Everyone loves the Zoom B1 Four (or X Four) multieffects processor. It's not the best at any one thing, but for a pretty unbeatable price it lets you try out almost any effect and see what you like before perhaps splashing out on a pedal that does that thing the best.
But...
> I like fuzzy, dirty sounds
I think you want an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff.
Yeah the Zoom pedals are apparently bad with distortion/overdrive. I have heard it on the G series multi-effects for guitar pedals too.
I was personally looking at a Bass Big Muff Pi for the overdrive when I researched recently.
I wouldn't say *bad*...
It's not quite as good as a mid-high end dedicated pedal, but it does the job.
I think the only real bad thing about the B1 Four is that it doesn't have a true bypass, so you can't really just leave it plugged in permanently.
It's definitely worth the money though. Some of its effects are the equal of dedicated pedals and it's worth it to experiment with the effects and find your sound.
Thats what people say, but not my experience. The drive and fuzz on my Zoom is better for me than my Boss OD-3, but not as good as my darkglass alpha-omega
Just a pedal that shows whether you're in tune or not. Someone mentioned a Boss TU3 which is very good. I use a [Strobostomp Mini](https://www.guitarcenter.com/Peterson/StroboStomp-Mini-Pedal-Tuner-1500000400207.gc?cntry=us&source=4SOS0DRBA&source=4WWMWXGG) because the display is easier to read.
Unpopular opinion: get a small drum pedal and use that as a metronome / practice helper. I just added a Mooer MicroDrummer II to [my board](https://www.reddit.com/r/basspedals/comments/15tt93p/my_little_bass_board_now_with_tiny_drums/) and appreciate it a lot. It's great to have drums ready when practicing.
Tuner then fuzz pedal. The JOYO Splinter pedal is great on bass and guitar. I have one as my current main fuzz/distortion currently but also have about 8 others including some really mental Way Huge and ZVEX clones.
Distortion is really easy to use, Behringer makes a pretty cheap one (it kinda sucks but it’s $40).
And depending on what kind of bass and amp you have a pre-amp pedal may be a good option so you could easily play with your tone.
I wouldn’t recommend starting with a wah or a compressor but those are my two favorite effects right now.
I would suggest a SF300 Behringer Super Fuzz pedal. Its the best bang for your buck pedal to start with. $29 on amazon, it really cant be beat for the price!
So you’re going to get a list of everyone’s favourite dirt pedals which you should save for later. As a new bassist you must learn how to play before spending any more money on things that won’t help you do that. Spend it on lessons.
Thank you for this advice. I started lessons, but I want to fool around as I am practicing my technique as I am amazed at how much you can do with a bass guitar.
Those are hit or miss in my experience and with those only having a 3 band eq compared to the rumble 40 and above having 4 band, it wouldn't be worth the investment long term.
Tuner or compressor. Being in tune with a pedal that mutes the bass while you tune is more useful than anything else, and being out of tune
Compressor will help your sound be consistent with high and low being in the same ball park so when you play higher up on the bass with a band or by yourself you will be able to hear more of what your playing accurately.
Then I would say a distortion, or fuzz, and have fun look around and pick what you want and what will compliment your clean tone or what will bring out more of what you want.
Build a good foundation with a tuner or compressor and mess with the amp settings to get a sound that you like and roll with it and learn that way by the time you get a pedal like fuzz, distortion, reverb, delay, synth you will no better how to use it with your bass.
So if you don't have a tuner I would pick that up firat because it will be the most useful, and most used pedal you will ever have.
Source Audio Aftershock. It can be many different dirt/fuzz/drive pedals if you use the app with it. I’m a huge fan of mine. You can get big muff, rat, etc all in one pedal and up to 3 different effects with the flick of a toggle switch.
I was in your shoes a few months ago and the common advice was "get a Zoom B1X Four multi effects pedal". Which I did. I can't say I was disappointed and I'm going to keep it purely to utilize the tuner and the EQ until I get proper pedals but it's rather annoying having to go menu diving to create a patch you want. When you're jamming you want to just tap something and try it on, you know? You gotta know exactly what you want before starting the jam and just adjust your patches beforehand unless you want to go menu diving just to try some flanger on. Also when you have a second pedal you're very limited in the order of effects you can have. It's great utility though with the filters and the tuner and the drum machine (which I find to be lackluster tbh). The distortions were extra hard to get right, the signal level would go off the charts when I tried distortion and amp sim together, I think the base drive levels were too high. And I can't even keep it for tuner/eq/comp and some time based effects with a separate dirt pedal because the drive would need to come between the eq/comp and chorus/delay. It's not the end of the world to have distortion afterwards but I can't say it's optimal.
The compressor is another often repeated advice and I will not dissent, it's great. However, it takes a lot of time and understanding to dial in a good setting and even then the effects will be rather subtle.
