Opinion about future pedalboard (mostly MXR)

[ItsmeSantiago]

Big fan of MXR. Currently have the bass chorus and reverb, owned the BOD, envelope, comp and bass fuzz in the past, with the fuzz being one I will buy again.

I used to be a pedal junkie and I’ve never been disappointed with any MXR except the BOD, and I know I’m in the minority. Bought it twice and had tracking issues both times so I’ve stayed with the OC-3.

 

[Grizelda100]

That MXR Poly Blue Octave really is impressive.

 

[hooky_marr]

I would suggest looking at the Aguilar Octamizer as an octave alternative, if you’re looking for that Tony Levin / Pino Palladino sound.

 

[skwee]

I feel like fuzzes can really trash low freqs, but maybe yours doesn't.

I am building the pedal board at the moment, so I could be totally wrong putting the EQ that early.It looks like it can go litterally anywhere between the Compressor and the fuzz. Where would you put it ?

 

[Auspuff]

This is why I suggested the Keeley Bassist. It's more transparent and I found it easier to dial in than the MXR.

The DOD can get kinda splatty if you dial it in like many demos. I use it for a more complex Red Llama sound. The MXR was muffled and didn't have enough volume.

If you like the 74, then try the Phase 95 as a 2 stage phaser instead of a 4. There aren't a lot of affordable phase pedals out there with a depth knob, which is something I prefer.

All that said, you've gotta do what's right for you.

Don't rule out the Keeley Compressor Pro. Intuitive setup, and it performs!

 

[Anemic_SluG]

All the choices are solid. One pedal that hasn’t left my board because it’s a great transparent compressor is the empress compressor and now that the ver 2 is out it just got better with a little more tone shaping and the led lights are super useful when using multiple basses with different outputs.
I tried the mxr and just didn’t vibe with it. It’s been Empress ever since. I also love my phase 95 and BOD. Good luck and have fun jumping down the fuzz hole.

 

[_One//Man//Mutiny_]

I would recommend checking out the phase 100, really really love it on bass, that second knob really makes a world of difference

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

My subjective preferences for those effects are:

-Tuner : Sonic Research Turbo Tuner. Really fast as its name implies.

-EQ : Empress ParaEq. I prefer parametric EQ pedals, they solve more problems.

-Compressor : Cali76 Compact Bass. MXR's compressor is cool, but lacks clean blend and HPF, which makes it less useful overall.

-Octaver : MXR M288 Bass Octaver Deluxe. We have a common winner here. The ability to mix subby + middy octave sounds makes it very versatile.

-Fuzz : Aguilar Fuzzistor. I tried MXR M84 for a while, but I subjectively felt like it gets lost in the mix easily.

-Chorus : Walrus Audio Julia. Clean blend is very useful on a chorus.

-Phaser : Aguilar Grape Phaser. MXR phasers are notorious for volume jumps and tone suck. Besides; I feel like the Grape Phaser sounds sweeter; possibly because it is targeting bass related frequencies or something.

-Reverb : N/A. I use MXR Carbon Copy Mini in bright mode instead. Bass is already a "bassy" instrument, it is very easy to sound muddy with reverbs and whatnot. In my subjective opinion, a bright delay setup to mimic a reverb is the best option. Plus, MXR CC is analog.

-Loop : N/A. I used the Boss RC looper for a while, but didn't try any other alternatives to compare.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

It looks those MXR are not noisy, they are true bypass

True bypass is no guarantee. In fact you want some buffered pedals to fix impedance issues (ie "tone suck").

Each pedal circuit is like 1 to 2 feet of cable (with patch cables in between). Only true bypass is not recommended.

Trying not to be a Debbie Downer, it just is what it is.

 

[JimmyM]

For fuzz, I would swap the Bass Fuzz Deluxe out with a Bass Distortion. I like the BFD soloed, but I tended to lose the fuzz in a mix. Meanwhile the Bass Distortion is a modded Rat, and never gets lost due to a solid midrange.

 

[Romain909]

My subjective preferences for those effects are:

-Tuner : Sonic Research Turbo Tuner. Really fast as its name implies.

-EQ : Empress ParaEq. I prefer parametric EQ pedals, they solve more problems.

-Compressor : Cali76 Compact Bass. MXR's compressor is cool, but lacks clean blend and HPF, which makes it less useful overall.

