Request for effects chain advice...

[Cutter8]

Well, I wouldn't put it before the ODs because you want the string dynamics to either cause the OD to be subtle or bloom or flat our scream, and stacvking or layering ODs is great IMHO, but I personally like my time based or mod effects to be pretty "flat", flangers, reverbs, delays, etc. so I put my compressor before them, if I dont, sometimes the signal is too hot and will distort, and not in a good way, while heading out of my flanger or DD for example....I know you didn't ask for my explanation why I would do what I suggested but I humbly offer it anyway...sometimes I find the "why" helps you understand the "what". Rock on.

Actually, that’s exactly the kind of info I’m looking for. I very much wanted and appreciate the explanations as to why someone would do it a particular way. Thanks for that. It’s very helpful!

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

Where you place your compressor would depend on your purpose with the compressor.

If you want to balance out the small volume imperfections of your bass or finger technique; or keep things under control when picking/slapping, I recommend making the compressor as one of the early pedals in the chain. Light compression should do the trick. Be mindful though; some effect pedals rely on your attack dynamics, compression might prevent them from working the way you want them to.

If you want to limit the overall volume coming out of your whole rig, I recommend making the compressor as one of the late pedals in the chain. The brick wall approach with appropriate threshold should do the trick.

 

[Cutter8]

I would do this:

• Tuner
• Compressor
• Filter
• Drive
• DI

I don't know what the submarine is, so I don't know about that one.

The Submarine is an always-on “sweetener” pedal. If you are familiar with the Ictineo, I believe that is either a copy of, or was modeled after the Submarine. I can’t really describe what it does, but it adds a warmth and fullness that is subtle but significant.

 

[Frodolicious]

The reason why i didnt like envelope before dirt was because the intensity of the peaks of the filter would push my dirt pedals in a way that I didn't like. Back when I had one I had a wonderlove (imo the best envelope filter you could buy), I put dirt in the effects loop so that dirt wouldn't effect the sensitivity.

Anyway, my order would be:
Tuner
Submarine
Amptweaker
Envelope filter
compressor (to tame the peaks a little bit)
Ampeg (to use the DI out if need be).

 

[Cutter8]

Where you place your compressor would depend on your purpose with the compressor.

If you want to balance out the small volume imperfections of your bass or finger technique; or keep things under control when picking/slapping, I recommend making the compressor as one of the early pedals in the chain. Light compression should do the trick. Be mindful though; some effect pedals rely on your attack dynamics, compression might prevent them from working the way you want them to.

If you want to limit the overall volume coming out of your whole rig, I recommend making the compressor as one of the late pedals in the chain. The brick wall approach with appropriate threshold should do the trick.

In that case, I should probably put it early in the chain. I use always-on but very light compression. Maybe after the envelope filter would be a good compromise. Thanks for the guidance.

 

[Cutter8]

The reason why i didnt like envelope before dirt was because the intensity of the peaks of the filter would push my dirt pedals in a way that I didn't like. Back when I had one I had a wonderlove (imo the best envelope filter you could buy), I put dirt in the effects loop so that dirt wouldn't effect the sensitivity.

Anyway, my order would be: tuner, Submarine, Amptweaker, Envelope filter, compressor (to tame the peaks a little bit), and Ampeg (to use the DI out if need be).

Thanks! That is really helpful. I have never tried putting the drive in the effects loop because I had gotten the impression dirt pedals needed to be on the front end. I’ll definitely try it.

 

[Cutter8]

They use guitar, but also applies to bass using bass pedals.

I hadn’t seen that one before. Definitely a good concise overview. Thanks!

 

[Cutter8]

ANYHOW- I generally run tuner->various levels of dirt->a series of selectable always on preamp pedals.
Not really into modulation at this time but I may buy a delay of some sort when I get into bi-amping (my new bass will have two inputs!)

I really like the Submarine and the Ampeg, but they are the only preamp pedals I have ever tried. If you were going to add one additional selectable always on preamp to those, what would you choose?

