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Changing from multi-effects to pedals

Spikeh

Spikeh

Sex Strings
Apr 4, 2005
616
1
Blackpool, United Kingdom
www.hindd.co.uk
#1
Reyt... here's my set up:

Ampeg HPC810 8x10" cab
Ampeg SVT4-PRO head
6 String Ibanez BTB 556
Boss GT6-B multi effects processor

I play in a hard rock / metal band - not standard metal, yet not too technical... hard to explain.

Anyway, I love my tone through the Ampeg, but when I use the GT6-B, even with ByPass turned on, it affects the tone (and obviously the line signal). I want to stop using it for the band and just use pedals.

I need the following:

Distortion
Compression
Flanger / Chorus
Delay
Volume
Whammy

What would you recommend for each one - for heavy music.
 
#3
my recommendations, from your basic list:

distortion - sansamp GT2
compression - not much personal experience, demeter compulator maybe
flanger/chorus - boss bf-3/boss ce-5
delay - boss dd-3 or dd-6 (love the dd-6 myself)
volume - ernie ball
whammy - XP100 or WH-4, depends on what settings you like
 
#5
With your comments about your tone being affected even in "bypass" mode with the GT6-B...I would go with all true bypass pedals to avoid that situation again. And if you don't already know, Boss pedals are not true bypass.

Also, your budget will play a major role in getting the best bang for the buck. you may want to tell us what your budget is.

Also, I've mentioned this a couple of times and have gotten differing opinions from people, but I've have "tone suck" issues with Ernie Ball volume pedals...maybe it was just a crappy unit I had...but none the less the problem was there...
 
#6
Budget isn't an issue... as long as each pedal is reasonable in price, and I doubt many pedals cost more than £200 ($400).

I'll get them gradually... I can deal with using the muti effects until I've replaced everything I need. Some of them I don't even "need", I just use the thicken out the sound, as we only have one guitarist.

Yeah, I'm aware that Boss stuff isn't true bypass... and I'll be checking that out for each effect unit before I buy it.
 
#8
Yeah but they cost looooaaadds (+$500 sometimes!). The Red one is fine for Bass.

My Suggestions are:
Distortion - Crowther Hotcake XLF
Don't have any experience with comps.
Flanger/Chorus - Analogman Clone Chorus/Maxon FL-9 Flanger
Delay - Line 6 DL-4?
Volume - No experience, Ernie Ball seems quite popular though (not true bypass btw)
Whammy - Whammy IV
 
#11
Heres what I'd recommend, along with prices you'll probably expect to pay for them...

Distortion: T-rex Mudhoney (£100)
Compression: BBE Opto Stomp (£80)
Flanger: Boss BF-2 (£40 used, not in production anymore)
Chorus: Rocktron Tsunami (£60)
Delay: Line6 Echo Park (£90)
Volume: Ernie Ball Volume Pedal JR (£80)
Whammy: Digitech Whammy IV (£120)

For a power supply, Id suggest the godlyke power all (about £30 imported). That'll power five pedals. the whammy and echo park need to be powered seperately though...
Im pretty sure the Whammy will come with one when you order it, but youll have to find a seperate psu for the Echo Park.

Hope this helps :)

argh, just read the true bypass bit. you can of course invest in a Barge VFB-2 (£55), which will allow you to keep all your pedals in a true bypass loop. Thatll allow you to switch between your clean sound and your effected one. It will also allow you to blend your clean and effected signal together when the loop is active.
 
#12
I know the feeling man - I went from all pedals to a Digitech BNX to a Korg AX1000B and now I have gone back to the pedals. I just haven't found an all-in-one that doesn't suck tone out, or really hit EVERYTHING on the nose. But now that I've given back in to pedals, they are all kinds of fun again, and they range from inexpensive to pricey, but a lot are really great and don't cost a ton.

Anyway, here's my board right now:

Distortion: Tech21 NYC XXL Bass
Compression: EBS MultiComp
Flanger / Chorus: MXR M117R (does both but is big and takes it's own power supply, but sounds great
Delay: I am actually using a DigiTech JamMan sampler right now instead, but have heard that the Boss Digital Delays are the best you can get.
Volume: Don't use, but have heard many good things about Ernie Ball and Morely
Whammy: Digitech Whammy (the current one)

You didn't ask about envelope filter, but a great synth tone is running your distortion into an env filter, and the EMMA DiscomBOBulator is the best thing in the world.

Anyway, I've used just about everything and have settled on these for now and I am pretty happy. Always looking for a new and better distortion pedal though, and have heard thet the Pigtronix DisNortion is worth trying, so that may be something coming up.
 
#13
I've heard that the Sansamp GT2 is the best distortion you can get for bass... thick and retains a lot, if not ALL low end. I need to try that biatch out...

I'm not interested in making my bass sound like a synth or anything electronic... though my band isn't strictly metal, we're not too experemental... just write wicked riffs ;)

I tried my guitarists whammy the other week... only for a little bit, but couldn't get it going. I'll have another go this weekend sometime... see what I can do with it.
 
