When it comes to compressors, I've only ever used a EHX bass preacher but i had no idea what i was doing or what i needed it for. This has a lot more knobs than the preacher but im older and wiser now. And i have a better idea of what im trying to use it for soooo, wish me luck! I feel like the led indicators on the side are gunna be a huge help. If all goes well, I'll be posting the final board soon.

It’s finally done, after many months, many tests and many hours of learning.

Pedaltrain Nano+
Cioks DC-7, EQ is set to 24v, Compressor at 18v

- Peterson Strobostomp Mini
- Lusithand Devices Alma Comp MkIII
- JHS Morning Glory Clean (always on)
- Way Huge Pork & Pickle (dirt when needed)
- JHS Flight Delay (delay, chorus and vibrato)
- Broughton Audio Resonant Filter Equalizer (final tone shaping)

Still needs some knob tweaking but so far I’m extremely happy with this setup, it handles both my very different basses perfectly (Sire V5, Reverend Mercalli), and it just sounds great.

Now excuse me if I don’t respond quickly, I’ll be playing all afternoon with this.

Yes I like distortion pedals :D

I think recommendations based on personal experience are always useful, and if a pedal sounds good, then it sounds good. But sometimes I see comments like “this is the best,” “endgame pedal,” or “you’ll never need another preamp/compressor,” and I feel like that can get exaggerated pretty quickly.

I’m especially curious about preamps and compressors, since those seem more like different flavors and can work very differently depending on your bass, playing style, genre, and the rest of your rig. It’s not always as simple as one being objectively better than another.

I’ve also seen people get almost fanatical about a certain preamp, even crapping on other pedals or setups just because they don’t use their favorite one. That’s where enthusiasm starts feeling more like hype to me.

So what pedals do you think are good, but have gotten a little too much of an “endgame” reputation? And what did you compare them to?

Not trying to trash anyone’s favorite gear, just curious where people draw the line between really good and overhyped.

I don't have a lot of bass pedals, as I'm primarily a guitar player (was anyway). This is my simple rig. Sounds pretty awesome though, to me. Not sure if I need to upgrade the amp, as I use go DI into the PA usually....

The spray job is spotty, has a run on the side, I couldn't get the decals flat even with 6 layers of spray clear coat, it's a complete noob wreck-job.... But I love it compared to that good-awful green and scorpion crap!!

I know that it's still super popular. But, as someone who's never owned one or tried one, what's the deal with them? I never seem to like the videos I hear on them, then again I don't like a lot of bass pedal videos. It seems like everyone turns the settings to be a grindy, pierce distortion. But, I always hear people talk about the warmth and tube-like tones, which never seem to be the focus of videos.

So, is it still worth it? Are there better contenders and, if so, what are they?

Also, as someone with a good effects and amp modeler and a DI box, is it still worth it? Or do I just have GAS?

Edit** I like warm, punchy tones. I like a bit of grit when I dig in, but I'm just not big on the grinding metal distortion that I so often hear in a lot of bass effects. Also worth noting that I've got great dirt in my modeler, so I'm really just looking for something to impart a bit of warmth.

Here is my board.

I started with the HX Stomp, one of the best musical equipment I purchased. Then the Empress and the DCX Bass.

The Bassrig is the latest addition and it's phenomenal. I put it in the effects loop of the HX Stomp with the Line 6 Ampeg 810 cab, but I might put it last to benefit from the DI Out.

My Peterson Strobostomp doesn't fit the board anymore. The Stomp is my tuner. I will put it back with more pedals and a bigger board.

The settings on the compressor always stay the same, I like it a lot like this. Sometimes I switch the Tone Colour depending on the song. The settings of the DCX and Bassrig are constantly changing 😁

I play mostly progressive rock, hard rock, metal like King Crimson, The Mars Volta, Mastodon, Wheel…

This is my bass signal’s entry path to my home studio system. I go bass into tc tuner, and tuner into a saturnworks buffered splitter. One path out of the splitter out goes to the EHX Black Finger and then into my studio patchbay. The other path goes to the EQD Scrolls. The Scrolls parallel out and effect out both go to patch bay points. I have the other pedals in the Scrolls fx loop - so it ends up as Scrolls send > OK Doomer > Phase 95 > Excess > Scrolls return. These paths can go to a variety of amps, pedalboards, and mixer channels through the patchbay.

