Show me your compact pedalboard setup

[MTN.bass72]

The discussion about best place for HPF when introducing new low freqs via octave down and filter got me thinking! I've decided to compromise by putting it mid-board immediately before my little Zoom multifx but after all the additional low-f stuff. I'll have to 'fess to having an ulterior motive in that I've got a couple of pedals offboard that I was really keen to find some space for, so I took the opportunity to sling the Thumpinator below board as an "always-on" pedal and have now slotted in a Pigtronix Octavia in its place.View attachment 4276309 View attachment 4276310

Please tell me your thoughts on tu he Pigtronix Octavia.. was literally checking it out a couple of days ago

 

[Al Krow]

Please tell me your thoughts on tu he Pigtronix Octavia.. was literally checking it out a couple of days ago

Pigtronix Octava - quick review

TLDR: I'm seriously impressed by it.

First of all, apologies - I spelt it wrong in my earlier post! It's actually "Octava" (no "i") although I agree Octavia is more expected!

I love the sound and the compact form factor. I think it's been primarily aimed at guitarists rather than us bass players but any guitar dirt pedal with a clean blend, which the Octava has, is half way to being bass ready IMO, and this one certainly works very well on bass.

I particularly like it with the fuzz button engaged - it goes from pussy-cat to tiger with a push of that button! You can then go from a dirty valve break-up with the drive set at 10am to throaty full-on fuzz by the time you've dialled it up to 2pm. In comparison the Mastroton, which is hugely well regarded and rightly so, gives a cleaner slightly more nasally Darkglass tone and I set the subs on "3" on that to avoid losing low end. But with the Octava there seems to be precious little loss of low end, even with only relatively small amounts of clean blended in; it's like a RAT on steroids!

If you do end up getting one - be great to hear if you agree with that pretty glowing summary I've just posted.

 

[MTN.bass72]

Pigtronix Octava - quick review

TLDR: I'm seriously impressed by it.

First of all, apologies - I spelt it wrong in my earlier post! It's actually "Octava" (no "i") although I agree Octavia is more expected!

I love the sound and the compact form factor. I think it's been primarily aimed at guitarists rather than us bass players but any guitar dirt pedal with a clean blend, which the Octava has, is half way to being bass ready IMO, and this one certainly works very well on bass.

I particularly like it with the fuzz button engaged - it goes from pussy-cat to tiger with a push of that button! You can then go from a dirty valve break-up with the drive set at 10am to throaty full-on fuzz by the time you've dialled it up to 2pm. In comparison the Mastroton, which is hugely well regarded and rightly so, gives a cleaner slightly more nasally Darkglass tone and I set the subs on "3" on that to avoid losing low end. But with the Octava there seems to be precious little loss of low end, even with only relatively small amounts of clean blended in; it's like a RAT on steroids!

If you do end up getting one - be great to hear if you agree with that pretty glowing summary I've just posted.

Awesome! Thanks so much. This may have pushed me to give it a try

 

[BrentSimons]

Thanks! The Synth sounds from them are quite different, the Zoom actually gets closer to the "80s" synth sound but you've got a ton of sonic choices from the SY-1. There's a few decent bass focused clips on YT that will give you an idea of what its core sounds are and the tracking on the SY-1 is superb.

Many would say that a Source Audio C4 or Panda FI are better synth pedals; they may be right (not least because they have true synth wave generators whereas the SY-1 is a synth emulator) but you're looking at double the price once you have got all the extras to make them work fully (eg midi controller etc) and they both need you to roll up your sleeves and get into PC editing to get the most out of them, whereas the Boss is plug and play with the immediacy of dials.

Personally I'm a massive fan of the Zoom B1-4 for everything else it does. I've not come across a pedal that is more versatile or better value for money. I like it so much I've got one at the center of my board, as you can see, and a spare that I slip into a gig bag as a headphone amp!

