Chain:
Boss FV-500H mono volume
Peterson StroboStomp HD tuner
Boss BC-1X Comp (always on)
Boss OC-5 Octave
Jam Rattler Bass
MXR 10-band EQ (always on)
EH Bass Clone chorus
Then off to amp and/or house system
I know there will be lots of opinions and perhaps questions. Let me have it. 
I know enough to put this together and I like the chain the way it is. It sounds great and Iāve dialed it in quite nice so far, but only at home. Will be interesting to see how it performs on stage soon!
How is the volume pedal working out for you?
It works perfectly fine for my needs. Itās not an active pedal, so technically it āshouldā go last in the chain or at least before modulation pedals. But I like having my volume right at the front of everything. Keep in mind, I have an active bass, which means I have a buffer at the head of the chain already. Since I have an active bass, a mono passive volume pedal doesnāt matter as much. It does what I need it to do: adjust the volume without tone suck.
You may also wonder why Iām not using the tuner out port on the pedal. Itās because using both the out to the chain AND the tuner out to the tuner causes āparallel load,ā which isnāt good. I just use it all in a single chain. Works exactly as I want it with zero issues.
I switched it around today just to see if it made a difference (volume next to last in chain instead of first), and no noticeable change to my ears. Iāll leave it there for now since itās not hurting anything and may give me an edge down the road 
This is the new layout. The Bass Clone is flipped sideways to keep the output facing the rear of the board instead of to the left, aimed awkwardly at the Boss volume pedal.
Iām also replacing the Bass Clone with a Boss Waza Craft Dimension-C chorus, as I was able to test one out recently and LOVE the sound of that one over the BC. The BC is a great chorus pedal - and less expensive - but the Dimension-C will better suit my taste. Just made that decision today, and didnāt lose anything except a return shipping fee.
Genuine question.
Whatās the advantage of a volume pedal vs volume knob on my bass?
It gives more. I can have my bass turned all the way up with the volume pedal down, but then press the pedal and get more. It also puts volume at the foot rather than the hand/finger during playing. Probably the same reason my carās throttle pedal is at my foot and not my hand, as my hand has to concentrate on steering and drinking my coffee
Ok but couldnāt I just have my bass dialed out then turn it back on the volume knob.
When I want a boost I turn up the volume knob on my bass?
Trying to not GAS for a volume pedal I guess 
Sure, it usually works perfectly fine that way. Thatās why a volume pedal is not the first must-have on every lists 
I see two advantages of using a pedal:
Bonus - I am not sure itās real:
3) The tone might change slightly (again, idk/idc) when you change the volume on your bass becauseā¦ physics. The pedal would avoid this side effect.
If you donāt have a buffer or an active circuit in the volume pedal, so will it 
Excellent summary! Also, my volume pedal can run as an expression pedal. Which means I can run an effect loop that would allow the pedal additional functionality to volume (such as a delay or tremolo effect).
But yes, itās far less touchy than a base knob, and during a set I canāt have such dramatic changes in volume with my finger as Iām playing. It just works better at the foot.
The only use that appeals to me is changing volume while using high compression or gain (which is also naturally highly compressing) or wanting to do stuff like swells using your for so your hands donāt have to mess with the knob.
Are you running your compressor before the octave? I said to someone on here yesterday that Iām doing the same, but now Iāve got it in my head that Iāve actually done it the other way and that feels right 
Tracking pedals before comp I think.
Also that Jam Rattler is on sale near me but I canāt justify it right now 
sounds monstrous from what Iāve seen in vids
Iāve always heard compression should be as close to the bass as possible. I did try it reversed and didnāt like it as much. I like my dirt to come after comp, but I think itās very much personal preference. The comp seems to keep the tone under control and warmer before any effects are applied.
And yeah, the Rattler is a beast. I canāt quite make Museās Hysteria sound like Chrisā version because heās got other effects going onā¦and a sound engineer. 
But the Rattler fuzz is just killer and the Nordstrand Big Singles on my bass give it some excellent shape.
I had the same back and forth when deciding where to place my wah. It ended up before the comp, closer to the bass. Might still change it I dunno 
Youāre setup looks sick man.
Well thank you! Iām replacing the Bass Clone chorus with a Boss Dimension-C, but otherwise itās ready to rock.
Iād put the wah before the entire chain, personally, but as with everything else, it all depends on what sound you want.
Order I would generally recommend that worked for me was:
Tuner (with buffer) ā compressor ā tone generators (octavers, etc) ā distortion (overdrive, distortion, fuzz, etc) ā modulation (chorus, phaser, flanger, etc) ā amp sim (tone coloring preamp, etc) ā delay ā reverb ā audio interface
Thanks Howard. I knew youād jump in eventually. Sounds like I have that order exactly how you do, except I have the volume pedal before the modulation. Thanks!
