PYPB XL: Midlife Crisis

[AndyLES]

[tracer03]

Added some new pedals, started wiring 'er up to test out the chain, aaaaaand...ran out of patch cables.

Still monkeying with the order, and I need to find a place to fit in the RC-2 I just picked up, as well as try to find a spot for the Xerograph Deluxe that will be coming once I kick the cig habit (the wife's idea of bribery).



The chain so far is (or will be, once I get moar cables):
Tuner
Para Driver (settings for a l'il grittier tone)
Whammy 4
Wah
Pork Loin (my 'mostly always on' grit)
Joyo Ultimate Drive (A CHALLENGER APPEARS)
Joyo Ultimate Octave (fuzzy)
Boss GEB-7 (add some bass for the fuzzy)
Boss CEB-3 Bass Chorus
Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter
Boss BF-2 Flanger
Danelectro Cool Cat Tremolo
Boss DD-3 Delay
Boss RC-2 Loop Station (not shown)

[JoeVictim]

Originally Posted by tracer03

Added some new pedals, started wiring 'er up to test out the chain, aaaaaand...ran out of patch cables.

Still monkeying with the order, and I need to find a place to fit in the RC-2 I just picked up, as well as try to find a spot for the Xerograph Deluxe that will be coming once I kick the cig habit (the wife's idea of bribery).



The chain so far is (or will be, once I get moar cables):
Tuner
Para Driver (settings for a l'il grittier tone)
Whammy 4
Wah
Pork Loin (my 'mostly always on' grit)
Joyo Ultimate Drive (A CHALLENGER APPEARS)
Joyo Ultimate Octave (fuzzy)
Boss GEB-7 (add some bass for the fuzzy)
Boss CEB-3 Bass Chorus
Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter
Boss BF-2 Flanger
Danelectro Cool Cat Tremolo
Boss DD-3 Delay
Boss RC-2 Loop Station (not shown)

How's the octave fuzz?

[tracer03]

Originally Posted by JoeVictim

How's the octave fuzz?

Y'know, at first I didn't like it - it seemed like it was too 'over the top ' for me, and I was having a hard time dialing in a sound that 'fit' with the songs we were writing.

But after monkeying with the settings, and adding the EQ after it to 'balance' the signal out (read: add more bass), I'm liking it more and more.

I prefer that tube-amp overdrive (the Pork Loin is pretty much always on), but it's grown on me a lot. The octave up, not so much (may need to monkey with the eq to make it useful) - but on it's own I think I've finally dialed in a fuzz tone I like.

[Grizzey]

Theres always so many killer boards on here.

I'm currently using this

I just can't seem to keep that digitech chorus off my board.

[behndy]

needs the new H9 Harmonizer to get a tad more space than the Pitch Factor gives on the smaller board so an RRR will fit, have 2 pedals and a bypass loop to put back on the larger board, but this is a sloppy pic from practice tonight -

[metalinthenight]

Added the DD-5. Still planning on cramming a MythFx Triton in the space to the right. Also gonna add a noise suppressor (maybe) and another power supply eventually to avoid daisy chaining.

I also have a momentary foot switch on the way from Small Bear to turn the tuner out on the MSLP looper (currently unused) into a tap tempo for the DD-5.

Pumped!

[CPplaysBASS]

Lastest update of my board ... third major change in less than three weeks after being 100% happy with my board for about 2 years!

It all started innocently enough with replacing my MXR Black Label Chorus with the MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe. Simple swap. But that was enough to break the dam I guess ...

1) Got rid of my MXR Bass Envelope Filter, got rid of my Diamond EQ/Boost, bought an EXH Stereophase and a Next Step Expression Pedal, bought a used Radial Loopbone. Took forever getting everything laid out and cabled properly. Very frustrating ... Rubick's Cube-like challenge.

2) Unfortunately I got suckered on the Radial Loopbone ... major bleed from Loop 1 through to the main output. I love Radial, nothing against them. I bought used and got burned. Back to using my Radial Big Shot EFX Loop which is passive and it works great (I don't notice any major "pops"). The main three advantages of the Loopbone were LEDs when a loop is activated (I'm OK with knowing a loop is on by hearing the effect though), it has great buffers (but I always have my Pork Loin on and usually my comp is on, so my signal remains strong and healthy), and it had a boost which was nice to have at the end of the chain.

