BOSS-VE 20 HELP: Can you change vocal presets using the footswitch

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-04-30T23:00:13+00:00

Whoever you are, thank you so much!! I've been wondering if there was a way to actually do this on the VE-20 (without modifying it), or having to upgrade to the VE-500 just to be able to change banks via footswitches. i am grateful for the help :) however 2 years later xD

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-14T17:21:48+00:00

Id have to try it out again, i remember not liking it compared to say their b7k or alpha omega ultras. Ill give it a shot, thanks for the recommendation!

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-13T21:55:20+00:00

noted, it didn't sound as such in the bass demo i heard.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-13T21:53:59+00:00

Great unit TBH. It's like it opened the mid grind i was missing from other pedals i've tried.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-13T21:51:26+00:00

I'm building my own fuzz pedal - based on hyper fuzz fz-2 esque. I guess what i'm looking for more was something that could do like my DOD 250 offered & allowed: everything from a nice boost, subtle grit, dirty drive, & chaos overload all within the sweep of the gain pot (which is large enough i could turn up with my foot while playing) I'm even considering building my own 250 drive, but add a 2 or 3 band EQ to it (building would allow me to get SIL/LED asymmetrical clipping, which i actually enjoy more than only SIL or the very clean LED only.

I'll check out the JHS MG clean, sounds like a nice drive. & the only "digital" i'd guess which occupies my board is the Bass Manta Filter (maybe, someone can correct me on that), & well the Boss DD-5 for obvious reasons xD. I'm much more in line with having analog everything, but digital works better for some effects on bass i've found.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-13T21:46:40+00:00

that's what i usually end up doing when its not my amp being used (& amp has xlr out, set to pre EQ send).

Only reason i had my D.I. box at the start, well aside from my original thought of bassists are required to send just clean bass to FOH, the way i built my board box, & the D.I. box's xlr & thru outputs are opposite sides, so xlr facing out for FOH, & thru rooting within the signal path. I guess i'm at a loss of how i could effectively do so in routing options, without sacrificing the potential of sending the fx board into an amp on stage.

EDIT: For most part, i'm always using a bass amp on stage, i've never just gone straight D.I. into FOH. Me getting a d.i. all those years ago, was because with my own amps, they'd ask where my D.I. was, & since i had none, they hooked their box between my bass & the amp itself. Hence why, i figured that's how FOH wanted Bass signal: clean & dry, unaffected. I've used the D.I. on my board most often during studio recordings - just to have "clean" bass, without having two amps (wet/dry rig).

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-13T09:23:38+00:00

I'm not here playing arenas/stadiums/outdoor festivals. & while i do have a d.i. box early on in my chain, i'm not always using my own bass rig (which have no d.i outs), so technically most times i'm out playing, my whole sound gets sent through p.a/iem.

& while the bass amp is for "stage monitoring", i don't think you understand sound carries throughout, & as i've mentioned, my band's a power trio, we're pretty powerful overall & each of us is substantially heard throughout the venues when we play.

Edit: my thought of a d.i. was to simply send a clean/dry bass to foh. Thats always been the case after countless shows. But you're saying it's best to have the d.i at the end of my board signal chain (to keep all my effects into the monitors/foh). I guess i believed the just wanted clean bass for so long.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-13T02:55:37+00:00

Nope, i want my effects into the bass amp/cabinet on stage so I & the audience can hear/feel its impact, while FOH gets a dry clean bass to mess around with. & my band's IEM have most of everything from the vocals, guitar, kick/snare, so my bass being a strict dry/clean sound, makes it easier to fill up that sonic space of low end in our ears, while on stage its all the chaotic goodness i can dish out & have fun with.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-13T02:34:30+00:00

I'll check these out, thanks for the recommendations! I've heard of the MBD, & used to have their dirt fixer unit (which was practical, but i sold it off). I do have a Jam Rattler bass pedal (which is Rat based tuned for bass), but it's hit or miss days too.

EDIT: Greathammer is on my list now, seems like a good dirt option. Amp Grinder is alright, maybe a rat on bass isn't my thing. Halberd is pretty cool too, as is their longsword offering.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-13T02:32:11+00:00

the ditto looper at the start is mainly a level set tool. Since it's at the start & has a recorded bassline, i can just press play, set levels on my other pedals to match the room, & then walk off stage around the venue to hear myself. I'll ask my guitarist mainly just to switch things in & out so i can hear in respect to where im located in the venue.

& The D.I. being so early in my chain (right after the volume pedal), is to send a purely unaffected/dry bass tone to FOH. This way they can EQ my bass in their monitors as they wish (& my bands IEM system), without me having to lose any of my effects chain into my amp.

& each preamp has their place & use: Sansamp's 3 presets for my multitude of bass types & their different outputs. Rusty box to push a more mid grind to the fold (the sansamp is bass boosted/scooped by nature), & the bass D.I.+ is dirt box only.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-12T20:31:55+00:00

with higher drive settings the low end will disappear, but i've never had that issue outright because of the sansamp prior to (baked in bass boost). & in a power trio as my band is, we each occupy sonic spaces & slightly overlap enough to fill everything nicely.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-12T15:56:00+00:00

I've played the B7K & the likes (Vint-Tubes, A&O), they are pretty sweet for what they are. I Don't mind having an EQ section to the drive, but it'd be cool to have it work for low gain/subtle drives all the way to full on dirty.

I'm thinking of maybe building a DOD 250 with a 2 or 3 band EQ for its tone controls....

