Multi eefects or stomp boxes lined up

I'm not sure about the currency exchange rate but, I've a boss me-50b that does whatever I ask of it, and I hear the new line6 Bass POD® xt Live is pretty sweet!

 

The ME-50b is an excellent choice, but it is almost 3 times the price of the pedals you are looking at, so it is probably not an option. If you poke around the effects forum, there is a fairly current thread on the three most used effects for bass, that may be beneficial to you.
Here are some questions we need to know from you-
1) Does your amp already have on-board compression?
2) What type of music are you most likely playing (punk, metal, jazz, rock, etc.)?
3) What is your current rig?
Ultimately, IMHO, you will be throwing away your folk's money if you get one of these lower end units you have asked about. You might be better off starting with individual effects, each of which may cost near your $300 AUD, but you could possibly get a combination of 2 for the $500 AUD price point your parents have offered. Either way, we could probably give you better suggestions if you post a little more info.

 

I agree with everything CetiAlphaVI recommends, start with individual pedals, they offer the biggest range of tones and generally sound better, and offer the most flexibility as far as effect order (i.e. effects in different orders sound different)

The three questions he asked are very good. They will be able to help us answer your question more fully.

 

I agree with the above. In the meantime, check out the TB sound clip thread and the Behringer Stomp boxes thread -- both have been posted to fairly recently. The first has clips of many different effects to help you get an idea of what you like. The later is about the controversial Behringer effect pedals -- most are $20US a piece. Not a bad way to experiement on a budget.

 

then it doesn't have it. Compression is always good, but if you're a relative newbie you'll get more bang for your buck if you got a more "obvious" effect.

Chorus or flange would suit your style probably.

The best thing I reckon you could do is wander into the best music store in your area on their quietest day, find someone you know or get along with then you say;

"I have $500 in my pocket to spend on effects TODAY, but I don't know what I want. So, hand me a bass and help me find some stuff I like!"

Just be up front, if they know you've got cash and are keen to buy they'll be happy to help. The thing they dread is inadvertently helping some cashless bum for an hour!

 

For distortion, check out a Digitech Bad Monkey.
For wah, Ibanez Weeping Demon.
For a chorus, hunt down (Ebay) a Trace Elliot Quad Chorus pedal.

If you really like to turn knobs and stuff, a multi effects unit might be for you. Personally, I love my ART Nightbass SE w/X-15 foot controller. I can program it for any sound I need but it does take some tweaking. Thats not a problem for me as I do all my effects adjustments on it with my PC via midi. I can edit effects and immediately hear the difference without touching the knobs and/or buttons. I have samples of it up in the The Big TB Sample Thread. BTW, you can normally pick up a nice one for around $150-$200 US.

 

These two pedals are for guitar, but they sound great if you use them with a bass.