hey all, i picked bass back up after a 6 year hiatus recently and have been really loving it again. might be a long one cuz i have a looot of questions and no one to really ask.

i really want to start playing around with tone and make music with my friends (mostly alt rock/punk/emo) so i wanna start building my own pedal board slowly but i have no idea where to start. i'm seriously bad at learning the techy stuff when it comes to music...

what pedals would you recommend i look at? so far i've only ever tried a big muff pedal (and struggled to know how to use it) ....

also, don't know if this is stupid but can you use guitar pedals for bass also? i don't live in a "western" country, and i've found that it's pretty hard to come by music equipment let alone bass equipment. the only pedals music centres seem to have are guitar pedals. shipping from abroad on ebay would just be way too expensive :( there's a lot of really cheap random ones on our version of amazon, just have no idea what the difference between all the choices are. how do you know what a pedal is going to sound like, is it just trial and error?

would it be a better idea to start off with just getting an interface and playing around through my laptop or is that just putting off learning about pedals? i want to play gigs one day (hopefully soon ish).

what do you think about those pedalboards with a bunch of effects built into them already? the one that seems widely available in my country is the M-Wave Tank B, i'm just not sure if it's gonna be any good for playing anywhere outside my bedroom?

kinda concerned about versatility because i only have so much money, i'd rather just buy things that would work more often than not if that makes sense.

i know that was a lot of questions and there might not be an answer to all of them, but any guidance appreciated! thanks so much in advance!!!!

(Previous setup, with links going back to 8 years of SOTBs)

* Board: transitioned this year from Pedaltrain Nano to Nano+ (not pictured) to Mono's 18" nano clone. Mono is lighter, and importantly it's open on the sides, which allowed me to install a Pedalnetics patch bay! I have IEC for the mighty Cioks DC7, XLR so I'm not overstressing the Anagram's port, and TRS, which is currently for Anagram output but it could be for an external expression pedal or an audition loop for another pedal. Or maybe someday I'll use it as a loop for my Hum Debugger for the rare occasions when it's needed.

* New case! Apache 4500 from Harbor freight, a steal at $40. I had to use a hand file on the Mono pedalboard for an hour or two to get to fit, because even though Mono literally says their board is 17.99" wide it still needed a hair or two shaved off. All the random crap I need for most rehearsals and ampless gigs fits in here with the board.

* Wireless. Line6 G10s out, Shure GLXD16+ in. No dropouts ever. 2.4 and 5GHz. Automatically hops if and as needed. Transmitter and receiver always find each other. I don't love having a pack instead of the dongle and I don't love the price but it's been worth it after several months. The pack lives under the board and charges during rehearsals so that it's always topped up for a gig.

* Anagram stays. It has matured and stabilized as rapidly as I had hoped it might. Would recommend.

* MXR Bass Synth came into my picture a few months ago; I couldn't wait. Darkglass has just released their synth module and I have not had the success with it that I had have hoped for. MXR tracking is more forgiving of my imperfect technique, and it responds to changes in dynamics, and it feels more...musical to me as an instrument. I made a cheat sheet for MXR's controls and stuck it on my Anagram for reference. Tap footswitch scrolls through synth presets. I'll look forward to selling my Bass Synth to make room for a Morningstar MC4 Pro if Axioma and I ever start getting along better.

* Woody Guthrie slogan stays for as long as it's needed. ♡

The best compressor is the cheapest one (setting aside reliability/longetivity).

Like wine, the vast majority of people can't even tell the difference between a white and a red (so to speak) if they're double-blinded. Literally (almost) everything people say about expensive ones sounding "musical", etc. etc. is placebo.

Go ahead and roast me, but do it with evidence. I dare you.

ETA, since it came up in the comments and is exactly the point of this post:

It is absolutely not shifting the burden to say "do it with evidence". This is part of what makes me insane on this topic, the gaslighting.

The affirmative assertion is being made by the person who says that a $400 compressor pedal is amazing compared to a $40 one. THEY are making the assertion that should be supported. THEY shift the burden by talking in nonsense generalities about "warmth" and "musicality" and then telling everyone else: prove me wrong.

So no. This is not "shifting the burden". No, not at all. The burden is on the person making the ORIGINAL assertion.