#15
There's a bazillion pedals that could be recommended for you, and each of them have their own flavor that you may or may not like. I'm a big believer in individual pedals becuase I like the flexibility of being able to pick exactly how I want each to sound. However, if you like the effected sounds you're getting from your multi, do like Roady said, and put that thing in a true-bypass loop. You can get a single looper for pretty darn cheap from www.loop-master.com.

Now that that's out of the way, here's my preferences...

Distortion: EHX English Muff'n (tube driven goodness with tons of versitility from mellow to raging - much loved by TB'ers)
Compression: Demeter Compulator or BBE Opto Stomp (read bongomania's compressor reviews for everything you need to know about comps)
Flanger: Flange BF-2 (yes, the old one - it sounds better)
Chorus: Analogman Mini Chorus (w/ deep mod) or EHX Clone Theory
Delay: For a simple delay - Guyatone MD3. If you need reverse, tap tempo, etc - Line 6 Echo Park.
Volume: (I don't know enough to recommed anything)
Whammy: Whammy IV (unless you can track down an old Bass Whammy).

Happy hunting! :)
 
#16
Distortion is a really personal effect. It's what you want that matters, and each distortion pedal sounds different through each rig. Try out all of the aforementioned pedals. I'd probably recommend the Tech21 XXL Bass. It sounds good, can get a variety of sounds, is easy to use, and is easy to accomodate (size, power supply, etc.). The Zvex Wooly Mammoth is a terrible recommendation, imo. It costs $340 new, and it's a fuzz, not a disortion. It's pretty industrial and synthy sounding, which I doubt is what you're looking for.

Compressor: Check Bongo's compressor reviews. I think you'd want the BBE Opto Stomp for affordability or the EBS MultiComp if you can foot the bill.

Flanger: I also think the BF-2 is the best solution. I also like the Liqua Flange. :D

Chorus: EricF hit it on the head. Chorus is also something that people (me) are picky about, so try a few to figure out what you want.

Delay: Depending on what you want, I'd go with the Guyaton MD3, Line 6 Echo Park, or Boss DD-20.

Volume: Ernie Ball passive volume Jr, Boss FV500 (it's huge though), Visual Volume, E13 MEVP, etc. It's just a matter of what features you want. :D
 
#17
I would suggest not worrying about if the pedals are true bypass or not, because you can get a true bypass looper. Cause it would be a huge bummer if you got a sweet distortion sound you love out of a pedal that wasn't true bypass and didn't get it because of that.

If you don't know what true bypass loopers are, they are separate stompboxes that have a master input and master output, and you have an effect send and return for each effect you want to put in there. Then they each have a footswitch and when you hit them they bring the effect into your signal line. This way you can just leave all the effects on and bring them into your signal line when you want to use them.

My suggestions?
Distortion: EHX Little Big Muff, though it is more of a fuzz than distortion, I mix it with a tubescreamer (TS5) to get my sound

Chorus: Boss CH-1 Super Chorus

Whammy: Well you already know about the Whammy IV and Bass Whammy from others, but Boss makes a pedal called the Super Shifter PS-5. It doesn't come with a expression pedal, but you can add one on. With both of these it costs about the same as the whammy IV. It also has some features that the whammy doesn't. I haven't tried it out but intend on it as soon as i can. Just letting you know there are options other than digitech (Digitech sucks IMO).
 
#18
Cheers for all the advice guys / gals :)

Just for information - I've currently tried all the following distortions / fuzzes and don't like any of them :|

* Ken Multi Fuzz MFZ-7
* All the distortion settings on the GT6-B - only one, low rumbly fuzz with the bass turned all the way to +50, is near to what I want
* EHX Big Muff Russian
* EHX Big Muff USA

I'm really looking for something that keeps as much low end as poss, gives a lot of grumble with high gain... it's basically just to beef up our sound... my guitarist has a typical high gain marshal sound... not much low end, so I need to amplify that.

As I said - tried my mate's whammy but coudln't get it working, will be giving that a go again though! :)
 
#19
Something to think about...
If your band's sound is a lot of distorted guitars, sometimes the best thing is for the bass to counter that by stayng clean and punchy - or not. ;)

If you didn't like the EHX USA & Russian Big Muffs, you won't like the Little Big Muff either. The English Muff'n, however, is a very different animal than the Big Muff family. It might be your answer - or not. As you're finding out, distortion is a very personal thing. Spend some time browsing through the various distortion threads here and listen to as many clips as you can. Maybe you'll find something that nails the sound in your head.

For high gain distortion/fuzz, I'm currently enjoying the Prescription Electronics Depth Charge. It has a blend control to blend in some of you clean signal with the fuzz so you don't lose as much note definition and punch as is common with many high-gain pedals.
 
#20
Spikeh said:
I've heard that the Sansamp GT2 is the best distortion you can get for bass... thick and retains a lot, if not ALL low end. I need to try that biatch out...
Click to expand...

Dude, this is so far from the truth. You LOSE all low end. Seriously. Go check out Walbassplayer's video of his pedal board and listen to the GT-2. NO low end at all.

I really think you'll prefer the Tech21 XXLB.
 

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