chewstermaniac Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 With the event known as Audioslave, I'm very peeked at getting an effects board to play with. The guy at a local store showed me the BP 200. I've seen another on the forum here uses one, and am wondering if they are worth it. I don't want to lose the original sound of my bass behind all the effects units. Also, any good ideas on some effects would be great. I'm thinking mostly of chorus, wah, and some sort of volume lifter or effect that makes you sound bigger, for when your in a situation where theres only 1 guitar player. Thanks! Check out my work in progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Smith Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 I have had a handful of effects over the years (chorus, overdrive, envelope filter, etc.) but the one that really cuts through is my Morley bass wah. It's pretty fun to play with, adds a lot of character. It doesn't cut through when playing metal with 2 guitarists, but what does? Discipline is never an end in itself, only a means to an end. --King Crimson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I I mjrn Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 Even if you're not particularly into funk or R&B you should check out the early recordings of Bootsy Collin's Rubber Band (late 1970s~early 1980s)...& some of his later stuff, too. Bootzilla is the master of effective bass work! He used a tri-amped system to allow him to put different effects (or no effect) on the signal in different ranges. That allowed him to adjust the sound much more precisely & to maintain a certain cleanness...everything wasn't clouded-up by his use of distortion, for example. No matter what effects you decide to use or type of music you play, that attention to detail of your signal chain can help you maintain a sound that can be "tweaked" to better project whatever you're playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 I've been using a BP200 for about 6 months, so I'll pass on some things I learned about it. The headphone sounds, and from what I've read, the studio recording quality of this unit is really good. However, when you run it through an amp for live gigs, it takes some tweaking to get it to sound to your liking. This is because the amp and speakers will 'flavor' the effects that sound so good in the headphones. This was frustrating to me at first, but I overcame that problem. As best you can, match the tonal quality of your amp, using eq, to match the tonal quality of the headphone sounds. Play an effect listening in the heaphones, now play the effect thru your amp and listen for the difference. In my case, my amp was too bass heavy, so I cut back quite a bit on the lower eq settings. Much better now. This gave me decent sounds on the next gig. I fine tuned the BP200 over the next two gigs and am very happy with it now. So now I have three subtle settings to make the bass sound like different basses, and a chorus, an envelope type sound, a distortion (haven't used that one yet), and a fretless effect. Alot of the night, about 60 percent, I stay in bypass as I like the sound of my bass running straight. The BP200 works well for me, but I'm not picky. For the price, I couldn't resist. If you get the BP200, just be prepared to be a little patient adjusting it for live use. However, if you only want just a couple of effects, you would probably do well by getting seperate dedicated stompboxes. Hope this is helpful. Bassplayers aren't paid to play fast, they're paid to listen fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKE96 Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 I have had mine since 8/02 or so. I played with it alot, it reeplaced my Zoom 507II or something like that. I do like the choices and the effects are good. I found it hard to switch to effects more then a few away during a gig. Overall, it is a great pedal...and th etweaking of your EQ is necessary. I split the time with this pedal and my ART Phat Boy (this one has a leg up with a DI output built in). The rhythm trainer is most valuable for practicing without anybody or working on timing issues. I have been using it to work on keeping a nice steady beat while teaching myself to play slap stick...I mean style! Why steal the hub caps...take the whole damn car instead! http://www.carpecervesa.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewstermaniac Posted January 17, 2003 Author Share Posted January 17, 2003 Thanks to all so far. How is the wah on this thing? Is it usable with the peddal that comes built in? In my short time with the thing, I only came across auto wah, which is useless to me. Check out my work in progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc taz Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 The wah is great! It comes in three flavors, boutique (?), CryBaby, and full range wah. All are nice flavors, and cut through the mix, even in heavy distortion or whacked out phasers or whatever. BTW the amp models are awesome. I have a few presets done that use just an amp model + volume pedal mode. Then I eq from the amp to taste. It's a nice way of changing the tone of my Peavey TNT 115 with minimal fuss. sevenstring.org profile my flickr page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 I did find the fretless settings...uhh...lacking. There is an annoying click with most notes, but I was able to minimize those by cranking one of the fretless parameters to it's extreme. Still there, but not as bad. I use the fretless when we do 'Come to My Window' (Mellissa Etheridge). Just some extra info. Bassplayers aren't paid to play fast, they're paid to listen fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
