Suggestions for rack effects

[PinoyBoy]

I have an AxeFX that I use for guitar. I was wondering if there was an equivalent rack-type effects processor out there for bass. I surfed a bit and only came across stuff made by Line6, Behringer, and Rocktron.

Do you guys have any other suggestions? Or should I go down the pedal route instead? Right now, I have zero effects pedals and am trying to build a rig. I'm getting a Mark Bass amp by year's end (not sure if I'll get the LM2 or SA450). I play christian music, blues, slow rock type songs.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

[René_Julien]

For what it's worth:

I bought the Line 6 X3 Pro yesterday.

To replace my pedals. (And I've been getting a lot of flack for it. )

For me this is a great unit.

I can't tell you much about the effects in it yet (only some), I still have to play around with it. Making presets, comparing tones. (Also waiting on a poweramp and new 4x10" cab.)

I would not promote the X3, because you really need to figure it out for yourself if you want to use it.

I made my decision after trying out the X3 and Bass XT for a long time.


If you want to know more about the X3, feel free to ask. In this thread or PM me, whatever you are comfortable with.


Also read DanielTulips extensive review on the X3 in the review section on TalkBass.


I'm sorry, I don't know anything about the other units you are considering.

[superbassman2000]

The AxeFX is a pretty powerful machine--have you tried it with your bass rig?

[PinoyBoy]

Originally Posted by superbassman2000

The AxeFX is a pretty powerful machine--have you tried it with your bass rig?

Not yet. I was under the impression that it's for guitar only. Let me call the Fractal folks and ask.

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by PinoyBoy

Not yet. I was under the impression that it's for guitar only. Let me call the Fractal folks and ask.

No need. Just plug it in. There's no risk of harm by testing it with your bass rig.

The thing to listen for is whether there's any low-end loss. Chances are, with a high-priced unit like that, most of the effects should (hopefully) be fairly wide-spectrum and should work on most instruments.

Now, the amp modeling is another matter.

Give it a shot anyway - you have nothing to lose!

[PinoyBoy]

Just got a reply from the AxeFX guys and turns out that using the unit for bass is fine. They said that the latest firmware has additional bass amp and cab sims. Should be interesting.

I didn't even think about this. Thanks MysticBoo and superbassman2000 for prodding me to go down that path! Now I can use my unit for both guitar and bass.

[superbassman2000]

my understanding of effects is that just putting your bass through an effect that is "for guitars" won't break it, you might just have a low end cutoff that you find unpleasant. There is no official rule that an effect is "guitar-only" its just that they market to guitar players because on average, guitar players have more effects

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by superbassman2000

my understanding of effects is that just putting your bass through an effect that is "for guitars" won't break it, you might just have a low end cutoff that you find unpleasant.

+1

Most modulation and time-based effects - rack, pedal, software, and other forms - work just as well on bass as on guitar. Low end rolloff is usually something you experience with , distortion, wah, and sometimes amp and cab modeling. Often, those sorts of things aren't intended to be full-spectrum for a variety of reasons, so keyboards, basses, and other instruments which work across a larger frequency range will sound less "bassy" and "full" with them.

That's partly why so many "bass-specific" pedals out there are distortion pedals of some kind. Sometimes, they're just modified guitar distortion pedals so that they're more bass-friendly, but in other cases they're significantly revamped or original designs which don't roll off much (if any) low end.

However, many bass players do use overdrive, distortion, and fuzz pedals that normally don't work too great on bass (usually because of low end rolloff). They often try using EQ pedals to "compensate" for the low end loss (although it doesn't actually bring back what's lost, you can boost what still remains), or they'll use blend loop pedals ("blenders") to mix their clean signal with the effect signal. In more "expensive" but more effective cases, they'll use a separate rig just for the "guitar" pedals, as this sounds overall better than blending and gives you more sound options.