What effects/filters are a must have?

[TheVoiceless]

So I am starting fresh on a new pedal board set up. I have ran up to 14 pedals on one board, and actually used them all in one song or another. Since then I reduced myself to just a compressor. So before I started new, I wanted to ask TB what they thought were MUST HAVES on a pedal board.

So what effects are a must for any pedal board? I would think that at least one fuzz, one distortion, one envelope filter, and maybe a Flanger. If you have one manufacturer in mind feel free to recommend me a brand. At this point I plan on going all true bypass.

Thanks

[Jared Lash]

As big a pedal junkie as I am, I honestly don't believe there are any "must haves" and which pedals (if any at all) are all dependent upon context.

For my current band the must haves are: an octaver, a gated fuzz, an expression sweepable low pass filter, a ring mod, a phaser, a delay and a Prunes & Custard. I also use an overdrive, reverb and (possibly soon) a tremolo.

I'm also helping out a friend with some songs he wants to record. In that instance I'm not using a single effect unless you count compressors in Pro Tools.

The real question is what do YOU want to do or sound like and work from there.

[groooooove]

Originally Posted by TheVoiceless

So I am starting fresh on a new pedal board set up. I have ran up to 14 pedals on one board, and actually used them all in one song or another. Since then I reduced myself to just a compressor. So before I started new, I wanted to ask TB what they thought were MUST HAVES on a pedal board.

So what effects are a must for any pedal board? I would think that at least one fuzz, one distortion, one envelope filter, and maybe a Flanger. If you have one manufacturer in mind feel free to recommend me a brand. At this point I plan on going all true bypass.

Thanks

theres so many threads on this, and the truth is, no such pedals exist. i cant do a rock gig without a VT bass. others have no use for it. i dont ever go a gig without using my digitech whammy atleast once. others think that thing is junk and cant find a use for it. many bassists cant go without compression, and i never liked the sound of one.


just try out stuff. what you like is what youll end up with, regardless of TB.

[NortyFiner]

For me, the only pedal "must haves" are a tuner and a compressor. I really like what a little compression does for my tone.

That said, I graduated from a Boss ME-50B to being a bit of a pedal junkie. My board, in current order in the chain:

Korg Pitchblack tuner
3Leaf Groove Regulator filter
Demeter Compulator compressor (soon to be replaced by an Aguilar TLC)
EHX Bass Big Muff fuzz
EHX Nano Small Stone phaser
MXR Carbon Copy analog delay, or DeltaLabs DD-1 digital delay (different sounds)

No, I don't run everything at once; I turn stuff on and off as suits the song and my personal mood. Which is really the point; to me, effects aren't necessary. They're just about getting a sound to suit the moment, whatever that may be.

[Matt Dean]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

As big a pedal junkie as I am, I honestly don't believe there are any "must haves" and which pedals (if any at all) are all dependent upon context.

For my current band the must haves are: an octaver, a gated fuzz, an expression sweepable low pass filter, a ring mod, a phaser, a delay and a Prunes & Custard. I also use an overdrive, reverb and (possibly soon) a tremolo.

I'm also helping out a friend with some songs he wants to record. In that instance I'm not using a single effect unless you count compressors in Pro Tools.

The real question is what do YOU want to do or sound like and work from there.

+1... depends on the music and what trips your trigger.

[TheVoiceless]

Originally Posted by groooooove

theres so many threads on this, and the truth is, no such pedals exist. i cant do a rock gig without a VT bass. others have no use for it. i dont ever go a gig without using my digitech whammy atleast once. others think that thing is junk and cant find a use for it. many bassists cant go without compression, and i never liked the sound of one.


just try out stuff. what you like is what youll end up with, regardless of TB.

Thanks ,but I am looking for input from TB. I have an idea of what I want, I just am curious to see what other have to say.

I do think some effects are used more often then others. Maybe if I word it differently, if we looked at everyone on TB's pedal boards, what would be the most common effects? I would assume distortion is a standard, where as bass synth would only appear on a few boards.

And to get more specific, I am looking for at least one distortion and one fuzz. Any recommendations? With the amount of pedals on the market and lack of time, I will not be able to try every pedal out, or even find them to try near my house, and would have to purchase them to find out.

[TheVoiceless]

Originally Posted by NortyFiner

For me, the only pedal "must haves" are a tuner and a compressor. I really like what a little compression does for my tone.

