It looks like you have a decent starting point already with the pedals you have. I would suggest doing your homework in the effects sub forums here on TB. I know I have learned a TON of stuff since my join date. There are even clubs for certain brands that contain a wealth of knowledge and can turn you onto what those builders are doing. There is so much out there in the effects world right now. And in it, today, the bassist has not been left in the cold like we were maybe 10 years ago. There are some pedals that work great on bass and guitar, so some are safe. But then there are those that may rob you of a little bottom end. But going back to what lakefx said, if it sounds good to you, its OK. I use a Fulltone OCD for dirt sometimes and I love it. There are some who share my joy for this pedal and some dont. Simply because its a tube screamer or because it robs you of a little bottom end, a lot in some cases. But it sounds awesome to me, so I use it.
I can think of a few companies to check out if you are just starting back down the rabbit hole but on the bass side:
Darkglass- Doug and the boys make some yummy yummy stuff that should be tried at least once by all. They mainly concentrate on dirt and preamp stuff and are broadening their horizons from what I hear in the future. Expensive? Yes. Worth every penny and more? YES! I would recommend checking out either the B7K as a preamp if youre more into modern tones, the Vintage Deluxe if you want a warmer, maybe even more vintage with some bite sound.
Source Audio- They are really tearing it up with what they are doing. I stress the word some when I say this, but some folks dont dig that they are digital. But if you were to look into their SoundBlox 2 series, I dont think you would be very disappointed. If you are looking for dirt, check out their OFD (overdrive/distortion/fuzz) modulator. It does some very good representations of all those things named. Their Orbital Modulator is quite awesome if youre looking for chorus or other modulation stuff. And their Manta is a filter monster!.
IE (Iron Ether)- You will wait forever for any of his pedals unless you get them used on the forum, but the wait is worth it. Taylor is and has built some very solid stuff. It sounds and looks very cool. Check them out for sure.
Idiot Box- Matt makes a lot of off the wall kind of things. A lot of dirt, fuzz. Check out his Blower Box, a RAT based dist that does OD to dist and does it VERY well. Simple yet very effective. Awesome pedal, awesome company.
MXR- Of course they have some very affordable and good stuff. I myself have been through my like and dislike period with their stuff, but overall, pretty solid.
DigiTech/DOD/Hardwire- They seem to be making a slight comeback IMO. They have re-released a new Bass Whammy that absolutely kills! they are in the process of re-releasing a few others. I would def look into those, really affordable and classic. Their Hardwire series is one that should not be overlooked, they are very affordable, on the used market even more so, built like tanks and sound wonderful. I use a couple myself.
Tech 21/SansAmp- They have the BDDI and the VT, so right there those are great things. They also have a Character Series, which is where the VT comes from, that really rocks. Whatever type tones youre looking for, you can probably fond it in one of those pedals, be it a Liverpool sounds, British or classic American. They also make a series of bass friendly pedals like a boost chorus, fuzz and distortion. Even a delay.
TC Electronics- They are also making some really neat stuff the last few years. They just released a series of mini pedals that are quite awesome. Their toneprint feature is very cool too, allowing the user to change the settings on their pedal via their smartphone striaght into the pickup on your bass or edit the toneprints on your computer. Very cool IMO.
Joyo- This company makes clones of almost any effect you can think of and they do it very well and for very cheap. Some popular ones here on TB are the Ultimate Drive (OCD clone), the American (sort of a VT clone) and some of their modulations and time based effects. Def check them out if you dont want to start out spending a lot of dough.
Zoom- This company has jumped leaps and bounds in their sound quality. They are digital pedals that have a TON of effects in them. They are muti-effects pedals. There is the B3, a bigger one with a three pedal kind of setup that has a headphone amp, DI and rhythm machine built into it, the ms60b, a single stomp form factor with well over 100 effects in it, the ms70cdr, like the 60b but aimed more at chorus, delay and reverb effects and the newer stuff the B1Xon and B1on. both are great sounding multis but I think the plastic housing may have some swaying away from them. Either way you look at it, great bargains for what youre getting, multi effects units that offer hundreds of effects in a neat little package that really do sound very good and are usable in most situations that are very affordable. Oh, and they ALL have built in tuners! So in the least, you can use it as a tuner.
Boss- Of course you know of them. Some of their pedals are indispensable in some arsenals. Others cant stand their products. I have used and still do use a couple of their pedals. I like them. Worth a look as well. They too have been revamping and rereleasing some of their pedals. Some good bass stuff as well.
Electro-Harmonix- They make some really cool stuff. But I will end that train before it starts. Im not a huge fan of their stuff, but it always intrigues me, Ill give it that. Im sure youve heard of them.
I almost forgot!! Check out Earth Quaker devices too (EQD). They make some really awesome pedals. Built well, look awesome, do some really crazy good stuff and they do it very very well. Outside of the box like Idiot Box and EHX but offer more than Idiot Box (Idiot Box is one guy pretty much) and are built a lot better than EHX IMO. Def look into them.
Hope this helped a little. I could go on but these are the ones that spring to mind almost instantly when a guy just entering, or reentering, the effects world and asks about whats out there right now and or what should be looked into. Good luck and welcome to the madness!!!!