462 Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 I've owned one for about a year now, and I think its quite worth the price. The biggest problem is that you have to press and hold both buttons at the same time to get to the bypass mode. Which means you have to turn your foot sideways and try to plant it evenly to get to the bypass (if you hit it wrong youll just go to a different efffect) or almost hop on it with both feet at the same time. But I've found that it's easy to set effect 1 as a clean signal, just keep everything off except the eq or maybey that amp model, then you can just press and hold effect back, and it always stops once it gets to number one. Other than that and a bit of a lacking fretless simulator its a pretty versitile unit. The chorus is really good and being able to change the function of the pedal to wah, volume, effect amount, delay decay or whatever else is great. You even get to name your effects I suggest giving it a real run through to get the feel of it. These words, are sledgehammers of truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewstermaniac Posted January 21, 2003 Author Share Posted January 21, 2003 thanks all.....i think from all the positive responses i've gotten here, and not really and negitive feedback, i'll buy one. Q /|\ {\==W===:# ! \ \ \ ~ ~ Check out my work in progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewstermaniac Posted February 14, 2003 Author Share Posted February 14, 2003 Got my BP200 last night It's nice and quiet, I still here my MM and its fun. About 3/4 of the shipped effects I'll never use, but i'm sure I'll come up with nice variations to craft for my own needs. Check out my work in progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 Good luck with the new toy !! I borrowed a programmable pedal from a friend once and felt the same - I won't use most of these. Had I kept it, I would have crafted my own sounds... Enjoy Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Glad you got it! Be sure and go to the digitech website, as they have about 50 user designed patches that people have sent it. I spent hours playing with those. Cool, I just checked the site and there's some new ones I need to try. Woohoo! Click here for Digitech Patch Library Bassplayers aren't paid to play fast, they're paid to listen fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc taz Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 I just posted a couple patches there, "VOIVOD", and "SVTPRO". Simple patches, yet effective. Have fun with your BP200! sevenstring.org profile my flickr page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
precisionbass Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Dude it doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to realize your not happy with your Bass. Why not just invest in another decent sounding Bass and maybe a little Amp with all those effects. I have 2 Old SVT's that I play straight through and I've acquired a 15 inch SWR that has all of the effects your talking about. Think about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc taz Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Originally posted by precisionbass: Dude it doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to realize your not happy with your Bass. Why not just invest in another decent sounding Bass and maybe a little Amp with all those effects. I have 2 Old SVT's that I play straight through and I've acquired a 15 inch SWR that has all of the effects your talking about. Think about it.I know it doesn't take a rocket scientist... I do have a decent amp to begin with, a Peavey TNT 115. Good basses are a must, too, so I play an old Yamaha BB300, and a Mex P-bass special. The SWR you speak of would be too inflexible for my effects needs, unless you're talking about their Mo' Bass stuff, which is way beyond my $ range. I'm proof that you don't have to spend the big bucks to get good tone. sevenstring.org profile my flickr page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamixoye Posted February 20, 2003 Share Posted February 20, 2003 Originally posted by precisionbass: Dude it doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to realize your not happy with your Bass. Why not just invest in another decent sounding Bass and maybe a little Amp with all those effects. I have 2 Old SVT's that I play straight through and I've acquired a 15 inch SWR that has all of the effects your talking about. Think about it.There are reasons for getting separate effects, and effects in a combo amp are not always the best way to go. Being happy with your bass doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the decision to get more effects or not. I believe that is the greatest reply I\'ve ever read! I\'m not even joking. -- justinruins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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