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The TB "Essential" Pedalboard?
- Thread starter MultiScaleMale
- Start date
Essential to me means I can’t live without it, and I can’t live without a Tuner or a decent DI. I think most working bass players will agree with that.
I’ve built that one and it’s awesome! His compressor ”The Pumpernickel” is great too.
I've never played a song that required any kind of dirt in the signal path and I've yet to watch a demo using one that made me think "I need one of those" and I've tried.
My vote: Tuner/Compressor/Octave/DI
Yeah, why only two?
I don't have a lot of use for pedals - certainly not enough that I can justify spending a lot on them, or making an actual board.
For my old band from the 80s who get together a couple of times a year, I have a Zoom B1on. Definately not the best multi-effects pedal on the market. But I use the tuner and I have modified a couple of patches and located them together so I can quickly switch between one clean, one with some OD, one with some Chorus (for those 80s pop tunes) and one that gives me a half-decent (maybe third-decent if I'm honest) fretless tone.
For my other projects I use a Boss tuner and, if I'm going direct, an Ampeg SCR-DI. No compressor. No HPF/LPF. I almost feel like I have to apologise. Almost.
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If there's no darkglass then you're outted as a guitarist pretending to play bass.
+1
If you can't articulate what you are missing and what you are trying to accomplish, then you probably don't need any pedals. To just fill up a pedal board and start tap dancing doesn't make sense. To be clear, I am NOT anti-effects. I have great respect for people that can use them to achieve their goals.
Yeah, why only two?
Come on now, don't give them ideas!
All kidding aside, I think it comes down to one's definition of "essential". Most of the effects I use are "nice to have"s more than "essentials".
My amp has a balanced XLR out so I don't need a preamp/DI on my board. I use a compressor because it fattens up my tone nicely, but it's subtle and I could do without it if I had to. I recently got a pedal tuner, but I got by without one for years. I use an OD pedal on a few tunes, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if I didn't have it. Same goes for Envelope Filter, and even more so for Chorus (very rarely use it). So, for me, the absolute "essential" pedalboard would boil down to...
...an Octaver : I use it on quite a few tunes and almost every solo I play (and without an HPF too - I guess I'm living on the edge).
Now, my "reasonable" pedalboard (which is what I take with me 90% of the time) is actually a Nano+ loaded with:
Tuner -> Compressor -> Octaver -> Envelope Filter -> Overdrive
And my "everything and the kitchen sink" board is a Classic Jr loaded with:
Tuner -> Compressor -> Octaver -> Envelope Filter -> Overdrive -> Fuzz -> Chorus
My non-negotiable pedals:
Tuner (Korg) compressor (either EBS MultiComp or Darkglass HyperLuminal) drive (EBS Billy Sheehan mk1 or Darkglass B3kEBS or Darkglass). I run the Billy Sheehan distortion through the B3K for one of my projects which demands sick drive, this negates the need for the compressor. This of course necessitates the addition of a noise gate.
Slightly expanded in addition to the above:
Octaver (EBS) for my punk band, also for some more solo bits
For slightly more depth and fun I'll my TC Electronic Corona chorus, and for the real experimental out-there gigs I'll throw on my Seymour Duncan tremolo pedal into the drive loop of the EBS distortion and the octaver on the clean loop, and throw the chorus pedal after them. Ill also add on a TC Ditto looper and my Boss SYB-5 synth because by that point why the hell not.
Depending on the gig I'll have my Stageclix wireless mounted on the board too.
Tuner (Korg) compressor (either EBS MultiComp or Darkglass HyperLuminal) drive (EBS Billy Sheehan mk1 or Darkglass B3kEBS or Darkglass). I run the Billy Sheehan distortion through the B3K for one of my projects which demands sick drive, this negates the need for the compressor. This of course necessitates the addition of a noise gate.
Slightly expanded in addition to the above:
Octaver (EBS) for my punk band, also for some more solo bits
For slightly more depth and fun I'll my TC Electronic Corona chorus, and for the real experimental out-there gigs I'll throw on my Seymour Duncan tremolo pedal into the drive loop of the EBS distortion and the octaver on the clean loop, and throw the chorus pedal after them. Ill also add on a TC Ditto looper and my Boss SYB-5 synth because by that point why the hell not.
Depending on the gig I'll have my Stageclix wireless mounted on the board too.
IMO, 99% of pedals are spice and seasoning for any of a number of compositions/genres etc. IMO, 95% of one's tone/sound should come from instrument of choice, amp and cabinet choice(s) and fingers/pick/plectrum of choice.
IMO, if a player has a initial baseline crappy tone, pedals will only smear it all over everyone else in the mix.
Basic pedalboard?
Tuner, compressor, and coin toss for DI.
Working player special?
Tuner, compressor, DI, OD, flanger/chorus; add envelope filter for the funkier/EDM side of things in front of OD if desired.
that's just me.
IMO, if a player has a initial baseline crappy tone, pedals will only smear it all over everyone else in the mix.
Basic pedalboard?
Tuner, compressor, and coin toss for DI.
Working player special?
Tuner, compressor, DI, OD, flanger/chorus; add envelope filter for the funkier/EDM side of things in front of OD if desired.
that's just me.
I use a clip-on tuner and a Speaker-level DI, so no need for those on the board. So for me, it's really just a wireless receiver and a preamp/overdrive. But I run clean as often as I use the pedals. Depends on what the song needs.
The basics of a "clean" signal: Tuner -> HPF -> Compression -> EQ -> LPF -> DI
That's all the pieces you need for a "my fingers are the tone" clean signal that is good enough for any live or recorded situation.
My solution to all of that is a HX Stomp.
That's all the pieces you need for a "my fingers are the tone" clean signal that is good enough for any live or recorded situation.
My solution to all of that is a HX Stomp.
I added an EQ to my board. It's the Whirlwind 10 Bass EQ and it replaced my HPF. I know it's not the same thing, but the EQ added so much more versatility than the HPF provided.
the talkbass edition would just be a chorus pedal followed by a tuner - in other words - a never ending argument
i still feel pretty strongly that a VT bass the most useful pedal i've ever had. but even then it's not essential for so many people - but maybe they're all crazy?
i still feel pretty strongly that a VT bass the most useful pedal i've ever had. but even then it's not essential for so many people - but maybe they're all crazy?
I have all those things... but not in individual pedals.
My "board" (I don't actually have a pedal board) consists of a tuner into my Darkglass X7 which is the DI, compressor, and HPF/LPF. That's literally it. No amp. Just right to the console channel.
My "board" (I don't actually have a pedal board) consists of a tuner into my Darkglass X7 which is the DI, compressor, and HPF/LPF. That's literally it. No amp. Just right to the console channel.
These two are quite similar, as you can see.
The upper model is routed Tuner -> Reverb -> Sansamp PBDDI
While the lower one is routed Tuner -> Sansamp -> Comp -> Reverb.
The upper one is my board for playing straight into the PA which I use at very small gigs, mostly acoustic sessions. I have a touch of plate hall on my signal and the sansamp does a perfect job (incloding HPF) of polishing everything up for FOH use.
The lower board is used when a Bass amp is present. Usually a Tonehammer 500 or an Ampeg PF50T.
I'll use the DI out of the Amp for IEM / FOH and ignore the one on the Sansamp, which gives me the possibility of having the reverb last in chain.
