True bypass strips: Yay or Nay? (and why)

[alfonso_bundis]

After reading a thread on pedalboard mishaps during gigs I got curious on how many people use a bypass strip on their rigs and why do they use them.

I started using one some years ago for technical reasons, after watching another bass player struggling to troubleshoot his big pedalboard for 15 minutes I concluded that a multi-channel strip with a master switch was a must in a big board. I could isolate any issue to a single channel, if something fails mid-song I can always press the master switch to bypass the whole thing, and I can switch between complex signal chains and clean tone with a single click, and I can also add some additional functions like order switching, feedback, etc.

What are your opinions on this topic?

 

[bassbrad]

Yay! I like to have my "effects' in a loop to switch and stack for building sounds for solos and certain song sections and then be able to instantly switch off that sound. I generally have a pre-loop, efx loop or two or three and a post loop usually a multi effect for general soundscapes.

 

[JimmyM]

I fixed my issue and the show was fine, thank you. I don't have enough pedals to use one. I might if I did more complex stuff with pedals, but I just don't need it.

 

[RattleSnack]

No need for one, here. I user tuner, couple of always on pedals (compressor & preamp/DI) and couple of effects I add here and there (OD, octaver, envelope, flanger).

 

[J Posega]

For bigger boards it can make turning certain tones on or off (multiple pedals in a single loop), or it can make turning pedals on the back row on and off, or it can help in a crisis when a pedal goes down mid-gig.

 

[BurningSkies]

Eh. I've had some pressure to get some kind of loop station, although I've use a crossover/loop pedal and have a couple true-bypass loop pedals for various needs. Fairly easy to see if it's happening 'in my loop' or out front of it. If it is 'in the loop' I just won't use it for the show. If there's real trouble at a gig and things are tight time-wise, I can 'homerun' a cable from where I know there's signal to my tuner and be done with it.

 

[Alien8]

It's always been a part of my rig. Being able to switch in a series of pedals has always been something I wanted.

Recently, I added a Boss ES-5 to my rig, and it has made huge differences to the way I think about a pedalboard, and opening up a more centralized control. The main thing is being able to change the order of the loops, and using MIDI to bypass pedals not in the Boss loops by using presets.

These new units that combine a MIDI controller with a bypass looper + mixer + expression controller are essential for the kind of freedom I've been searching for in my boards. Sure, looking at your point however, if any one of these parts goes down, the whole thing is at a loss.

Putting some good time into wiring goes a looooong way for preventing troubleshooting.

 

[Bassist30]

Some bassist can really set up their board with little or no problems. I personally like the idea of a bypass/looper.
Mine isn't that large with 8 pedals if you count the tuner also. I just feel I can isolate each pedal. But again as you can see many don't need or want them.

 

[BurningSkies]

Some bassist can really set up their board with little or no problems. I personally like the idea of problems.

 

[Bassist30]

Bassist30 said: ↑
Some bassist can really set up their board with little or no problems. I personally like the idea of problems.

Not sure why you change my original "Like the idea of a bypass/looper" to Like the idea of problems...The latter I did not say.

 

[2010P]

I voted yea. I own a couple TB loop pedals, and don't always use them. But when I do, I'm glad. And to me it doesn't matter how few or many pedals you have. Using a TB looper is legit. It allows you to do many things that would be impossible otherwise. So I see the value in one for sure, and regardless of your pedal count. I generally only use two pedals and a tuner so I can get away most times with no TB loop. But anything more than 4 pedals, it always goes in a loop. Like anything, a TB looper is a tool to allow you to acheive the musical ideas you wish to present to the world. If you need one, get one. If not, don't.

 

[Basshappi]

On my large board, yes.

 

[Mosfed]

I stink at tap dancing and have big feet. A looper allows me to set up sounds easily at my disposal without screwing things up mid song. I also use them for more complicated things like flipping order, parallel channels etc.

 

[BioDriver]

I've never used a strip, but I did have some TBP loopers back when I used Moogerfoogers.

 

[alfonso_bundis]

These new units that combine a MIDI controller with a bypass looper + mixer + expression controller are essential for the kind of freedom I've been searching for in my boards. Sure, looking at your point however, if any one of these parts goes down, the whole thing is at a loss.

yeah, I've been thinking of getting one of those but I am still not sure it will be the right choise for me. Maybe some day I will get one and hook it to a single true bypass loop to be on the safe side.

Thank you all for your answers, it was really enlightening.