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Arrange my pedal board

MattyH

MattyH

Jul 20, 2010
1,314
349
Long Island
#1
Hey all.

So I play regularly. And every now and then I'll scoop up some pedals, get rid of them, get more, then trade some, then get other ones, etc etc. I've now found what I want/need. And it's not that I don't know how to set up a pedal. But I want the communities opinions on getting optimum clarity and tone through the chain. So here's what I have.

MXR Bass Fuzz Deluxe
DOD Bass Overdrive
Boss Bass Equalizer
MXR Octave (soon)
Boss TU-2 Tuner

I may add a Hartke Bass Attack pedal too. But not right away.

So, Arrange these for me from Amp end to Bass end so I can get everything I need out of my signal properly!

Thanks everyone, much appreciated! :bassist:
 
#7
stinky634 said:
Octave should go before dirt.
Click to expand...

Cool. When it arrives I'll switch and swap. But you seem pretty sure!

Thats my only problem. Everyone is going to be "pretty sure" in their suggestion. So I'm gonna need to take the majority, and really just "live test" it. This was mostly just in case I was doing something totally stupid, but it turns out I just needed some minor adjustments.
 
#8
I have always gone dirtiest to cleanest. The eq could go in front or back. Consider this: add a second eq to have one pre-effect and one post-effect. Tailor the signal going in for the best signal to drive the effects, then re-eq the output from the pedals to the amp. Thanks go to Tom Scholz for that tip. Enjoy the new toys!
 
#10
My tuner (Boss TU-2) is the last in the chain, so it can mute everything before itself. For example I can safely unplug my other pedals when the tuner is on. One day you may need to do this. It's great for quicker troubleshooting on pedals on stage.
 
#11
Bass Player magazine had an article on that exact thing about a year ago. I don't remember the issue it was in but you may be able to search it online. If I remember correctly, they gave reasons for having the effects in a certain order.
 
#12
old-fashioned said:
My tuner (Boss TU-2) is the last in the chain, so it can mute everything before itself. For example I can safely unplug my other pedals when the tuner is on. One day you may need to do this. It's great for quicker troubleshooting on pedals on stage.
Click to expand...

Thats true. But having my bass run into the effects first, then the tuner to the amp won't disrupt any signal? And if I were to try this, could I go:

Bass>EQ>Octave>OD>Fuzz>Tuner>Amp?
 
#13
Keep in mind that every effect will effect everything placed after it in the chain. Seems simple, but some people don't think of it that way. For example, if your EQ is in the front and turned on, everything after it will have the EQ'd signal. If your EQ is at the end, it will have a (possibly) dirty/octaved/whatever signal going into it, which will drastically affect what comes out. All that said, there is no "right" or "wrong" way, so experiment, have fun, and if it sounds good to you, then it's right.
 
#14
Versatek6 said:
I have always gone dirtiest to cleanest. The eq could go in front or back. Consider this: add a second eq to have one pre-effect and one post-effect. Tailor the signal going in for the best signal to drive the effects, then re-eq the output from the pedals to the amp. Thanks go to Tom Scholz for that tip. Enjoy the new toys!
Click to expand...

Thats a cool idea for sure, but I haven't noticed anything lacking on the effects side. The one EQ I have seems to really work wonders across the board (literally). So I think I'm good with just the one. But it certainly is a cool idea, and something I'll remember if my board grows to a larger size.
 
#16
Fender05 said:
Keep in mind that every effect will effect everything placed after it in the chain. Seems simple, but some people don't think of it that way. For example, if your EQ is in the front and turned on, everything after it will have the EQ'd signal. If your EQ is at the end, it will have a (possibly) dirty/octaved/whatever signal going into it, which will drastically affect what comes out. All that said, there is no "right" or "wrong" way, so experiment, have fun, and if it sounds good to you, then it's right.
Click to expand...

Yea I like experimenting haha. And what you say makes sense too. So what you're saying is if I want everything effected by the EQ, run my bass into that first, then the effects into the amp?

I should mention my EQ stays on 100% of the time, and it was placed at the end. So I never noticed if I'm getting different EQs throughout the board or not. Maybe moving it bass side might drastically effect my sound (for the better? :cool:)
 
#17
I must say I like the idea of breaking the mold and running the Tuner into the amp side, incase I need to cut the signal for an on the fly cable switch or troubleshoot.

What do the experts feel about:

Bass > EQ > Octave > OD > Fuzz > Tuner > Amp?
 
#20
MattyH said:
Can you elaborate? What are you needing to turn off to check your tuning and why?
Click to expand...

Any distortion is going to affect the tuner's ability to track. High gain, pitch shifters, chorus, delay, etc. all need to be bypassed if you put your tuner at the end of your chain. If you have low B this is even more critical I think. Just my opinion! You can make it work wherever you want and you'll learn where you like it. :)
 

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