 

[TheLowDown33]

On filter placement: put your dirt before your filters. Envelope filters do better when there's more harmonic frequency content to work with. I would put the comp after the filter. You dont want to squash your dynamics before dirt and filters, since they rely on the strength of the input signal. Putting a comp after your filters helps protect the effects downstream, as well as your speakers too. Some filters are notorious peaky.

 

[Cutter8]

On filter placement: put your dirt before your filters. Envelope filters do better when there's more harmonic frequency content to work with. I would put the comp after the filter. You dont want to squash your dynamics before dirt and filters, since they rely on the strength of the input signal. Putting a comp after your filters helps protect the effects downstream, as well as your speakers too. Some filters are notorious peaky.

That makes sense. Thanks for the explanation!

 

[monkeyfinger]

Check out this thread I posted a while back.

 

[Cutter8]

Check out this thread I posted a while back.

Thank you! I’m not sure how I missed that with all the searching and reading I’ve done on TB, but I’m grateful for the link. That is a bunch of great info presented in a very clear and concise way for us beginners, and it is incredible helpful! Perfect example of why I like TB so much!

 

[Drucifer]

1. Sonic Research Turbo Tuner ST-200 - Great tuner, the only one I like more is the ST-300, it has the capability to configure it as always on, with the footswitch acting as a mute. I like my tuner first in the chain, it reads quicker and I my boards don't have big noise issues that would make the mute less effective.
2. Mark Bass Compressore - I've heard good things about this compressor. I like the compressor first, it will reduce transients going in to the other effects and provide a higher gain level.
3. Zeibeck Submarine with UltrabassAmpeg SCR-DI - I put my octaves as early as I can in the chain, both for tracking purposes and so that the octave gets processed by the effect.
4. Mojo Hand 443 Analogue Filter - this is in the middle by default.
5. Amptweaker Bass Tight Drive (with blend mod) - I generally like EQ at the end of the chain
6. Ampeg SCR-DI - this has to go last if you're going to use the DI, so that all the effects go to FOH

 

[Cutter8]

1. Sonic Research Turbo Tuner ST-200 - Great tuner, the only one I like more is the ST-300, it has the capability to configure it as always on, with the footswitch acting as a mute. I like my tuner first in the chain, it reads quicker and I my boards don't have big noise issues that would make the mute less effective.
2. Mark Bass Compressore - I've heard good things about this compressor. I like the compressor first, it will reduce transients going in to the other effects and provide a higher gain level.
3. Zeibeck Submarine with UltrabassAmpeg SCR-DI - I put my octaves as early as I can in the chain, both for tracking purposes and so that the octave gets processed by the effect.
4. Mojo Hand 443 Analogue Filter - this is in the middle by default.
5. Amptweaker Bass Tight Drive (with blend mod) - I generally like EQ at the end of the chain
6. Ampeg SCR-DI - this has to go last if you're going to use the DI, so that all the effects go to FOH

Thanks!

Would either of the following bits of info change your answer?

1. The Zeibeck Submarine with Ultrabass isn’t an octave, it is an always on boost and sweetener pedal (volume knob, tone knob and an Ultrabass switch that boosts some really low frequencies).
2. I don’t need to have the compressor at the end of the chain for the DI because I can use the Magellan’s XLR balanced direct output (can be switched between mic and line level, and pre or post EQ).

FWIW, I want an octave and expect that will be the next pedal I buy, but I can’t decide what to get. I have read so much about so many different octavers that I’m a bit paralyzed by all the information and can’t seem to make a decision.

 

[CapnSev]

I’d go

1. Tuner
2. Filter
3. Compressor
4. Dirt
5. Modulation
6. Preamp/DI

The submarine probably at the beginning after the tuner, or right before the DI (which is where I’d probably put it).

I would definitely put the envelope filter as early in the chain as possible, since it is dependent on your playing dynamics. Plus, having a compressor after the filter can cut down on the huge spikes that filters tend to have sometimes.

