I’d like to read some feedback on what you think are must haves for bass pedals? Right now I have a limiter/compressor, a chorus pedal, a tuner, and a distortion pedal. I’m considering an eq and aBOSS OC-3 SUPER Octave and a Flanger of some sort as well. Thoughts?
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I’d stay away from the OC-3. It’s got issues. They were all fixed in the OC-5.
I’ve got a lot of pedals, and the ones I use the most are the Darkglass B7K and Tech 21 VT Bass DI. For the EQ and cab sims and overdrives. You don’t need a lot of EQ like on some stand alone EQ pedals, I think it’s better money spent for one of these. They each have a lot of their own character.
Compressors on a pedalboard are pretty much for playing live, I use compressors in my DAW for recording.
Past that pedals get very specialized and you may not use them very often, at least in my opinion.
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Blasphemy! The OC-3’s “issues” are why it’s one of the most sought-after and cloned pedals ever made 
It might be the most cloned pedal after the DynaComp.
Some of us love it precicely for its glitchyness. It has a cult following just for that.
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The natural missing item I would add is a preamp, one with some tone coloring. Lots of great ones, John mentioned a couple. I’d also check out the EBS ValveDrive and the Darkglass Vintage Microtubes.
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That’s the OC-2.
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Derp, yep, the OC-2. Sorry
Was conflating with the RV-3, which I also loved
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Ya the OC03 had some really bad tracking issues (not additive to the cool effects of the OC-2) and issues with the polytone ocatave portion (which was the new feature in the OC-3). Some folks embraced the poly-nonsense of the OC-3 (jazz guys for example) and were actually not digging the fix in the OC-5, but by and large, it stunk. The OC-5 fixed the OC-2 issues and gives all the OC-2 original goodness, well worth it.
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This would be my effect pedal list in order of importance:
Tuner
Compressor**
Distortion/Fuzz
Chorus
Octaver
Delay/Reverb
Expression/wah/volume pedal
** This is a bit of personal preference. I love to use a compressor as standalone or with a preamp pedal but in combination with other FX pedals I tend to not use it.
Your amp usually has a preamp and EQ. If you don’t want to drag your amp around or don’t like the sound you can invest in a preamp pedal for extra tone coloring, EQ and DI options. The Darkglass also come with a distortion circuit. Usually these kind of preamp pedals come with some drive option to add some extra grit.
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Maybe one consideration would be to get a cost effective multi FX board first. Most of the time they can cost less than one FX pedal. 2 good examples are the Zoom B3N or Boss GT-1B. They both can be had used for under $200. and double as a DAI. You try out a large number of amp sims (preamps) and effects in a small package without all the cables. You can customize the effects and sims either on the unit or with software. Then determine what you like and what you need. If the multi fx is not good enough for you start buying the pedals that co relate to the ones you used and enjoyed on the multi.
I originally had over 21 pedals. It was a variety of EHX, MXR/ Dunlop, Sansamps, EBS, Ampeg, Boss and Aguilar. After a post that @howard made (about ditching pedals for software) I decided to lighten the load and only keep a compressor and a couple of preamps. (they get little use these days). I then pickup up a Boss BT-1b and Zoom B3N and kept the Boss which suited me better. They act as a DAI or a standalone if I want to play without a PC. I also use Amplitube for guitar and bass which really covers everything you could want to toy with. I don’t miss the pedals at all. Even though they were fun to play with and all those lights on a pedalboard looked pretty, the multi and software are more than enough for me (I even find myself playing without any FX these days) and I banked all the money I made from selling those pedals for another addiction. More basses.
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Watching this topic! Love to hear about what I can spend more money on!
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My must have is the providence dual bass station or final booster, boss dynamic wah, I’m still on the hunt for a good reverb/delay pedal. I have the GT1-b but I have to find time to integrate that into the board without level degradation plus it seems like half is distortion preset of sort, probably not half but it just feel that way.
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I agree wholeheartedly!
Personally, I started with a Zoom B1 Four, which I sold and purchased a Zoom B3n. I later caught the “Pedal Board Bug”, and sold the B3n to my local music store and started building my pedal board. I covered it with every pedal I could get my hands on, but soon realized that the most important thing is refining my bass skill, not masking it with effects.
After about six months, I shook off the pedal board bug and came to my senses. I sold all my pedals and the pedal board and went back to basics. Now, all I use is my tuner (essential) and my VTBass DI.
I did eventually buy back my Zoom B3n from the music store (for less than they paid me for it), but only use it on occasion. When I do use it, I only add chorus, compressor, and maybe reverb.
I love the sound of my bass with no effects.
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I have a pretty simple pedal board, korg tuner, MXR M87 compressor, and an MXR M81 preamp. I like the M81 because it doesn’t add color, and gives a gain knob. I use gain a lot.
I have some other pedals I can hook up if I need, but focusing on playing now. One is a Zoom B1Four, which I really dislike. It is too flipping complicated. Not saying it is bad, just offering couterpoint
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If you have some spare time, you can read this thread:
Warning: over 1,300 replies!
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Thanks some great responses 
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As someone who is way down the rabbit hole on pedals and effects, avoiding saying exactly how many to support plausible deniability, it’s super easy to get down the road even a little and realize your chasing something you can’t quite put your finger on but it has a firm hold on your wallet and impulse control. Maybe I’m projecting a little. Hahaha. Starting with a multi effect is great. My last bass gig I grabbed a Stingray and a my Zoom B3. Didn’t even have a patch prepared till I got there. You can spend six months messing with all the nuances inside a pedal like that that’s under a hundred bucks used. And when it’s time to spend money you’ve got a better perspective on what you will and won’t be using regularly. Then, buy a preamp and quit using the Multi effect for that and just use it for the things you need. If your tight on space and cash, a Zoom MS60B is great start for swimming in the waters of a chain of effects. Can be limiting playing live unless you’re wanting just a handful of tones available on the fly.
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Multieffectors are awesome for exploring effects - easily some of the best money you can spend on gear IMO, just for the learning experience.
Big thread here:
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For the money I’ve loving the NUX Atlantic. The NUX has a shimmer switch some folks like and you can switch the order of them as well. Tap tempo etc. Build quality is great. And it sparkles. If that matters. I noticed you like shiny things. 
Or Keeley caverns. Those have been popping up cheap around here lately. I grabbed one of the Waves limited edition ones last week for fair money.
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I am considering these:
MXR 280 Vintage Bass Octave Mini pedal
MXR M87 Bass Compressor pedal
aaaand the Tech 21 Geddy Lee Signature SansAmp rack mountable unit. I do already have a Radial J48. Is it just me or does the Radial J48 seem a bit complicated / confusing with all the buttons and switches?
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I have an M87 and I like it. Effective for all its simplicity
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