That said, I graduated from a Boss ME-50B to being a bit of a pedal junkie. My board, in current order in the chain:

Korg Pitchblack tuner
3Leaf Groove Regulator filter
Demeter Compulator compressor (soon to be replaced by an Aguilar TLC)
EHX Bass Big Muff fuzz
EHX Nano Small Stone phaser
MXR Carbon Copy analog delay, or DeltaLabs DD-1 digital delay (different sounds)

No, I don't run everything at once; I turn stuff on and off as suits the song and my personal mood. Which is really the point; to me, effects aren't necessary. They're just about getting a sound to suit the moment, whatever that may be.

Thanks for the feedback,

I guess what I am trying to say is, I only want to have a select number of pedals on my board. And not being a "junkie" I want to focus on effects that get used more often, like compression and distortion. Right now my list is,

Tuner
Compressor,
Fuzz,
Distortion,
Chorus/Flange
Reverb/Delay
Envelope Filter

That would be my list for example, if you have a recommendation for any of these please send them along. I am looking to stay True Bypass. Thanks again.

[Matt Dean]

I would check out the "post your pedal board" threads, that will give you the best snapshot of what TB FX users use.

For me it's come down to this: tuner > octave > overdrive > fuzz #1 (muff variant) > fuzz #2 (gated brassmaster variant) > lowpass/envelope filter > phaser.

[TheVoiceless]

Originally Posted by Matt Dean

I would check out the "post your pedal board" threads, that will give you the best snapshot of what TB FX users use.

For me it's come down to this: tuner > octave > overdrive > fuzz #1 (muff variant) > fuzz #2 (gated brassmaster variant) > lowpass/envelope filter > phaser.

Thanks, I am searching the Effects threads for ideas, saw one of your pictures and I considering one for the pedals. The Xotic boost. What are you using that pedal for? Also what is your train of thought on hitting the input of a SS amp? I know that you can hit the input of a tube amp for a desired effect, but I don't think its the same for a SS amp? Any thoughts are helpful. Thanks again.

[TheVoiceless]

So far, after watching some youtube videos, I have decided on getting the Aguilar Agro distortion and the EBS UniChorus. The demo for the Agro was great and I could tell right away it was what I wanted. So many different sounds out of one distortion. I could probably try distortions out for a year before I tried them all, so I wanted to go with my first gut choice. And the EBS UniChorus is just what I want. A chorus and flange all in one, and a good one on top of that.

I am leaning towards the MXR Envelope filter, but I am not dead set on it. I also am really interested in the Aguilar Tone Hammer. Besides loving the name, from what I heard online it could add some nice options to my rig. And with having the AGS switch ( from what I read on TB) I should be able to dial in a subtle overdrive to a mean growl.

Now if I could find a reverb/delay combo like the EBSUniChorus I would be ready to go!!!

[Jared Lash]

I'd try the UniChorus out before buying. I am a big fan of EBS pedals in general but that particular one is on the subtle side.

A big question is how much you'll use chorus vs flanger. If it's mostly flanger with the occasional chorus, most flangers will suit you fine as you can cop a chorus type tone with the regeneration turned down.

As I mentioned via PM, the Boss RV-3 or RV-5 is probably your best bet for a combo reverb/delay.

[TheVoiceless]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

I'd try the UniChorus out before buying. I am a big fan of EBS pedals in general but that particular one is on the subtle side.

A big question is how much you'll use chorus vs flanger. If it's mostly flanger with the occasional chorus, most flangers will suit you fine as you can cop a chorus type tone with the regeneration turned down.

As I mentioned via PM, the Boss RV-3 or RV-5 is probably your best bet for a combo reverb/delay.

Thanks Jared, I will consider that. I am trying to get the most bang for the buck approach, while still trying to obtain a certain level of quality. I am trying to go all true bypass, but may have to sacrifice that.

I use them about the same I would say. But your right I should try the pedal out before I purchase. Thanks again for the lead on the Reverb/Delay combination. Its not true bypass, but its exactly what I am looking for, like Flange and Chorus, chances are I will not need Delay/Reverb all at once, and from what I read the RV-5 does that, so no issue there.

[eirik_]

for me personally, the two that i turn on and leave on all the time, are my T.C. Nova Dynamics, one half compressor one half noise gate, and my T-Rex TheSweeper. Subtle studio mode compressor just seems like a must for the majority of time, and I've just fallen in love with big thick chorusy bass goodness. There are a few other things on my board, but those two are always on. Things I will never have on my board, fuzz and envelope stuff. yuck.

[dj150888]

Speaking of EBS pedals, I REALLY dig the BassIQ. I don't use an envelope filter in my main project very often at all, but in my own time, I'd be lost without it.

