Bass Pedal Geek

Congrats! Really makes me miss the J Update 5 I had a coupe of years back. Great bass indeed :-)

[quote name='elephantgrey' timestamp='1446828833' post='2902766'] It would be nice to hear a few clips of different combinations of them in series. In particular I'd like to hear the b3k/b7k into bddi. [/quote] Could be fun! I have borh pedals at the moment so will try to combine these at some point. Better try B3K -> BDDI as well as the other way around... :-)

[quote name='FretNoMore' timestamp='1446792509' post='2902337'] Pedals don't make sounds on their own, so to speak, they are used in combination with other gear and without knowing what bass, amp, pedals, speakers etc are involved you can't really judge opinions. A dirt pedal may sound quite different depending on all that other stuff. Which makes it necessary to try yourself, and go down that rabbit hole of searching for "the tone". [/quote] Abslutely agree. For that same reason, the shootouts i do are not intended to be the truth in any way. Just to give a rough idea about a certain pedals core sound. Also for that reason, I re-fx the exact same recording and run it through each pedal, so it is the same take, bass, strings, cables, fingers, etc. that you hear in each round. At least these elements are consistent, but you are absoutely right that the pedals may well sound totally different in someone elses hands, setup, etc. :-)

Compressors are great - and can be tricky. Just a little too much and you could lose the touch and feel of the core tone. And too subtle peaks may still come through. I prefer compressors with a blend option for transparancy, but also happen to like a few of the very coloful compressors out there. For instance the Mad Professor Forest Green. My two favorites right now are the Empress Compressor and the Darkglass Super Symmetry. I recently did a shootout with a bunch of comp pedals (including the three mentioned above). You can give then a quick listen and compare here: http://bass-pedals.com/compressor-shootout/index.html

Sorry for having been out of the conversation for so long. I do love the Darkglass pedals a lot (especially the B3K), but I totally respect different opinions and tonal taste. Tone preference is always a subjective matter I guess, which is a good thing in my view. Long live diversity! :-)

[quote name='GarethFlatlands' timestamp='1445176521' post='2889281'] The Microtubes wins it for me across the levels of dirt but I was pleasantly surprised at the sound of the EHX at low gain levels and how well the Spark Boost added a nice depth, although again only at low drive. [/quote] The EHX also surprised me when I started comparing. But as you mention, only at the low setting. It easily becomes too much, but just for some gentle grit, it sounds very nice.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1445072031' post='2888544'] Try and swap that Mad Professor Blueberry out for the Bearfoot version too! [/quote] Yes, had that suggestion a few times by now and the search has begun :-)

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1445024935' post='2888319'] Great stuff. To me, the two Darkglass ones were the best, and the B3K just pipped it. Disappointments were the Blueberry and the TC. I'd love to hear a Cog Knightfall in this test [/quote] That Cog Knightfall looks intereting. Will try to get a hold of one. (But no promises ;-)

Yeah I tend to agree that the Darkglasses top the list. Currently the B3K is one of my absolute favorite drives. Just got a B7K that I will add later to this shootout - also deploying the EQ curcuit.

I gathered my drive pedals for a comparison. So far, that would be 7 pedals, but I plan to add more pedals to this shootout as I get my hands on more drive, distortion and fuzz pedals in the future Just for fun, I threw in a poll. Please do give the pedals a listen before voting and let us know which one you voted for - and why! I am aware that the drive range of these pedals are very different, so I tried to work by these guidelines. There are 4 samples in each of the 5 rounds (except for round 4): subtle, medium, heavy and max. Max is 100% full-on and in many cases this is way over the top, but figured many wanted to know the outer extreme, so I guess you could say that the range from "subtle" to "heavy" is the usable range (in my very subjective view, of course). [url="http://bass-pedals.com/big-drive-shootout/"]BIG Drive Pedal Shootout[/url]

I had a request in here to post a side-by-side photo of the new Darkglass Super Symmetry compressor and the Empress Compressor. Well, it turns out they are almost exactly the same size. :-) However, I have always had the sense when looking at photos of pedals that if the layout is horizontal, they appear bigger than if they are vertical. The Empress pedals for instance are in fact alot smaller than I thought they would be judging only by images - and the same is true for Eden's pedals. If you also want to compare the sound of these pedals (and others), they are part of this [b][url="http://bass-pedals.com/compressor-shootout/index.html"]Compressor Pedal Shootout[/url][/b].

[quote name='GrammeFriday' timestamp='1442586920' post='2868034'] Great review - you've said it all, really! I've been playing with mine for a week now, and can confirm that it is a joy to use. And I would underline what you say about transparency - it is REALLY transparent. Which may not be what everyone wants from a compressor, but it is absolutely what I want, so I am well chuffed with it. And those blue LEDs ... [/quote] Yeah, I dig the transparent tone too. Right now I am constantly changing my mind about whether the Empress or the Super Symmetry gets the main comp spot on the board. Maybe I have to take off the Forest Green, but I also love that - for NOT being transparent ;-) Desicions, desicions, desicions...!

