Choices! Choices! Multi effects pedal? Kind of...

[Lloyd80]

Hi all,

New member here!  Just looking for some advice. I have been playing for around 6 months.  Took up bass as apparently playing the drums in a terraced house annoys the neighbours and I needed to get my music fix!!! 

So have been dabbling with pedals in the last few months and currently have;

Xvive bass squeezer

Arion MEQ-2

Behringer bass overdrive

But, being a drummer and a simple soul, I have been looking to simplify things even further. 

So after a bit of research and youtube vids. This is the current short list of 4 possibles. 

Fender Downtown Express               
EHX Battalion               
Valeton Dapper Bass
SONICAKE Bass Preamp DI Box

So indeed of advice and personal experiences of the 4 pedals above.

I play most music, rock, metal, funk, pop, Motown, soul, blues.  I have a very eclectic taste. 

I know I'm asking alot from one pedal. But for the sound I like. I dont need lots of heavy effects. 

Compression, overdrive and an eq are my go to.  

So what are your thoughts? 

Lloyd

[stewblack]

The Valeton strip neatly covers all your needs, is very compact, has a tuner and a couple of other effects as well. 

They come up on the for sale section here for not very much at all. 

I've been tempted by the Battalion but haven't tried any of the others you mention. 

There is always the Zoom B1 Four which gives you a choice compressors, drives and eqs. And of course has many other effects 'under the bonnet'. 

Mine cost me 45 quid second hand, even less than the Valeton. It is a multi effect which can be used to build patches out of various effects, but, crucially, it can also serve as 5 pedals in a line. Takes hardly any space, light, can run on batteries and makes an excellent headphone amp for home practise. 

[GH63]

Have to agree withe Stewblack on the B1 four, excellent piece of equipment for live, recording, and practice use, even has a drummer and a looper on board.  The B1 x Four has a wah/ Volume pedal, but is a bit more expensive, however, the wah is bloody good.

[Skybone]

Out of the choices on your list, the Valeton Dapper should be more than adequate. But for the price of a new Dapper, you could possibly find a second hand Tech21 Bass Fly Rig.

I'd also say that a Zoom B1 Four might be worth a look. Instead of using and relying on the presets, try building up your own patch(es), as you would with a new amp and/or effects pedals. Better still, you can use the Editor on your computer.

[Lloyd80]

Thanks for the replies!  

Never thought about looking at digital multi fx pedals. 

With the zoom, if your mid song and say want to add an effect, say overdrive on the chorus, do you have to cycle through the effects with the foot switch? Then when you go back to the verse, how do you turn it off? Do you need to cycle through again?  

I do like the simplicity of a stomp box. It's either on or off. But I am def keeping an open mind. Some of the standard effects from the zoom sound pretty darn close to what I like. 

Also looked at the tech fly 21. It's a bit out of my price range, even second hand.

[Geek99]

Zoom b2.1u 

cheap as chips and awesome 

[stewblack]

31 minutes ago, Lloyd80 said:

Thanks for the replies!  

Never thought about looking at digital multi fx pedals. 

With the zoom, if your mid song and say want to add an effect, say overdrive on the chorus, do you have to cycle through the effects with the foot switch? Then when you go back to the verse, how do you turn it off? Do you need to cycle through again?  

 

You can use it as 5 stomps which yes you scroll through with the right pedal to select the next one you want to turn on or off. But if its the same one to turn on and off then that remains selected until you scroll 

It's not hard to do, not as fiddly as you think. you can always go down the patches route (very quick and easy on the computer) so if a song has say, 3 effects on it and one which comes on and off throughout just make a patch with all the fx, then copy and paste it onto the adjacent patch, delete the effect in question.

Then just switch from one patch to the other. 

Just to be clear, you only cycle through the 5 effects you've chosen as your 'board' not all the available effects. 

So if your overdrive is no 3, activate it /deactivate it with one pedal You only scroll through the  to get to another effect. 

Edited January 15, 2021 by stewblack
clarity?

[Lloyd80]

2 hours ago, stewblack said:

You can use it as 5 stomps which yes you scroll through with the right pedal to select the next one you want to turn on or off. But if its the same one to turn on and off then that remains selected until you scroll 

It's not hard to do, not as fiddly as you think. you can always go down the patches route (very quick and easy on the computer) so if a song has say, 3 effects on it and one which comes on and off throughout just make a patch with all the fx, then copy and paste it onto the adjacent patch, delete the effect in question.

Then just switch from one patch to the other. 

Just to be clear, you only cycle through the 5 effects you've chosen as your 'board' not all the available effects. 

So if your overdrive is no 3, activate it /deactivate it with one pedal You only scroll through the  to get to another effect. 

Thanks Stewblack and the others who have commented. 

More research needed. But the zoom b1 four is on the list. From what I've seen of it so far it gets cracking reviews!  Plus it's a small package that def has everything I'm looking for. 

Plus it's cheap! Bonus!

[stewblack]

9 minutes ago, Lloyd80 said:

Thanks Stewblack and the others who have commented. 

More research needed. But the zoom b1 four is on the list. From what I've seen of it so far it gets cracking reviews!  Plus it's a small package that def has everything I'm looking for. 