3) I liked the versatility of the Polyphase at first, but I quickly turned on it. It just wasn't knocking my socks off. The EHX Next Step Expression Pedal ... it was fine, it worked as it should, but I really don't see the advantage of the design and would buy a traditional one next time. Having a TRS and adaptor cable moving with the pedal is a bit odd.

Luckily I was able to get back the same MXR Bass Envelope Filter I had sold . It helps to sell your gear to close understanding friends sometimes

I still wanted a phaser, and had settled on the MXR Phase 90, but when a Cusack Tap-A-Phase (v2.2) became available locally for $150, which is less than what I sold the Polyphase and Exp Pedal for, I figured what the hell. Got it yesterday and it's not as daunting as I thought it would be with all the knobs (and also two toggle switches on the top with the inputs and outputs). I have a lot of experimenting to do, but I quickly found the settings I need.

There are three modes ... Feedback, Vibe, and No Feedback. So far I like the "Vibe" mode best. Still lots of experimenting to do. The "Color" knob is awesome for getting your lows back to where you want your tone to be (controls the center frequency of the phasing). Depth is also useful obviously. There are 24 preset waves accessed by a toggle switch to access one of three banks and the "Wave" switch to access six different waveforms per bank. Some changes in waveforms are very subtle, but they are noticablely different (especially on slower tempos). I quickly found the waveform I'll be using most often (and marked it). The unmarked knob is a Tap Divide when pedal is engaged. Nice. In Bypass mode, the same knob "controls fade-in, all the way up to 4 seconds." I have no clue what that means yet.

Nice twist on the tap delay is the "brake" function ... set a fast speed and then hold the tap tempo button down, and it gradually slows down ... very natural sounding, like a wind up toy losing steam. lol Do I have a need for that? No ... but still cool.

Would I buy it for $200 used (was $300 new)? For me personally, and how often I'll use phase effects? Probably not, but it is a $200+ pedal in value easily. But for $150 I felt it was too good to pass up. Quickly found great tones and and anything else that comes out of that box at this point will a bonus.

4) After all that, I was left with an empty space on my board. I slapped the MXR DI there just to be stupid in all honesty. The whole setup is stupid with a cable going from the Big Shot EFX, underneath the Tap-A-Phase, to the DI. This whole board is really more for hobby purposes at the moment since I have a smaller board that is more appropriate with my current band ... tuner, Pork Loin, and MXR Bass Compressor.

I ended up liking the Bass DI where I put it though. Bypass tone is 100% uncoloured, and I use the "effect" as a boost. Can't see using the distortion (I love my Way Huge pedals) ... but, hey, it fills up the board

Bass > Tuner > Filter > Comp > Loin > Bass DI > Amp
Loop 1: Swollen Pickle > POG
Loop 2: Phase, Chorus, Delay

[Tony Flow MMMM]

Safe to say your a fan of mxr and Jim Dunlop?

[Bassmike62]

Originally Posted by CPplaysBASS

Bass > Tuner > Filter > Comp > Loin > Bass DI > Amp
Loop 1: Swollen Pickle > POG
Loop 2: Phase, Chorus, Delay

Man, that's just a great board, filled with useful stuff that works !

I'm curious: you have the phase with modulation. Is it because it didn't work out when placed earlier, with the filter ?

[CPplaysBASS]

Originally Posted by Tony Flow MMMM

Safe to say your a fan of mxr and Jim Dunlop?

Very safe to say! lol When I first started out, I went way out of my way to play brands that no one else used for all my equipment ... just for the sake of being an "individual" ... not boutique, just "not common".

Then I bought my first Fender bass (needed one for a tribute act), followed by four more Fender basses because I loved them. After that, I became a mass-brand whore for all my gear! Great quality, easy to find, reasonably priced. Bassmike82 said it most succinctly ... "useful stuff that works."

