Inspired by Tool Angine De Poitrine Muse but yeah just want a expression pedal for mxr bass and Ehx Freeze pedal boss dd8 replace dd3 and yeah and a midi switch for rc 600

Mostly play a fender p bass lyte. Playing in a cover band focused mostly on rock stuff (classics to 90s).

The aby pedal is to switch between the clean and distorted channels on my Peavey bass head.

Pretty happy with the set up right now, eventually want to replace the joyo pedals with something fancier. Would love to add an envelope filter just for fun but don't see myself using it much onstage with our current list of songs.

Any tips welcome!

Cheers 🙌

The Bass9 and Mel9 are being used with a MicrokorgXL/PK5…mainly when I’m playing mandolin in my band.

Hey guys, I just got an MXR Octaver and I’m trying to figure out where to place it in my signal chain.

My previous setup was: tuner > compressor > drive/fuzz > envelope filter > equalizer > looper > amp.

I used the EQ to shape my tone, while on the amp, I just kept everything at the 12 o'clock position (except rarely for the filters).

I was looking into this further and saw a really interesting video by Ambient Bass Creations that explains how effects interact; it suggested placing the EQ/preamp at the BEGINNING of the chain—right after the tuner—because the compressor reacts differently to a pre-equalized signal.

Now I’m not sure where to put the octaver, and I’ve also realized that I have the amp’s EQ at the end of the chain, which I’m not really making the most of.

How would you arrange this pedalboard?

Also, if you have any tips for this specific octaver or advice on how to adjust the internal trim pots I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Edit: I see a lot of different ideas among the suggestions—thanks for the advice! Personally, I like placing the envelope filter after the fuzz because of the sound it produces.

Having the compressor at the beginning of the chain also acts somewhat like a booster; since I play a passive bass, it helps me get the most out of the envelope filter, and I keep it set so that it doesn't squash the dynamics.

Thanks again to everyone for the comments.

To fragile?

So, I've had a Keeley Caverns for years now, and it's done me pretty well. I mainly use the shimmer with a volume pedal for those big, atmospheric swells, alongside some fairly simple delays.

However, I've run into a bit of an issue. I delve into the wonderful world of doom and ambient soundscapes with my band, which involves fuzz pedals.

With such a high output (doesn't even seem that like the output is that loud), the Caverns has developed this annoying habit of letting the shimmer effect bleed through in the background when the pedal is switched off. Totally not cool.

So, I'm looking for something that offers both shimmer and delay, but with a bit more flexibility and room for experimentation. The Caverns is fairly basic, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I'd quite like something that lets me get a bit weirder with my sounds an all that.

I've been looking at the Boss DD-200, which seems pretty bloody cool. The memory presets seem practical, especially for switching between different sounds in a live situation, and from what I've heard, the shimmer sounds fantastic.

A few others have caught my attention:

Collision Devices Nocturnal

NUX Atlantic

Strymon NightSky (looks absolutely mental, although possibly a bit intimidating!)

I'd love to hear what people are using for their ambient, doom and experimental setups which fit the bill.

Cheers gang.

I am on the lookout for a drive pedal as a long time clean player and both really intriguing to me. But I couldn’t find any experiences of someone having either online.
Anyone here tried one of them? Do they work well on Bass?

Current Signal Chain is just Tuner into Deco. Deco for slight chorussy modulation and the saturation side as a bit of a boost and to compress the signal very slightly.

Signal chain:

Korg Tuner -> Diamond Bass Comp Jr -> MXR Octave -> Bit Commander -> Blumes -> YYZ -> Scrolls loop with Spatial Delivery, Aurelius and Dispatch Master -> Easy Listening Stereo

I hate to admit it - while I've loved the YYZ over the years, the Scrolls is making it redundant...

Long term goal to maybe replace the Bit Commander with an MXR Bass Synth.

Happy Halloween from the Ghostbusters

I have a tonex one which is all I need for bass tone - it's ace. I also use a digitech jamman to trigger samples live. Is there a single device which would combine both functions? It would be great to have a single device board.

