Pedal Advice...

**TFish** · #1 03-08-2011, 03:35 PM

I've been reading for days through the effects threads and am in need of a little help.

I'm new to the world of effects pedals and am in need of some advice or direction. I had a Line6 Bass Pod XT Live and was able to determine kind of what I liked and didn't as far as effects go. I didn't care for some of the samplings that Line6 uses but others were fine.

I'd like to be able to cover as many tones as possible but still have a reasonably small/portable board. Right now I only play in church in a worship band and plug into a DI (no amp or effects). At home I have a GK 700RBII with GK 410 and 115 RBX cabs. I play a Peavey Cirrus 5er and a Fender MIA Jazz.

Some friends get together and jam once in a while and have asked me to join them. We've talked about playing some gigs and covering Christian rock, country, classic rock, punk, etc so I'd like to be covered when it comes to pedals.

What I'm looking at for my effects chain is something like this:

Tuner > octaver > fuzz > envelope filter > Line6 M9 > compressor > VT Bass > DI/amp

I've done a lot of reading here and it seems like these are the most used pedals, give or take, and this may even be overkill. I know that each pedal is up to me, as is order in the chain. I guess what I'm looking for is your take on the order and if I should either add to or delete any of these.

As a side note, I don't own any of these except for a tuner, so any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

MysterMunky · #2 03-08-2011, 03:45 PM

Personally, I would have the VT Bass first due to the tone shaping.

Tuner>VT>Octave>Fuzz>Envelop>M9>amp

I don't use a compressor, so I don't where it would work the best. I'm guessing either before or after the VT.

I use a EHX POG2 for octave stuff, Bass Big Muff/Little Big Muff (although I just ordered a GreyStache + which will replace both of these) and a BassIQ as an envelope filter. Lately, I've been less than wowed by the BassIQ and i'm looking at a 3Leaf GR2.

Are you going to use the M9 for delay/chorus/flange type stuff?

stflbn · #3 03-08-2011, 03:46 PM

The Octave on the Line6 M9 is REALLY TRUELY fantastic. If you'll have an M9 you really won't 'need' another octaver. IMHO. Same with some of the others on your list.

.

warwick.hoy · #4 03-08-2011, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TFish

~~Tuner~~ > ~~octaver~~ > fuzz > ~~envelope filter~~ > Line6 M9 > compressor > VT Bass > DI/amp

I marked through every thing you likely won't need as a result of using an M9. The only reason I didn't mark through the Compressor is because I feel like analog circuits are probably better than 1's and 0's as far as compression goes. Having said that I could be wrong.

Transistor based clipping is superior to ones and zeros in my opinion so for fuzzes I would go with a stand alone box.

Someone else will have to comment on how good the filters are on the M9.

Lastly,...do you want the VT for amp emulation or Overdrive?

JimmyM · #5 03-08-2011, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

I marked through every thing you likely won't need as a result of using an M9. The only reason I didn't mark through the Compressor is because I feel like analog circuits are probably better than 1's and 0's as far as compression goes. Having said that I could be wrong.

i agree with you, at least in pedals and multis. but dang, that waves renaissance compressor plugin is smooth as all getout. so i think it's less it being digital and more that floor pedals just don't have the guns to do it right.

one advice i'll give the op is to add only one pedal at a time and get to know it before you add another one. i made that mistake once and spent the entire night fighting with everything until i just turned it all off.

warwick.hoy · #6 03-08-2011, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

i agree with you, at least in pedals and multis. but dang, that waves renaissance compressor plugin is smooth as all getout. so i think it's less it being digital and more that floor pedals just don't have the guns to do it right.

one advice i'll give the op is to add only one pedal at a time and get to know it before you add another one. i made that mistake once and spent the entire night fighting with everything until i just turned it all off.

Maybe,...but my FEAlabs OptiFET would like to disagree with you.

It's a standout compressor IMO though and it's not cheap.

JimmyM · #7 03-08-2011, 06:00 PM

not cheap, eh? that would explain it

**TFish** · #8 03-08-2011, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MysterMunky

Are you going to use the M9 for delay/chorus/flange type stuff?

That's the type of M9 effects I would most likely use when needed.

