What are your knob settings on it? I have a BD-2 that I've tried but I hated how much of the low end I lost with it engaged...
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What would be your first pedal?
- Thread starter Caleb Mills
- Start date
With compression, there's a lot of great choices these days. MXR probably make the most versatile, easy to find and one box solution. It's small, neat and does a great job. It's got all the control one could want...the only problem is that it may be a little daunting for a compression-newbie. On stage, I don't want to get into knob twiddling. I like to set my pedals like presets and kick em in or out...hence more than one dirt pedal on my board. But for Compression, I really like the EBS Multicomp. It's really simple with just a level and gain knobs. It's a no brainer and does all I need in that context. BUT I do have GAS for a FEA Labs Dual band compressor / limiter. So my board might change soon.
For EQ, again there's lots of great choice. The Sansamp Bass DI has rightly won a lot of hearts over the years. It sounds great and does a lot. It's got a baked in tone which is either "you" or not. I like to use a MXR Bass Pre-amp. It's got a 3 band EQ with a mid frequency sweep. I like the input volume and output volume...a nice touch. It has a DI too, although I've never used it. Like most of the great MXR pedals, it's small, neat and beautifully made...and it ticks all of the boxes one could want.
Also look up the Joyo American Dream / Tech21 blonde pedal. It's a great EQ and dirt pedal. You really can't go wrong with that pedal. The Joyo clone is cheap as chips and leave you wondering why other pedals are so expensive. It doesn't have a DI though and that's a deal breaker for some.
In terms of octavers and filters...my preference is for MXR. They just play well together so well. There are others, but for me MXR is a brand I can rely on and I know it's gonna sound great.
Chorus...Hmm MXR, Tech 21 or a step sideways into the TC Electronics Corona Chorus is a great option for something with more sustain and a lot more subtle. The MXR has a great flanger too...if that's your vibe. Again, no wrong decisions here...just different flavors and needs.
Ambiance...there's a lot of stuff here. MXR Carbon delay is a legend. TC Electronics Hall of Fame is really well regarded. But my fav is the Zoom MS-70 CDR. It does a lot extremely well and combines a lot of my favorite ambiance models into a one box solution.
Dirt...ah...well...this is the most difficult to describe in words and anything you buy will not be your last purchase in the arena. So I'll cut to the chase and say what's been working for me. I love the Joyo American Dream, but recently I've been having fun with a Wampler Ecstacy overdrive (love it) as a pre-boost for my Fairfield Barbershop. Seriously, between these two..I think I'm sorted for dirt. The Barbershop is amazing at adding dirt but leaving your tone unaffected and still sounding like your bass. Even at it's wildest settings with a clean boost in front (Wampler) I can still hear my bass and it's playing dynamics.
For EQ, again there's lots of great choice. The Sansamp Bass DI has rightly won a lot of hearts over the years. It sounds great and does a lot. It's got a baked in tone which is either "you" or not. I like to use a MXR Bass Pre-amp. It's got a 3 band EQ with a mid frequency sweep. I like the input volume and output volume...a nice touch. It has a DI too, although I've never used it. Like most of the great MXR pedals, it's small, neat and beautifully made...and it ticks all of the boxes one could want.
Also look up the Joyo American Dream / Tech21 blonde pedal. It's a great EQ and dirt pedal. You really can't go wrong with that pedal. The Joyo clone is cheap as chips and leave you wondering why other pedals are so expensive. It doesn't have a DI though and that's a deal breaker for some.
In terms of octavers and filters...my preference is for MXR. They just play well together so well. There are others, but for me MXR is a brand I can rely on and I know it's gonna sound great.
Chorus...Hmm MXR, Tech 21 or a step sideways into the TC Electronics Corona Chorus is a great option for something with more sustain and a lot more subtle. The MXR has a great flanger too...if that's your vibe. Again, no wrong decisions here...just different flavors and needs.
Ambiance...there's a lot of stuff here. MXR Carbon delay is a legend. TC Electronics Hall of Fame is really well regarded. But my fav is the Zoom MS-70 CDR. It does a lot extremely well and combines a lot of my favorite ambiance models into a one box solution.
Dirt...ah...well...this is the most difficult to describe in words and anything you buy will not be your last purchase in the arena. So I'll cut to the chase and say what's been working for me. I love the Joyo American Dream, but recently I've been having fun with a Wampler Ecstacy overdrive (love it) as a pre-boost for my Fairfield Barbershop. Seriously, between these two..I think I'm sorted for dirt. The Barbershop is amazing at adding dirt but leaving your tone unaffected and still sounding like your bass. Even at it's wildest settings with a clean boost in front (Wampler) I can still hear my bass and it's playing dynamics.
Not sure if anyone mentioned, but when you use drive/distortion/fuzz, your signal gets compressed a little. Therefore I stand by the overdrive being the best option for a first pedal. The most useful is DI if you ever record or play live, which is why I mentioned a DI with OD as probably serving you best.
