Not wanting to let my relative lack of ability in any way reduce my GAS, I have been starting to acquire some effects pedals to play around with different tones.
I currently have: a JHS Double Dragon octave pedal, a Marshall Drivemaster overdrive pedal, and a Tonex One Bass Edition amp/cab IR sim pedal.
I was going to get a compressor pedal of some variety, but then I got to wondering whether I actually needed one. They seem to be less useful for finger style, and more relevant for pick/slap style (which I don’t play).
I was also thinking of getting a Darkglass Microtubes Infinity, but I’m not sure how easily that will sit in a chain with my other pedals since it has no FX loop? It’d definitely replace the Marshall pedal but then I don’t know whether it’d work alongside the JHS & Tonex
Finally I’m thinking I probably don’t need a pre-amp pedal, since overall tone/EQ is handled by the Tonex? The Tonex doesn’t have as many bands of EQ as a dedicated pre-amp pedal, but then it probably doesn’t make sense to chain them together?
All thoughts/opinions/recommendations gratefully received
Mine is an unapologetic always on pedal. I’m convinced the people against compression are either gate keeping or poor. Just get a cali76 and flex on some fools.
Ive been using a compressor for many many years, also played with my fingers since I started In 78. Very useful pedal IMO, also use a chorus pedal, stomp tuner and. MXR DI box to clean it all up. I don’t play metal though
I really love my compressor, its maby not something the listener will feel, its more of a thing you feel when playing, hard to explain, I never turn mine off, only change how aggressive I want it
It’s the most important bass pedal to own. Think of it as an always on thing that makes your core bass tone louder and more present. Don’t think of compression only in terms of limiting peaks, it’s more about boosting the body of the tone at the expense of the extremes
I like the optical ones best but really if I am honest it’s hard to beat compressors based on the 1176 circuit (like the Cali76). The UA 1176 is revered for a reason.
Yeah, it’s useful to visualize both how much compression is occurring as well as the speed of attack and release. Nice, but not necessary. It’s gone up $50 since I bought mine two years ago. But yeah, certainly no need to upgrade.
I hadn’t considered adjusting my compressor for pick-style as I usually don’t change my settings around that much. Do you have any general recommended settings to try out? I’ve been leaning more pick lately due to song selection.
If you never plan on performing live, and only playing bass - no. You can use one in your DAW which is much more useful and easier to set. LEDs are a very useful thing on compressors. The Empress is a great 10 or so segment LED bar visual and the compressor is great. I also have the OG Origin Effects Cali ‘76 bass compressor pedal, but I am a bit nuts.
For your preamp pedal question - it can sit in the chain just fine, but you never need more than one preamp pedal on at a time, so if you use the tonex - only for effects. If for just cabs, put it after the Darkglass.
I have 5 different preamp pedals, but on a switch to pull only the one i want into the circuit - overkill but fun lol.
I wouldn’t say I’ll never perform live, but it’s probably going to be a long while until I get there. I guess, in response to other replies, I don’t have a particular end-goal … I’m kinda just trying to build something I can play around with, but I don’t want to keep a bunch of redundant pedals so trying to find a sensible combination.
So if I just went for a compressor pedal I’d be tempted with the Empress. On the other hand the Darkglass MT Infinity includes compression, as well as drive & EQ, but doesn’t have a FX loop so not sure how well it’d chain with my other pedals (plus potentially a chorus/envelope pedal)?
If I feel really fruity, the Earthquakes Scrolls pedal looks really cool and has a FX loop so should chain better with my other pedals. It doesn’t include a compressor so I’d still have to consider that …
So many interesting choices, but so difficult to figure out what’ll work best together …
Really? I get it if you’re talking the FX loop on an amp, but for a multi-FX pedal (like the Darkglass or Empress) doesn’t it make sense? Some FX may work better in a particular order, so being able to break out from a pedal would be useful.
I don’t have any significant experience with pedal boards, so happy to be guided by those with more experience. I’m trying to understand why I wouldn’t need to worry about the loop - surely pedal order is important, so I would’ve thought the loop is useful for multi-FX pedals
At the moment I run: Bass → Octaver → Overdrive → Tonex One → Amp. I thought compression needed to go right at the start of the chain, but I’ve got drive after the octaver. This doesn’t seem like it’d work well with the Darkglass (no FX loop) that combines compression and drive? The Empress would work in front of the Tonex One, but that still leaves me without compression …
Can’t see me selling just to get some lights tbh.