 

[HolmeBass]

Thanks. The consensus so far seems to be putting the drive before the envelope filter. Why is that? I’ve been putting the filter first because I thought it needed a cleaner signal, but that is just based on the reading I’ve done, not an actual understanding of how they are interacting. I sure as hell wish I had learned more about this stuff when I was younger and still had room in my brain!

Drives produce more harmonics and content in the upper mids and highs. These frequencies in turn make the filter effect more noticeable.

The filter relies on dynamics to open/close, so putting the compressor before it can greatly diminish your ability to control the EF with your playing. Also, some EFs can have a lot of resonance at the cutoff frequency, which as it sweeps through the center of the range your current output is in can lead to some volume spikes. The compressor after the filter can help tame those spikes and protect your speakers.

 

[HolmeBass]

Given new info in the thread, I’d go:

Submarine
Amptweaker OD
Ampeg DI
Envelope filter
Compressor
Tuner

Put the Submarine’s nice buffer first, especially since it is always on, to feed that tone to everything else.

Ampeg as a pre-amp/alternate drive while using your amp’s DI.

Tuner last to really mute stuff, especially if the comp can be a bit hissy.

 

[BurtMacklinFBI]

Thanks. The consensus so far seems to be putting the drive before the envelope filter. Why is that? I’ve been putting the filter first because I thought it needed a cleaner signal, but that is just based on the reading I’ve done, not an actual understanding of how they are interacting. I sure as hell wish I had learned more about this stuff when I was younger and still had room in my brain!

You could do either, there’s no one true way to position an envelope filter. I prefer it after dirt because it creates a dirtier, more raucous squawk, but you could go the other way if you prefer that sound.

 

[Drucifer]

Thanks!

Would either of the following bits of info change your answer?

1. The Zeibeck Submarine with Ultrabass isn’t an octave, it is an always on boost and sweetener pedal (volume knob, tone knob and an Ultrabass switch that boosts some really low frequencies).
2. I don’t need to have the compressor at the end of the chain for the DI because I can use the Magellan’s XLR balanced direct output (can be switched between mic and line level, and pre or post EQ).

FWIW, I want an octave and expect that will be the next pedal I buy, but I can’t decide what to get. I have read so much about so many different octavers that I’m a bit paralyzed by all the information and can’t seem to make a decision.

Oops, I wasn't familiar with the Zeibeck so I took a guess. I'm not sure I would move it from where I suggested, maybe a little later in the chain, but I don't think it's location in the chain will have a big impact on how it sounds. I would still put the Ampeg later in the chain and the MarkBass early, but there are widely varying opinions about this and it's subjective.

There are a lot of different octave pedals, and they sound different and have different capabilities, so this is a case where you should try some (or listen to YouTube demos) and see what you like. The big decisions are analog vs. digital and whether you need an octave up or a sub-octave or just a lower octave. I somehow ended up with five. I probably use three regularly. EHX Nano POG (digital, low and high octaves), Boss OC-2 (analog, low and sub only), and 3Leaf Octabvre (analog, low and sub only).

 

[Cutter8]

Oops, I wasn't familiar with the Zeibeck so I took a guess. I'm not sure I would move it from where I suggested, maybe a little later in the chain, but I don't think it's location in the chain will have a big impact on how it sounds. I would still put the Ampeg later in the chain and the MarkBass early, but there are widely varying opinions about this and it's subjective.

There are a lot of different octave pedals, and they sound different and have different capabilities, so this is a case where you should try some (or listen to YouTube demos) and see what you like. The big decisions are analog vs. digital and whether you need an octave up or a sub-octave or just a lower octave. I somehow ended up with five. I probably use three regularly. EHX Nano POG (digital, low and high octaves), Boss OC-2 (analog, low and sub only), and 3Leaf Octabvre (analog, low and sub only).

Thanks again for your feedback. I’m going to give the three octaves you use regularly a closer look.