**TFish** · #9 03-08-2011, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

I marked through every thing you likely won't need as a result of using an M9. The only reason I didn't mark through the Compressor is because I feel like analog circuits are probably better than 1's and 0's as far as compression goes. Having said that I could be wrong.

Transistor based clipping is superior to ones and zeros in my opinion so for fuzzes I would go with a stand alone box.

Someone else will have to comment on how good the filters are on the M9.

Lastly,...do you want the VT for amp emulation or Overdrive?

Mainly using the VT for amp emulation as I either play direct through the house PA or my GK amp which is basically set flat. The M9 does have some OD.

I would more than likely have the VT Bass and compressor on all the time, for the tube emulation and I'm looking at a BBE Opto Stomp compressor which should give just a small amount and not affect the tone too much.

**TFish** · #10 03-08-2011, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

one advice i'll give the op is to add only one pedal at a time and get to know it before you add another one. i made that mistake once and spent the entire night fighting with everything until i just turned it all off.

That is the plan. Like I stated, I know nothing about effects pedals so I dealing with quite the learning curve here. Thanks for the advice.

**TFish** · #11 03-08-2011, 10:02 PM

This is good stuff. Let's keep the thoughts coming in guys!

cheapbasslovin · #12 03-08-2011, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

Tuner > octaver > fuzz > envelope filter? > Line6 M9 > compressor? > VT Bass > DI/amp

I made a small change to what Warwick put above. I like the Tube Comp on the M9 and the Tron filters as well, but they are a little finicky and don't like as hot a signal as most basses provide, as well as not quite having the range of a grade A comp/filter. If you are angling for an M9 I'd suggest you start there and then see if you feel the need to upgrade those effects later.

You can also start with a VT, the M9 isn't going to get into that territory very well.

**TFish** · #13 03-10-2011, 10:18 PM

Do you guys agree on the path sequence?

NortyFiner · #14 03-11-2011, 04:47 AM

If you want to go as simple (and inexpensive) as possible while keeping the maximum number of different things you can do...

Bass > Line 6 > VT > Amp

The Line 6 has a tuner, and can handle most of the fancy effects like octave, flange, filter and so on. The VT can do some good OD/distortion type stuff, so you probably won't need a fuzz unless you really want something to melt faces, which I can't imagine in a church setting.

You could reasonably put a compressor in between the Line 6 and the VT bass, if you think the Line 6's compression is inadequate. You mentioned the BBE Opto Stomp; I used to own one, and I can verify that it is a good choice for light, transparent compression.

Hope that helps.

**TFish** · #15 03-12-2011, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NortyFiner

If you want to go as simple (and inexpensive) as possible while keeping the maximum number of different things you can do...

Bass > Line 6 > VT > Amp

The Line 6 has a tuner, and can handle most of the fancy effects like octave, flange, filter and so on. The VT can do some good OD/distortion type stuff, so you probably won't need a fuzz unless you really want something to melt faces, which I can't imagine in a church setting.

You could reasonably put a compressor in between the Line 6 and the VT bass, if you think the Line 6's compression is inadequate. You mentioned the BBE Opto Stomp; I used to own one, and I can verify that it is a good choice for light, transparent compression.

Hope that helps.

The reasons for the tuner is, well, I already have one and I like being able to mute the signal when I play at church. We usually only do a 4-5 song set but sometimes it's split up so we come do a few and then do one or two at the end.

The VT will mainly be a amp emulator/pre-amp so I won't be using it to get any OD or distortion. Face-melting has usually been optional at my church, so we'll see about the fuzz.

I've got an Opto Stomp on the way so that will got in the chain somewhere. I think I'll hold off on the octaver and filter for now as I've heard good thing about the M9 octaver, and the envelope filter probably isn't really needed at this point.

meatwad · #16 03-13-2011, 11:13 AM

Ok, I'll add this. I like my tuner at the end of the chain. It's a guitard's way of doing it no doubt, but it works great as a total effects mute, and eliminates the need for a noise gate if you have dist/fuzz, flanger... Ect. Some multi-fx units can create strange artifacts, too. I found this way useful when I was using distortion, and even though I shaved the fuzz away, my TU-2 still sits at the end of the chain.