James_Melv

There are plenty of effects pedals out there but im holding myself back from buying them until I know of any decent ones.

I play in a sort heavy rock/hardcore band and just wondering if there are any good pedals I could get to add something to the sound or that are just good for these genre's.

ChucklesMginty

For distortion/overdrive. I'd recommend the old faithful Sansamp or the newer Darklglass B3k.

I like to add a little bit of grit to my tone for hard rock/metal, but not too much.

You might also want to invest in a compressor to smooth out your sound.

Apart from that effects aren't too common in metal bass. Maybe a chorus for a Duff McKagan kind of sound, or wah/envelope filter for a bit of fun. But as you generally have to responsibility of doubling the guitar and keeping the band sounding big it's hard to branch out too much.

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tabdog

+1

Tabdog

seitengewehr

The MXR Bass D.I.+ does a great job. One of the best distortion out there for an affordable price

Spaz91

What's your budget, we could suggest a few million things unless we know how much you're willing to pay.

What I will say is this: All Boss pedals are terrible and/or overpriced; you will only notice the difference between digital and analog effects if you look for it; true bypass is a requirement, not a feature; no distortion or fuzz will preserve low end unless it has a bypass blend feature.

Pedals I recommend:

Fuzz:
MXR Blowtorch
MXR El Grande
EHX Bass Big Muff (probably your best option on a tight budget.)
Big Knob's Bushy Bison

Distortion:
Anything by EBS, anything by Sansamp, anything by DHA Amps.

Chorus:
EHX Small Clone

Compression (pretty damn important for any hard rock gig.):
Aphex Punch Factory
EBS Multicomp
(I've never heard any other pedal compressor good.)

The general consensus for hard rock gigs is a Sansamp Bass Driver or VT Bass. Both are great distortions, great EQs and have balanced outs so you can play through the house PA rather than using whichever Peavey keyboard amp they expect you to use. (Geddy Lee used the rackmount version before nabbing an endorsement from Orange.)

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anarkee

For chorus, I'd also through out the Corona Chorus by TC Electronic. I love mine and the tone print options are fun.

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Deliriumbassist

I'd give the Red Witch Medusa a shout for Chorus. Very versatile, also allows you to blend in a sync'd tremolo effect as well.

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Sliide90027

Spaz 91!

Wow that was brutal, your hit on Boss.

While I am happy with my SYB-5, PS-5, OD-20, EQ-20, PH-3, BF-3, CE-20, and DD-20, I am sure by all of the products out there I would have to believe that someone is making something quite competitive, if not better.

I am not sure what company that would be.

With most people going bonkers over true bypass (no issue to me, all my basses are 18v), most will not be looking to Boss and others without that.

I was interested in Source Audio until I learned that the case is made from Plastic.

One nice toy is ye olde Digitech BP-8. It does lots of things, individually. Has a steel case. I bought two of those since I like them. People hear mine and gravitate to me.

Spaz91

They're the same as Fender, Gibson, Ampeg and Marshall; a big name that sells because its a big name. Digitech do a copy of pretty much every Boss pedal to the same standard for half the price. Funny how you listed the PH-3, that's probably the only boss pedal I ever had much fun with (and even then it was only for shaping signal noise into ambiance.)

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fudger

I feel they stand the test. I dont worry about breaking mine at all. All the hardware and knobs and the casing itself is very well put together. Traded my MXR envelope for a SA envelope and ive never looked back. Will be buying more from them shortly.

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Ziphoblat

I despise every product Ashdown have ever been responisble for with a serious vengeance - except one pedal, the Ashdown HyperDrive which has been towards the end of my signal chain for quite some time now. It never gets turned off. I just use it for a slight touch of crunch on top of the sound, and the nature of its drive (affecting only a narrow band of frequencies) results in a subtle increase in tone that just sounds so much more lively in a mix. I've come to swear by it.

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Spaz91

I was ready to wage war before I read the last bit. That bedal is a monster and a handsome devil on a pedalboard too.

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Ziphoblat

It's handsome, but a chunky fecker too. Takes up about as much real estate as my wah pedal. Personally I'd rather it didn't have the VU meter which no doubt accounts for about half the size of the damn thing. Built like a tank at least, can't knock the construction (of the casing, anyway).

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Sliide90027

I just got back into them because I had good experience with them in the 80's and when getting back in, I decided to get on with it and not read everything in the world first.

I figured that they had to be doing something right to still be around.

Multiple presets on Distortion, Chorus, Delay, and an EQ got me in really deep. I looked at them as if a pallate of paints to throw around. I did not want to get tied up in programing like the BP-8 (which I have decided to conquer after 13 years now pondering the use of two at a time).

I miss the simplicity of my BF-2, and find the PH-3 rather involed, I miss the simplicty of the Ph-1... I think it was.

Neat Packages, cool colors, easy to set up, used to hook then up with a Switchcraft 1/4-1/4 shaft (no cable).

If I had endless time to experiment I am sure there are quieter Phasers, more classic sounding Flangers, better Distortions (but mine models about 20 pedals), better Synth with presets (which is drawing me to the Source Audio), far better Pitch Shifters, [for me the CE-20 Chorus is too useful, the programable 11 band graphic is nice to smooth out levels on bass Changes.]
but at what cost in money, research, new pedal board?

So, neither connesuer nor fanatic am I.

I respect the guys who have done the homework to have 12 pedals by 12 different manufacturers. I just do not have the patience.

Sliide90027

Now I am compelled to get the Envelope pedal!

grrrrrrr!

No. THank you, that was cool/ I like the Midi control, so I will have to get into that with the Computer as well.

chatterbox272

If you happen to be short on cash, or just don't have an instant hate to all things Behringer, then I'd recommend the Behringer BDI21. I don't own one unfortunately (my local store never has one in stock when I'm there with money) but I've done some blind tests, and had a play with both it and the Sansamp BDDI and I actually preferred the tone of it to the tone of the Sansamp (which is 5x the price). But the construction isn't the most solid thing on earth (it's plastic) so I'd use it as a constantly on pedal for some nice dirt with a clear low end.

Or if you know what you're doing then you could rehouse it into a metal/better plastic casing.

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ChucklesMginty

Dude I forgot about that, my friend had one years ago and it was the absolute tits.

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So you want to write a fugue?

So you want to write a fugue?

You've got the urge to write a fugue

You've got the nerve to write a fugue

So you want to write a fugue?

xxxxChrisTxxxx

Another vote for the Ashdown hyperdrive - I've got the Lomenzo version - can get an amazing range of sounds from it.
http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/detail.asp?id=210

fudger

Yeah no problem. The SA envelope made the mxr seem like a kids toy. so many preset sounds with the ability to shape each preset to how you want it. So pimpin' on so many levels. The hot hand is also a cool toy to get with it.

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