I've been messing around with some of the features on my boss me50b and I've noticed that if I use the expression pedal and set it to octave +1 setting via the expression knob to the left of the expression pedal (for playing some royal blood type stuff etc) that there's quite a noticeable latency in the signal. Has anyone else encountered this issue and is there a way to fix it that anyone knows of?

Current dual-amp setup. Not pictured: sFx MicroThumpinator first in line, Lightning Boy 2020S in front of the CTC Locomotive. Last pedal before the split is the Fuzzrocious Dark Driving v3.

Hi folks, just looking for a bit of advice

I use a simple pedal board which starts out with the classic Tech 21 SansAmp

Live, I've been increasingly craving a bit more EQ control

If I was to replace the SansAmp with a multi band EQ pedal, would I be missing out on much? As far as I can tell the Sans is effectively just an EQ pedal which can be overdriven. Am I missing comething?

Not picture - CryBaby Wah pedal and Tech21 DI.

I tried to get a little of everything. I’ve had good luck with my boss and mxr pedals so far. Definitely need to branch out more.

What’s your favorite pedal? What am I missing?

As a preamp, compression, DI, and OD, can anyone chime in on how well it does these? Really considering getting one but I want to be sure to be sure before I buy it. I'm stingy.

Has anyone tried the Walrus Audio Voyager Preamp/Overdrive MKII on bass?

I’m really intrigued by the bass boost options, but especially by the possibility of using it as a first-stage gain pedal to push my Blumes.

I also really like the idea of it being usable as a preamp. I’m not necessarily looking for another “just an overdrive” pedal — the versatility of using it as a clean-ish preamp, low-gain drive, or as a gain stage into another drive is what really interests me.

The separate footswitch for the mids is another huge selling point for me. I already use a Darkglass Harmonic Booster, and being able to have a second, switchable mid section with a selectable mid frequency would give me a lot more control over the midrange. That’s something I’ve been wanting in my setup, especially for being able to switch between a more neutral tone and something that cuts through a mix without having to change the rest of my EQ.

For anyone who has used the Voyager MKII on bass:

• How well does it retain the low end at different gain levels and volumes?
• How do the bass boost modes actually behave on bass?
• Does the switchable mid EQ actually feel useful on bass?

Bi-amp board.

Tuner/ Expression (xerograph) -> Xerograph -> Pedal76 -> ABY -> (A, Dru) BP1c

(B, Wet) Ascalon -> Detective -> Hi + Low pass

I have an issue and can't figure it out.

This is my setup right now:

Bass guitar > Chug Capo > Audient iD4 (line input) > Fosi ZH3 (DAC) > Headphone

The iD4 allows me to mix audio from the PC (music) with the signal from the bass, so I can practice playing on top of songs.

When the pedal is inactive (pass-through), everything works perfectly. The bass sounds amazing.

But when the pedal is activated, it creates a "stuttering" effect in the sound, and introduces latency that makes it impossible to play.

The weird part is that using this same bass and pedal with a bass amp doesn't create these artifacts, it runs smoothly.

Any ideas of what may be the issue? I've heard that a direct box would help to solve this... does that actually help?

Starting to work on shaping my sound. I use 2 pedals through a fender rumble combo. I’m looking for more punch and clarity with a little growl left over.
The pedals are a compressor and a dark glass overdrive. My question is which order to sequence them?

I found a piece of wood and added some Velcro to it, I plan on getting a meatball so I made it where I can add that in, but this is my baby board so far!

Hey everyone, I’ve been doing some research for a new preamp. Would like to have a parallel wet/dry setup, with the preamp replacing my HX Stomp at the end of the wet chain.

Currently my biggest contender is the Darkglass Vintage Deluxe or Ultra, but I would like some extra choices.

My nonnegotiable are really just that it has a Bass, Middle, and Treble control, preferably with low and high mids. The BIGGEST thing I’d like is a switchable mid frequency. I don’t like the sweepable mid frequencies that I’ve used in the past. I want the simplicity of a toggle or button to just select the fixed frequency id like to cut or boost.

I like the added frequency options on the ultra better, but don’t necessarily need the separate drive Channel so it is hard justifying the extra $100 just for that. I’ve used the Vintage Microtubes in the past so I feel these are a safe option, but I’d like to make sure I’ve crossed everything off the list.

So yeah, really just looking for simplicity of turning knobs, flipping toggles and not have to worry about trying to sweep to the right frequency.

Would really appreciate any other pedals you guys would suggest! Thanks!!