Which distortion/overdrive/fuzz pedal?

[robocorpse]

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1139705' date='Feb 24 2011, 10:46 AM']Total balls. Have you heard the bass tone of the guy from Karnivool? He uses one.

Quite often people bring this pedal up and say it's only capable of weak fizzy distortion. It has a clean blend, and EQ to boost the low, and cut the highs, and it has a gain control, which is useless past 10 o'clock. It's perfect for a big bottomed growly boost!

It's not good at fuzz, but it's great at OD.[/quote]

Hence "Bass OVERDRIVE"...
BTW, although its not a fuzz, if you want the Greg Lake "Barbarian" sound, this pedal nails it really well.

[mcnach]

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1139705' date='Feb 24 2011, 10:46 AM']Total balls. Have you heard the bass tone of the guy from Karnivool? He uses one.

Quite often people bring this pedal up and say it's only capable of weak fizzy distortion. It has a clean blend, and EQ to boost the low, and cut the highs, and it has a gain control, which is useless past 10 o'clock. It's perfect for a big bottomed growly boost!

It's not good at fuzz, but it's great at OD.[/quote]


It depends on what your definition of nice overdrive is. For me, this ain't.

Yes, you can EQ it, yes you can blend the dry sound... the problem is that if you blend the dry sound with a bad sounding fizzy overdrive noise... well, that's what you get.
All in my experience and opinion, of course
I find the character of that overdrive far too harsh. It's my second least favourite OD pedal for bass. The absolute worst (in my experience, I'm sure there are worse!) was the Behringer BOD100.

There are enough people who like it. Great. But so far they seem to be clearly metal oriented... and there's a lot more to bass overdrive than metal.
That's why I preferrd the Digitech Bass Driver to the Boss ODB3: it can do a similar sound to an ODB3, but it can also do warmer sounds that work well in other styles.

[dannybuoy]

I didn't like the Ashdown J-Lo and couldn't get a good sound out of it - and had similar experiences with the Owen Gremlin and Markbass Distorsore, which work in a similar way. Main problem with it is that the distortion channel has no low end, so you blend it with the clean you end up with less bass than your clean bypass sound. Plenty seem to love it though, and it's cheap!

If you want a bit of throaty roar with a mid boost, a Bad Monkey modded for a little extra low end gives you the best bang for buck I reckon. If you want more of a clanky grindy mid scooped tone, the Sansamp VT, BDDI or the Behringer BDI21 knockoff are the way to go. These 2 pedals play very nicely with each other also so why not get both!

[Musky]

[quote name='mcnach' post='1140529' date='Feb 24 2011, 09:54 PM']It depends on what your definition of nice overdrive is. For me, this ain't.

Yes, you can EQ it, yes you can blend the dry sound... the problem is that if you blend the dry sound with a bad sounding fizzy overdrive noise... well, that's what you get.
All in my experience and opinion, of course
I find the character of that overdrive far too harsh. It's my second least favourite OD pedal for bass. The absolute worst (in my experience, I'm sure there are worse!) was the Behringer BOD100.

There are enough people who like it. Great. But so far they seem to be clearly metal oriented... and there's a lot more to bass overdrive than metal.
That's why I preferrd the Digitech Bass Driver to the Boss ODB3: it can do a similar sound to an ODB3, but it can also do warmer sounds that work well in other styles.[/quote]

That pretty much sums up my thoughts on the Boss - I've always thought it was misnamed, as in my opinion it doesn't do overdrive well at all. There always seemed to be a fizzy artefact to the effect that was always present even with the drive down and blend right up.

Distortion/overdrive seems to be the most personal of all effects for bass, so what's heaven for one person might be hell for another. Good job that there's so many to choose from.

[thodrik]

Personally I find that the Boss sounds great when added on top of another overdrive pedal like a Sansamp or the Aguilar Agro. It adds an extra little bit of 'fizz' to the sound. Its never going to give a creamy tube-like overdrive, but its good at what it does, though not everybody likes what it does!

I have been using the Aguilar Agro pedal for a few months, it is a very good pedal. I have been using it on fairly low settings and it adds a nice little bit of 'tube grit', which is a bit less 'coloured' than the Sansamp Bass Driver. Though the lack of a clean blend would be a problem for some though I will admit.

