Pedal experts! What do you think of this?

[madbassplaya]

What this board will be used for:

It will be used for a church services as well as my rock band. The church service is a contempory praise and worship/modern Christian rock service. The rock band does covers with a few originals.

As far as gear goes, my main bass is a EBMM Stingray 5 that I run through a Carvin B800 and Dr. Bass 2x12 Cab.

Here's what I'm thinking:



After looking at the EHX Memory Boy, the Line 6 Echo Park, and the MXR Carbon Copy, I have decided to go with the Carbon Copy!

[Jared Lash]

It's hard to say how much someone else will dig a certain pedal or even how different it will sound with different gear and especially since every player is different.

That said, you've covered a lot of bases. The TU-2 is a solid tuner and will do the job. I personally like the Korg Pitchblack better at the same price point but that's just me.

I've never tried the TRex Chorus so I can't comment there.

The Bass Big Muff is my favorite of all of the Muffs on bass and I dug the MXR filter from the time I got to spend with it. It's a bit limited (BP only, no down sweep) but it has a cool character.

As for the delays, it's really a matter of analog vs digital. The Echo Park will have longer delay times, tap tempo and most importantly a ton of different delay types and sounds, all with modulation and the ability to turn trails on and off.

The EHX will have a truly analog sound for warmer repeats and the ability to self-oscillate. And this particular delay (the Memory Boy) has modulation that goes from subtle to all out crazy.

[jmercer91]

yeah, the memory boy can be pretty crazy. if that's what you're into.

[jimmy rocket]

Industry standard tuner there, so good start.

Line 6 tone core pedals don't play well with others if you're planning to daisy chain a power supply like a visual sound OneSpot. Mine was fine when it had it's own supply but sounded like a bucket of angry bees when it was in the power chain. There are plenty of delays that don't have that issue and sound great.

The big muff is the perfect place to start looking for dirt, but don't expect it to end there

I have no opinion on chorus except that I see no use for it - ever.

I've been wanting to try that MXR envelope filter, but I might add that for $50 more you could get the Groove Regulator and be happy forever in envelope land.

Honestly it's going to come down to the old "you'll have to try it yourself" line that everyone gives around here.

[electracoyote]

Nice selection. It looks a lot like my pedal board, except I went with cheap stuff. Still sounds great though!

[heb9_28]

I went through a whole bunch of pedals before getting my church board set.

Tuner - Solid.

Chorus - I never have found a bass chorus that I like. For ambient, lush sounds I actually went with a Behringer RV6000 Reverb Machine. It's basically the same as the Line 6 Verbzilla, except I've heard that the Line 6 Tone Core pedals don't work well with a daisy chain power source like a 1-spot (which is what I use). The RV6000 has a whole bunch of great settings and I love it.

Bass Big Muff - I wanted one of these for a while, but right now I'm actually using two overdrives running into each other DOD 250-->Ibanez Tubescreamer Deluxe. That way I can run just the TS9DX when I want some subtle grit, then hit on the DOD to bump it up a notch for the heavier parts.

Delay - Oh how I love my delay. I have a MUZA FD-90 Ambient Delay (not too common, found mine on ebay and loooooove it) which is a multi-effect that includes some analog delay sounds, digital delay sounds, reverse delay, as well as 10 different reverb options. But I do actually use the delay quite often. Great for worship when things slow down to add some nice ambient parts.

Filter - Never really played with one, never really felt like I needed one. But for your rock gigs you might like it.

Hope that helps!

[madbassplaya]

Originally Posted by heb9_28

Delay - Oh how I love my delay. I have a MUZA FD-90 Ambient Delay (not too common, found mine on ebay and loooooove it) which is a multi-effect that includes some analog delay sounds, digital delay sounds, reverse delay, as well as 10 different reverb options. But I do actually use the delay quite often. Great for worship when things slow down to add some nice ambient parts.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for all the comments so far guys!

I do plan on using a 1 spot to power the pedals, so if I go with the Line 6, I'll just have it's own power supply powering it. I had just about decided to not go with the delay, but I think you may be right about it working well during worship.

[jimmy rocket]

You might look into an Ibanez ad9 reissue. I've been through PLENTY of delays and I finally settled on the Maxon AD9, but the ibanez is very similar and a good version to get your feet wet.

[madbassplaya]

Originally Posted by jimmy rocket

You might look into an Ibanez ad9 reissue. I've been through PLENTY of delays and I finally settled on the Maxon AD9, but the ibanez is very similar and a good version to get your feet wet.

funny you mentioned that, I started looking at it as well as the MXR Carbon Copy.

[jimmy rocket]

that's also a good one.

[madbassplaya]

I just edited the OP. I have decided to go with an analog delay and think the MXR Carbon Copy is perfect for what i'm wanting.

[madbassplaya]

Just an update, I have decided not to get the Big Muff. I just don't think there will ever be an occasion where I will need fuzz/distortion for my bass. We play a couple of heavier songs with a ton of distortion and I really like the clean bass tone in that mix. I feel like it holds things together.

All the above pedals have been purchased and I am waiting on them and the pedalboard to arrive.

If you have any more suggestions about other pedals to try or comments about the board, don't hesitate. I'm sure over time I will find other cool pedals to use.

[solutionbassist]

Tuner-great just don't abuse it and get a power adaptor (the other bands messed up mine) the batteries are hard to change
as for the envelope filter, they are awesome you won't regret that choice
heard great things about the Big Muff

[kugelspot]

Here's some suggestions:

As a disclaimer, I suppose this is a matter of personal taste, and I'm not exactly an expert on Christian contemporary music, and basing this entirely on my assumptions about the genre, but I'd lose the filter. The money would be better spent on more useful effects. If you do go with a filter though, the MXR is an awesome choice from what I hear.

Also, I know you said you prefer a clean tone, but you'll want an overdrive pedal. You may not use it a ton, but IMO every pedal board for every genre except maybe jazz. country, or folk needs some dirt. You should look into a lighter overdrive. The Catalinbread SFT or the VTBass are both very good choices for this.

Also, a phaser might be a good idea too. The MXR phase 90 is a good choice. I like mine a lot, and it was only $60 on eBay

[jimmy rocket]

yes on overdrive! The muff might be a bit much for you, but there are plenty of dirt boxes in the sea (and the TB classifieds)