Starting pedals

[Mason Satterman]

Hey everyone, first post in pedals as in getting ready to start my journey into the world of pedals and pedal boards, im hoping to start gigging soon, I have a relatively good amp coming tomorrow, my bass is modded to the point im happy with it. Im hoping to play with a local band and also once the local dinner theater opens up them as well. What would you suggest I start with? I figured a compressor, a tuner and an eq pedal for sure. Any other suggestions and good relatively inexpensive brands?

 

[cheapbasslovin]

A zoom B1-4 or a Boss Gt1b would have all those things of decent quality at a low price.

If discreet pedals are important to you, then a spectracomp is a good, versatile, inexpensive comp. It's hard to recommend eq, because some prefer a simple analog eq and others prefer an absolute deep dive eq and both can be had on the relative cheap.

That said, I think the B1-4 would be a low cost entry and I like the comps and eq in it. Other effects in the B1-4 are pretty lacking, but the comp and eq are really usable.

Edit- MS60B has similar effects as the B1-4 and is smaller, but can be less intuitive to use.

 

[Treblefree]

I started into the pedal rabbit hole with a Zoom B3 multi-effects unit like Cheapbasslovin mentions above. Was good advice I got here and took.

I find the chorus's to be very nice, the compressor's are fine, I love the phasers and it also has some decent octave pedals and fuzz, tremolo, bit-crusher, a nice defretter, delays, synths, and a ton of other stuff including a tuner, so it was a great first choice. You can make a lot of adjustments to every pedal in there. You can also program it to different banks and slots, so you can run 3 effects at a time with a ton of slots if you wanted to change your pedals for literally every song you play and activate none, one, two, or all three pedals in that bank at any time. Also has a looper and rhythm machine built in.

After that, I learned about a lot of different effects and started buying individual pedals and will continue to do so until I don't use any of the Zoom ones anymore. I currently still use a phaser and tremelo from the Zoom as well as the looper and drum machine.

 

[WillyW]

best advice... don't start....

I can't count how many pedals I have... and I just traded a bunch off..

that said, I found I don't like flangers, compressors, and chorus. Phaser is an always on, and I like boost and fuzz but not distortion.

a pedal board is like a barbie doll for musicians.

 

[Killing Floor]

Do you need any dirt? OD or fuzz if so. The like chorus on my board for “sometimes”. I give the tuner a pass as you should have one anyway.

 

[NoiseNinja]

I recommend the TC Electronic SpectraComp for the compressor, and a Zoom B1 Four exclusively for EQ'ing, as it has an excellent 1 band fully parametric EQ model that you then would be able to stack up to 5 of in one patch, essentially giving you a 5 band fully parametric equalizer, and you could then even make several EQ patches like that you would be able to swap between (as good as any even quite expensive digital equalizers on the market as far as I am concerned, as EQ is not actually that demanding an effect to emulate well digitally and as the AD converter of these digital multi effect units actually have an excellent bit depth and resolution, and much much cheaper than any alternatives with the same level of functionality).

Then maybe an additional Zoom B1 Four or Zoom B1X Four for all the modulation, reverb and delay models you'll ever need, a good and affordable way to get an introduction to different effect, and even though most of the modulation, reverb and delay models in these digital multi effects are actually genuinely great, you could then always buy the individual pedals that the digital effect models in it are modeled after, once you had a chance to see which ones you like and got a better idea of how they work.

Most of the filter effects in these Zoom units are quite decent as well, but I wouldn't use this for dirt effects and amp modeling, but, as said, the modulation, reverb and delay effect models are actually genuinely great sounding.

If you eventually want a fuzz pedal as well I can warmly recommend the Behringer SF300 Super Fuzz, don't get fooled by it's cheap price and plastic housing, trust me it is an amazing fuzz, especially for bass, and not just for the money, a great fuzz period.

As far as overdrives goes you would have a lot of options, but the EHX Nano Battalion sounds great and gives you a lot of option for tailoring your overdrive tone, including a clean signal blend control.

 

[Unemploid]

Cheap overdrive = Ehx bass soul food
If you want an aggressive OD, get something else.

Mxr thump and/or aguilar db 925 preamp

 

[jefkritz]

Multi-effects are great to start with! As you may already be noticing, everyone has a different opinion, especially on pedals. It's definitely a personal preference thing. If you get a decent multi-effect, you can see what effects you like and/or which ones you use. Then, if you want to go the single pedal route, you know where to start.

Also, you don't NEED pedals to be in a band or to gig. I love pedals and have a bunch, but I've also played in many bands without them and did just fine. If everyone else is using effects, it's often nice for someone to be using a clean tone. It sits in the mix better.

 

[jefkritz]

But if I had to choose... Tuner, dirt/OD, maybe a compressor. That's all I use 90% of the time, even when I have my big board set up. And, if you like the EQ on your amp, there's no need for a separate pedal.

 

[basstalkname]

BOSS LMB-3 for an easy compressor and the EHX Bass Soul Food or the MXR Bass Overdrive (nice blend feature). All three are inexpensive and get the job done. Try at your local store if you can, OD pedals are tough to judge if you rely on online demos.

 

[Zooberwerx]

A multi-FX of some type. A used Zoom MS60B can be had on the cheap (<$80) and will do the aforementioned duties. On the higher end, a Tech 21 Bass Fly Rig will also tick the boxes and doubles as a DI and headphone amp. Going used, you're looking @ $175-200. Needless to say, I own both but rarely use the Zoom. I keep it around just in case I get roped in to playing "Stranglehold".

