth. You'd want to blend it 50:50 with clean bass signal or an octave down to get that sort of sound, but it should manage it.

FTR I've got a Boss LS-2 in the loop of my Meatwad, with an OC-2 on one side of it and the Pulse Synth on the other.

thanks for that, mario did say that he could easily put a clean blend on the pedal.


first pedals to buy will be the mPog, wad and pulse fuzz. hopefully in the next couple of weeks

[kevteop]

I see the exp. pedal input on the Meatwad is a stock feature now - is that why you're not too bothered about having a wah pedal?

It's nice to have. It's a bit more flexible than a wah in that you can select from a few different bands to sweep and you can set the top end of the range with the intensity knob. It's also nice with the pulse synth in the FX loop for doing slow D&B style low-pass filter sweeps. The Bespeco pedal itself isn't that great to use but I suppose you could get another pedal modded with a different pot if it really bothered you.

I 100% recommend Mario BTW, he's a great guy.

[Doolz]

well no actually, but thats awesome i hadnt noticed that, despite regularly going over that page haha, thanks for letting me now about that. how does it work with the exp. pedal? functions as per usual until you step on the exp or is there a toggle or something like that to switch to the exp. mode?

also, would you be able to explain this optional feature for me, "Add Active Boost / Cut Circuitry + Volume Knob"?

[kevteop]

Originally Posted by Doolz

well no actually, but thats awesome i hadnt noticed that, despite regularly going over that page haha, thanks for letting me now about that. how does it work with the exp. pedal? functions as per usual until you step on the exp or is there a toggle or something like that to switch to the exp. mode?

Well I think (maybe Mario will show up and correct me) that the exp. pedal biz was a bit different until my order last month - I think he may have changed the standard circuit a bit in response to my feedback. So I can't really tell you what "standard" is because I modded an extra switch on to my Meatwad using his instructions (should point out he insisted on doing the mod himself free of charge but with international shipping and all it just made more sense for me to do it myself)...

But: Originally mine operated in two different ways depending on the sweep direction switch. (in static mode) it would either go from totally closed filter to partially open, or from fully open to partially closed. I wanted it to do the full sweep so we made that happen with a switch to determine whether "full-on sweep mode" was active or not. I think Mario said that this would be the default behaviour on future Meatwads, but again, this is something you'd have to confirm with him.

So basically I've got three "static" modes available on my Meatwad, but the "full-beans" mode only works when the filter is set to static - and I have to switch it back to "sensible" mode for some scenarios (like when I had the effects loop switched in but the Meatwad switched off - otherwise effects in the loop feed back in nutsy ways). These types of odd switching arrangements might not apply to your pedal though, because mine has some custom switching options relating to the effects loop, so I might just be confusing the issue.

If you want to ask him about how the exp. pedal operates tell him you've been talking to Kev from York, UK. And tell him I'm sorry if I've confused you unnecessarily.

Edit: Realise I hadn't properly answered your question: When you're not using the exp. pedal you can leave it plugged in but leave it in the full up position - this is zero impedance, it doesn't affect the filter. As you roll the pedal down it starts to take effect. It can work with any setting on the Meatwad - you can have the envelope follower quacking away and still choke it into lower ranges with the exp. pedal, or you can set the filter to "static" mode and use it as a wah or a low-pass filter cut-off control. Worth picking up an exp. pedal just to see how it works. Bear in mind though the exp. pedal that Lovetone recommends (Bespeco VM18-L/ VM-19-L) has a 20kohm pot, most have more impedance than that, so for best results you'll want that pedal or another pedal with a 20kohm range.

Originally Posted by Doolz

also, would you be able to explain this optional feature for me, "Add Active Boost / Cut Circuitry + Volume Knob"?

Apparently in Band Pass mode the Meatwad (well, the Meatball circuit) loses some volume, so I think this boost is intended to make up gain in that mode. If you're planning on using it solely on bass you probably won't be using Band Pass mode so you won't need any boost.

I don't have it on mine, and I haven't ever felt like I need it. And I work my Meatwad hard - it does envelope filter duties, and static filter Pulse Synth tone shaping jobs, and acts as a wah and a variable low-pass filter and so on - the only constant is that I put a bass guitar signal into the input. Maybe it's more useful for guitarists.

I suppose it would also be useful if you wanted to be able to stand out of the mix when you turned it on, for solos or whatever, but no doubt if you're in the habit of taking solos you'll already have a clean boost or something on your board.

[Doolz]

thats really ****ing confusing... so you use it as a tone shaper ala leaving a wah in half up position for example?

Originally Posted by kevteop

But: Originally mine operated in two different ways depending on the sweep direction switch. (in static mode) it would either go from totally closed filter to partially open, or from fully open to partially closed. I wanted it to do the full sweep so we made that happen with a switch to determine whether "full-on sweep mode" was active or not.

this is also confusing me...whats the difference between what you have it doing, ie. totally closed->partially open, totally open->partially closed and going just fully open->fully closed and vice versa?

[kevteop]

Originally Posted by Doolz

thats really ****ing confusing... so you use it as a tone shaper ala leaving a wah in half up position for example?

Sometimes yeah, with other effects in the loop. It's nice for giving a honky, mid-heavy tone to stuff like the Pulse Synth.

Originally Posted by Doolz

this is also confusing me...whats the difference between what you have it doing, ie. totally closed->partially open, totally open->partially closed and going just fully open->fully closed and vice versa?

Sorry, I ramble a bit: The difference is the range available on the exp. pedal. Prior to modding it, it wouldn't do a full-range sweep, only a choice of two shorter sweeps that either excluded the top end of the filter range or the bottom. After the mod I can sweep the full range of the filter with the exp. pedal.