Valeton Dapper Bass

The Valeton Dapper Bass is an all-in-one effects strip for bass players: one wide unit that Valeton calls "an all-in-one workhorse for bass players," combining a tuner, amp and effects modules in a single housing¹. It belongs to the Dapper family of combined-effects strips, which covers versions for guitar, acoustic and bass, and it sits alongside the smaller Valeton Dapper Bass Mini in the bass range².

The idea behind the format is simple: instead of building a pedalboard of separate bass pedals, a player gets the core tools in one box, with the modules laid out left to right in signal-chain order. The Dapper Bass adds the connections a bassist often needs at a gig or in the studio, including a balanced XLR output for going straight to a mixer or interface¹.

What the Dapper Bass does

Valeton describes the Dapper Bass as a workhorse that puts the essentials a bass player needs into one strip¹. The modules run in a fixed order, starting with a tuner.

• TUNER module: Valeton describes it as "fast, accurate tuning," placed first in the chain¹.
• THRU output: a jack for running parallel effects, such as rack processors or interfaces, or for re-amping a recorded take¹.
• XLR OUT: feeds a balanced signal to an audio interface or mixer, so the unit can go straight to the front of house or a recording setup without a DI box in between¹.

The THRU and XLR connections are what separate the full-size Dapper Bass from most single-purpose pedals: a player can send one path to an amp and a second, balanced path to the PA or interface at the same time¹.

Outputs and connections

The Dapper Bass carries two ways out of the unit in addition to its main output path¹:

For players who also want an AUX input for a phone or MP3 player, a headphones jack and a smaller footprint, the Dapper Bass Mini adds those: Valeton lists an AUX jack, a PHONES jack for practicing and jamming (which it says works great with silent guitars), and its own XLR OUT feeding a balanced signal to interfaces or mixers². The Mini's instrument input is a 1/4" unbalanced TS jack with a 1MΩ input impedance, and its phones output is a 1/8" TRS jack².

Power: 9V DC, 85mA

The Dapper Bass runs on 9V DC with a center negative plug and draws 85mA¹. That current draw is modest by multi-effect standards: it is in the same range as many ordinary analog pedals, so it can share a pedalboard power supply without demanding a dedicated high-current output.

The smaller Dapper Bass Mini also runs on 9V DC center negative, but it draws considerably more: 1500mA, with the power supply included². A player moving between the two units should not assume one supply covers both.

Size and weight

The Dapper Bass weighs 690g and measures 320mm wide by 65mm deep by 42mm high¹. It is a wide, flat unit rather than a compact stompbox: at 320mm across, it occupies roughly the width of several standard pedals in a row. The Dapper Bass Mini is the travel-friendly alternative, at 440g and 197mm wide²¹.

Where it sits in the Dapper range

The Dapper Bass is one of many effects in the Dapper lineup from Valeton³. The family splits into full-size strips and Mini strips, and several of the guitar-oriented models are now discontinued:

The discontinued full-size Dapper and Dapper Dark shared the same 320mm x 65mm x 42mm footprint and 650g weight as the Dapper Bass, and both offered an FX loop for hooking up other effects, which the maker pitched as a way to make the strip the core of a rig⁶⁷. The Dapper Bass instead emphasizes its THRU and XLR outputs for parallel and balanced connections¹.

Manual and documentation

Valeton publishes an English manual for the Dapper Bass, version V01, as a free download from its site¹².

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