I got a review unit from DG a week ago or so. If you're want to hear how it sounds, I have uploadet the full review along with a bundh of audio clips here: http://bass-pedals.com/darkglass-super-symmetry-review/index.html

[quote name='dudewheresmybass' timestamp='1441183657' post='2856648'] It would be interesting to hear the Mxr m80 and m81 compared in this context [/quote] Yes also great choices. They're on the list of want-to-add.

[quote name='nick' timestamp='1441052487' post='2855754'] Great list...would be interested to hear how Zeibek Submarine or SFX 'Big Beautiful Bass" compares to them too. [/quote] Wow. Didn't know that Zeibek pedal. Looks really cool! It's on the list. (But I would guess they are hard to find sexond hand.)

I had the Ampeg SCR-DI on top of the list and also tye Aguilar Tone Hammer. But yes the EBS would be a great additiion as well! I'll see if I can get one at some point

If you 're interested, I lined up 7 of my preamp or EQ pedals for a shootout. It is supposed to be an ever-expanding shootout where new pedals will be added as I get my hands on them. The idea is that I use the exact same audio clips i a re-amp setup so every pedal is fed with the same signal to keep the comparison as consistent as possible. For now, I have included the following pedals: [list] [*]SansAmp BDDI [*]SansAmp VT Bass DI [*]BBE Sonic Stomp [*]Aphex Bass Xciter [*]Electro Harmonix Bass Metaphors [*]TC Electronic Spark Booster (it has an EQ section too) [*]Eden WTDI [/list] [b][url="http://bass-pedals.com/preamp-shootout/index.html"]Listen to the pedals here...[/url][/b] If you have suggestions on which pedals to add next, plese do chime in :-) (I have Ampeg's SCR-DI, the Empress ParaEQ and Aguilar's Tone Hammer pedal on the wishlist.)

Greetings. I thought it'd be fun - and hopefully interesting as well as useful - to create a series of non-static pedal shootouts based on a number of samples that will be used in a re-amp setup, so the comparison will be as accurate as possible. The idea is that I will add new pedals to the shootout whenever I can get my hands on them and that over time they will become some massive comparison resources. For starters, I have made a compressor shootout, comparing the Empress Compressor, Mad Professor Forest Green (hand-wired) and Eden WTDI (ony the compressor part of the pedal): The plan is to do the same for other pedal types such as Preamp/EQ, Modulation, Drive, Reverb, etc. You can see/hear the conceot here: [url="http://bass-pedals.com/shootouts/main.html"]http://bass-pedals.c...touts/main.html[/url]

I used flats on a Lakland 55-02 (fretless) for a while. Worked out just fine.

I was drawn towards Mad Professor by the Forest Green compressor and started checking out their range of pedals on offer that was tailored for bass. And I was happy to see that they had recently released a bass version of their envelope filter pedal. Had a chance to play with it for a while and must say that even if there was a learning curve (knobs are quite sensitive), once I got to know the beast it turned our über funky! :-) It's hand-wired and therefore not the cheapest pedal on the shelf, but it sure is a cool pedal. Obviously, I did a review fo this little funk gem, so if you want to hear some sound bits, you can find them here: http://bass-pedals.com/mad-professor-snow-white-bass-auto-wah-review/index.html

Just about every bass I own or have owned has/had 19 mm spacing. Even the 5 stringers. My Stingray 5 is 17 though (I think) and my 64 P with a C-neck is a bit more than 19. I find the SR5 fine for fingerstyle playing but a bit too tight for slapping. And strangely, I can't cope with the 64 for linger periods of time even though my 5 string 19 mm have even wider necks. The only explanation I can think of is the wider string spacing... To me, 19 mm is ideal for both 4 and 5 strikg basses. Haven't tried an 18 mm, though. That might be a good compromise...

I have only owned the Korean-made version, which was great. But from what I hear, quality didn't go rubbish when they moved production to Indonesia. They also went from Bartolini pickups to their own in that process, but again have not heard any complaints about that either from the bassists I know who own newer Laklands.

Yeah I have to agree with what has alredy been said. Not a chance. Wrong pickups in the wrong positions... While I have attempted to make a jazz sound like an SR, I too would try to favor the bridge and roll off some treble with the passive tone control. And/or boost lows and highs a bit on the amp or a preamp pedal.

I would go for a P/J pickup configuration. It will not sound like a jazz bass, but it gets closer than if you want to emulate a P bass on a jazz, IMO/E. (I have never rellay suceeded in faking a P bass on a J by favoring the neck PU). You might even look at one with an MM-style humbucker at the bridge. Laklands 55-02/55-94 or 44-02/44-94 are also pretty verstatile.

Got myself an MXR M288 octave pedal recently. I have been a happy, long-time user of the OC-2 but must admit that a lot has happened over the past 20 years or so :-) I really like the MXR but the OC2 is still unique. For now, I have decided to keep both of them... http://bass-pedals.com/mxr-bass-octave-deluxe-review/index.html