My funk pedal board journey

[chickenjames]

Hello BC crowd

I’d like to beg your indulgence by describing my effects journey - perhaps you can make some lovely suggestions on where I should go next.
I play funk/soul/R&B/pop (and folk - but ignore that for now :-) ).

Current signal chain is

EBMM 2EQ Ray (or Sire MM v7, or USA P)
PolyTune mini
Ashdown BEF
Boss BEQ
Deluxe Bass Big Muff Pi
TC vortex mini
EHX small stone
EHX bass clone
TC HOF mini
MXR bass comp
MXR bass pre amp

MB CMD121P with NY121P

I’ve tried various other thing and not got on with them
EHX Enigma Q balls. I really wanted to love this but couldn’t make it fly with my then bass, a Spector 5. Should I revisit it with the ‘Ray? What about trying a MXR BEF?
Octaves. I really feel like I should be getting one but I’ve tried a couple in shops and didn’t like the sound... I tried the TC sub n up mini, the octave up was OK but the down was disgusting. Tried a POG mini, hated the price but the sound was better

Suggestions welcome....
I have room for 3 more mini pedals and I’m gassing like mad :-)

[dannybuoy]

Definitely try the MXR BEF if you can. Fantastic filter for funk. Also look into the MuFX Microtron, Mr Black Fwonkbeta and Broughton JoshWah for more dirty Mutron like sounds a la Bootsy.

For Octavers I'm a big believer in analog over digital. Tracking can be iffy on some notes but the response is immediate and the tone usually much fatter. I don't mind that they only do octave down since I can just play higher up and let the pedal fill out the lower octave! I'm using an EBS Octabass right now, it sounds perfect for what I need but I still want to check out the Aguilar Octamizer.

There are a couple of big octaver and filter threads on here right now that are well with a read!

You should also check out some funky squelchy sounding fuzzes like the Prunes & Custard and Malekko Diabolik!

[chickenjames]

Thanks man, this is cool. I’m currently leaning towards MXR BEF and octave, will let you know what I think just as soon as I make to the music shop!

[lee650]

[quote name='chickenjames' timestamp='1509394408' post='3398620']
Thanks man, this is cool. I’m currently leaning towards MXR BEF and octave, will let you know what I think just as soon as I make to the music shop!
[/quote]

The MXR bass octave deluxe is well regarded! I've not tried one myself,but it's on the to do list. Add them to a synthy fuzz and pure Stevie Wonder bass

[Quatschmacher]

Yep, the MXR octave has the best tracking I’ve tried so far. The basic range of sounds is good too, though some other pedals have more tonal flexibility.

[chickenjames]

Well, progress is being made. I tried out the MXR BEF and it is - amazing. So I now have a little bit of purple sparkly goodness at the front of my chain. I traded in the Ashdown BEF - so long, farewell.


BUT - I had a long play with the only octaver in the shop, an OC-3, and I completely hated it. Utterly revolting, no tone at all, hardly ever tracked anything i.e. it literally sat there, insolently mute, for a lot of my sonic experiments.
I suspect it’s me and my playing, but I just don’t seem to dig on octavers at all. I can’t stand the thing where you have to modify your playing to cope with it, and large areas of the fretboard become taboo. Again - this is probably just me - but I suspect that I am never going to get into Octavers.

But the good news is - the MXR BEF is much much smaller than the Ashdown BEF - and so I now have loads of free space :-)

Lead me, war leaders.

I think it’s time for something silly. Don’t suggest a Bassballs though. I tried one of those puppies and it was, well, too silly.

:-)

[CameronJ]

For me, the octave sound in the Digitech Bass Synth Wah Bridges the gap between analog and digital octavers by providing both a meaty and sonically pleasing tone whilst having flawless tracking. If you can find one used, go for it. Even if you don’t use any of the other sounds in that thing it’ll be worth it. They are inexpensive powerhouses.

[Quatschmacher]

Weirdly the OC-3 sounds way better if you plug the bass into the guitar input as opposed to the bass input.

[Quatschmacher]

You should still try some low pass filters for comparison to your band pass BEF.

[paulo m]

If you can find one' a 3 leaf GR2 envelope filter is superb
on bass' believe me.. combined with Octave ( i have both a Cog T16 & an original Boss OC2 ( the Bronze One) Before them a MXR bass compressor then after the GR2 in my chain a EBS microbassII with a overdriven channel....Combining all four of these pedals & i know it sounds a lot...Give's a gargantuan Synth Funk' Sound..
In closing check out the (Bass-Pedals.Com) site for invaluable info & brilliant sound clips....

Edited November 3, 2017 by paulo m

[Quatschmacher]

[quote name='paulo m' timestamp='1509688361' post='3400847']
If you can find one' a 3 leaf GR2 envelope filter is superb
on bass' believe me.. combined with Octave ( i have both a Cog T16 & an original Boss OC2 ( the Bronze One) Before them a MXR bass compressor then after the GR2 in my chain a EBS microbassII with a overdriven channel....Combining all four of these pedals & i know it sounds a lot...Give's a gargantuan Synth Funk' Sound..
In closing check out the (Bass-Pedals.Com) site for invaluable info & brilliant sound clips....
[/quote]

The GR2 has been replaced by the Wonderlove as far as I know. (I have the latter; have never played the former but from the videos and descriptions I’ve seen it appears to be a precursor to the Wonderlove.)