Plus it's cheap! Bonus!

Anything you need more specifically, just let me know.

[Skybone]

Saw this on eBay: Valeton Dapper Bass Guitar Multi-Effects Pedal Strip with BOOST COMP ENVELOPE | eBay

There's always the old Zoom B3 as well: Zoom B3 Bass Effects & Amp Simulator | eBay

 

Edited January 15, 2021 by Skybone

[Lloyd80]

1 hour ago, Skybone said:

Saw this on eBay: Valeton Dapper Bass Guitar Multi-Effects Pedal Strip with BOOST COMP ENVELOPE | eBay

There's always the old Zoom B3 as well: Zoom B3 Bass Effects & Amp Simulator | eBay

 

That's the valeton I currently have on my ebay watch list!! 😅

I am swaying towards the Zoom B1X four. It seems to do what I want and a lot more without breaking the bank. 

Does anyone use it for live gigs? Or should I say has anyone used it for live gigs considering the current situation!

[Skybone]

What you could do is set up a "core sound", and then do multiple copies of it, adding various effects to each one, so you could cycle up & down your patches as needed.

I'm using the Line6 HD500x, and use a similar ethos, although I also have the added bonus of being able to switch effects on & off on the different patches. 

 

[Lloyd80]

Thanks again gents!

Well the 4 I originally listed the Fender was top. But for the price I couldn't justify it. The valeton and sonicake both have flaws in the dirty eq and fuzz area. And the EHX sounds good but it was topped by the fender.  

However. Since I started this thread, and did loads of research the fender has been supplanted. 

The zooms are top. Now just to decide between the B1x Four or the B3n!

Again thanks for the input and help. 

[stewblack]

Let us know how you get on. 

[uk_lefty]

The EHX is OK. Just OK. I had one, it's not really going to do much of what the Dapper would do or any of the Zoom pedals mentioned. I did a detailed thread on it somewhere, but in summary it sounded good with a passive P bass and not so good with an active jazz bass. It's a good tool for a gigging muso because you can go direct to the PA, kick in different EQ options and add drive either before or after the EQ. It's not a tuner, chorus, autowah, flanger, phaser, synth, practice tool... 

Maybe start with a zoom multi and see how you get on from there. Nobody is going to be gigging for a while so you can either enter the dark world of buying and trading loads of pedals until you find the perfect match for yourself, or trade up to bigger and more mind-blowing multi effects units in future. 

[stewblack]

Zoom for sale... 

 

[Lloyd80]

Haha typical!

Thanks Stew, but I already pulled the trigger on a b3n !! Should be here Wednesday. New pedal day awaits!!!!

[stewblack]

19 minutes ago, Lloyd80 said:

Haha typical!

Thanks Stew, but I already pulled the trigger on a b3n !! Should be here Wednesday. New pedal day awaits!!!!

Not to worry, that's a really solid piece of kit you have coming.

[stewblack]

I should add that many people don't rate the presets that come loaded on the Zoom, but you can alter /replace any of them. 

There are desktop apps that make the process really simple too. 

[Lloyd80]

Well,

The new toy arrived!!!! I've spent the last hour playing around. Factory reset and firmware updated. 

All I can say is WOW! Everything I need in one small handy pedal board. Perfect!! 

Still lots of of effects to go through. But loving the cab and preamp effects are really good. 

I cant see me changing this anytime soon. And I can see me using this live...well when the world has semblance of normality again ! 

Thanks for all the advice and tips. It's been really appreciated!!

[TheGreek]

GAS has got you now...it's all down hill from here.

Starts with a new pedal, then a new bass, then another new bass "just in case", then one that you just liked the look of...before you know it you've got more basses than you need but one less than you want.

Won't be long before you start a thread "how many is the right amount of basses to have"...all the usual reprobates start to point the blame at @cetera and @doctor_of_the_bass who have 50+ each and justify their own collections with "well, they have this many...."

When I joined here I had 3 basses - now I have at least 10 (No, I'm not going to count them..). Every time I try to downsize I just spend the money on more gear.

THERE IS NO CURE!!!!

[cetera]

4 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

Won't be long before you start a thread "how many is the right amount of basses to have"...all the usual reprobates start to point the blame at @cetera and @doctor_of_the_bass who have 50+ each and justify their own collections with "well, they have this many...."

 

"I plead 'guilty as charged' m'lud...."

[Lloyd80]

17 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

GAS has got you now...it's all down hill from here.

Starts with a new pedal, then a new bass, then another new bass "just in case", then one that you just liked the look of...before you know it you've got more basses than you need but one less than you want.

Won't be long before you start a thread "how many is the right amount of basses to have"...all the usual reprobates start to point the blame at @cetera and @doctor_of_the_bass who have 50+ each and justify their own collections with "well, they have this many...."

When I joined here I had 3 basses - now I have at least 10 (No, I'm not going to count them..). Every time I try to downsize I just spend the money on more gear.

THERE IS NO CURE!!!!

Haha. I would say I was unaware of GAS...however being an ex drummer I may have been afflicted previously!!! But the joy of a divorce, I have no imposed limits on what I can buy now !! Lol. 🤘