Hi there,
I have a B1 Four as well! It's a great little unit Surprisingly tough as well. Lots of great sounds and a great price!
I currently use it as a headphone practice tool.
Stay healthy y'all,
Brent

 

[Chris Y]

Latest iteration of my board,
Mu-tron Octavider+ replaced MXR VBO.
Still getting my head around this new arrangement, had to move the Oxide to end of the line (before Mesa) which changes things immensely. Lots of new sounds here.
All fits on a Metro 16, power supply and passive HPF underneath too.

 

[MTN.bass72]

Latest iteration of my board,
Mu-tron Octavider+ replaced MXR VBO.
Still getting my head around this new arrangement, had to move the Oxide to end of the line (before Mesa) which changes things immensely. Lots of new sounds here.
All fits on a Metro 16, power supply and passive HPF underneath too.
View attachment 4283814

How does the Oxiide company with the MBD2? Is it it more of a fuzz? I love my MBD2, but want to add something different..

 

[Chris Y]

How does the Oxiide company with the MBD2? Is it it more of a fuzz? I love my MBD2, but want to add something different..

Oxide can be an uncontrollable beast of a fuzz, it took me quite a while to come to terms with it, was going to flip it almost straight away, but, I stuck with it and learnt how to rein it in a bit, of all the pedals on my board it has been there the longest.
MBD2 has a lot more depth and is a great pedal but it doesn't get close to the Oxide for fuzz.
The two combined gives me a whole new level of dirt, adding the fuzz from Octavider+ early in the chain just stacks things up with another flavour but can remain thick without losing bottom end thanks to the MBD2.
Still learning with this setup

 

[Angry Mob With Pitchfork]

Thanks! The Synth sounds from them are quite different, the Zoom actually gets closer to the "80s" synth sound but you've got a ton of sonic choices from the SY-1. There's a few decent bass focused clips on YT that will give you an idea of what its core sounds are and the tracking on the SY-1 is superb.

Many would say that a Source Audio C4 or Panda FI are better synth pedals; they may be right (not least because they have true synth wave generators whereas the SY-1 is a synth emulator) but you're looking at double the price once you have got all the extras to make them work fully (eg midi controller etc) and they both need you to roll up your sleeves and get into PC editing to get the most out of them, whereas the Boss is plug and play with the immediacy of dials.

Personally I'm a massive fan of the Zoom B1-4 for everything else it does. I've not come across a pedal that is more versatile or better value for money. I like it so much I've got one at the center of my board, as you can see, and a spare that I slip into a gig bag as a headphone amp!

Thank you so much for this detailed response. It is much appreciated! I am now decided to grab the Zoom B1. Synth or no synth it is a great utilitarian pedal to have on a board. I’m kind of worried that it might knock off couple of my fav effects if you know what I mean.

 

[dfreeland83]

Welp, I have an audition tomorrow for the first time in awhile and this is what I’ve got on the board right now (Gator aluminum small size, about 16x8?)

View attachment 2897607

The green one is a Bass Synth Wah - I got it with the wrong footplate (previous owner says the original had broken a tab so he put the plate from a different digitech on it) so I cut the paint back to the bare metal and gave it a wire brush treatment. Might leave it, might repaint, dunno yet if I’m even keeping it. Zip tie on the polytune keeps it from rolling to the side, zip tie on the multicomp is because it has foam on the bottom which I doubt holds velcro too well.

The B:Assmaster is an old one and the ass volume knob is loose on its pot shaft (LOL); it’s #22 and was autographed by Paul Barker inside, to someone named Steve.

Anyways, I may not need any of the bottom row of ‘effecty’ effects, the top row is the utility stuff that generates the tone. I am enjoying the Multicomp (new to me) and the BDDIv2 is the entire preamp, bypasssing the pre on my Rumble and running straight into the FX loop. Nice and fat.

One thing that is baffling me though is that, unlike running through the rumble’s preamp, this rig makes my Jazz type bass sound more authoritative and powerful than the P. All good but unusual for these two basses.

This is the dumbest response in this thread to date (from me) but I'm catching up on this entire thread, building a micro pedal board of my own... that was my Digitech Synth Wah

At least, I can't imagine any other folks would have that exact same situation. Small world.

 

[Naigewron]

New build. Moved from a pure HX Stomp setup to an HX Effects and an Atomic Ampli-Firebox.