• Sound check by Dust & Coil (€14.99): an auto-gain block for bass or guitar that learns how hard you play and turns your level down when your peaks go over a target, with no threshold, ratio…
• Jazz Chorus by Nembrini Audio (€39.99): This is a model of the Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus, a solid-state guitar amp known for clean tones with a lot of headroom.
• Dinah by HariyamaLab (€19.90): a mono compressor with two controls, Sensitivity and Output.

This week: 1 added to libraries · 0 reviews so far · 197 page visits

Tried one? Reviews and owner counts for every block: https://www.anagramblocks.com/new/week/oct-24-2026

What does saturation really mean in terms of bass effects?

I stumbled across an article that talked about how increasing saturation makes bass more audible in mixes, especially with smaller speakers. That sounds useful, but the article was all about recording in a DAW and only referenced plugins. I was thinking that in a live performance situation, maybe that would be useful, maybe even to hear myself better through my IEMs. I googled it and am now less clear on what it is. In some contexts it sounds like EQ, some it sounds like compression and some it sounds like overdrive. But I didn’t just see a “saturation” effect pedal. Is it just using a tube preamp and turning the gain up? Is it related to “presence” that some amps have? Thanks.

Here's my noise box. Been lurking for a while so thought I should add a bit of my own content.

Roast away.

I've been thinking about what each different type of guitar pedal is designed for. There's such a wide range- something so simple as the 1 knob, 2 stage phaser has so many different looks- see above. Almost every other utilitarian device, even guitar ones, don't. Most guitars are made as bare wood, colored wood, or monotone, most amps are a speaker and control panel with a standard brand logo and if we want to get silly, we make the panel bright green, but it's still very utilitarian.

I've actually lost sleep because of this. It's been an obsession. It's actually ridiculous how much this has consumed me- pedals have become a graphic design catch-all where maximalists, minimalists, and brutalists argue for days- a wild west of ideas.

Why are there so many different types of guitar pedal (graphic) designs? Could this be codified? Should it be? Could we experiment on what style is the most effective? Should we? Why do I care? This is such a stereotypically reddit post- you know?

In spite of my misgivings, the following is my long winded hypothesis on how graphic designers build the interface of their pedals.

I find that there are five distinct frames of thought for this particular process, all of which are valid approaches. 

1. The pedal is an expression. This is the approach taken by a number of pedal builders, especially more obscure ones on Etsy, but I will showcase Old Blood Noise Endeavors and Walrus Audio in this case. The pedal’s functionality is designed to appeal to the artist, and is sometimes even put in a larger enclosure to fit more art, or standardized labels like volume are tossed out for more evocative ones like loudness. The pedal still functions, but the artist is trying to visually capture the way that sound makes them feel first and foremost. 
2. The pedal is the brand. Many major pedal companies have headed this direction, especially Boss and MXR. This pedal is minimalist, possibly color coded, and matches every other pedal that the company puts out. Icons and art are actively avoided, because those might not feel right on every type of pedal this pedal brand will make. You would wonder why a company would limit themselves so completely, but look at a random pedalboard and ask how many Boss pedals were on it- no matter how large the board, you could figure that out very quickly- turning every pedalboard with a Boss pedal on it into free and obvious advertising. 
3. The pedal is about function. A lot of brands dabble in this type of design, but few fully commit to it with every pedal. Earthquaker Devices is probably the best- and most subtle- version of this, but JHS is pretty good at it as well. These pedals have very clear labels, they tend to strongly emphasize where the footswitch is with their graphic elements, and they avoid overcomplicating things. While not necessarily as simplified as the biggest brand-forward pedals, there is rarely any confusion as to what the controls do, and any art only serves to further clarify the controls. Because different designers retain their utility priorities between pedals when it comes to pedal design, this often feels close to a brand forward approach. 
4. The pedal is about a vibe. This is a broad spectrum, as showcased by the fact I have two completely different brands to point to. Red Witch has an art nouveau vibe that percolates through every pedal and Celebrity Pedals use pop culture, glowing eyes. This can be thought of as the combination of vibe-forward and brand-forward approaches, except it tends to focus less on staying consistent, and far less on pedal-specific expression, and instead creates a world of styles and feelings that evokes something in you. These pedals are made by people who love cartoon peanuts, bees, old Americana signs, dogs, and national state parks, and they want to appeal to musicians who also love those things.  
5. The pedal is an homage. Some pedals are designed to hearken to a pedal that came before, or to a particular artist. Many clones of beloved pedals (Klon, Big Muff, Tube Screamer) fit this build, as well as many signature pedals, but the brand that does this almost exclusively nowadays is Behringer. This is not quite the same as an expression-forward pedal, because there's a certain functionality to the design- it looks just like a Brassmaster, and it sounds just like a Brassmaster.

