I don’t use but 1 or 2 effects on bass, other than compression. I’ve had an all MXR board before. I do like MXR’s pedals. Right now, I’ve got all Boss stuff so I have a “Boss Board”. TU-3, BC-1X, CH-1, & OC-3. I just sold a MIJ BF-2 that I wasn’t using.
A guitarist buddy had several different boards dedicated to specific pedal brands, ie, a single board with all the hardwired pedals. He has a serious gear problem asmd likes his pedals to match.
I toyed for a bit with the ideas of an all-Boss or all-MXR board, but never got far with either one. Every company has its hits and misses, and mixing and matching them is a big part of the fun of pedals. YMMV.
My board used to be all-Boss, 4 or 5 pedals IIRC. That changed when I bypassed the board and plugged directly into my amp for the first time since getting my first pedal, and was amazed how much gain and tone I was losing through all those buffers. My next few pedals were in the Digitech Hardwire line, on the strength of their true-bypass circuitry and the die-cast enclosure that made my Bosses look flimsy. From there, my horizons continued to expand. Personally, I say don't limit yourself; try things. That's the whole point of individual effects pedals coming back into style over the multi-effects units of a decade or two ago. Not that you can't get great sounds all from one brand's lineup - and these days, there are a lot more brands that cover the bases compared to 20-30 years ago - but why limit yourself?
MXR just seems reasonably priced. The M87 compressor is decent. The chorus is as well as the octave and filter. I haven't tried the drives.
I love MXR’s bass octave deluxe. If I ever decide to get rid of my OC-3, that’s what I’ll switch too. I used MXR’s Micro Chorus for a while & really liked it too.
I love my M87, it's got a great bloom! Definitely a desert island pedal for me. I think the M87 doesn't get more love than it does because the attack and release time knobs seem counterintuitive when compared to a lot of other compressors. Labels would probably help around those knobs. I've used most of the DBX models, a Really Nice Compressor, as well as the Urei studio compressor the M87 is loosely based on, and the M87 always speaks to me on bass. I also love how MXR sells the identical unit in a different color as the M76 "Studio Compressor", because "Bass Compressor" scared away guitar players. I'm also a Phase 90 and Carbon Copy analog delay fan. I have a Super Badass Distortion I originally bought for guitar, but it's pretty decent on bass for a slightly dirty sound with it's three band EQ. I don't have much use currently for full fuzz or heavy dirty sounds. I also have a MXR Diavolo distortion pedal, but I don't like it at all for bass. I use a Boss GT-1B for chorus, a lot of "one off" effects, and as a volume pedal. Filling out the board is a Boss TU-3, Bass GEQ, and Tech 21 Q-Strip.
Not only try things, but recognize that our tastes and needs will change over time. Sometimes, I've even gone back to something I used many years ago.
I keep seeing comments like "why limit yourself?" Why indeed? Why limit your thinking? If a single company makes great products that are able to cover all your needs and you like them, then there's no reason to NOT have a single-brand board. I looked at Mapleglo's boards and there's not a bad pedal on them. The tuners and Wah/Vol-treadles are the only exceptions to the full-on MXR onslaught, and... Every. single. MXR. pedal. on Mapleglo's boards has its adherents here on TB; they're good-sounding, good-looking, well-made, reliable, relatively affordable, easy-to-find... consistently so. If you could only use one brand of pedal... If you had to choose one brand... Boss Pedals...anything wrong with only one brand If you could have all the pedals you want but only from one company...? Ever write off an entire brand? Manufacturer Variety Full MXR Bass Innovations Pedal board Are you loyal to 1 brand or all different brands ? Maxon Club? etc PS Gstaats' MXR collection also looks good; MXR caters to bass players — a company worth our support.
Recently i ended up with mostly EHX pedals. Now back to my Mesa preamp and tuner only. I like to try new effects but never use them playing live.
