Bass DI pedalboard

DailyDovetails said:
My daughter is looking to join the jazz band at her school next year. She currently plays the cello and is wanting to learn electric bass. I have a few bass guitars that I dabbled with in my early 20's so she can play those until we decide to get her something of her own. What I'm thinking would be neat for her to have would be a kind of basic all in one pedal that she could take with her. My thought is that it should have some sort of amp/cab simulation, maybe a drive and/or fuzz pedal and a compressor. That way if there was already an amp where she was playing she could still have drive and compression available and if not she could run right into the mixer, she could also jam with me through the mixer I mostly play through this way also. Ideally whatever I came up with would be fairly flexible in that it could do some rock, jazz and as she has interest in it maybe some funk/slap.

I have a couple thoughts on possible boards, the first would be EMU amp sim, possibly an EQ(if so which one), some sort of drive(advice needed here) and a compressor(advice also needed here). The other thought I had would be a Unicab, an amp sim(advice needed) then it would be followed by the drive and compressor like the other board. I think she would prefer pedals where the controls were more simple/intuitive and versatility would be a plus also.

Note that although I have played bass a small amount I really am a guitarist at heart and making assumptions from that experience. I know many of the other members on here are bass oriented individuals and am hoping you can give me some advice.
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I've played quite a few big band jazz gigs, using mostly the same charts that high school bands everywhere tend to. Frankly, I've never seen a single bass pedal in use beyond a DI, ever. The dynamics as written are often mission critical IME and a compressor would likely just complicate that in many cases, I think. Drive for straight ahead jazz? Nah! But if it's a contemporary combo with R&B leanings (i.e. smooth jazz, etc.), or the band does pop tunes as many these days do, sure, go nuts. In any case, I'd vote for HPF and LPF first and foremost, and highly capable EQ in general as a great starting place. Luck, and have fun!
 
It's been observed by some kind and distinguished forum members that there is no need for lots of circuits in highschool jazz bands.

That's most certainly true, but surely there are a few doom/stoner metal players hidden among every highschool jazz bands.
Probably a secret team of enlighted young people, looking all nice for the jazz band, but craving for some unleashed and untamed walls of fuzzy sounds.

If a young girl hopes to meet and bond with the right people nowadays, i guess a Cream Puff fuzz for her bass rig will be most useful.
It's like a cheatcode in a videogame, a good fuzz can unlock some secret locations in every places.

She doesn't even need to use it. Just having the circuit, allowing the other band members to see it, will be quite effective to ensure a bright future. People will notice, ask questions about it, and everything should follow accordingly.

Am i wrong ?
 
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My eldest currently plays a fretless jazz bass and the electric upright for his school’s jazz band and even though he has access to WAY too many pedals (mine), the only one that he has ever used was my Ocelot (OC-2) clone and that was for one Stevie Wonder song. If you are looking to go DI, I can vouch for the Sludgehammer. Good basic eq options but can get a little dirt if needed
 
Passinwind said:
I've played quite a few big band jazz gigs, using mostly the same charts that high school bands everywhere tend to. Frankly, I've never seen a single bass pedal in use beyond a DI, ever. The dynamics as written are often mission critical IME and a compressor would likely just complicate that in many cases, I think. Drive for straight ahead jazz? Nah! But if it's a contemporary combo with R&B leanings (i.e. smooth jazz, etc.), or the band does pop tunes as many these days do, sure, go nuts. In any case, I'd vote for HPF and LPF first and foremost, and highly capable EQ in general as a great starting place. Luck, and have fun!
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I appreciate the advice. I think one of the reasons I didn’t stick with the bass was that I always had a hard time getting it wrangled to not sound terrible. I don’t want her to feel discouraged like it did with it.

I think they will do a bit of more contemporary stuff as well as some standards. This one isn’t a class but an afterschool club so I think the kids have a bit of input on the pieces.