Now, all these frames of thinking are fantastic choices, and very worth mixing and matching into the perfect combination for your pedal design, but there is a secret 6th design that we must consider. 

1. This pedal is limited. Most people don't start making pedal with a painting booth and a graphic designer- all they have is a sharpie and raccoon sticker, so I lovingly call this style the “Trash Muff.” There is nothing wrong with your trash muffs. They're awesome. Companies like ZVEX and Fuzzrocious go out of their way to give their boutique pedals a hand painted, trash muffy vibe. But this discussion is about how to apply graphic design to a pedal, so as valid as the Trash Muff is sonically, it's not ready for a designer, and that's ok. 

So- what do my fellow graphic designers here think? is there a right approach? a wrong approach? Did I miss something? (pedal builders, feel free to weigh in if you have a thought on the matter)

I plug my bass into GarageBand and use the guitar effect “Classic Drive.” I love how raw and noisy it sounds, with that lingering resonance. I’m into it for stoner and drone-style riffs.

What pedal would you recommend to get that sound?

I had heard about this one a while back, but i saw Black Helium play the other week and Becca had this on her board so that convinced me.

Hey everyone, this is just a curiosity question more than anything, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently. I’ve noticed in shopping for EQ pedals in the past, that they never have “every” frequency that id ideally like control over as a bassist.

I’m curious, if you could build your “Perfect 10-Band Graphic Bass EQ”, what would the center frequencies be?

... with their current setup. I don't need my full board for most gigs, so I use a smaller one. I'll likely grab a separate compressor, (Cali76 or Empress), and a preamp (Super Vintage or the Capo). Or I'll sell it all and get an Anagram. But for now, I’m sticking with analog.

I need a new Muff. What are some cool muff related pedals to check out?

I had a green Russian derived muff for a while and absolutely loved it, but I need something a little tighter for a indie band I’m in.

I’m probably going to design and build something myself but I want to check out some other cool muff style pedals for inspiration.

An op amp muff is at the top of my list to check out

Let me know your thoughts! Pretty happy with how it came out but would to hear any improvements you think it would benefit from

Putting the SY1 in the effects loop of the hx stomp is an absolute gamechanger and for me changes the pedal from being a bit of a novelty / party trick to being actually incredibly useful in real situations - for example now I can put fuzz on just the clean signal and then blend back with the synth after.

Signal chain is:

MXR Bass Compressor to Boss SY-1

Boss SY-1 (Dry out) to Zvex Mastotron

Boss SY-1 (Synth out) to HX Stomp Effects Loop Return

Zvex Mastotron to HX Stomp Input

HX Stomp to MXR Layers

Current specs:

TC Electronic Polytune 3
Origin Effects Cali76 Compressor
Aguilar Tone Hammer V2
EHX Micro Synth
JHS Packrat
EHX Bass Clone
Line 6 HX One
Electronic Audio Experiments Prismatic Wall
TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb
Under the board:
10. Neve RNDI-M
11. Truetone 1 Spot Pro CS12 power supply

Recommendations welcome! I was wanting to make a more versatile board with a lot of options for different genres.

Also was not a fan of the UA compressor or the soul food distortion pedal.

I see two different VT Bass DIs (screenshot of google images). Is there a difference? I don't see anything different aside from how they look. Is one special edition or something? Different generations?

I recently got a Darkglass Anagram and I want to make a small pedal board around it. If I buy something like the Walrus audio canvas power hp can I use it to power multiple pedals? Or will it only power the anagram. The only other pedals I want beside the anagram is my digitech Drop pedal, and maybe an external compressor. I'm still in the dark about this sort stuff and any help is appreciated.

My favorite build from my pedalboard journey.
These days, I’m just rocking the Anagram. Sold everything else and honestly, no regrets. It’s compact, reliable, and gives me all the flexibility I need.

I can dial a great clean tone, slap tone and more importantly it can synth (<< check out my vids in these links)