Any bassist recommendations?

[LukeFRC]

Well that's enough of my insomniac rambling.

see I started reading thinking "this will be useful" ... and a few lines in my eyes crossed...


I've enjoyed the Chop shop (Fairfield accountant)
The sushi London Underground I had was good - his partical accelerator was the diy version (warning high plate voltages)
also made a version of the SS/BS mini that is brilliant.

I recommend getting on talkbass/basschat/bassic.de (whichever is closest to where you are) and reading what pedals bass players are using and then seeing what the diy equivalent is.

Be prepared that you typically will be jumping around different PCB makers as a lot of them, they don't really care about us, and will happily create 50 tube screamer derivatives before they look at bass specific things.....
The archives of freestompboxes and diystompboxes are useful - for example you could spend a lot of money on a boutique US made take on the SVT ... or you could just build Bajaman's layout that they are using...

 

[Feral Feline]

see I started reading thinking "this will be useful" ... and a few lines in my eyes crossed...

...

Fair.

Still useful, though. I think. All the ALL CAPS were solid bass-friendly suggestions.

SS/BS Mini is purportedly awesome, looking forward to building it;
same goes for Bajaman's stuff. I like PCBs over vero, too bad a reliable maker of PCBs isn't putting out Bajaman's circuits.

Good call on cruising the forums for bass-sick info.

 

[chris.knudson]

I recommend getting on talkbass/basschat/bassic.de (whichever is closest to where you are) and reading what pedals bass players are using and then seeing what the diy equivalent is.

Be prepared that you typically will be jumping around different PCB makers as a lot of them, they don't really care about us, and will happily create 50 tube screamer derivatives before they look at bass specific things.....

That's good advice. I currently gig with an Origin Effects Cali 76 Compressor, a Digitech Drop pedal, a DarkGlass Vintage Ultra 2 Bass Pre-Amp, and an HX Stomp XL for everything else. It's a rig that suits me well, and gives me everything I need to play rock/pop/punk covers. But since I've started building pedals, everything I have been building suits the guitarists in my band really well, but I'm not finding a lot that I would put on my board (except for a $30 Landtone boost pedal that that I modded slightly that sounds freakin' incredible on the bass).

So, I kind of did what you suggested, I started looking at what other bass players had on their boards and found clones. A lot of those pedals are on my bench now, and I'm super excited to see how that turns out. I posted this question, really to find out if that was a good approach and to see what other bass players were gravitating to. I think I've absolutely gotten some good ideas from this -- especially as it relates to bass specific mods, but I agree that the PCB market is really geared toward the tube screamer derivatives, distortions, fuzz pedals, etc.

I'm fairly new to pedal building, but I'm absolutely addicted to it -- it's my latest obsession. I just can't justify spending all this money and time just to build guitar pedals that I just end up giving away to my guitar friends. I want to build pedals that will help define and shape MY tone.

 

[jimilee]

For me, a compressor is a must have. It keeps me from overloading the front end and the amp sounding all farty. I use a na o soul preacher. Took a long time to land on this one.

 

[Passinwind]

I'm fairly new to pedal building, but I'm absolutely addicted to it -- it's my latest obsession. I just can't justify spending all this money and time just to build guitar pedals that I just end up giving away to my guitar friends. I want to build pedals that will help define and shape MY tone.

I'd like to advocate a bit for getting into doing your own designs eventually, but in my case "eventually" meant something like a few decades in.

Hopefully I'll actually get this repository done before year's end, I have several more bass-centric modules in the works as well: https://github.com/Passinwind/PW3B-LPF

If you're familiar with Alembic and Wal onboard electronics (aka "filter preamps"), what I'm doing is kind of an evolution of that. This is strictly a labor of love, I don't make a penny from any of it.

 

[chris.knudson]

I'd like to advocate a bit for getting into doing your own designs eventually, bit in my case "eventually" meant something like a few decades in.

