Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Worship Bass Pedalboards
- Thread starter Cshanks5
- Start date
Nice board!!! Interested in your pedal order. Esp the fact that you put the TU-3 so far down the signal path and after quite a bit of effects have potentially been added in. Is that to use its muting function to kill any OD/distortion background hiss? How do you find tuning stability or do you go through turning everything further up the signal path off before tuning?
Also interested that you're not using the VTDI as the speaker sim and DI. Presumably you prefer the combo of the Digitech and Radial.
jacoby75
Supporting Member
- Mar 11, 2010
- 5,661
- 10,716
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Mike Lull Custom Guitars, DR Strings
Thanks. It's been a bit of a trial and error process. As for the tuner, I JUST set it up like this for the first time, so I can't comment yet on how well the tuner works with drives engaged. I guess we'll see. The Agro will be seldom used, though, and I don't see the VMT interfering with tuning because it is set for a very subtle gain and has the clean blend. The octave might make the tuner have a seizure, though, if I try to tune with it on. I haven't tried yet. But that's a good question for me to explore. Thanks for pointing that out.
For the longest time my set up was:
Bass > compressor > tuner > preamp/DI
and that was it, and it worked great. I definitely wanted the compressor first so it gets the purest signal to compress. I added the VMT later after the tuner, but don't recall ever having an issue with hiss from the VMT when everything else was muted. I always had it set really subtle anyway.
But after I went a little pedal crazy in recent months seeking out tones for my ne'er-to-be-formed 80's cover band and added the sub, wah, and chorus, I was left trying to figure out how to get it all to physically fit on my board in a way that made the most sense signal-wise. The tuner is where it is now largely because that's where it physically fits. Also, I wanted the compressor first, the octave before my drives and early in the chain to mitigate tracking issues, and the wah in the middle just due to the amount of real estate it consumes. I also thought it would be good to have the boss buffer towards the end of the chain since a number of my pedals are true bypass. The compressor is always on at the front, sort of bufferish. And the boss makes sure a strong signal is coming through at the end.
As for the VTDI, it works great for me as a clean or mostly-clean amp sim'd tone through the DI. But when I was running straight-to-board with no amp (which is why I got most of this stuff) I was having trouble finding a drive sound I liked through it with everything I tried. Even the VMT sounded "fizzy" or "buzzy" at anything other than minimal gain. After a bit of research, and on my minimal-to-non-existent budget, I settled on the Digitech CabDryVR as a speaker sim, and I'm pretty happy with it. It definitely takes the drives better, or at the very least gives the harshness a less-offensive flavor to my ears. Much more amp-like and three dimensional to me than the VTDI. I love the 4x10 setting, probably because that's what I've been used to hearing live for decades. Though I find most of the other settings rather useless. And because i felt the DryVR sounded better after the VTDI in the chain, I couldn't use the VT's DI. Thus the radial, which I chose because I found a good deal online, and based on Radial's own recommendation that I get a passive direct box to use with my pedalboard instead of the JDJ, as it might be less prone to clip with pedals/preamps in front of it.
There are probably better options for much of the pedals I own, but it works for me and I have finally found a setup with drives that I'm pretty happy with. But I have yet to try most of this in a real-life worship (or any) setting. Time will tell. And some of this will change soon because I have a blend loop pedal on the way that I'm going to put the chorus and wah in. And I also have a loop-master three-loop switch on the way. I have a terminal case of what some in these parts like to call "G.A.S." Stay tuned.
It sounds really good with phones, but I wish it had a standard 1/4" jack.
Mini jacks look & feel cheap to me, and I always have to hunt down my adapter.
Practicing this morning I had a realization.
We are playing some "boring" songs in that two we've played like 45 times and 1 is new but it is mostly the same progression over and over. I was thinking about this (dreading it really) and I had the realization that if the song is so "boring", than I don't have any excuses to make any mistakes. This changed my perspective and got me focused on nailing the songs perfectly as a personal challenge, and I mean perfectly, like hit each string in the right spot for the desired tone perfectly.
It did two things for me. First, it made "boring" songs a lot more challenging, second it made them a lot more fun to play. Guess what, they are not boring songs after all.