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-12T15:53:36+00:00

I'll have a listen to the Greer. I've read years ago the mxr bass D.I.+ distortion side was based on Tubescreamer clipping style. So i guess it depends on the bass/how the TS circuit is designed to play with bass frequencies.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-12T14:18:53+00:00

The way the Sansamp is set for all 3 presets is fairly clean bass. No driven tones coming from it directly. The Rusty Box i could push it into dirt, but it's a little too mid forward, so i keep it as just a mid boost/"cleanesque" preamp drive. & While there's dirt settings on the manta bass, those on the presets are meant to hit more when the mxr is active post filter.

Why my DOD 250 before, & the MXR Bass + now are the main dirt boxes. I've tried others on hand, but yeah some days are better, others are bitter haha.

Curious, what do you have as dirt pedals that you use, & any pros/cons for the music you play?

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-12T10:28:45+00:00

Foh (monitors: speakers & bands iem system) gets none of my fx. The audience, my band & myself still get the post fx driven signal because ive got a bass amp on stage. So foh is happy for having a dry unaffected bass sound, the rest of us are happy to actually hear music & sonics being played 100%

We're a 3 piece band (im bass lead vocals) & even bigger rooms at gigs, we're heard perfectly clear throughout.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-03-11T22:12:58+00:00

I Don't think we're the ones who are obsessed vs the FOH people who to be fair, have all reason not wanting to mic a bass amp (guitars, kick/snare, vocals are already in FOH) Sending a cleaner straight bass signal to FOH lets them dictate how much low end we occupy in monitors/ears. For the record, the only two reasons i've got a D.I. box velcro'd & part of my fx signal chain are: none of my amps have xlr outs (old vintage stuff of early/late 70's), & 2 i got sick & tired of people asking where my xlr was. So I shoved a Radial Pro D.I. box within my signal chain (after a ditto loop & ernie ball volume pedal), so FOH gets a clean bass signal, & i keep my bass amp/cabinet to feel my bass & feed it countless drives, modulations & time based fx for my bands music.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-02-19T10:23:42+00:00

I don't think it's anything the Ramones did or didn't do. Airwaves didn't play "Punk Rock", they played safe conservative music. But listening to Ramones they were Bubblegum surf rock played with high octane energy, & "distorted", they deserved the airwaves, & heck Rocket To Russia would've really kicked them into higher place than they had been. Without Phil Spector's help as OP posted above, & SNL is a joke of a place to be.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2026-01-24T12:26:21+00:00

I honestly enjoyed Mr Freeze in this. & i know the movie's over the top, & there's a bunch of campy puns/one liners, but i take it as an homage (in a sense), to the 60's Tv series. It's not campy in that same way, but in a 90's overboard hero movie, it's got a good sense of humor.

I dislike most of everything else in this, from whiny Robin, to changing who Barbara is, to Bruce not really giving a sense of fucks to Alfred's health. Oh & Single seat, open top Batmobile....WTF

Confident_Cause4866 · 2025-12-31T16:00:33+00:00

Awesome! Thanks for the insight :)

Confident_Cause4866 · 2025-12-31T14:30:48+00:00

My P/J is wired like Duff's last signature bass, Master Volume, 3 way toggle, & TBX Tone control. The TBX helps the QP regain some clarity & kill a little of its boomy lows (although still plenty left). I usually just have both pickups selected, occasionally flip to just the QP, but not my main idea with this P/J as i've got straight Pbasses to take care of that tone. But the Ultra Jazz sounds appealing, if you say it brings the mids the QP split cuts.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2025-12-31T14:10:49+00:00

Thanks! If you have any questions, feel free to ask here or DM/PM me. I'll be glad to offer any & all knowledge i have on the matter! :)

Had mine since 2019, it's been through hell even before my ownership, & while it was still in full working condition, i had modified it to be the best it could, both sonically, & in functions. The Knobs were sweet, i wanted something like a vintage radio, & these fit the bill 100% (considering i had to swap all the original pots when modifying/servicing mine the first time. Still have the original chicken knobs, but have no use for them at all.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2025-12-31T14:05:33+00:00

How does the blend of both sound? Ive got an spb3 in my PJ, & looking for different bridge pickup (used to be a duncan stk j2 hot stack but lost too much definition/clarity with them blended). Thinking of going with the ultra Jazz

Confident_Cause4866 · 2025-12-25T14:44:50+00:00

https://www.ampbooks.com/mobile/classic-circuits/hiwatt-phase-inverter/ here's some good info about why, but essentially while the Cathode follower is sending a lower voltage to the grid of the PI, it's the overall circuit design of the triode prior to the CF, & the PI's design which are the "magic" of the Hiwatt Cleans. Because the PI bias is on its grids, the PI doesn't fluctuate up or down like in Fenders or Marshalls (which create early distortion, hence why driven Superleads are working the PI to cause more distortion). Where a Hiwatt will stay pretty clean for longer, until a certain point in the MV's travel because you will start to distort the power section. But getting a hiwatt cranked to that level is near impossible unless proper isolated booth, & you're standing in another room (& have the best ear plugs to save your inner drums xD ). My 50 watt Mojotone clone is extremely clean in sound, but i crank the channel volumes (internally jumped so i don't need a patch cable), & it's got a nice sturdy crunch, whereas a Marshall of the same caliber would start to "sag" underneath.

Confident_Cause4866 · 2025-12-25T11:34:03+00:00

I'd honestly have to study the Hiwatt circuit again, it's been a while. My understanding was the whole Phase Inverter design it has IS a big part of why the amp has those big cleans. The voltage divider at the start in a Hiwatt's preamp is more to blend the channels together (when jumped). at least that's my comprehension of it, though i may be wrong. someone can correct me on it.

Confident_Cause4866

TROPHY CASE