I am also big advocate of the EHX English Muff'n and the EBS Valvedrive. Great pedals though I always felt they were a big fragile for constant gigging.

[Kev]

[quote name='mcnach' post='1139413' date='Feb 23 2011, 11:38 PM']The Ashdown Hyperdrive (don't let the "James Lomenzo" signature scare you ) is really very very good. Around £75 new, and used £40-45.

Don't trust the youtube videos. Yes, the sound on the videos is achievable, but it can do a lot more, and a lot better.

I've tried a lot of pedals over the years, and this is the first one that really sounded great to me, keeping a great definition and a fat bass bit with a good distorted edge, not just a swarm of angry wasps on top of the bass sound or a farty bass.

Regarding some of the others mentioned here that I have owned or still own...

The MXR M80 is very good, but the distortion doesn't do subtle well.
The MXR Blowtorch is very interesting, again not subtle, but great for some quasy-synth type of noises.
The Digitech Bad Monkey is okay as a mild overdrive. But the Danelectro Transparent Overdrive (Cool Cat) is a similar pedal, a bit cheaper, that works substantially better.
The Boss bass overdrive is... horrible. Unless you want always tons of ultra fuzzy distortion, this is not a good one.

I like the Ibanez PD7, not mentioned here. It's not a great pedal, but I like its ability to add just some "metallic grit" on top of the undistorted bass using its clean setting wth the attack switch set at 1. Think of RHCP "By the way", the bit in the midle when the bass is left alone... you get a very similar sound. It does many other things, but that's the one I like best.
The Digitech Bass Driver is a good substitute for the Boss overdrive, in that it gets much more useable sounds, and actually has some useable mild overdrive tones too, but it overlaps a lot with the Boss, so I prefer the Digitech.

But the Ashdown Hyperdrive wins. Only problem is that it's huge. But you could use it to defend yourself if you're being mugged [/quote]


Flea's 'By the way' tone you speak of was achieved using an ODB-3

Very good overdrive pedal at low-mid gain, in fact one of the best iv used. I too thought it was rubbish at first try, but after fiddling with its eq and blend you'll find its a great pedal. Also works great as a clean boost!

[AttitudeCastle]

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='1140562' date='Feb 24 2011, 10:17 PM']I didn't like the Ashdown J-Lo and couldn't get a good sound out of it - and had similar experiences with the Owen Gremlin and Markbass Distorsore, which work in a similar way. Main problem with it is that the distortion channel has no low end, so you blend it with the clean you end up with less bass than your clean bypass sound. Plenty seem to love it though, and it's cheap!

If you want a bit of throaty roar with a mid boost, a Bad Monkey modded for a little extra low end gives you the best bang for buck I reckon. If you want more of a clanky grindy mid scooped tone, the Sansamp VT, BDDI or the Behringer BDI21 knockoff are the way to go. These 2 pedals play very nicely with each other also so why not get both![/quote]

And thats why i now own your J-Lo

Haha!

[mcnach]

[quote name='Kev' post='1142764' date='Feb 26 2011, 08:08 PM']Flea's 'By the way' tone you speak of was achieved using an ODB-3 [/quote]


Could be, but doubt it
Now, on "Around the world"...

[mcnach]

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='1142906' date='Feb 26 2011, 11:36 PM']And thats why i now own your J-Lo [/quote]


They do have a big bottom...

[Kev]

[quote name='mcnach' post='1142913' date='Feb 26 2011, 11:46 PM']Could be, but doubt it [/quote]
You should watch them live, might remove some of the doubt

[AttitudeCastle]

[quote name='mcnach' post='1142914' date='Feb 26 2011, 11:48 PM']They do have a big bottom... [/quote]

Offt Hahahaha!

[Conan]

Interesting comments guys. Thanks. I still have no idea what I should be looking at!!

I have this audition on thursday where I need something to beef up the tone for two tracks - Chilis 'By the way' and Muse's 'Hysteria'.

As I have no idea whether I will get the gig I don't want to actually buy a pedal, so I borrowed one from the school's music department! Skinflint? Me?

Anyway, I gave it a bit of a tryout last night, and to my ears it does a reasonable job on Hysteria. Good enough for an audition anyway. If I get the gig I will consider further investment!

