Best Expression Pedal (with Orange's Bass Butler)

[ddarrell2]

A few things...
1. Looking for recommendations on a good expression pedal for bass (which might go without saying).
2. Primarily looking for this to work with the Bass Butler. (Granted that pedal is pretty new, so there probably aren't too many opinions out there, yet.)

Here are the pedals I'm considering:
Hotone Bass Press Volume/Wah/Expression Pedal ($110)
Moog EP-3 Universal Polarity Expression Pedal ($50)

Any other great ideas?

 

[gh0st42]

Moog is probably going to be best bang for your buck, with great compatibility with pretty much everything.

Mission Engineering makes some pretty nice Exp Pedals too, but not as sure on compatibility.

 

[cnltb]

Are there any small and high quality cv pedals out there you might be able to recommend?

 

[gh0st42]

Are there any small and high quality cv pedals out there you might be able to recommend?

I haven't tried out any of the smaller ones, myself.

I've got big ol' size 13.5 feet, so I gravitate to the full sized ones!

 

[cnltb]

I haven't tried out any of the smaller ones, myself.

I've got big ol' size 13.5 feet, so I gravitate to the full sized ones!

Fair enough.
Do you know of small ones even though they may not be for you?

 

[gh0st42]

Looks like several brands have mini expression pedals.

Dunlop, DOD, Hotone, Ernie Ball, Digitech, Mooer, and Dooner to name a few.

If space is at a premium, there's a few unique approaches that I've seen and been curious about.

Some use a side mounted knob on a mini pedal you can roll with the side of your foot, or a large foot friendly twist knob.

Most bizarre approach I've seen was a homebrew that uses a spring door stop sticking straight up. You bend it forward or give it a wack to send it moving around, and it uses that for expression control. Really weird, but interesting. Can't find it to link to at the moment.

 

[twhitedc]

I've been looking at the Dunlop Dvp-4 myself, top jacks are appealing and I while I like a full size for wah purposes I don't think I'd mind a mini for blending in the second channel.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

A few things...
1. Looking for recommendations on a good expression pedal for bass (which might go without saying).
2. Primarily looking for this to work with the Bass Butler. (Granted that pedal is pretty new, so there probably aren't too many opinions out there, yet.)

Here are the pedals I'm considering:
Hotone Bass Press Volume/Wah/Expression Pedal ($110)
Moog EP-3 Universal Polarity Expression Pedal ($50)

Any other great ideas?

I'm looking at the BB and will most likely get a Morley 20/20 Optical Vol. It has an on/off switch separate from the treadle and a volume knob.

Morley 20/20 Volume Plus Volume Pedal

 

[adamaarts]

Dunlop DVP3 or source audio DEP, have used both and currently own the DVP3. The SA one is great for many types of expression, dual outputs, adjustable etc. The DVP is just what I use for volume and expression for demo purposes.

 

[ddarrell2]

I'm looking at the BB and will most likely get a Morley 20/20 Optical Vol. It has an on/off switch separate from the treadle and a volume knob.

Morley 20/20 Volume Plus Volume Pedal

How are you attaching that to control expression? I have a passive Morely volume and was looking at using this cable in both the in/out.
Pro Co EDCBQ2L-5 TRS - (2) TSMA Insert Cable - 5'

Interested in hearing other solutions.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

How are you attaching that to control expression? I have a passive Morely volume and was looking at using this cable in both the in/out.
Pro Co EDCBQ2L-5 TRS - (2) TSMA Insert Cable - 5'

Interested in hearing other solutions.

Use a TRS (tip, ring, sleeve) adapter

Edit: also use that same cable to hook the BB to your amp's effects loop, according to the manual
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001R0WKZU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_bJauEbCDCXH1N

 

[ddarrell2]

Use a TRS (tip, ring, sleeve) adapter

Edit: also use that same cable to hook the BB to your amp's effects loop, according to the manual
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001R0WKZU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_bJauEbCDCXH1N

So the split ends go in the send/receive and the single end goes into the BB output? Or are you just saying that the BB output goes into the receive port of the amp to bypass the onboard preamp?

 

[Rolling Thunder]

If you look at the brass colored 1/4" plug you will notice that there are 3 parts to one end (or the "Sleeve"), and 2 parts on the other two (marked "Ring" and "Tip"). I forget which is which, but the Ring and Tip ends go into the volume control's Input/Output jacks.

Hooking it up to the effects loop, according to a video I watched, will bypass your amp's preamp (making the BB your new preamp). So all the knobs on your amp for gain, EQ, presence, etc. will be bypassed entirely. You will only be using your amp's power section.

From the manual: Bass Butler Manual – Orange Amps

 

[Sascha Erni]

I use an ages old Trace Elliot volume pedal, connected to the Bass Butler via a Y splitter cable (TRS to 2x TS Mono). Works like a charm. I put low rubber pads under the top half, at the back, so the pedal won't go all the way down to zero. This way, I can turn the dirt channel off via the BB foot switch if I need clean, but if the dirt channel is on, I at least get a minimum of, well, dirt in my tone. I’m told more modern volume / expression pedals let you enable such a threshold without resorting to glueing stuff from the furniture department on them.