Cool. I've seen some threads and videos where dudes use octave pedals for a little extra "umph". Definitely something I'd like to try. Which octave do you use and why?
Yeah, man. Really thinking about researching a DI. Just seems like the best "Swiss Army Knife" pedal to start out with since they can cover so many bases all at once. I think it would give me a great platform to build off of.
I'm sure someone said it already, but depending on what tones you get from your amp, some kind of overdrive might fit many things well... personally, I never liked the ones that scoop mids too much, but I did like my dod 250... I think it was modded too, cannot remember, it's been a while... I'm playing thru an iPad these days, and I use an OCD emulated pedal that I like, so maybe that would be cool...
other than OD, I'd say octave or envelope filter pedals... for octavers, I liked EBS and Boss (OC-2), and for filters EHX and Maxon...
other than OD, I'd say octave or envelope filter pedals... for octavers, I liked EBS and Boss (OC-2), and for filters EHX and Maxon...
OH YEAH! Considering I'm going through this with my guitarist right now... OP: If you have an iPad, use the $150 on a Line 6 Sonic Port or similar hardware to use your iPad. Then you have many many many pedals you can play with!
Cool, man. Yeah, I've heard a lot about Tube Screamers and Tube Screamer-like pedals such as OCD, Oh See Demon from Fuzzrocious, etc... Probably worth giving them a shot. Do you lose a lot of bottom end with your OCD though? I've used an OCD and other pedals like it on guitar, and they tend to be more of a 'cut through the mix solo boost mid rangey" kind of sound. I don't really need anything to make my bass standout, but rather something to make it sound bigger and badder in the mix.
I have both the Aguilar Octomizer and the BOss OC-2, both used for very diff purposes. The Aguilar is used most because its more transparent, while it can make many different Synth sounds I use it 50/50 (Dry/Wet) with the Sub octave all the way down, this gives me my clean Bass sound with some serious lows underneath it.
The OCD is not a Tube Screamer. It's a an MXR DIstortion + that became a DOD 250 that became a Voodoo OD that became an OCD. Out of all of those, I am really not an OCD fan. That is why I did not like the Demon, found it too artificial/metallic/weird. Honestly, if you want an OCD like pedal, I prefer the Joyo UD.
Even better, get the Analogman 250. He can make you a 250 with a three way switch so you can get all the flavours of the 250/Dist+.
If you want a Tube SCreamer, then get a Tube screamer variant, there are tons of them. A nice cheap one with low end is the Digitech BadMonkey modded by SFX for bass. Cheap, good bottom end.
True that, man. This could just be a huge misconception on my part, especially when it comes to bass, but I just can't stand the thought of using a multi-effects processor. Line 6 is no doubt top of the line when it comes to digital processors, but still, it's digital. I'm not trying to be a tone "purist," but I don't think I could bring myself to do digital processing...
Sick, dude. I'll give that a listen for sure! That could be super useful in my 3-piece punk/rock outfit when the guitarist breaks into lead lines.
I'll look into those, for sure. I've heard a couple bad things about the Oh See Demon. Didn't sound bad on the demo I watched, but, that just goes to show that you can't really know a pedal until you've played it.
For worship music at a church I would suggest something in along the lines of a chorus, flanger, octave, etc. Something to sweeten up your tone a little.
The Boss OC3 is a very popular octave pedal.
There are dozens of decent chorus pedals for under $150. Personally I use an EHX Stereo Electric Mistress so I have both chorus and flange.
Even though I'd never use it, the EHX Bass Balls envelope filter is a very popular pedal.
A dirt pedal is always nice, but for you situation it might be a little heavy handed.
The first pedal I owned was an Ibanez Phat Hed PH7 for bass. But if I could go back, my first pedal would have been the MXR M80 d.i.+. I loved my first one, it was a great and versatile investment.
not really.... I mean, it's emulation software on iPad (JamUp), so I'm not sure how faithfully does it reproduce the sounds, but it adds thickness to the tone in a way I like... looking at one of the posts above, I seem to like the same family of OD's (with 250 being my favorite cheap OD so far... didn't know they were in the same family)... TS family, not so much... I like them for a specific type of OD, but they sound too "dry" to me... I may have been using them poorly, though...
re: your concern about digital processing... I was in the same boat, but grad school shrunk my budget and put me in an apartment... with those two factors combined (+ owning an iPad), it was a quick decision to try digital, and it sounds much better than anticipated... as a plus, I also play keyboards through the iPad (+ cheap midi controller), which opens up the world of synth bass - something I could never do satisfactory with pedals... in short, lots of flexibility and music for not much money... not sure if it's reliable enough to be gig-worthy, but it can be a cheap way to try lots of new things fast (+ a great practice tool)
True. I'm not exclusively worship though. I play out in some indie/alternative rock bands, and a punk rock band.
