Things have to change ! Bass pedals on PPCB !

[eh là bas ma]

It's always a great surprise to look for effects entirely designed for Bass, and find almost nothing on PedalPCB's website.

I am sure it's all just a simple misunderstanding, and there are many hopes to improve this dire situation ?

Let's remember that bass instruments as we know them appeared in the 60's, and bass players were left in shadows, in the back of the stage, behind the guitarists, for years. If I understood correctly, it's Larry Graham who was the first to step into to the light, he left Sly and the Family Stones to play with his own band, and play bass in the front of the stage :

I would start by a project that has no equivalent in the diy community, despite being very popular (in the top 3 for years) and very interesting :

Aguilar Agro Overdrive.

Here is the original :

Agro Bass Overdrive Pedal

All the aggressive bass overdrive tones you want, without the low end loss! Capable of producing everything from warm, tube-like overdrive to full-on distortion, this pedal will give you the grind you need without sucking out your low end. The SATURATION control offers a tremendous range of...

www.aguilaramp.com

Here is a thread where someone began something, but never finished it, unfortunately.

Aguilar - Agro Bass Overdrive

Hey guys was wondering if anybody has a schem or know what the aguilar od is based on. No pun intended! Bass player in the band needs an OD and I heard this one sounded great. I could build up a OD and voice it for bass but this was spot on... Any help

www.freestompboxes.org

This project is nowhere to be found in the diy community, so PPCB would have the lead on this one. Thousands and thousands of boards would be sold in a very short time. @Robert could become a life savior and a legend among bassists in one single strike !

The second project suggestion would be BOSS ODB-3, of course. There are already a few projects available, it's a classic for good reasons.

Can we still have hopes, or Bass dirt circuits are out of reach on PedalPCB ?

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

While there's not a ton of "bass pedals" the shop is chock-full of pedals that are great for both. My bass board has many ppcb circuits. Currently using the ocelot, cdb klon, cream pie, XC, VIIB, daydream, low tide, and equinox. I'm also likely to replace my spotted dick with a curds and whey when I get around to it.

The lowballer is a bass pedal, also the Nathan East pre that's been announced. He's throwing us some bones here and there so I say keep hoping.

 

[eh là bas ma]

While there's not a ton of "bass pedals" the shop is chock-full of pedals that are great for both. My bass board has many ppcb circuits. Currently using the ocelot, cdb klon, cream pie, XC, VIIB, daydream, low tide, and equinox. I'm also likely to replace my spotted dick with a curds and whey when I get around to it.

The lowballer is a bass pedal, also the Nathan East pre that's been announced. He's throwing us some bones here and there so I say keep hoping.

I guess it's a matter of taste and perspective.

I have a bassist friend who always used a stock DS1 with the tone fully CCW, interacting with his amp. He was acustomed to this sound, playing black metal and stoner. It took some time but he finally tried some circuits fully designed for bass and I doubt he'll still choose his DS1 over them. As a matter of fact, he borrowed a lot of bass dirt circuits from me...

If the bass player wants to shape the sound mainly on his bass amp, maybe a guitar circuit and a clean blend circuit can be just as good. You can crank up the bass control on the amp to make up for the bass cut from the dirt circuit.
But if you like to set your amp with all EQ controls at 12', looking to get approximately the same tone on various amps, a circuit designed for bass will make a big difference, in my experience.

From Darkglass tones, to Ampeg SVT emulation and bass overdrives based on real tubes, you can color the tone in a way that a guitar dirt circuit can't approximate.

Boosting the mids is also interesting on bass. It's not the same frequency range as guitar's mids. So, modding a guitar circuit to suit a bass requires heavy mods, not just a cap value somewhere. I'd say we might as well build directly a bass effect rather than reshaping entirely a guitar effect.

The only famous bass driver I could find on PPCB is Darkglass BK3. Wouldn't an Aguilar Agro project be a nice addition ? An ODB-3 ?

I mean just the good old classic bass dirt circuits would be amazing !

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

I'd peek at the Aguilar. ODB3 would likely be a popular bass dirt but that's a meh from me. Had one years ago and the only thing I liked was the blend as I'd never never played a blending bass dirt at the time. The dirt itself was pretty stale with my set up so it made the fairly short list of pedals I've sold.

Effects layouts has the dunwich projects if you're not aware. Excellent bassified versions of the muff, rat, and ocd circuits. No blends but that's easily remedied if you must.

P.s. the chopshop is nice on bass too.

 

[Feral Feline]

There are a LOT of bass players here on the forums.
Things have steadily improved in the BASS DEPARTMENT of PedalPCB since I joined.



Of course, MOAR BASS is always welcomed because...

ALL YOUR BASS ARE BELONG TO US!

 

[JTEX]

ALL YOUR BASS ARE BELONG TO US!

SOMEBODY SET UP US THE BOMB!!!

 

[JTEX]

Let me contribute something. Maybe it'll help get the ball rolling? I traced this myself from my XL2 bass, way back when I had one. God, I loved that bass!

 

[spi]

I thought bass was meant to be felt and not heard.

 

[Paradox916]

PCBs and BOMs are just a starting point there are plenty of pedals for “Bass” that are the same circuit with Component substitutions, and or minor mods, yes this does take a little effort to source out the info but I have seen build reports on here where Bassist has built or moded pedals for their specific needs, and there are lots that don’t require any deviation from the BOM.

 

[eh là bas ma]

I thought bass was meant to be felt and not heard.

I guess you are confusing with guitars and drums. They belong in the background, obviously.

 

[eh là bas ma]

PCBs and BOMs are just a starting point there are plenty of pedals for “Bass” that are the same circuit with Component substitutions, and or minor mods, yes this does take a little effort to source out the info but I have seen build reports on here where Bassist has built or moded pedals for their specific needs, and there are lots that don’t require any deviation from the BOM.

I wonder how guitarists would feel if they had to mod bass pedals all the time... "don't worry, take a Darkglass BK3, it's perfectly ok on guitars" ?

 

[JTEX]

I thought ass was meant to be felt and not heard

 

[Paradox916]

I wonder how guitarists would feel if they had to mod bass pedals all the time... "don't worry, take a Darkglass BK3, it's perfectly ok on guitars" ?

I mod pedals all the time for my specific purposes, I play an extended range that sometimes tuned down as low as F# where I split the signal and have a channel for “guitar frequencies” and the other for “bass frequencies”

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

I thought ass was meant to be felt and not heard

Beat me to it.

 

[Coda]

I build a Maestro Brassmaster from fuzzdog. It is excellent on bass…

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

I build a Maestro Brassmaster from fuzzdog. It is excellent on bass…

Agreed, though my rhodes playing buddy nabbed my yassmaster so i need to do another. I was a little surprised he liked it as much as he does.

 

[peccary]

Agreed, though my rhodes playing buddy nabbed my yassmaster so i need to do another. I was a little surprised he liked it as much as he does.

Now I really want to hear a Rhodes through a Brassmaster. That's gotta be gnarly.

 

[andare]

I'm also likely to replace my spotted dick with a curds and whey when I get around to it.

oversharing a bit
let's stick to pedals

 

[Big Monk]

I wonder how guitarists would feel if they had to mod bass pedals all the time... "don't worry, take a Darkglass BK3, it's perfectly ok on guitars" ?

But we don’t have to, do we?

 

[ICTRock]

this thread lived up to my low expectations ...