Help with my FX chain.

[Mokl]

I've just rediscovered the joys of effects, and realise that I have accumulated enough units over the years to put together a neat little pedal board. Recently I have just been using my tuner and compressor, but fancy getting a few more sounds out of my rig. I was hoping that some of you that are more familiar with using effects could help me sort out the order I should be connecting them in.

Here's what I will be connecting, and in roughly the order I have them at the mo. :

Bass-> Boss TU2 (tuner) -> EBS Multicomp -> DOD FX25B (envelope filter) -> Marshall Guvnor -> Aphex Bass Exciter -> Amp.

I'm always uncertain as to where the compressor and exciter should ideally be in relation to the more "effecty" effects.

I look forward to being enlightened!

Matt

[neilb]

Comp first as you say..... IMO.

[Dread Bass]

I would always put comp last. if you put comp first you are sending a compressed signal into your effects which will effect them i.e an envelope filter reacts to the peaks and troughs in your playing so by putting a compressor before you are loosing some control over the effect.

. Its all about trying it to see the way it works best for you i think.

if it was me i would go bass>dod>marshall>exciter>comp>amp

[Hamster]

To comply with effects lore you should put the comp first. However - bear in mind that with [i]your [/i]bass, [i]your [/i]other pedals, [i]your [/i]amp, [i]your [/i]speakers and [i]your [/i]ears it might sound better in the middle of the chain, or it might sound better in an FX loop, or it might sound better near the end of your chain.

No hard and fast rule - but if you try all this and can't hear a difference does it matter where it goes?

If you can't hear the difference then put it first and then you'll get some reassuring nods from other bass players

Hamster

[thisnameistaken]

Your filter should work better if you put the compressor after it, other than that I don't have any suggestions for you.

Distortion tends to sound better before a filter (when they're both on) but again, distortion tends to even out the peaks and gives the filter's envelope follower less to work with. Might be worth trying the distortion first though, depending on how much you crank it.

[Mokl]

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess it's going to be pretty much a matter of experimentation!

[cheddatom]

It's not just filters that will be effected by putting a comp before them, it's overdrives too. I would go:

bass>tuner>dod>marshall>comp>exciter

comp before exciter as compression can take some of your highs away!

You'd have a nice little board there, but i'd need to add some more pedals, or a B2.1U for a phaser, different levels of overdrive, fuzz, pedal wah, digital delay etc.

[1976fenderhead]

You have to try it and listen. A few years ago I thought the compressor sounded better after my wah, but after that I did more experiments and found IMO the comp should definitely be before it and couldn't believe I was using them the other way around before... I might change my mind again some day, who knows...

But I always have the comp before distortion, chorus and flanger, and I don't think that will ever change...

No idea where the Exciter should be...