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How many 'always on' pedals are in your chain

Its enjoyable to read these responses from everyone...... I am one of those that never uses any pedals though because I feel it affects the true signal of the bass, though some bass sounds through pedals are great to hear I am not really into using them myself when I play.
 
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I am loving the Noble, Cali76 combo. Of course, once we find a sound we like, we can't just stop and enjoy it...we have to keep messing with it. After all, that's how we found something we liked in the first place. :)

I will probably keep these as always on pedals. But, then there are other cool things like low pass filters, a mild OD, buffers, pari EQs, etc.

So, how many pedals do you keep on your board that are always on?
2

Spectra comp

Sgt
 
I have a Source Audio EQ 2 that's always on - set to a specific setting, depending on what bass I'm using. I play ampless gigs, so my pedalboard is my "amp" - my sound is not what comes out of a speaker, it's what comes out of my DI. That pedal performs the functions of EQ, high pass, low pass (it does what I want out of a speaker emulator), and.....it's my tuner. My Di is always in the signal path too, but as it's passive, it's technically not "on".
 
I always run the Sansamp BDDIv2 into a Wayne Jones 2X10 Powered Cab (avatar), but prefer the depth and dimension of two discrete signals; blending the tube preamp (aural enhancer, parametric EQ, and compressor) of a little SWR Spellbinder Blue amp into the big cab or balanced out into the house sounds great.
 
Its enjoyable to read these responses from everyone...... I am one of those that never uses any pedals though because I feel it affects the true signal of the bass, though some bass sounds through pedals are great to hear I am not really into using them myself when I play.

There have always been great pedals available, but there are so many 'sweetener' or 'nuance' pedals available now. When I started gigging, the Sansamp was just coming out. There were some very cool vintage pedals, and they were not very subtle in the least. So, I would go though phases where I would buy a few pedals to try, and they never really fit my style.

I've only had the Noble for a few days. When I first plugged into it, I was expecting something huge based on the reviews. I thought it sounded great, but I wasn't blown away. I played through it for about a half hour, then decided to plug directly into my amp to compare. Right away, I was like "nope." The notes didn't have the same authority, fullness, bloom and weight. It was almost like I was playing a different bass. I always got a great sound out of my gear (Aguilar TH500, 2x112 SL cabs, EBMM SR5 and an M Bass P bass) but the Noble with the Cali 76 took it to the next level.

I should say that if I took this to a gig and the entire board went down, I can still get a good tone. But, the little sweetness that these pedals provide is icing.
 
Outside of pedal buffers (I'm looking at you Boss...)
When My pedalboard is activated (I have it all in a single loop switcher...17 pedals...):
1. A One Control Mosquite Blender that has 60% TC Spark Mini Boost on (It's part of my gain staging)
2. TC Bonafide Buffer
3. TC Spectra Comp ...only if I'm playing outside without monitors

Wow, out of 17 pedals, the only TC pedals I have are potentially always on. Weird.

Without pedalboard on....nothing.
 
4 [sfx]mThumpinator 2 > Boss LS2 > @Sushi Box FX Underground Accelerator Hand Wired > Zoom MS60B. On the Zoom I use at least a room reverb but also use for delay, modulation and reverbs. All of the effects are in the LS2 loop.
Main Pedalboard 11-20-2023.jpg
 
My always-ons have changed quite a lot over the years. The Way Huge Pork Loin and Xotic RC Booster was it for a long time. Analog Alien Bass station and RC Booster is really great too. A wealth of choices, really. The tonal goal for me is natural compression with slightly dirty drive/boost into some B-15, SVT, or Alembic tone stacks.

Right now, it depends on whether I'm playing fours or fives.

Fives:
Compressor: Cali76-CB
Overdrive: Wren & Cuff Phat Phuk B
Preamp: Barber Linden, Sushi Box Particle Accelerator, or Broughton SV-Pre
HPF

Fours:
Compressor: Wren & Cuff Gold Comp
Preamp: Barber Linden, Sushi Box Particle Accelerator, or Broughton SV-Pre
Boost: Xotic RC Booster
HPF
 
Like the OP, my signal chain is: bass (usually passive) => Cai76CB => PhatPhukB => VT => Noble => Amp. I've used this arrangement for 3 years and am very happy with it for both live work and sessions (happy sound techs, session engineers and producers too!). The Cali76CB and Noble are the always on elements of my board. The PhatPhuk B (set for clean gain, not OD) is mostly punched for emphasis or solos, the VT gets turned on when I'm seeking an Ampeg-ish tone (set towards its B15 character) and just a touch of hair.

The other device on the board is my IEM amp, which is on as often as possible. :)

IMG-5533.jpg
 
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