Riis

 

[SLPimp]

Hey everyone, first post in pedals as in getting ready to start my journey into the world of pedals and pedal boards, im hoping to start gigging soon, I have a relatively good amp coming tomorrow, my bass is modded to the point im happy with it. Im hoping to play with a local band and also once the local dinner theater opens up them as well. What would you suggest I start with? I figured a compressor, a tuner and an eq pedal for sure. Any other suggestions and good relatively inexpensive brands?

I use very few pedals, along the lines of what you mentioned. Here's what I recommend:

A good, quiet compressor. There are dozens out there. I found VCA to be the quietest and most subtle.

A flexible boost/EQ. I use a TC Spark Booster, which can do all out OD and has a two band EQ. I also like the Xotic Bass RC.

HPF. A bland utility pedal, but 100% necessary if your amp doesn't have one. Broughton is very popular, and what I use.

Volume pedal. If you want to use OD or distortion, put it at the end of your chain to maintain tone while controlling any volume boost.

Good luck and enjoy your pedal journey.

 

[MTN.bass72]

Hey everyone, first post in pedals as in getting ready to start my journey into the world of pedals and pedal boards, im hoping to start gigging soon, I have a relatively good amp coming tomorrow, my bass is modded to the point im happy with it. Im hoping to play with a local band and also once the local dinner theater opens up them as well. What would you suggest I start with? I figured a compressor, a tuner and an eq pedal for sure. Any other suggestions and good relatively inexpensive brands?

What's the new "good" amp that's coming?

Before going down the rabbit hole of pedals, make sure you have a tuner...plug up and play, have fun... your amp will have eq .. no need to spend the cash on an e pedal until you start playing out and find out if you'd benefit from one... I've never needed one.

 

[Mason Satterman]

What's the new "good" amp that's coming?

Before going down the rabbit hole of pedals, make sure you have a tuner...plug up and play, have fun... your amp will have eq .. no need to spend the cash on an e pedal until you start playing out and find out if you'd benefit from one... I've never needed one.

Its an ampeg ba 115 v2 150 w combo.i know good is relative but its better than my current "acoustic" brand amp I got 9 years ago

 

[Chamber]

I'd look into (used) MXR pedals. Relatively inexpensive and I'd rank them among the best.

 

[Wfrance3]

Get an zoom ms60b. It has a lot of different pedal models for you to audition. You can get a real sense of what works for you from it. Even has a tuner built in. If you really like something, you might get the “real” version of that/those pedal(s).

 

[singlemalt]

Another Zoom B3 fan here, or a Line 6 pod. Used, they are very affordable and have everything you might need.

The Zoom gets a special mention for having an easy to use looper that synchs with the drum machine function.

I've had an embarrassing number of pedals come and go. Other than my Ovnilab Smoothie compressor, and a MXR M-80 di +, all the individuals are gone. The multis remain, and I use both the Zoom and the Line 6 POD HD500x as practice stations.

The Pods are around $300 used, the Zoom B3 and such are less. (used, of course)

 

[jdh3000]

Hey everyone, first post in pedals as in getting ready to start my journey into the world of pedals and pedal boards, im hoping to start gigging soon, I have a relatively good amp coming tomorrow, my bass is modded to the point im happy with it. Im hoping to play with a local band and also once the local dinner theater opens up them as well. What would you suggest I start with? I figured a compressor, a tuner and an eq pedal for sure. Any other suggestions and good relatively inexpensive brands?

Zoom MS60B... It's the best place to start, and if you like some of the effects, you may decide to get standalone pedals, then if there are still some effects you like in the zoom, it can still fit nicely on your pedalboard.

It's where I started and it's still on my board.

 

[SunByrne]

As several people have noted, there are pretty good bass multi-effect pedals out there so if that's your cup of tea, go for it. As you can see, the Zoom gets a lot of love here.

If you're more into separates, then yes, you're right that a tuner is the #1 pedal. I like the TC Polytune 3 but there are lots of other options there.

How important EQ is depends on what bass you're playing—since you list that, I assume you're playing a passive bass without on-board EQ. You can probably get by with the EQ on your amp, but if you insist on a pedal, there are lots of options. There are about a zillion simple preamp pedals with standard 3-band EQ. If you need more than that, for a nice solid mid-priced EQ pedal I'd go Boss GEB-7. If you want a really fancy EQ, check out Source Audio EQ2.

Compressors are one of the deeper rabbit holes out there. Someone recommended the TC SpectraComp which is a good entry-level compressor. The next step up I'd look at the Keely Bassist and the MXR M87. Next step up after that you're looking at something like a Darkglass Hyper Luminal or a Cali76.

For a lot of genres, you will want some mild dirt, so an overdrive. If you just want a little tubey warmth but not much grit and you want to keep it on the cheap, you can't beat the TC Mojomojo. Spend a little more and you can get the TC Spark or the EHX Bass Soul Food or the MXR M89. And if you want to get up around $200 new, you're looking at things like the Darkglass Vintage Microtubes.

Octave pedals are reasonably common, at least in some genres. The new Boss OC-5 is supposed to be pretty good, lots of people like the EBS OctaBass and the various EHX POGs, but you'll get a lot of other recommendations if you want more there.

What else you need/want will depend a whole lot on what kind of music you play. For instance, if you're playing a lot of 80s, you'll almost certainly need a chorus. The EHX Bass Clone is a cheap chorus that sounds good, with the drawback that it has a pretty high noise floor. But for lots of genres you won't want a chorus at all.

As another "for instance," some genres (punk, metal, etc.) want pretty heavy dirt. However, there are so many distortion and/or fuzz pedals out there that sound wildly different it'd be hard to start listing without more information about what you're going after.

Depending on what you're doing, you might want a delay or an envelope filter or a synth or a reverb or a phaser or a looper or a... you get the idea.

Or, you know, skip all this and just stick with a single multi-effects pedal.

 

[2saddleslab]

Before long you'll need stopping pedals.