The pedal in question? Now, don't laugh....

A Behringer UM300! Not even a bass distortion box! These things retail at around £20 brand new FFS!!

Maybe my ears aren't as discerning as I thought/hoped!

Edited March 1, 2011 by Conan

[cheddatom]

what I was saying about the ODB-3 is that it [i]does[/i] have a fizzy top end, but you have to EQ that out.

Really, anyone who doesn't like the bass sound of the guy from Karnivool needs help!!

[AttitudeCastle]

Bass big muff used can be £30 or so! And that will nail Hysteria (but a bit fatter and less synthy)

I wish i had a russian big muff!

Its all down to what you want to use the OD/Fuzz/Distortion for!

[Conan]

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='1146405' date='Mar 1 2011, 08:51 PM']I wish i had a russian big muff![/quote]

There are websites for that sort of thing I believe...

What do you mean by a 'Russian' big muff though? Made in Russia? Where are the non-Russian ones made? What is the difference?

Edited March 2, 2011 by Conan

[Musicman20]

Sansamp BDDI.

[0175westwood29]

[quote name='Kev' post='1143152' date='Feb 27 2011, 11:33 AM']You should watch them live, might remove some of the doubt [/quote]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OqUYgiQmnY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OqUYgiQmnY[/url]

2.33 mins you can see he uses the odb as you can see the yellow

i like this pedal, sold my old one because i thought i couldnt find a good sound!, then tried one at a friends house with his rig sounded awesome! borrowed it used it on mine still sounded good hence im getting one.

but as was said above overdrive and distortion are a very personal preference

my current dirt pedals are the ehx metal muff which i think sounds awesome and much better to me than the norm big muff and it has a bass, mid, treble and not that i use it that much top boost but it does turn it from fuzz to a slight crunch. and then theres my blues driver which i use for a kinda motorhead sound but i norm use an ls-2 to blend some clean in.

andy

[mcnach]

[quote name='0175westwood29' post='1147601' date='Mar 2 2011, 08:00 PM'][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OqUYgiQmnY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OqUYgiQmnY[/url]

2.33 mins you can see he uses the odb as you can see the yellow

i like this pedal, sold my old one because i thought i couldnt find a good sound!, then tried one at a friends house with his rig sounded awesome! borrowed it used it on mine still sounded good hence im getting one.

but as was said above overdrive and distortion are a very personal preference

my current dirt pedals are the ehx metal muff which i think sounds awesome and much better to me than the norm big muff and it has a bass, mid, treble and not that i use it that much top boost but it does turn it from fuzz to a slight crunch. and then theres my blues driver which i use for a kinda motorhead sound but i norm use an ls-2 to blend some clean in.

andy[/quote]


well, I went there and heard two distinct tones...
one, the fizzy distortion of the ODB3 in that mini solo... and *then* when he goes back to the song, you hear the other tone, much cleaner with the metallic overtones. It's that second sound I'm talking about. That second sound doesn't sound like an ODB3... but to each his own (ears)
I personally make that noise with an Ibanez PD7 set on clean with the Attack switch on 1, whilst the ODB3 lasted 2 days in my pedalboard

edit:
by the way (no pun intended, but... well, it fits) that sound I'm talking about you also hear it in other parts of the song whenever he plays that riff. I just use that part in the middle to illustrate the tone because it's clearer there. Live I use two sounds on that song only. Clean (but with lots of growl, midrange rich) and *that* other sound with the PD7. In fact, I often just play it clean all the way through except for *that* solo bit, just for emphasis there. But I'm not Flea, clearly! Just clarifying where I'm coming from.