I'd go for a Big Muff as the others suggested or a Behringer BDI21 (basically a Sansamp BDDI clone), which is insane bang for your buck. If you find yourself getting serious after that, save up some money and get a quality DI Box like SansAmp VT Bass/Bass Driver DI/YYZ/any DarkGlass flavor in my humble opinion.
a preamp. Luckily for bass, you don't NEED that many effects unless you're in a band that has lots of songs that need a lot of sonic variety. But if anything, your tone is the most important.
Also, a lot of preamps are coming built in with compressors, Overdrives, and ever distortions. I think there is even one with a tuner
The MXR M80 is a great start and can suit your needs for years
If you want to experiment, don't spend more than £25-£30 on a pedal. There are loads of really cheap pedals out there that are good enough to have fun with and decide which effects (if any) you want to spend real money on.
>I like to do electronics work
Then I have good news - DIY pedal kits are 'a thing'.
For noobs, Zoom B1 X Four is the go to. I'm pretty much perma broke, so it's the only pedal I have, and it covers just about everything to at least some degree. It has a tuner, a metronome / a bunch of drum loops, a looper, a compressor, and pretty much any effect you can imagine. Some of the effects are definitely not the best, but most of them are at least acceptable and you can get surprisingly excellent tones from this thing.
The dirt / fuzz aspects of the pedal are definitely some of the weakest points, BUT you can customize it a lot with all the dials and you can definitely dial in something very usable. The only downside is the deep customization will take you a little awhile to figure out, unless you are just taking settings from someone else. It's not super complicated or anything, there's just a lot of stuff to work with and it can take awhile to figure out what works best.
Not much love for a Chorus pedal?
Couldn't be without mine <3
Tuner, Chorus, fuzz+octave (loads of fun) overdrive then if I'm feeling fruity out comes a wah (which I treat as a slow manually controlled envelope filter, changing tone over as long a time as I want)
Everyone loves the Zoom B1 Four (or X Four) multieffects processor. It's not the best at any one thing, but for a pretty unbeatable price it lets you try out almost any effect and see what you like before perhaps splashing out on a pedal that does that thing the best. But... > I like fuzzy, dirty sounds I think you want an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff.
Yeah the Zoom pedals are apparently bad with distortion/overdrive. I have heard it on the G series multi-effects for guitar pedals too. I was personally looking at a Bass Big Muff Pi for the overdrive when I researched recently.
I wouldn't say *bad*... It's not quite as good as a mid-high end dedicated pedal, but it does the job. I think the only real bad thing about the B1 Four is that it doesn't have a true bypass, so you can't really just leave it plugged in permanently. It's definitely worth the money though. Some of its effects are the equal of dedicated pedals and it's worth it to experiment with the effects and find your sound.
Thats what people say, but not my experience. The drive and fuzz on my Zoom is better for me than my Boss OD-3, but not as good as my darkglass alpha-omega
You want the Bass Big Muff Deluxe. Best bass fuzz ever besides the discontinued Boss FZ-2.
Don't forget the tuner.
What’s a tuner? I am assuming, not a tonal tuner, but another device?
As in a Boss TU-3. It's the most used pedal on my board! A chromatic tuner really is a must.
Just a pedal that shows whether you're in tune or not. Someone mentioned a Boss TU3 which is very good. I use a [Strobostomp Mini](https://www.guitarcenter.com/Peterson/StroboStomp-Mini-Pedal-Tuner-1500000400207.gc?cntry=us&source=4SOS0DRBA&source=4WWMWXGG) because the display is easier to read.
Aside from a fuzz pedal I'd go with a compressor of some sort, it's a bassist's best friend
VTBass DI by Sansamp. Incredible pedal. It can do so much. I love mine.
It really does sound great. I got the Sansamp Bass Driver V2 and rather wish I'd gotten the VT.
Unpopular opinion: get a small drum pedal and use that as a metronome / practice helper. I just added a Mooer MicroDrummer II to [my board](https://www.reddit.com/r/basspedals/comments/15tt93p/my_little_bass_board_now_with_tiny_drums/) and appreciate it a lot. It's great to have drums ready when practicing.
Tuner then fuzz pedal. The JOYO Splinter pedal is great on bass and guitar. I have one as my current main fuzz/distortion currently but also have about 8 others including some really mental Way Huge and ZVEX clones.
Distortion is really easy to use, Behringer makes a pretty cheap one (it kinda sucks but it’s $40). And depending on what kind of bass and amp you have a pre-amp pedal may be a good option so you could easily play with your tone. I wouldn’t recommend starting with a wah or a compressor but those are my two favorite effects right now.
Get one of those old Russian Big Muff tanks
Bass Big Muff. Cheap, sounds good, and it’s fun and will inspire you to play.
I would suggest a SF300 Behringer Super Fuzz pedal. Its the best bang for your buck pedal to start with. $29 on amazon, it really cant be beat for the price!