[paulo m]

The GR2 is the 2nd generation pedal of this chain of filters' from Spencer @ 3 leaf audio"the Groove Regulator being the first..Hence the GR.. & the wonderlove the third & wonderlove deluxe the forth...
& ive tryed them all!!! The GR2 stands out for its plug in & be instantly impressed by the sound ability) try & source some reviews of this filter....
In addition spencer also makes a proton series of filters that are equally impressive...they were based on the "Mutron"pedals..where as the GR series & wonderlove's are based on the "Lovetone Meatball" design.

Edited November 3, 2017 by paulo m

[Quatschmacher]

I’ve had the Wonderlove and v3 Proton side by side.

[CameronJ]

I’ve owned both a Wonderlove Deluxe and a Proton v2 and found the proton much, much easier to dial in a useable sound. It has fewer knobsbswitches and is half the size though, so you’d expect that! Less flexible as far as routing options go but for me, plug & play wins over complexity almost every time. The notable exception to my rule being Source Audio stuff which can get ludicrously deep but I like having those little powerhouses at my disposal sometimes.

[Quatschmacher]

[quote name='CameronJ' timestamp='1509722167' post='3401209']
I’ve owned both a Wonderlove Deluxe and a Proton v2 and found the proton much, much easier to dial in a useable sound. It has fewer knobsbswitches and is half the size though, so you’d expect that! Less flexible as far as routing options go but for me, plug & play wins over complexity almost every time. The notable exception to my rule being Source Audio stuff which can get ludicrously deep but I like having those little powerhouses at my disposal sometimes.
[/quote]

Yes, the Wonderlove is harder to dial in initially than the Proton. I know what you mean about some of the knobs seemingly having little effect. I thought so too until I worked out how they interact with one another. For example, the decay knob has a far more pronounced effect when the cutoff (tone) knob is dialled high and more so if the sensitivity is higher because filter will travel a greater distance when triggered so it’ll be more noticeable whether it covers this distance on the way back in a short or long space of time.

[chickenjames]

Ok I think I’m done for envelopes for now. Tried the mxr live last night and I completely love it.

Now it’s octave time. I need help. I’ve never really played with one before but I love the sound. Any time I’ve tried them in shops with the shop bass, it’s completely sucked.
I’ve done reading and I think I understand in theory the difference between analogue and digital (I have a masters in digital electronics).

I’ll be trying the TC sub n up mini, boss oc3 head to head with my own stingray.

So what do you gurus recommend? Should I play my usual funk riffs in the normal place and add an octave up? Play them up the neck and get the pedal to add one below? What would Bootsy do?
Any suggested settings would be super helpful.
Should I use a particular TonePrint on the Tc?
Is it better to use the bass or guitar input on the boss?
Basically what I’m looking for is octave 101 - how to play it to its strengths.
Riffs I’d like to be lovely:
I wish
Pull up to the bumper
Boogie oogie oogie
That sort of things.....

[paulo m]

In answer to your quandary..
COG T16' BOSS OC2' MXR BOD... all are good octavers
tracking & synthy-ness.. is subjective' ive owned all three my personal choice ( @ the moment ) is the T16 for its flexibility & Great Sound.. but there are other choice's EBS' DIGITHEC' TC' AGULIAR' etc...

[Quatschmacher]

Playing a bass with a neck pickup helps tracking, rolling off tone too. Depends what you’re after. Do you want synthy soloed octave down or something fatter to beef up your dry signal?

[chickenjames]

Ahah ahah ahaha, I did it, now the proud owner of an octave pedal.

If you’re interested, here’s how I got there.

I tried
Boss OC3 (again)
TC sub n up mini
Rowin Octpus
MXR BOD

And:

Rowin was complete and utter junk, despicable. The upper octave was complete out of tune. I’d say it was broken by design. Cannot Recommend A Purchase.
OC3 - sadly this particular instance was actually bust, wouldn’t power on at all. So, not really conclusive.

Between the TCSnU and MXRBOD:

Out of the box the MXRBOD had a nice octave down (obviously none up).
The TC had a great octave up. I had to fiddle a lot to get a decent octave down, but once I had, to my ears it sounded about as nice as the octave down on the MXR.

So - given that the TC was also fifty-sixty quid cheaper and also had a nice octave up, it was an easy decision.
And the TonePrint is a nice bonus.

[lee650]

Sub n up mini,will definitely be my next purchase

[chickenjames]

As you can tell I’m far from expert but it felt nice to me. I’ll take it out to practice on Tuesday and report back if anyone’s interested.

[Quatschmacher]

If you get into the TonePrint editor there are some amazing possibilities to tweak the tracking response (by changing the input EQ) and all the sounds.

[Ghost_Bass]

My pedal chain for my ultimate Funk Tones is:

Tuner (korg Pitchblack) > MXR BOD > B3K > 3Leaf GR (original) > EBS Mcomp

The "funk" is in the middle, any combination of sounds with each pedal soloed, each pair or all three together (with down swipe on the wha) give me every tone i could possible need withou having to change pedal settings (only the envelope sweep direction).