Originally Posted by Bassmike62

Man, that's just a great board, filled with useful stuff that works !

I'm curious: you have the phase with modulation. Is it because it didn't work out when placed earlier, with the filter ?

Thanks!

Not a whole lot of thought on the phaser placement to be honest. My first phaser and I wanted one without really knowing how I'd actually use it

It's where it is now simply because I (maybe wrongly) classified phaser as a modulation pedal and just decided to group them into one loop. But the phase does sound awesome with fuzz so I may move it into the loop with the Swollen Pickle so I don't have to hit both loops to combine them as I do now. The phase placed after the fuzz sounds great.

More generally though, my thinking for the board was to keep the pedals that I don't use "almost-all-the-time" out of my main signal chain. So ideally it would be bass >tuner>comp (on 80% of the time)>Loin(always on)>Big Shot unit>amp ... but the Envelope Filter DEFINITELY works better near the front and before the comp ... then I added the Bass DI before the amp, contradicting my general plan again ... all seems good though.

As for the phase performance itself, I did test it on it's own before placing it on the board and I didn't notice any change in behaviour. Having the comp on before it seems OK ... still had the volume drop in the other two modes regardless. But yeah, I think I can get it into Loop 1 without having to re-work my entire layout. Getting the layout to fit on the board and "make sense" is the biggest challenge I always have (I refuse to succumb to getting a larger board ... it's the only means of self-control that I have)! Cheers!!

Edit: Same layout, just changed the cables (changing the layout, with all the velcro, is just too daunting a task right now!) ...
Bass > Tuner > Filter > Comp > Loin > Bass DI > Amp
Loop 1: Swollen Pickle > Phase
Loop 2: POG, Chorus, Delay

[TorontoAlex]

Really nice board as always CP. I went a bit different way than you did, I started off with mostly MXR, but traded some of them away for some other brands. I think I'm going back to MXR though, they just 'work'.

[fivestringgecko]

Originally Posted by TorontoAlex

Really nice board as always CP.

+1

I like the dot idea to "save" settings too. I may have to incorporate something like that, but I'll have to figure out how to use that idea with my different basses that have different output levels. Maybe color code the dots or something.

Up until now I've been getting my board set for a particular bass and taking a picture of the settings. It works, but it's not as good as having markings on the actual pedals.

Hmmmmmmmm....

5sg.

[CPplaysBASS]

Originally Posted by fivestringgecko

+1

I like the dot idea to "save" settings too. I may have to incorporate something like that, but I'll have to figure out how to use that idea with my different basses that have different output levels. Maybe color code the dots or something.

Up until now I've been getting my board set for a particular bass and taking a picture of the settings. It works, but it's not as good as having markings on the actual pedals.

Hmmmmmmmm....

5sg.

Thanks 5sg and T.O.Alex!

Yeah, that's something I did right from the time I bought my very first pedal way back when. I pick them up at Staples ... they are made to colour code file folders. Usually 4 colours to a pack of 100 or something like for $5 maybe! Sticky enough to stay there but no gooey residue when you remove!

[JonnyAngle]

Many major overhauls in the past month or so and this is what I ended up with. There's not a lot it can't do!

[Bassmike62]

What are the gold pedal and the switch above ?

[JonnyAngle]

Originally Posted by Bassmike62

What are the gold pedal and the switch above ?

The gold pedal is a super hard on clone (dirty boost) and the switch is a looper. The in and out jacks are on top and the send and receive are tucked in the channel of the mini. I'm always afraid of someone stepping on a cable while they are plugged in, so I went vertical with the jacks.

[iamtheelvy]

Been waiting a while to get a Pedaltrain Pro, in order to fit everything on one board. Not quite finished yet - Bass Big Muff is holding a spot for a GT-2 or similar. Also hope to get a Whammy V, and a new power supply mounted underneath, as well as upgrading a few cables, but we're getting there.

My guitarist is getting jealous...

[TwentyHz]

Room to grow; VooDoo will move to underneath. Embarrassed to admit that I think this week will be a trial run with it up on a keyboard stand for a hands-on approach.

[tom_ric]