-Octaver : MXR M288 Bass Octaver Deluxe. We have a common winner here. The ability to mix subby + middy octave sounds makes it very versatile.

-Fuzz : Aguilar Fuzzistor. I tried MXR M84 for a while, but I subjectively felt like it gets lost in the mix easily.

-Chorus : Walrus Audio Julia. Clean blend is very useful on a chorus.

-Phaser : Aguilar Grape Phaser. MXR phasers are notorious for volume jumps and tone suck. Besides; I feel like the Grape Phaser sounds sweeter; possibly because it is targeting bass related frequencies or something.

-Reverb : N/A. I use MXR Carbon Copy Mini in bright mode instead. Bass is already a "bassy" instrument, it is very easy to sound muddy with reverbs and whatnot. In my subjective opinion, a bright delay setup to mimic a reverb is the best option. Plus, MXR CC is analog.

-Loop : N/A. I used the Boss RC looper for a while, but didn't try any other alternatives to compare.

I like the Aguilar Fuzzistor too.
Regarding the reverb, I use it when I play arpegios with higher trebbles or high notes on the D and G strings. It is great for the fretless too.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

modded Rat

Sold.

 

[BlueTalon]

Thanks a lot for your help ! I am not a huge fan of Boss pedals in terms of look but well, it is still hard to shape my opinion. If I don't change my mind about this, I will post the results over here in the next weeks.

I've always liked the Boss pedals because I like their approach to operating the switch. It's a lot easier to hit the switch with my foot when the switch is the size of half the pedal. But the switches used on most pedals today are a lot better (smoother to operate and more reliable) than the ones they used 40 years ago. Now, I prefer my pedal connections to be at the top of the pedal rather than on the sides. But that's just a personal preference.

 

[Romain909]

I've always liked the Boss pedals because I like their approach to operating the switch. It's a lot easier to hit the switch with my foot when the switch is the size of half the pedal. But the switches used on most pedals today are a lot better (smoother to operate and more reliable) than the ones they used 40 years ago. Now, I prefer my pedal connections to be at the top of the pedal rather than on the sides. But that's just a personal preference.

It is funny. That's the other way around for me. I had a crappy Behringer pedal 15 years ago that had a Boss like switch and I now associate it with poor quality. That's totally irrational, but I find it unappealing now.

Similarly, I used to have a crappy chinese Precision bass as my first bass. Now I can't put my hands on a precision neck ahaha

 

[BlueTalon]

It is funny. That's the other way around for me. I had a crappy Behringer pedal 15 years ago that had a Boss like switch and I now associate it with poor quality. That's totally irrational, but I find it unappealing now.

Similarly, I used to have a crappy chinese Precision bass as my first bass. Now I can't put my hands on a precision neck ahaha

The funny thing about those Behringer pedals is that they're so wide. Maybe back when they first started making them, they thought that was the way to do it with bottom-budget pedals. But now, there are a lot of really cheap pedal companies that make pedals that are small, and pretty well constructed to be honest. At least the metal boxes they're made out of don't feel like they'll fall apart the same way the Behringer pedals felt. So now, the Behringer pedals are the worst of all worlds -- cheap electronics, cheap feeling bodies and switch hinges, and too big to be convenient on a pedal board.

 

[Bassmike62]

-Tuner : Korg Pitchblack Advance (already purchased, it's awesome. Accurate, and the 8 yrs old in me love the display)
-EQ : MXR 10 band equalizer
-Compressor : MXR M87 Bass compressor
-Octaver : MXR M288 Bass Octaver Deluxe
-Fuzz :MXR M84 Bass Fuzz Deluxe
-Chorus : MXR M83 Bass Chorus Deluxe (Already purchased, awesome)
-Phaser : MXR Custom Shop LED Phase 90
-Reverb : MXR M300 Reverb
-Loop : Ditto Looper (Already purchased, awesome)

Any opinion about this MXR setup ?
Thx

Bonjour Romain,

All good stuff, I always liked MXR pedals, specially the modulation ones and have owned most of the ones you mention. Pedals are related to personal taste and taste evolves, so pedals move around, but with those pedals, that'll be an awesome board you'll end up with.

One comment on my part: after using the MXR comp for about 2 years, I switched to the Keeley compressor Pro, which I found easier to dial in. Comprehensive controls (for a pedal), everything's pretty much laid out, noiseless and no loss of low-end. Bigger than the MXR box, but for me, oh so worth it.