In short: If a pedal from the 90s works without any issues, I guess pretty much anything more modern will work, too. So go by other requirements, such as how much resistance the pedal should provide to your foot, or weight, or size. E.g. if I wanted to keep an expression pedal on my pedalboard, this one wouldn’t be it. If your pedal of choice has a TRS out, great. If it’s a volume pedal type with In/Out, a Y splitter cable or adaptor will help.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

I use an ages old Trace Elliot volume pedal, connected to the Bass Butler via a Y splitter cable (TRS to 2x TS Mono). Works like a charm. I put low rubber pads under the top half, at the back, so the pedal won't go all the way down to zero. This way, I can turn the dirt channel off via the BB foot switch if I need clean, but if the dirt channel is on, I at least get a minimum of, well, dirt in my tone. I’m told more modern volume / expression pedals let you enable such a threshold without resorting to glueing stuff from the furniture department on them.

In short: If a pedal from the 90s works without any issues, I guess pretty much anything more modern will work, too. So go by other requirements, such as how much resistance the pedal should provide to your foot, or weight, or size. E.g. if I wanted to keep an expression pedal on my pedalboard, this one wouldn’t be it. If your pedal of choice has a TRS out, great. If it’s a volume pedal type with In/Out, a Y splitter cable or adaptor will help.

I've got my BB backordered and the Covid-19 virus ain't making show up any faster. Tell me more about the dirt sound you get out the BB.

 

[Sascha Erni]

I've got my BB backordered and the Covid-19 virus ain't making show up any faster. Tell me more about the dirt sound you get out the BB.

Oh, sorry to hear that. Take care. It’s quite crazy here in Switzerland by now, with schools closing and events with more than 300 people getting banned (probably) starting today, i.e. hardly any gigging to come.

There’s a long BB thread further down in this subforum: Orange "Bass Butler" preamp pedal Some have provided sound clips, I haven't uploaded any yet as I'm still in the getting-to-know phase. I’ve had the Butler for three weeks or so now. And still love it to bits.

I use those orange dots for marking current “defaults” during tinkering with settings. Also, the Bass on the BB is cranked due to the Broughton HPF, not because the BB sounds anemic or something without it.

I run the BB in front of my Terror Bass, not as a preamp replacement, but an effects pedal. I go to our mixing desk with the DI-outs and use the Terror Bass for stage monitoring. I leave the dirt channel turned-on 95% of the time, with the expression pedal at its padded lowest setting. I dial in more dirt during guitar or bass solos. We’re a four-piece 80s-90s rock/metal cover band, one guitar, one singer; I like using OD for filling up space during solos.

More modern, active volume / expression pedals let you dial in their lowest settings. I went the foam/rubber route.

Tones with the BB go from mellow, thumby clean sounds with the dirt channel disabled, to a bit of growl, to pretty noisy overdrive, and all in-between. I don’t get modern, Darkglass-y distortion out of the Bass Butler, but that’s not what I got it for anyways. I prefer a more vintage vibe. The clean channel on its own can sound a bit muffled depending on taste, even on the Line Out (i.e. without cab sim) there’s a slight treble roll-off. Dialing in a little of the dirty channel fixes that pronto, and that’s where the expression pedal comes in for me. Rather than clean / full dialed-in OD, I can keep a minimal amount of dirt at all times and just crank it when needed.

The dirt channel can get a bit hissy if you overdo it. Nothing that’s out of the ordinary for what's basically a guitar preamp, or noticeable during playing, but depending on how picky your band mates are, there might be complaints during quieter parts.

Oh, and the BB is massive, and heavy. 1.3 kg or something. It ships with a power brick, if you want to use a pedal board PSU, you’ll need a polarity reversal cable. The BB works fine here on one the TrueTone CS6’s V18 plug.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Mine is in mail and should arrive this week. For an expression pedal I have the Morley 20/20 Volume pedal (no potentiometer, its optical).

I already tried it in my Deja Vibe and noticed the sweep is fast and deep...maybe too much. I might have to find a mod to make its total sweep smaller.

 

[FacepalmMute]

If you haven’t found an expression pedal already then I recommend the EHX Cntrl Knob Static Exp. Instead of a volume or wah-like pedal, instead it lets you set two predetermined settings and switch between the two. It has a polarity button to help. Use it with a TRS cable and you now have a dual channel overdriven Bass Butler without needing to disengage the dirty channel.

 

[ddarrell2]

If you haven’t found an expression pedal already then I recommend the EHX Cntrl Knob Static Exp. Instead of a volume or wah-like pedal, instead it lets you set two predetermined settings and switch between the two. It has a polarity button to help. Use it with a TRS cable and you now have a dual channel overdriven Bass Butler without needing to disengage the dirty channel.

That's really interesting. I didn't enjoy the variable control of the expression pedal as much as I thought I would. Being able to find those few sweet spots ahead of time feels a lot easier.

 

[FacepalmMute]

That's really interesting. I didn't enjoy the variable control of the expression pedal as much as I thought I would. Being able to find those few sweet spots ahead of time feels a lot easier.

Exactly. It’s tough to find those sweet spots on the fly in the middle of a song. This has been a game changer and the reason I ended up keeping my BB. I’ve been a Darkglass fan from day one but this has replaced all of my DG pedals except the harmonic booster.