Hopefully I'll actually get this repository done before year's end, I have several more bass-centric modules in the works as well: https://github.com/Passinwind/PW3B-LPF

If you're familiar with Alembic and Wal onboard electronics (aka "filter preamps"), what I'm doing is kind of an evolution of that. This is strictly a labor of love, I don't make a penny from any of it.

Thanks. I'm definitely gonna take a look. I've been experimenting with mods to existing circuits on the workbench, but in the background, I've been sketching schematics that I think would work well for the bass -- I just haven't put them on a breadboard yet to see how they sound -- I've just been too busy building pedals.

 

[Passinwind]

Thanks. I'm definitely gonna take a look. I've been experimenting with mods to existing circuits on the workbench, but in the background, I've been sketching schematics that I think would work well for the bass -- I just haven't put them on a breadboard yet to see how they sound -- I've just been too busy building pedals.

I never breadboard circuits, for what I'm doing modeling in LTspice is much more efficient and cost effective. But that approach is much less effective for stuff like distortion widgets and time based effects, IME. And as you'll quickly see, you'll need to get comfortable with surface mount parts to build up most of my designs, unless you want to jump in on doing your own PCB layouts too. The latter aspect is kind of my favorite part at this point, but OTOH building up one of Robert's boards recently sure was quick and easy, and it sounds excellent. But yeah, more guitar oriented and I'll be giving it away as soon as it's properly boxed up.

 

[chris.knudson]

unless you want to jump in on doing your own PCB layouts too

I've been playing with KiCad -- ironically not to do pcb layouts for circuits, but instead to design faceplates using printed pcbs. But, I've thought about getting some circuits printed -- just haven't developed a circuit that I want to have produced yet.

 

[Passinwind]

I've been playing with KiCad -- ironically not to do pcb layouts for circuits, but instead to design faceplates using printed pcbs. But, I've thought about getting some circuits printed -- just haven't developed a circuit that I want to have produced yet.

I can't recommend Amplifyfun highly enough if you want to get nice faceplates made, or for UV printing in general. He's getting very busy these days though, so the perk of getting super quick turnaround may no longer apply.

 

[LukeFRC]

That's good advice. I currently gig with an Origin Effects Cali 76 Compressor, a Digitech Drop pedal, a DarkGlass Vintage Ultra 2 Bass Pre-Amp, and an HX Stomp XL for everything else. It's a rig that suits me well, and gives me everything I need to play rock/pop/punk covers.

so, unless Robert has something up his sleeve you're unlikely to better the cali. Actually different flavours of compressor can be fun, there's a PCB around somewhere of the Diamond compressor- which as an optical sounds nothing like the cali76.

Otherwise what I did was I had a HX stomp I used for years - and then built (or bought) analogue versions of the blocks I was using, with a bit of deviation along the way.

 

[LukeFRC]

BTW the Sushi Nobelium has to be an obvious build if you're spending money building bass effects -end of chain after the stomp and it should make everything sound better. (and I'm sure the tube cuircuit is good, but the output transformer alone will make things sound nice)

 

[chris.knudson]

so, unless Robert has something up his sleeve you're unlikely to better the cali. Actually different flavours of compressor can be fun, there's a PCB around somewhere of the Diamond compressor- which as an optical sounds nothing like the cali76.

Oh yeah, the Cali76 is always going to be on my board -- It's not a cheap pedal, but I haven't found a better compressor for bass. I do sometimes stack it with another compressor on the HX Stomp when I really want to squash my sound, but its not likely that I'll ever replace that one.

Otherwise what I did was I had a HX stomp I used for years - and then built (or bought) analogue versions of the blocks I was using, with a bit of deviation along the way.

That's kind of what I've been trying to do. Although not an analog pedal, I bought the Drop pedal to replace the pitch shifting patches on the Stomp - partly because it sounds better, but mostly because I love the simplicity of having one knob to turn and an LED indicator that lets me easily see how many steps I'm dropped.

