Pedal FX in a bass?

NicMac13 · #1 11-21-2010, 11:42 AM

Hey, i was wondering if it was possible? I know i probaly sound like a complete idiot asking this but i want to know if you could take out the mother board and stuff from a pedal and install it into a bass? I have a behringer phase 90 with one knob and a two way switch on it.

Wud · #2 11-21-2010, 11:46 AM

Yes its easily possible.
Do you use the Behringer Phaser that much that you feel comfortable enough to mod your bass to put it in ?

If it was me, I'd restrict that sort of mod to an effect I know I couldn't live without, and I doubt that would be a Behringer pedal in all honesty.

**line6man** · #3 11-21-2010, 11:46 AM

Sure.

FWIW, I would be concerned with how much control cavity space is available.

**line6man** · #4 11-21-2010, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wud

Yes its easily possible.
Do you use the Behringer Phaser that much that you feel comfortable enough to mod your bass to put it in ?

If it was me, I'd restrict that sort of mod to an effect I know I couldn't live without, and I doubt that would be a Behringer pedal in all honesty.

+1.

NicMac13 · #5 11-21-2010, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wud

Yes its easily possible.
Do you use the Behringer Phaser that much that you feel comfortable enough to mod your bass to put it in ?

If it was me, I'd restrict that sort of mod to an effect I know I couldn't live without, and I doubt that would be a Behringer pedal in all honesty.

well im just looking to make it a mod where i can turn it on and off

Wud · #6 11-21-2010, 11:50 AM

never mind faffing around with the battery if you want an effect installed inside your bass

**colcifer** · #7 11-21-2010, 11:51 AM

Can easily be done but might not work well. The effect would always be upfront it the signal chain which could be a problem and it could cause a whole mess of noise if not shielded properly. And don't forget about the routing and batteries. But we do it with preamps all the time! So long as you're smart about it you should be fine.

**line6man** · #8 11-21-2010, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NicMac13

well im just looking to make it a mod where i can turn it on and off

If you just want an on/off switch, if you have a passive bass, you could put in a TRS ("stereo") jack with a switch to short the ring and sleeve terminals together.

From there, you could build a pedal that would connect the ring terminal to a relay that would switch whatever you want.
Just make sure you use a battery or a very clean filtered power supply for the relay, because it could add noise to the bass' signal if there is a lot of ripple.

Wud · #9 11-21-2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NicMac13

well im just looking to make it a mod where i can turn it on and off

Your Foot

Isn't that better, so both your hands can be concentrating on playing ?

Don't get me wrong, I love using effects and have a huge pedalboard.

15000volts · #10 11-21-2010, 12:01 PM

there's many a guitar players that have od/fuzz built into their guitars...well, two that I know of. Mathew Bellamy has all kinds of effects in several of his guitars, and I heard that Jack White has a fuzz factory in one of his gretsch's. so it is very much possible to do that, but I wouldn't, if I were you. Having them one the floor is just as good, if not better. And if you are thinking about some crazy fiddling to get some warpy/trippy/whatever kind of sounds, I'm sure there's someone out there who can mod the pedal for you so you can do that w/an expression pedal, or maybe some multi-axis sort of thing so you can change several "knobs" at one time. there's a whole world of unemployed young geniuses waiting for a chance to finally do something cool with they're lives and possibly get as rich as they never thought they could become. go and find one!

pnut166 · #11 11-21-2010, 12:03 PM

I saw a website that had onboard effects for sale. You could get them configured with either knobs, push/pull knobs, or switches. I think it`s the GFS website. Kinda interesting. Kinda goofy, too. EDIT: Here it is: http://www.guitarfetish.com/MODboards_c_30.html

quadrogong · #12 01-01-2011, 06:02 PM

Facinating,
http://www.guitarfetish.com/MODboards_c_30.html
..Has anyone tried this product yet?
Onboard compressor/ limiter seems like a pretty novel idea,
Although, together with an onboard preamp it seems like quite a lot of circuitry to have onboard, think is this only for passive instruments..?
I'd be afraid of shielding issues,
has anyone actually heard these in action?

**line6man** · #13 01-01-2011, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quadrogong

Facinating,
http://www.guitarfetish.com/MODboards_c_30.html
..Has anyone tried this product yet?
Onboard compressor/ limiter seems like a pretty novel idea, with an onboard preamp it seems like quite a lot of circuitry to have onboard, is this only for passive instruments..?
I'd be afraid of shielding issues, has anyone actually heard this in action?

The only difference between active and passive basses as far as the signal at the output jack is concerned is output impedance.
Active basses have a lower output impedance than passives, but since whatever kind of onboard effects unit you are putting in should have a high input impedance, it doesn't make any difference.

darkstorm · #14 01-01-2011, 08:11 PM

I wanted to do that a few times in the late 70's. But the pedals I wanted to do it with had circuit boards that where to big to fit control cavity or control pots was attached right to circuit board so couldnt fit even if board with wires to it would fit. Lol.

Duuuuuuuuuude · #15 03-02-2012, 10:24 PM

I played a bass that had a WMD Super Fatman autofilter built into it and it was really great because you could tweak it as you played. With pedals like an autofilter, sometimes you step on them and they just doesn't sound appropriate at that moment. But you can't stop playing and bend down and fiddle with the knobs to get the right settings. But having it onboard is great because you can adjust it as you play harder/lighter or play in different octaves.