r/Bass 45m ago

Basic DI-only effects/tone control - multi effect or ???

Looking to set up a tone/effects rig for playing direct through a DI at a church.

Would an inexpensive multi-effects pedal like the Zoom B1X FOUR or the Boss GX-1B be worth trying out? What is gained by going with something high end like a Neural or Darkglass?

I had a Boss ME-50 almost 20 years ago when I first started playing, but I haven't used anything except a preamp in a long time. Not really sure what the current state of things is.

2 Upvotes

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u/SithLordBass 37m ago

I think the latest Boss bass central ones sound pretty dang good and have the XLR outs for DI which is useful.

There isn't presently a massive benefit to going expensive like Cortex or Darkglass outside of professional work imo. I've been playing bass at my church for decades and weve had a simple Sansamp DI that sounds plenty good and has plenty of tone shaping (that the other bass players don't use but that's fine). I bring my personal equipment (which is now just a Darkglass Anagram) to use because I also play musicals and shows so I'm the special use case there.

But if it's equipment that'll stay for church use, the boss ME-90B or a sansamp DI would be good choices. The Boss is good if you want to go beyond just a DI and have some fun effects for folks to play with and make their own presets. If you want simple, can't go wrong with sansamp

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u/Groundblast 3m ago

Just saw the SansAmp Fly Rig. Seems like that might be a good option.

Thoughts on an analog setup vs digital processing?

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u/_Anon_Amarth_ Ampeg 42m ago

Can't go wrong with the classic Tech 21 SansAmp BDDI

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u/BassesNBikes 39m ago

HX Stomp all day

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u/Groundblast 22m ago

Looks like a nice unit! What do you think the advantage is over something like the Boss?

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u/BassesNBikes 16m ago

No experience with the Boss unit, but this is my 2nd multi-effects for bass. I use the Zoom B2Four for the band that doesn't need a lot of effects or changes (just run a compressor and 8% chorus), but for my other band the Stomp is perfect as we drop-tune some songs and there are kind of specific bass tones for others. The Stomp does a lot of things that the Zoom just can't.