 

[scott sinner]

If you want an octave to give you a synth sound, you need a Polyphonic octave and the M288 is not Polyphonic. The Poly Blue can do both mono and poly, it can do fuzz, and it can do modulation (chorus, shimmer, flange). The M288 does not do octave up at all. I don't even know why they still offer it, the Poly Blue is just a little more.

If you are torn between delay and reverb, get something that does both...Matthews Effects Cosmonaut. It has 3 options for delay and reverbs, and two footswitches so you can toggle back and fourth between any 2 of them.

Compressor...forget the MXR and the Boss. Get the Empress Bass Compressor.

Agree with all of this. The Poly Blue sounds great and is versatile. The MXR comp has a great feature set but it just doesn't sound good. Transparent compression has its place in mixing, but the Empress noted above (haven't tried the Boss myself), or a Darkglass HyperLuminal will get you compression that works better live.

Also, if you haven't bought a tuner yet, Sonic Research Turbo Tuner, even comes in mini, is far superior. Accurate enough to do setups.

 

[scott sinner]

Sure thing. I tend to stay attached to one brand generally but I know it is not the best path.
It looks those MXR are not noisy, they are true bypass and will be powered by a filtered power unit (Rockboard ISO 16).

As of now :
-Tuner : Korg Pitchblack Advance : OK (Already purchased, awesome)
-EQ : MXR 10 band equalizer OK (Could be moved after the Octaver or after the fuzz)
-Compressor : MXR M87 Bass compressor OR Boss BC-1X. I like the Boss tone
-Octaver : MXR M288 Bass Octaver Deluxe OR M283 Poly Blue Octave. It sounds awesome too ! I want a bass synth sound.
-Fuzz :MXR M84 Bass Fuzz Deluxe Kind of lost here. Keep it or not ? I can't tell.
-Chorus : MXR M83 Bass Chorus Deluxe OK (Already purchased, awesome)
-Phaser : MXR Custom Shop LED Phase 90 OK
-Reverb : MXR M300 Reverb I first wanted a delay instead, but I like the shimmer effect of Reverbs. I am 80% sure about this one.
-Loop : Ditto Looper OK (Already purchased, awesome)

If you really want a bass synth sound, I think the Poly Blue covers nice octaves and fuzzy octaves, but not full on synthy. More focused synth pedals = Boss sy-200, Source Audio c4 (requires app to fully use), EHX has a few by synth type.

 

[InkCow]

That Poly Blue octave looks intriguing. I doubt I’d use the sub+2 much, but I like the idea of oct+2. I use an octaver that I never see mentioned here: Joyo XVI. It’s got an octave up and down and modulation. A little of the modulation knob goes a long way. I do like it for a synth-y sound though.

I just moved it to the front of the chain. I feel like it tracks better before my dirt pedals. I note that the Poly Blue has fuzz, which maybe makes that moot, although I don’t know that I’d always want fuzz with my octave.

 

[dfreeland83]

Advice on the ones I've owned:

MXR 10-Band: The MXR 10 Band EQ is a good pedal, but you can see those LEDs from space. They're legitimately so blinding you may have issues adjusting on a dark stage.

MXR M87 Bass Compressor: This is sort-of my current compressor. It's honestly my personal favorite, but it's a bit finicky to dial-in. I've tried a ton of comps and eventually came back to this one. I say it's 'sort-of- my current compressor because I bought an MXR Studio Compressor a few months ago. Note: Sometimes they're cheaper, it's black (looks better imho), and it's the exact same circuit. If you dig, you'll find that they released it because guitarists liked it, but didn't want a 'bass compressor' on their board. The Keeley Bassist did something I didn't like to my rig, but pretty much every other one I tried was at least 'ok'

MXR M288 Bass Octave Deluxe: Had the deluxe, but ended up liking the Vintage Bass Octave a bit more. The VBO does more of the classic, synthy octave in a much smaller size.

MXR M84 Bass Fuzz Deluxe: As others have said, this is a divisive pedal. There are definitely better options out there. DOD Carcosa is off and on my board, and the Fuzzrocious Grey State w/ clean blend is a banger of a fuzz.

MXR M300 Reverb: Never used it on bass, but it's a wonderful pedal on guitar. I had it on my board for years.