Suggestions for good bass effects

[bkanber]

Hey all,

I just told a bassist friend of mine that I'd build him a bass stompbox... but neither he nor I really know much about the different bass effects out there. So I turn to you, DIYStompBox community, to give me suggestions of what I should build for him.

Here's some info on the bassist:

He's probably not down with bass distortion (not really into Muse)
He plays primarily oldies and classic rock (really into McCartney)
Probably wants to use the pedal for when he switches gears into more modern rock (big on Foo Fighters, Chili Peppers kinda stuff)
I don't know much about the bass itself, but it should just be a plain ol' passive single coil type

I'm thinking some kind of pedal to make his bass really really kick with thumping goodness, fatten it up, etc.

Any ideas? Links to schematics and a short description of your suggestion would be uber helpful

Thanks a lot!

Burak

[Mark Hammer]

Given that he has no pedals at the moment, conceivably, some sort of booster that can a) add some very mild coloration to the tone, and b) provide some EQ-ing options for "shifting gears", might be an appropriate build. 

Remember that the purpose of boosters can vary.  Certainly one is to provide an alternate preset level.  Another is to provide some sort of buffering role so that long-ish cables and high output impedances from the instrument do not detract from the full tone of the bass strings.  A third is to push the amp a little harder (should one choose to do so) and evoke other tones from it.  The role that your buddy wants such a pedal to fill for him will play a part in deciding what would be a good build. 

As an initial suggestion, or starting point, I'd suggest Jack Orman's Mini-Booster ( http://www.muzique.com/amz/mini.htm ).  It's simple, time-tested, pleasing, potent, cheap, customizable.  It,s also one of those things that your friend will not "outgrow".  That is, it is not a gimmicky thing he will get bored with.  It will always be useful.

[MikeH]

I'd recommend any sort of "clean blender fx loop" that mixes an affected signal with clean, with just about any effect in the loop.  Some suggestions would be the "buff 'n blend" or ROG's splitter blender.  It's a great technique for getting good fuzz/distortion tones out of bass because you can save the low-end by dialing in a little clean underneath.  I used a splitter blend with a big muff for a while which worked out great.

[Dragonfly]

I'm primarily a bassist, so here are a few recommendations *I* think would be useful to him....

He might like the Flipster... not enough grind to be a distortion, but will add some "muscle" when he switches to rock stuff.

http://www.runoffgroove.com/flipster.html

Another really good option is the Tonemender...

http://www.runoffgroove.com/tonemender.html

Both are pretty simple to build and will be VERY useful.

[Renegadrian]

I play both bass and guitar...Those last days I used with good results one of my Valvecasters or the SHO.
The first can go to a little clean-cleanish boost up to Motorhead - I love that pedal!!!
The second can add some clean boost at mid settings, enhancing some clarity, but gives some grit as you turn up the gain...
AMZ Mosfet gives the same results...
    my

[Pushtone]

I'm a monitor tech and stage hand who finds himself on festival stages each summer.
I've run into this BASSBONE pedal several times on festival stages.
It works really well for both me and the bass player.
When I see one now I get the same feeling as seeing a H&K Red Box in the back of a Fender Twin.

Efficient band change over is critical to keep on schedule during a festival.
I loved the Red Box in the 90s and now I love this Bassbone thing.
Works great on acoustic (active pickup) guitar and pedal steel too.

So if you have a look at it I think you could piece together something similar with DIY circuits.

Here is the signal path of the BB.

1. Two inst inputs with toggle.
You can do a few thing here depending on buddy's rig.
One buffered input for passive bass and one un-buffered for an active bass.
The BB does a neat trick with "normaling" input jacks where if one inst is plugged in it becomes a two channel (2 EQ channels) pedal instead of a two instrument pedal with separate EQ sections.
DIY CIRCUIT: pick a buffer, optimize the I/O caps for bass and soler to a toggle switch.

2. Direct box out
If the DI is after the buffer -  the PA/Monitors get the clean signal letting the player use the pedal EQ to make his amp sing.
The direct out could be transformer isolated (for the love of God, use a good quality transformer) or a simple active balanced driver powered by +48V phantom from the FOH console. You could also make the DI out switchable between pre and post EQ.
DIY CIRCUITS: check the Jensen transformer web page for schematics and there were a couple of threads here about simple active DI circuits. Shouldn't be too hard.

3. EQ section(s)
If Buddy uses two basses it might be cool to give him two separate EQ sections that toggle with the two inst inputs.
DIY CIRCUITS: Mr EQ (re-voiced for bass), The GGG EQs if you want to go totally nuts.
Anyone try the SWTC on a bass?

4. Switchable effects loop
Throw in a couple more "normalized" jacks and a footswitch and instant efx loop.

5. Solo Booster (fixed boost or variable pot)
A clean boost with +6 to +8 dB of gain available via footswitch. Jazz guys love this.
Da Bm         Da Bm          Da Bmmmmmmmm BOOM.
DIY CIRCUITS: AMZ, Stratoblaster, opamp simple gain stage (yoh Renegadrian, who does the Valvecaster fuxx out a bass?)

6. buffered out (not in-line when booster is active)
Drive a really long cable to the amp.



With this you can switch between two basses with a footswitch
or
Switch between two EQ sections or channels
Feed a PA system (DI out)
Insert effects with a footswitch
Boost solos
and Eq for two basses or two amps.



How's that sound?