We are playing some "boring" songs in that two we've played like 45 times and 1 is new but it is mostly the same progression over and over. I was thinking about this (dreading it really) and I had the realization that if the song is so "boring", than I don't have any excuses to make any mistakes. This changed my perspective and got me focused on nailing the songs perfectly as a personal challenge, and I mean perfectly, like hit each string in the right spot for the desired tone perfectly.
It did two things for me. First, it made "boring" songs a lot more challenging, second it made them a lot more fun to play. Guess what, they are not boring songs after all.
And especially when you focus on who you are playing them for.
It has begun ...
Wired with EBS Premium Flats. That's a Strymon Ojai R30 underneath, to power the Markbass 12v and the 9v pedals. I've got some tall and extra tall feet on the way from Amazon to give the power supply some breathing room. I think I'll put the 1-1/4" extra tall on the front, and the 1" tall on the back, to give it a bit of tilt, not that it's going to make much difference.
Will wire the power this evening. Have Voodoo Lab current doubler cable for the Markbass pedals and some splitter cables.
The pedaltrain included velcro is not working very well. Will need to make a trip and pick up some industrial velcro. But that's last on my list right now.
Wired with EBS Premium Flats. That's a Strymon Ojai R30 underneath, to power the Markbass 12v and the 9v pedals. I've got some tall and extra tall feet on the way from Amazon to give the power supply some breathing room. I think I'll put the 1-1/4" extra tall on the front, and the 1" tall on the back, to give it a bit of tilt, not that it's going to make much difference.
Will wire the power this evening. Have Voodoo Lab current doubler cable for the Markbass pedals and some splitter cables.
The pedaltrain included velcro is not working very well. Will need to make a trip and pick up some industrial velcro. But that's last on my list right now.
Last edited:
I got to use my board at rehearsal last night. Lots of fun.
potential changes down the road -
Broughton HPF (underneath?)
Cog Effects T16 Octave
OmniCabSIM for the Markbass Super Booster?
Custom Right Angle Current Doubler and Splitter cables (email [email protected])
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Last edited:
So another video from last weekend. I decided to give the Lakland 55-01 a break for the weekend and busted out my old trusty J-bass! Had a great time with it. Just my usual straight tone (SVT patch on the Zoom and EQ on the Tone Hammer). Got lots of use on the octave too! Last chorus of the 3rd song especially.
TalkBass needs a "LOVE" button.... I dig your church! This gave me an idea. I've got a Noble DI but I've also got a Zoom MS60B. I wonder what the SVT patch would sound like before the Noble? Do you set the EQ flat on the patch and do you use any cab sim?
Thanks Jmbj! I appreciate it! This quote above is from earlier in this thread and details my settings for the svt patch. It's always on for me these days. It's really quite versatile!
WOW thanks! I am surprised. That seems like a lot of tone tweeking that I probably would have never thought of... Stacking 2 amp sims into another external preamp di! Hmmm... time to grab the Zoom and experiment!
Yes it is a lot, and thankfully my sound guy loves the sound! Too give credit where it's due, someone on the ms-60b patches these came up with the time and I just tweaked it to my liking. I also can't understate how critical my mids are from the tone hammer. That 800-ish is where I hear so much of the tone of a bass, and without it I feel lost
So, I did a thing and I got some stuff on the way. So, I got that going on.
jacoby75
Supporting Member
- Mar 11, 2010
- 5,661
- 10,716
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Mike Lull Custom Guitars, DR Strings
Wow! That's phenomenal. Great tone, and a very polished worship band/production. Great quality sounding recording as well! That's very rare.
So I'm just getting into using effects after playing for decades. And in particular I'm trying to find a useful outlet for the octave pedal. You said you used it in the last chorus of the third song (which is a great song), but I'm missing it. How did you use it? Are you basically playing higher up and letting the octave pedal generate the low bass note? That's what it looks like in the video at least. What's the difference between doing that and just playing the actual low note? Do you find that the octave pedal gives the notes a certain character or tone that you like compared to just playing the note?
Thanks for sharing all that stuff. It's very inspirational as I search for my "new and improved tone".
So what's specifically going on, that got some stuff on the way...from doing your thing?
jacoby75
Supporting Member
- Mar 11, 2010
- 5,661
- 10,716
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Mike Lull Custom Guitars, DR Strings
So what's specifically going on, that got some stuff on the way...from doing your thing?
Do tell! Let my G.A.S. live vicariously through you!