[masonsjax]

I'm have an Agro on my board right now and really dig it. I don't use it all the time, but it's really versatile and can do subtle to nasty very well. I recently wiped my board clean to start fresh. So far just the Agro and a tuner. I'll probably add an envelope filter just for fun, I don't think I'll use it often in a band context, and possibly a muff and a compressor. I like to keep things pretty simple so I might just stick with tuner and Agro. We'll see.

[cavemanbass]

For me, the only must-haves are Markbass Compressore and Empress Para-EQ. They have replaced rack equivalents and are always on.

Next most used is an OD / Distortion; recently got an Agro which I like a lot but am still trying to get the sound right. Unlike most TB folk I'm not finding the two-band EQ on this pedal to be enough. Cutting highs and mids to make a more bassy sound is not the same as adding lows; rather I find it removes a lot of the character that I really like in this pedal. So, I'll be adding an EQ dedicated to the Agro. Probably the MXR 10-band since it's a lot less coin than getting another Empress.

A note about True Bypass: my board has all true bypass or really high-quality (ex: Pitch Factor) buffered bypass. But, these are unbalanced connections and there's a lot of cables needed to connect everything. At my house the board is incredibly quiet; same thing in our regular rehearsal space. However last weekend we were in a different space and my board was picking up a classical radio station, even with everything bypassed. It got to be so annoying that I plugged direct into my amp, which solved the problem but also removed all my fun toys..

(begin digression) Takes me back 15 years when I got fed up with my rack's noise and replaced everything that didn't have a balanced connection. Ended up with a blissfully quiet rack, everywhere I plugged it in... Oh how I wish all bass gear was balanced, starting right at the bass output (high five Alembic) all the way to the bass amp input. 1/4" TRS connections are fine btw, would not have to be XLR's... (end digression)

Ok, so I love my pedals and want to make this setup work. Next step will be to try a loop controller - probably the Voodoo Labs Pedal Switcher. With everything bypassed I should have a very direct signal path and hopefully no radio interference. Of course with all loops engaged things will get even worse, but that is the rare case and only in the middle of songs where the band sound can mask Vivaldi...

[Plays_For_Dog]

Other then what you've already decided on, I would say a good chorus and phaser. I have both a flanger and phaser on my board, but tend to like using the phaser more. It's a more subtle effect that compliments the bass where as the flanger takes control and goes off into outer space.

I have the MXR Phase 100 and love it. It's more tweakable then the 90 to get just the right tone, but still simple enough for a knuckle dragger like myself to understand. As far as a chorus pedal, I'm currently using the chorus option on the Dunlop rotovibe with the vibrato rolled off to mild.

[TheVoiceless]

Originally Posted by dj150888

Speaking of EBS pedals, I REALLY dig the BassIQ. I don't use an envelope filter in my main project very often at all, but in my own time, I'd be lost without it.

Cool, I will check that one out. I may have a use for the envelope filter for my cover project, but I want to try and put a board together that I can bring to band and have the basics. I consider an envelope filter nice to have in that case. Thanks

[TheVoiceless]

Originally Posted by eirik_

for me personally, the two that i turn on and leave on all the time, are my T.C. Nova Dynamics, one half compressor one half noise gate, and my T-Rex TheSweeper. Subtle studio mode compressor just seems like a must for the majority of time, and I've just fallen in love with big thick chorusy bass goodness. There are a few other things on my board, but those two are always on. Things I will never have on my board, fuzz and envelope stuff. yuck.

I run my Keeley 4 knob on all of the time also. Compression is something I fought for years. But once I heard it in the band setting, I can't go without it. Yes, it can kill SOME dynamics. But it brings the bass up in the mix without me playing on 11 and being too loud.

[TheVoiceless]

Originally Posted by masonsjax

I'm have an Agro on my board right now and really dig it. I don't use it all the time, but it's really versatile and can do subtle to nasty very well. I recently wiped my board clean to start fresh. So far just the Agro and a tuner. I'll probably add an envelope filter just for fun, I don't think I'll use it often in a band context, and possibly a muff and a compressor. I like to keep things pretty simple so I might just stick with tuner and Agro. We'll see.

Nice, Yeah the demo I heard ( I think performed by a fellow TB'er) really showed a lot a tones. But what I liked was the overall sound. For each piece of gear has their own sound, and then you can modulate from that sound. The Agro just sounded cool. Close to a digital sound, but not as harsh. And I have a warm fuzz to complement. I am also trying to go less is more.