Diynot said:
My eldest currently plays a fretless jazz bass and the electric upright for his school’s jazz band and even though he has access to WAY too many pedals (mine), the only one that he has ever used was my Ocelot (OC-2) clone and that was for one Stevie Wonder song. If you are looking to go DI, I can vouch for the Sludgehammer. Good basic eq options but can get a little dirt if needed
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I think we will start with the Sludge Hammer and then build from there. I plan on building a few more compressors that her and I can both use. We are still figuring out what bass she will play I have a nice Japan made Fernandes fretless 5 string that would be my preference but I think she feels more comfortable on my 30 scale Univox HiFlyer. I’m going to try to find a 34 scale 4 string for her to try also before we decide on something.

eh là bas ma said:
Am i wrong ?
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I don’t think you are wrong. I personally can’t imagine not having atleast one fuzz or distortion available maybe up to 5 or so. But I also never played in a Jazz band and when I was that age was playing punk, metal, Hardcore ect.
 
DailyDovetails said:
I’m going to try to find a 34 scale 4 string for her to try also before we decide on something.
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I got a 2010 squier vintage modified 70’s jazz bass for $200. Swamp ash body, Duncan designed pups, solid choice. I ended up modding the electronics with stacked pots (don’t recommend) and a series/parallel switch (absolutely recommend) and more recently put on a Warmoth maple fretless neck. All of my sons fellow bass band mates love it.
 
DailyDovetails said:
I appreciate the advice. I think one of the reasons I didn’t stick with the bass was that I always had a hard time getting it wrangled to not sound terrible. I don’t want her to feel discouraged like it did with it.

I think they will do a bit of more contemporary stuff as well as some standards. This one isn’t a class but an afterschool club so I think the kids have a bit of input on the pieces.
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Cool. A few of the band geeks from our local high school's jazz big band used to come out occasionally to an open mic I ran:

LogsInn_jazzkids.jpg

They'd do hip hop, full on funk, and whatever else they felt like pulling out, very little of which was actual jazz. It always went over really well, and I got to take a break from mixing during their set.
 
What do budding bass players need?

UTILITY UTILITY UTILITY !!!

Echoing Passinwind to some extent...


In order of most usefulness in my limited gigging experience:

HPF: Her. very. first. pedal. you. build. = HPF. Cannot state this strongly enough. Staunch believer in a good HPF.
Could be a Vong Filterung with DI built in, a PPCB Frequency Interchange, or a PassinWind Oshpark dealio — HPF = MUST-HAVE, IMO especially if she's on upright bass.

EQ: Too oft overlooked — it can perform many duties: fix a lot of ills, sometimes as an always on, create a "2nd Channel", act as a boost for solos... and more.
A powerful EQ such as PPCB's Equilux. Not complex once you break it down for her, show her how to use it and when to use it; let her practice setting it under different circumstances. EQs don't have to be complex to be powerful/useful, though, have a perusal of the PPCB offerings see which one appeals to her.

DI: The school or venue will more than likely have/supply one, but what if it's a junker (tone or physically or otherwise)?
Lots of great DI suggestions already made, so I'll suggest ELS' Footswitch DI bypass — provides a balanced out with your choice of 1/4" stereo jack or XLR, add it to the HPF build! Or the SUNNDERING, a Sunn S200 preamp with 3band EQ and DI. SUNNβEAM V2, Sunn Beta Preamp with DI.


After that trifecta, I guess a compressor/limiter would be the next most useful utility item. Preamp, if it's not already taken care of by the DI...


EDIT to ADD PassinWind's Oshpark HPF LINK: https://oshpark.com/profiles/PW3B-LPF-OS
 
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Passinwind said:
Cool. A few of the band geeks from our local high school's jazz big band used to come out occasionally to an open mic I ran:

View attachment 68896

They'd do hip hop, full on funk, and whatever else they felt like pulling out, very little of which was actual jazz. It always went over really well, and I got to take a break from mixing during their set.
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I love the fact that they all are wearing sunglasses (at night none the less). I mean if that doesn't say jazz, I don't know what does.
 
BryGuy said:
Also don’t dismiss pedals that aren’t specifically for bass. Phase 90, tubescreamer, big muff, odr1, or whatever chorus you have laying around are just some examples.
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The ODR1 is killer on bass! Can make even the cheapest practice amp sound like a cranked SVT (just watch the output level of the pedal— no more than unity gain is a good rule of thumb- as too much will make most solid state bass amps start to clip in a not very good sounding way).
 
Feral Feline said:
After that trifecta, I guess a compressor/limiter would be the next most useful utility item. Preamp, if it's not already taken care of by the DI...
Click to expand...
I was surprised to see all the suggestions for a HPF I had not considered that.