 

[chris.knudson]

BTW the Sushi Nobelium has to be an obvious build if you're spending money building bass effects -end of chain after the stomp and it should make everything sound better. (and I'm sure the tube cuircuit is good, but the output transformer alone will make things sound nice)

I've been looking at this one. I have also been looking at the Frogpedals tube pre-amp.

 

[LukeFRC]

I've been looking at this one. I have also been looking at the Frogpedals tube pre-amp.

that's what I built! Also A-B ed it against a Sushi London Underground... I'll send you a DM tomorrow (I'm in UK so late and work day tomorrow)

 

[eh là bas ma]

My favorite compressor for bass is Aion's Meridian with bass specs, Guyatone PS-20 clone. It does things other compressors can't do, just check the build docs, you'll find all the details.

Favorite dirt circuit is by far the Bass Amuser, a real tube overdrive designed for bass by the german diy community a few years ago. Surely it's kind of a confidential circuit, far from the industry networks. It sounds much better than every bass dirt circuits i tried so far. Available at musikding and uk-electronic.de

Aion's bass preamp TS-50 is my favorite circuit to shape the sound at the end of the signal chain. Another brilliant design based on a legendary amplifier : Traynor TS-50B bass amp.

GCI N.E.W Bass Overdrive (a boss ODB-3 variant that isn't intended to sound like the ODB-3) has a large range of interesting sounds available thanks to the various controls. Darkglass BK3 (many pcb webshops have their own BK3 clone) is also very popular for good reasons. It sounds great and sharp.

Frantone Cream Puff (PPCB Cream Pie Fuzz), wich is different but somehow close to the Big Muff op-amp, and Moosapotamus 360 Bass Fuzz are my favorite fuzzes on bass. The 360 is also based on a legendary amp's fuzz circuit. Frantone's circuit sounds amazingly good on bass, almost addictive.

About modulation, the first circuit that comes to my mind is Lovetone Meatball (Aion's Spectron). An enveloppe filter. This thing is just incredible.

I tend to use an MXR Stereo Chorus, which is not available in the diy community. My second choice would be Delyk's 2nd Choral, a Boss CE-2 clone with useful mods, able to become a CE-2b (Boss bass version) thanks to a toggleswitch. CE-2 might feel a bit classic and unoriginal, but it sounds always better to my ears than all the many other chorus clones i built during my great chorus quest.

An octaver can be interesting too, i'd suggest Delyk's Up Down Daddy, Pearl OC-7 clone. I think it's more interesting than Boss octaver because it sounds just as good, if not better, and has 2 octaves down and one octave up. It's a tight build, but perfectly doable with patience.

EHX Deluxe Octave Multiplexer is also a great octaver circuit, 3 octaves down and a great fuzz circuit all-in-one, available as Aion's Downtown Fuzz. You can turn off the fuzz if needed, of course. Features also a very effective bass toggle, able to shake the windows .

A tool like Pro-Cessor might quickly get very usefull. Splitter, Mixer, Clean blend, Effect blend, from TH Custom Effects.

I built many bass circuits, but these ones are the best i could find, at least in my humble opinion.

 

[chris.knudson]

About modulation, the first circuit that comes to my mind is Lovetone Meatball

I'll check this one out.

 

[chris.knudson]

An octaver can be interesting too, i'd suggest Delyk's Up Down Daddy

I have this PCB -- it's in the pile of future builds.

 

[music6000]

For me, a compressor is a must have. It keeps me from overloading the front end and the amp sounding all farty. I use a na o soul preacher. Took a long time to land on this one.

This a Great tool that everyone should have in their collection.
I loaned it to a Bass player for a Album he was working on & he loved it for the sound they were chasing!:

 

[music6000]

Has anyone built this:

 

[chris.knudson]

Has anyone built this:
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Not yet...