Right. I guess you can think of "limiting" in a couple ways. I'm not saying there aren't better versions of any MXR pedal. There are. And individual taste/need is such a HUGE component of effects it's hard to make general statements. But... I just think that MXR is a company that listens to and even caters to bass players. There aren't many. The pedals I've had briefly in the past have been good sounding, good looking, well built, and pretty affordable. I just thought those were good things and that a board of all MXR would be an affordable and fairly good quality thing.
I posted earlier that I mix pedals, but if I HAD to make a pedal board of only one company, it would probably be EHX. They offer almost everything, including tuners. It would probably end up looking something like: EHX tuner > Bass Preacher comp > Micro POG octave > Bass Soul Food drive (always on) > Green Russian Muff or Deluxe BBM (situational dirt) > Bass Clone chorus (New Wave) > Nano Small Stone phaser (dark switch on) > Attack Equalizer (always on). Throw in a Bassballs or other filter for funkiness, other pedals as required.
The Spark is supposed to be a Boss FB-2 Feedbacker/Booster. Why all Boss? Because Boss’ quality is legendary, every single one of these pedals sounds fantastic, and they fit so nicely into the vintage BCB-3 boxes. And they are all easy to replace in any major city and lots of minor ones. But, I do also own other pedals. It just so happens that right now, on bass, I’m using all Boss. Incidentally, all of these pedals could be replaced with the new Boss GT-1000Core without losing any functionality, for a lot less money, and would fit into one BCB-30X box. {}
I just started using pedals after a long time without them so i had to do research on each pedal as i bought them as i didn't have any clue which ones are good. As it turned out, the first 3 i bought were from MXR. They are very good pedals but if i see another brand that would be even better i would buy that one.
A few weeks prior to learning of the Ultrawave Betas sale date, I got a great deal on a new Aftershock. That brought me up to the Multiwave Bass Distortion Pro, C4, Collider, and AS. Then I got an UW Beta. And it immediately kicked its father off the board, joining the BEF Pro which I finally took off for space sake, figuring if I need envelope filter, the Fuzzy Meatball on the C4 will get it. Then I finally got a Neuro Hub. And yesterday, I ordered a Soleman. So, I may soon be going all SA. I feel I may as well get the Superego+ off, the Ocean's 12, and the compressor on the UW knocked the EHX Platform off the board, and the UW will likely be the start of my "clean, compressed dry sound", as the MWBDP was my always on clean boost for a decade. I may end up unloading the EHX Battalion DI, as well. I was amazed to discover that the UW may even be able to knock my Moog Bass MuRF off. It seems to work in similar ways, and some of those craziest Moog sounds, I'll probably never find, let alone use. I may have to try a Lunar Phaser before even considering selling my Moog 12 Stage Phaser, though. As much as the UW is climbing my favorite pedals list, this MoogerFooger is so lush, rich, and swirly. I'd be harder pressed to ever sell the Phaser than the MuRF, and never expected to even consider it, but the integrated effects ecosystem with pedals that can manipulate sound in such diverse and incredible sounding ways is sucking me in. I'd still have the EHX Ocean's 11 (which I like a lot more than the upgraded 12) and DigiTech Stereo Jamman, so it wouldn't truly be a one brand board, but a lot closer than I ever thought I'd be to having one.
The Lunar is a great pedal, but I found that it need a lot of time getting the sounds out of it that I was expecting to be available out of the box. It's also limited in it's ancillary functions compared to the newer Ultrawave's interface, where you have a lot more Midi options and the freedom to re-map all of the control knobs. However, it's all in there if you are prepared to hunt for it. It's taken me a while, but I'm now delighted with my SA Lunar. For me, I'm finding my EXH Hog2 and Eventide H9 harmony sounds options haven't yet been found in the Source Audio eco-system. However, the C4 has some harmoniser options. Maybe we'll see an Aqua-wave / modulation pedal from SA next? Maybe a newer and expanded Neuro hub? Maybe a Harmonist pedal? Who knows?
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