I will look at EQs a bit. I have a few things we can try. I have an interest in these too so not a big deal to build a few more.

The foot switch DI board is cool. I didn’t know that was a thing. I could see one of the SUNN amp emulators being a good fit. The MofetA was our favorite of the ones I already have but I have wanted to build a beta for a while also.

Thank you for the suggestions.
 
DailyDovetails said:
I was surprised to see all the suggestions for a HPF I had not considered that.

I will look at EQs a bit. I have a few things we can try. I have an interest in these too so not a big deal to build a few more.
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I can't not at least mention this DIY option then: https://github.com/Passinwind/PW3B-LPF/blob/main/README.md

The V4 is the flagship model for the moment and if you can handle some relatively easy SMD soldering it's a pretty swell EQ solution for bass, IMNSHO. V5 will probably have a DI, phase inversion. etc., if and when I get around to that. Maybe a DSP section too. I need to concentrate on the acoustic guitar ones for now though, especially since I just bought my first-ever acoustic guitar a few days ago. ;)

I haven't built up and Equilux yet, but my designs share a little DNA with it and it seems like a winner for bass applications on the face of it.
 
Passinwind said:
I can't not at least mention this DIY option then: https://github.com/Passinwind/PW3B-LPF/blob/main/README.md

The V4 is the flagship model for the moment and if you can handle some relatively easy SMD soldering it's a pretty swell EQ solution for bass, IMNSHO. V5 will probably have a DI, phase inversion. etc., if and when I get around to that. Maybe a DSP section too. I need to concentrate on the acoustic guitar ones for now though, especially since I just bought my first-ever acoustic guitar a few days ago. ;)

I haven't built up and Equilux yet, but my designs share a little DNA with it and it seems like a winner for bass applications on the face of it.
Click to expand...
Well that is pretty cool. I haven’t made it that far into pedal building to have a board fabbed but I do have an interest in it. I’m guessing you pick a manufacturer and send in the .MD file? I probably won’t be able to keep myself from making an open source 3D printable enclosure for this if I go down this road.
 
Passinwind said:
I can't not at least mention this DIY option then: https://github.com/Passinwind/PW3B-LPF/blob/main/README.md

The V4 is the flagship model for the moment and if you can handle some relatively easy SMD soldering it's a pretty swell EQ solution for bass, IMNSHO. V5 will probably have a DI, phase inversion. etc., if and when I get around to that. Maybe a DSP section too. I need to concentrate on the acoustic guitar ones for now though, especially since I just bought my first-ever acoustic guitar a few days ago. ;)

I haven't built up and Equilux yet, but my designs share a little DNA with it and it seems like a winner for bass applications on the face of it.
Click to expand...

I meant to put in a link to your Oshpark stuff, but was lazy; Thanks for the github follow up.
 
DailyDovetails said:
Well that is pretty cool. I haven’t made it that far into pedal building to have a board fabbed but I do have an interest in it. I’m guessing you pick a manufacturer and send in the .MD file? I probably won’t be able to keep myself from making an open source 3D printable enclosure for this if I go down this road.
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If you want to contribute anything to the open source aspect of this, great! A standardized little sub enclosure for each module would be a great addition too, just sayin'.

To get boards fabbed you can either just use the OSHpark share links directly, or download the fabrication Gerbers from there and upload them to JLCPCB or any other board fabricator of your choice. Since the boards are all small using OSHpark isn't much more expensive, and IMO the board quality is a little better, especially when modding and/or rework might be in the cards. Nothing at all wrong with JLC boards either though. I'm hopeful that there will be a PPCB version one day, I know Robert is game but he and I have both had too many other irons in the fire for it to happen just yet.
 
Feral Feline said:
I meant to put in a link to your Oshpark stuff, but was lazy; Thanks for the github follow up.
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All good, I am still dragging my feet a little on the final details, such as the footswitchable version's graphics package. It's all done and ready to go, but I'm sleeping on things for a few more days before putting it on Github in case any improvements present themselves.
 
BryGuy said:
Chuck D. Bones bsss klon is great. I also like a vintage microtube. You can build one on the Odsidius Preamp. I’m sure others will chime in with their favorites.
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You can?! Is it just a matter of changing a few components? Where can I find a build doc for that?
 
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