The Ampli-Firebox is an amp modeler and IR loader for guitar and bass, and will serve as my DI output from the board (either with or without amp modeling).

The AFB is in one of the FX loops of the HX Effects, and the splitter (bottom left) splits the signal right before the AFB and runs one output straight to a separate output on the board, while the other goes through the AFB and back into the HX Effects. It basically functions like a "Through" output for the AFB (which doesn't have one).

This means I have one pedalboard output without any amp modeling (for running to a real amp), and one with full modeling and cab simulation (for running direct at home or at a gig). It's a pretty flexible setup.

I might replace the AFB with a more bass-oriented preamp at some point, but since I also play guitar it's nice to have an all-in-one solution right there on the board.

 

[Bassist30]

Latest iteration of my board,
Mu-tron Octavider+ replaced MXR VBO.
Still getting my head around this new arrangement, had to move the Oxide to end of the line (before Mesa) which changes things immensely. Lots of new sounds here.
All fits on a Metro 16, power supply and passive HPF underneath too.
View attachment 4283814

It would be nice if all pedals came with all ins/outs on top of the pedal therefore we can get them close like the bottom row. I went smaller and got the metro 16. Selling some of your prize pedals is hard. But the large boards were getting out of hand for me. Even got the 3 m dual lock which Im trying to get use too.

 

[Rich67]

It would be nice if all pedals came with all ins/outs on top of the pedal therefore we can get them close like the bottom row. I went smaller and got the metro 16. Selling some of your prize pedals is hard. But the large boards were getting out of hand for me. Even got the 3 m dual lock which Im trying to get use too.

I'll confess, as much as I love pedals, the fewer I have (2 and a tuner) I find the more I enjoy playing.

And enjoying the "whomp" when a good fuzz kicks in...

 

[MTN.bass72]

I'll confess, as much as I love pedals, the fewer I have (2 and a tuner) I find the more I enjoy playing.

And enjoying the "whomp" when a good fuzz kicks in...

Agreed... my main trio is a Korg pitchblack, Cali76cb, and an Damnation Audio MBD-2... that's it... I did just take in a Broughton JoshWah, just for fun though

 

[Bassist30]

I'll confess, as much as I love pedals, the fewer I have (2 and a tuner) I find the more I enjoy playing.

And enjoying the "whomp" when a good fuzz kicks in...

You get to concentrate more at least it is for me. It was like I took 8 basses to a gig.

 

[NerdyOcean]

 

[Rich67]

You get to concentrate more at least it is for me. It was like I took 8 basses to a gig.

That's a great way to put it. I found I was working the volume, tone and adjusting my picking attack much more.

 

[the baint]

That's a great way to put it. I found I was working the volume, tone and adjusting my picking attack much more.

Easy guys, this is perilously close to No Pedalboard Club discussion. Slippery slope and all that.

 

[dfreeland83]

Preliminary setup and staging of my mostly-digital board. Gonna pop a USB-Hub on the back so I can hook it to my PC and hook all of the pedals into my computer at once, I ordered a better TRS cable for the footswitch that'll be EXP4/5 on the HX Stomp and I was short two of the EBS cables (bad planning on my part). Those should be in tomorrow, so I'll finish everything up. I plan on putting the C4 and the Aftershock in the effects loop of the HX Stomp for a bit o' flexibility.

 

[deepestend]

I'll confess, as much as I love pedals, the fewer I have (2 and a tuner) I find the more I enjoy playing.

And enjoying the "whomp" when a good fuzz kicks in...

Yes. 6 MAX for me and that includes a tuner.

 

[shwashwa]

Preliminary setup and staging of my mostly-digital board. Gonna pop a USB-Hub on the back so I can hook it to my PC and hook all of the pedals into my computer at once, I ordered a better TRS cable for the footswitch that'll be EXP4/5 on the HX Stomp and I was short two of the EBS cables (bad planning on my part). Those should be in tomorrow, so I'll finish everything up. I plan on putting the C4 and the Aftershock in the effects loop of the HX Stomp for a bit o' flexibility.

View attachment 4288650

what pedal board is that?