Edited March 2, 2011 by mcnach

[0175westwood29]

[quote name='mcnach' post='1147684' date='Mar 2 2011, 09:02 PM']well, I went there and heard two distinct tones...
one, the fizzy distortion of the ODB3 in that mini solo... and *then* when he goes back to the song, you hear the other tone, much cleaner with the metallic overtones. It's that second sound I'm talking about. That second sound doesn't sound like an ODB3... but to each his own (ears)
I personally make that noise with an Ibanez PD7 set on clean with the Attack switch on 1, whilst the ODB3 lasted 2 days in my pedalboard

edit:
by the way (no pun intended, but... well, it fits) that sound I'm talking about you also hear it in other parts of the song whenever he plays that riff. I just use that part in the middle to illustrate the tone because it's clearer there. Live I use two sounds on that song only. Clean (but with lots of growl, midrange rich) and *that* other sound with the PD7. In fact, I often just play it clean all the way through except for *that* solo bit, just for emphasis there. But I'm not Flea, clearly! Just clarifying where I'm coming from.[/quote]

i have seen somewhere that said he uses two? not seen that myself but its possible?

not meaning to say anyone right or wrong tho.

not tried the ibby? will be trying the new bass tube screamer tho!

andy

[Skol303]

I think it's already been mentioned, but Electro-Harmonix (EHX) 'Big Muff' pedals get my vote...

The original 'Russian' Big Muff is meant to be a prize find as they're increasingly rare these days. I personally have a 'Little Big Muff', which does the job for me just fine - I prefer it to the 'Bass Big Muff', as the 'Little' version has a brighter, less 'muddy' sound in my opinion.

[naruki]

[quote name='Conan' post='1135588' date='Feb 21 2011, 03:14 PM']Aha! Brilliant! You beat me to it. That's really helpful, thanks.

At what level would you put Chris Wolstenholm's overdriven tone on, say, Hysteria?[/quote]
I'd recommend using using a fuzz and filter pedal that has a blend knob. Blend in only half the fuzz into the filter then you'll get synthy fuzzy sounds.

[Bassnut62]

[quote name='robocorpse' post='1135580' date='Feb 21 2011, 03:10 PM']Grit = a touch of growly grindy stuff, think Geddy Lee.
Overdrive = starts at "grit" and goes up to "fairly raucous"
Distortion = Bees having a fight in a discarded Stella can, difficult to use convincingly on bass.
Fuzz = Breaking the signal up to the point of degeneration and gappiness by excessive overdrive.[/quote]

Great analysis this; does anyone think Hair would be another category sitting just above grit? This would be like adding a little mould to your signal!

[ern500evo]

[quote name='mcnach' post='1139413' date='Feb 24 2011, 12:38 AM']The Ashdown Hyperdrive (don't let the "James Lomenzo" signature scare you ) is really very very good. Around £75 new, and used £40-45.

Don't trust the youtube videos. Yes, the sound on the videos is achievable, but it can do a lot more, and a lot better.

I've tried a lot of pedals over the years, and this is the first one that really sounded great to me, keeping a great definition and a fat bass bit with a good distorted edge, not just a swarm of angry wasps on top of the bass sound or a farty bass.

Regarding some of the others mentioned here that I have owned or still own...

The MXR M80 is very good, but the distortion doesn't do subtle well.
The MXR Blowtorch is very interesting, again not subtle, but great for some quasy-synth type of noises.
The Digitech Bad Monkey is okay as a mild overdrive. But the Danelectro Transparent Overdrive (Cool Cat) is a similar pedal, a bit cheaper, that works substantially better.
The Boss bass overdrive is... horrible. Unless you want always tons of ultra fuzzy distortion, this is not a good one.

I like the Ibanez PD7, not mentioned here. It's not a great pedal, but I like its ability to add just some "metallic grit" on top of the undistorted bass using its clean setting wth the attack switch set at 1. Think of RHCP "By the way", the bit in the midle when the bass is left alone... you get a very similar sound. It does many other things, but that's the one I like best.
The Digitech Bass Driver is a good substitute for the Boss overdrive, in that it gets much more useable sounds, and actually has some useable mild overdrive tones too, but it overlaps a lot with the Boss, so I prefer the Digitech.

But the Ashdown Hyperdrive wins. Only problem is that it's huge. But you could use it to defend yourself if you're being mugged [/quote]

I use an Ashdown Hyperdrive and they are really good, the blend knob allows you to add the grind without the ass end dropping out of your sound. A few gripes, a) you need ascrewdriver to get the battery cover off b)the chrome knobs make it difficult to see where everything is set, and c) Its a pretty big pedal.
The size isn't such a bad thing i guess, it gives it a very sturdy feel. These are only very minor points though, especially as i got mine on a special deal from Dolphin Music for less than £60 new! They are definitely worth trying out.