blue Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I have no problem with applying chorus, bass octave, phase or anything like that. I rotate several single coil and humbucker basses. Why does is seem so hard to dial in overdrive and distortion. I always experience volume surge, hiss and all sorts of annoyances. I'm using the MRX-85 for distortion and [size=4]the Dr J - Soloman Bass Overdrive .[/size] [size=4]Suggestions[/size] [size=4]Blue[/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painy Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I got rid of most of the unwanted noise from my drive pedals by switching to an isolated power supply but I also use a noise gate to clean things up a bit too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexDelores Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I tend to find if i run either of my distortion or overdrive pedals there okay, but as soon as i try and run them with a compression pedal they seem to start hissing at me, im sure theres an intelligent reason for this but shouting at them hasnt solved it yet, ill keep trying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 its worth keeping in mind that its could also be how they effect your amp, the volume bump is easy to sort but you might find that one of those pedals has a mid hump so will push your amp harder or one will have a mid scoop and you have to dial the amp a certain way which will effect other things. a non daisy chain power supply will help but drive is a really tricky thing to get right, as it really down to your ears and lots of trial and error! andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I find that when I'm swapping between basses the output varies somewhat, which has a knock-on effect on my pedal board - particularly the envelope filter and valve O/D unit. I'm looking at putting a small booster in my fretless to ensure parity between the outputs. Have you tried a compressor at the start of your pedal board just to level things out a bit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 If your cab has a tweeter you may want to turn it off. Apart from that, overdrive and distortion usually mean gain, so some increase in noise par for the course imho. Small price to pay for the roar of a nicely messed-up bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 [quote name='AlexDelores' timestamp='1443737130' post='2877395'] I tend to find if i run either of my distortion or overdrive pedals there okay, but as soon as i try and run them with a compression pedal they seem to start hissing at me, im sure theres an intelligent reason for this but shouting at them hasnt solved it yet, ill keep trying [/quote] Maybe that's the problem.I run compression all night. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 [quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1443741567' post='2877423'] If your cab has a tweeter you may want to turn it off. Apart from that, overdrive and distortion usually mean gain, so some increase in noise par for the course imho. Small price to pay for the roar of a nicely messed-up bass. [/quote] I will make sure our sound person has my horns off. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 [quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1443738955' post='2877416'] I find that when I'm swapping between basses the output varies somewhat, which has a knock-on effect on my pedal board - particularly the envelope filter and valve O/D unit. I'm looking at putting a small booster in my fretless to ensure parity between the outputs. Have you tried a compressor at the start of your pedal board just to level things out a bit? [/quote] Paul, My compressor (EBS) is second to last in my chain. You think I should move it more towards the front of the chain ,like after my chromatic tuner? Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 1/2 the fun of a pedal board is changing pedal order to get the sound to your liking. When I used fx, I had my signal split & put distortion on the mid & treble only, keeping the low end free of it, though there was a slight amount of drive on the lows too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 [quote name='blue' timestamp='1443746665' post='2877435'] I will make sure our sound person has my horns off. Blue [/quote] Deffo a plan. Also, if you're getting a surge in volume, what's preventing you from reducing the volume of the distortion pedal(s) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevorR Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 [quote name='blue' timestamp='1443746961' post='2877436'] Paul, My compressor (EBS) is second to last in my chain. You think I should move it more towards the front of the chain ,like after my chromatic tuner? Blue [/quote] Remember, what a compressor does is make the loud bits quieter and the quiet bits louder. Put it late in the chain and it will make any background hiss much more pronounced. Gainy pedals like Od and distortion tend to be noisy so any hiss from those pedals will be amplified by the compressor if it's after them in the chain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 You could always run a noisegate and then a compressor. That way your driven sounds will be a similar volume to your clean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colgraff Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 I cheat and use a Darkglass Duality Fuzz. When that isn't appropriate, I use a Boss ODB 3 with the distortion up high but the distorted signal down low and the clean signal up high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuco Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 All my Od/ Dist comes from ny tube head these days but I used to get a F**K off sound running an xotic BB bass preamp through a BBM in dry mode, I'v enever quite been able to trepicate that sound since (thanks Dannybuoy !!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 [quote name='AlexDelores' timestamp='1443737130' post='2877395'] I tend to find if i run either of my distortion or overdrive pedals there okay, but as soon as i try and run them with a compression pedal they seem to start hissing at me, im sure theres an intelligent reason for this but shouting at them hasnt solved it yet, ill keep trying [/quote] I have 3 shows this weekend. I am going to try running my board without my EBS compression. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 [quote name='colgraff' timestamp='1443819584' post='2878038'] I cheat and use a Darkglass Duality Fuzz. When that isn't appropriate, I use a Boss ODB 3 with the distortion up high but the distorted signal down low and the clean signal up high. [/quote] I had to get rid of my ODB 3, I could never get that thing to work right. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevorR Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 (edited) [quote name='blue' timestamp='1444165820' post='2880892'] I have 3 shows this weekend. I am going to try running my board without my EBS compression. Blue [/quote] Before junking the compressor altogether try running it first or second in your signal chain. That's what all the interweb effects guru types suggest. The reasons they quote are all pretty valid in terms of reducing the noise in the signal it sees. http://www.roland.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Pedal-Board-Diagram1.png Here are a couple of good articles on pedal placement from a couple of reputable sources... http://www.roland.co.uk/blog/how-to-chain-your-guitar-effects-pedals/ http://www.musicradar.com/guitarist/gear-tips-advice-effects-pedal-order-271818 Edited October 6, 2015 by TrevorR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 Thanks Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FretNoMore Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Heavier overdrive or distortion is in effect a kind of compression, so you could even try switching off the compressor when using distortion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevorR Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 [quote name='blue' timestamp='1444892765' post='2886977'] Thanks Blue [/quote] So any results or conclusions from your experiments yet? Curious to know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 (edited) [quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1444924002' post='2887411'] So any results or conclusions from your experiments yet? Curious to know... [/quote] Not yet, I really didn't have time to mess around with anything this past weekend. Right now both the joya bass over drive and the MRX-85 seem weird to me. Blue Edited October 16, 2015 by blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Or a good excuse to buy more gear... I run a Basswitch and have the compressor in one loop and run my drive effects into the mix loop which does a great job of keeping my levels manageable if use a different basses, gives me a solids reliable D.I. signal and allows me to keep a good clean tone and mix in the filth. I'm not getting any unwanted noises apart from the ones I make. Obviously more gear is never the answer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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