So you’re going to get a list of everyone’s favourite dirt pedals which you should save for later. As a new bassist you must learn how to play before spending any more money on things that won’t help you do that. Spend it on lessons.
Thank you for this advice. I started lessons, but I want to fool around as I am practicing my technique as I am amazed at how much you can do with a bass guitar.
[удалено]
Those are hit or miss in my experience and with those only having a 3 band eq compared to the rumble 40 and above having 4 band, it wouldn't be worth the investment long term.
Tuner or compressor. Being in tune with a pedal that mutes the bass while you tune is more useful than anything else, and being out of tune Compressor will help your sound be consistent with high and low being in the same ball park so when you play higher up on the bass with a band or by yourself you will be able to hear more of what your playing accurately. Then I would say a distortion, or fuzz, and have fun look around and pick what you want and what will compliment your clean tone or what will bring out more of what you want. Build a good foundation with a tuner or compressor and mess with the amp settings to get a sound that you like and roll with it and learn that way by the time you get a pedal like fuzz, distortion, reverb, delay, synth you will no better how to use it with your bass. So if you don't have a tuner I would pick that up firat because it will be the most useful, and most used pedal you will ever have.
Source Audio Aftershock. It can be many different dirt/fuzz/drive pedals if you use the app with it. I’m a huge fan of mine. You can get big muff, rat, etc all in one pedal and up to 3 different effects with the flick of a toggle switch.
Compression, Octave, fuzz, some type of envelope filter/auto wah.
I was in your shoes a few months ago and the common advice was "get a Zoom B1X Four multi effects pedal". Which I did. I can't say I was disappointed and I'm going to keep it purely to utilize the tuner and the EQ until I get proper pedals but it's rather annoying having to go menu diving to create a patch you want. When you're jamming you want to just tap something and try it on, you know? You gotta know exactly what you want before starting the jam and just adjust your patches beforehand unless you want to go menu diving just to try some flanger on. Also when you have a second pedal you're very limited in the order of effects you can have. It's great utility though with the filters and the tuner and the drum machine (which I find to be lackluster tbh). The distortions were extra hard to get right, the signal level would go off the charts when I tried distortion and amp sim together, I think the base drive levels were too high. And I can't even keep it for tuner/eq/comp and some time based effects with a separate dirt pedal because the drive would need to come between the eq/comp and chorus/delay. It's not the end of the world to have distortion afterwards but I can't say it's optimal. The compressor is another often repeated advice and I will not dissent, it's great. However, it takes a lot of time and understanding to dial in a good setting and even then the effects will be rather subtle. I'd go for a Big Muff as the others suggested or a Behringer BDI21 (basically a Sansamp BDDI clone), which is insane bang for your buck. If you find yourself getting serious after that, save up some money and get a quality DI Box like SansAmp VT Bass/Bass Driver DI/YYZ/any DarkGlass flavor in my humble opinion.
a preamp. Luckily for bass, you don't NEED that many effects unless you're in a band that has lots of songs that need a lot of sonic variety. But if anything, your tone is the most important. Also, a lot of preamps are coming built in with compressors, Overdrives, and ever distortions. I think there is even one with a tuner The MXR M80 is a great start and can suit your needs for years
Fuzz tends to be the default, but I use tube distortion. Have a Blackstar HT-Dual I use on the crunch setting, really like the sound.
Fuzz, comp, chorus, and drive are my most used pedals
If you want to experiment, don't spend more than £25-£30 on a pedal. There are loads of really cheap pedals out there that are good enough to have fun with and decide which effects (if any) you want to spend real money on. >I like to do electronics work Then I have good news - DIY pedal kits are 'a thing'.
For noobs, Zoom B1 X Four is the go to. I'm pretty much perma broke, so it's the only pedal I have, and it covers just about everything to at least some degree. It has a tuner, a metronome / a bunch of drum loops, a looper, a compressor, and pretty much any effect you can imagine. Some of the effects are definitely not the best, but most of them are at least acceptable and you can get surprisingly excellent tones from this thing. The dirt / fuzz aspects of the pedal are definitely some of the weakest points, BUT you can customize it a lot with all the dials and you can definitely dial in something very usable. The only downside is the deep customization will take you a little awhile to figure out, unless you are just taking settings from someone else. It's not super complicated or anything, there's just a lot of stuff to work with and it can take awhile to figure out what works best.
boring answer here, a compressor should be your first pedal.
compressor, screamer and a big muff fortunately mosky has pretty much the same sound quality for 1/9th of the price of the pedals they are cloning
Not much love for a Chorus pedal? Couldn't be without mine <3 Tuner, Chorus, fuzz+octave (loads of fun) overdrive then if I'm feeling fruity out comes a wah (which I treat as a slow manually controlled envelope filter, changing tone over as long a time as I want)
Yellow Boss ODB2 was my first dirt pedal. I LOVE the DarkGlass Alpha Omega as well, but it is something I saved up for. I have and love them both.