True Bypass question

behndy · #1 07-22-2009, 01:02 AM

hey there. i was reading about True Bypass Tone Suck, and had some questions....

01) it's the length of the cabling that matters?

02) or is it the amount of pedals your signal is running thru?

my pedal board right now is......

(For Live) Line 6 DDS 2 Wireless ->
EH Micro Q-Tron ->
EH Bass Big Muff Pi ->
Devi Ever Bit Legend ->
Devi Ever OK ->
Digitech PDS 1002 ->
Line 6 DL4 ->
Korg Pitchblack Tuner ->
Tech21 Sansamp VT Bass ->
Tech21 Sansamp Prog Bass DI

.... almost all of them are connected by the coupler-style no-cord connectors, and the few that have cord add up to about 2 feet of cable.

i don't think i hear anything wrong, but i don't exactly know what to listen for. am i doing anything stupid? i like the tones i get out of this setup, i just want to make sure i'm not setting myself up with a problem.

oh yeah, lol, PLEASE don't say "read so-and-so's faq". i know they are out there, but it's nice to hear people's opinions on a specific setup.

thanks much!

-0behn desu0-

behndy · #2 07-22-2009, 01:11 AM

EDIT:

i think at 18 ft that you get the problem? so if i have a 10 ft cable going from the pedal board to my power amp and then a 10 ft cord from my bass to my pedal does that cabling lenght cause a problem too?

thanks again.

-0behn desu0-

bongomania · #3 07-22-2009, 01:17 AM

It all matters--length of cord, number of effects, the specific circuits in question, the way they are being powered (individually and as a group), the grounding system in your amp, whether there are any ground loops anywhere in your rig, and for all I know, the phase of the moon too.

Here's the test: Plug into your pedal chain, and listen, with various fx engaged and disengaged. Occasionally unplug the chain and plug bass straight to amp. Then go back to the chain, with more listening and on/off switching.

Are your highs "dull" or attenuated? How's the noise level? Do you have to adjust the input gain on your amp to get similar "strength" of signal/tone?

If the answer to any of those is "yeah I hear something I don't like" then start experimenting with different numbers and arrangements of pedals in the chain, until you no longer hear something you don't like.

One side note: those non-cable couplers seem like a great idea for cable length reduction, but they tend to cause damage to the jacks if you accidentally kick, drop, or push the pedal chain around.

nad · #4 07-22-2009, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by behndy

i don't think i hear anything wrong . . . i like the tones i get out of this setup

I'd say you're fine then.

moose23 · #5 07-22-2009, 07:11 AM

The VT Bass is a buffered bypass so it will counteract any tone suck along the line of pedals.

RCCollins · #6 07-22-2009, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moose23

The VT Bass is a buffered bypass so it will counteract any tone suck along the line of pedals.

well, that depends where you place it

i'm happy to see some discussion of this topic that doesn't turn flamewar. for more opinions on the subject, check out the current "what's your bypass ratio" thread

Hookus · #7 07-22-2009, 10:49 AM

I just quit worrying about true bypass, tone suck, all that stuff. Fact is, it never has really been an issue for me in a band, performance, or recording session, that a halfway qualified sound man or engineer could not take care of.

behndy · #8 07-22-2009, 05:06 PM

cool. great answers all.

no flamewar - THIS is why i love talkbass. i've started i think 5 or 6 threads, ALWAYS got helpful answers, never had to deal with asses, and every time i either learned something new or found out about a piece of equipment/way of doing stuff that i never heard of or thought of.

you all rokk. ROKK.

thanks!

-0behn desu0-