randymussel Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Hi there BassChatters, Similar to another current thread but adding to it in some way I hope, I have a question that I hope a few others have tackled and can offer advice on. I am a bass player branching out into guitar (apologies) and with limited budget and pedal board space find myself needing/wanting to share my pedal board between the two. At the moment I feel I have most of my needs (compression, chorus, trem and delay) pretty much sorted. The questions I have now surround the overdrive/fuzz, and the possible addition of a filter/auto wah. In particular: - Can anyone recommend an overdrive which produces successful results with both bass and guitar, and which incorporates a blend or mix control to add dry signal to the effected signal? - Similarly, does anyone know of a filter/wah device that gives good results and is not specifically voiced for either guitar or bass? So far I can only think of the Boss AW3 and FX25 at the lower end of the market (which is incidentally where I'm looking, it's probably only an occasional/fun effect at best). Yours sincerely, in anticipation of much sage advice, ®Andy(mussel) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topo morto Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 [quote name='randymussel' post='1248992' date='May 29 2011, 11:05 AM']- Can anyone recommend an overdrive which produces successful results with both bass and guitar, and which incorporates a blend or mix control to add dry signal to the effected signal?[/quote] Two that fit your description : 3xfx fatman (though blend is internal) Voodoo labs sparkle drive (I've not used it but 'gets some love' from bass players) Some other pedals that I feel are good on both (no blend though) Catalinbread SFT ZVex Wooly mammoth Roger Mayer Voodoo Bass Muff-style pedals are also obvious candidates for dual duty. (Blackout musket, etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 [quote name='randymussel' post='1248992' date='May 29 2011, 11:05 AM']- Can anyone recommend an overdrive which produces successful results with both bass and guitar, and which incorporates a blend or mix control to add dry signal to the effected signal?[/quote] Digitech Bad Monkey - a dirt cheap tubescreamer clone that works very well on bass. [quote name='randymussel' post='1248992' date='May 29 2011, 11:05 AM']Similarly, does anyone know of a filter/wah device that gives good results and is not specifically voiced for either guitar or bass? So far I can only think of the Boss AW3 and FX25 at the lower end of the market (which is incidentally where I'm looking, it's probably only an occasional/fun effect at best).[/quote] This will be harder to find. You'll probably want something that has band-pass and low-pass outputs. I would look at Q-Trons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I've put together a few tubescreamer circuits swapping out the input capacitor for a larger one to let more of the bass frequencies through. This makes them great for bass overdrive, though no blend knob. I put the normal cap and the bass cap on a mini toggle switch so you can then use the pedal for either bass or lead. Using the bass cap for lead gives a huge thick overdrive sound instead of the characteristic mid boost associated with a Tubescreamer pedal. If this sort of stuff interests you, you can find a lot more info on AMZ Muzique.com site, look for tubescreamer phat mod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 There's many guitar o/d pedals that work well on bass, infact many of the ones you find mentioned on here are actually guitar pedals. For wah I can recommend the moog mf-101 (again!). Tho it is a little dearer than the ones you have mentioned, it works very well on both (I suppose it was originally designed for synth as it's based on the LPF from a minimoog). I play both guitar & bass & use my board on both which comprises of a moog Bass Murf (makes some lovely swooshy sounds on the geetah), a PSK super distortion (cheap piece of 80s plastic which I'm actually finding a use for), a Boss CE-2 chorus & the moog mf-101. I used my acoustic thru this board last night & got some great results. Best thing i can advise is to get to a decent music shop & have a play about & see what suits you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randymussel Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 [quote]Digitech Bad Monkey - a dirt cheap tubescreamer clone that works very well on bass.[/quote] Thanks - that's what I use at the moment actually! It does work well, although I do notice quite a bit of tonal 'compression' as if the bottom and top ends of the signal are attenuated - I suppose that is the mid hump - but its what prompted a look for a blendable od. [quote]You'll probably want something that has band-pass and low-pass outputs. I would look at Q-Trons.[/quote] Also tried! The action of the filter is a bit too quacky for me and I didn't really get on with it. However the Enigma/Riddle looks a lot more tweakable, and although they say they are voiced for guitar or bass they also have different modes - they must be useable on both instruments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethFlatlands Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 (edited) Why not buy a blend pedal? They seem like useful things to have in terms of bass effects generally, plus you can use any distortion you like with the option of blending it for bass. Edit: - And a bass player with some great distortion sounds IMO is Caleb from Cave In. I believe he uses a Rat and a Fulltone Fulldrive which are both primarily guitar pedals. Edited May 30, 2011 by GarethFlatlands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randymussel Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 [quote name='GarethFlatlands' post='1250129' date='May 30 2011, 12:02 PM']Why not buy a blend pedal? They seem like useful things to have in terms of bass effects generally, plus you can use any distortion you like with the option of blending it for bass. Edit: - And a bass player with some great distortion sounds IMO is Caleb from Cave In. I believe he uses a Rat and a Fulltone Fulldrive which are both primarily guitar pedals.[/quote] Certainly I have considered getting an LS-2 or something that does a similar job, but I don't have a lot of space on the board. And the Cave In bass tone is brilliant I agree. I get something (to my ears) not too far away using the Bad Monkey - is the fulldrive also a TS-type od? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethFlatlands Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I think so. I got rid of the Bad Monkey as it altered my tone too much when it was switched off but I got a nice dirty Cave In sound out of it too. Shame the OD alternatives are all pretty pricey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Savage Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 On a cheap and cheerful tip (as I am a cheap and cheerful guy), the Danelectro Wasabi Drive has a blend control and is (apparently) quite similar in sound to a Sparkle Drive; I've had the former but not the latter so can't authenticate, but it's rather good anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salt on your Bass? Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 (edited) For the wwah, you caould always try a weeping demon - unless its just an auto you're after? its switchable betweena bass and a guitar setting. I used to use either and it sounded pretty good. A turbo rat might be worth a try as well for distortion type tones. Used to have one, and liked it quite a bit on bass. A few people round here use em i think. - edit: this doesnt have a blend though!! sorry! Hope this is of some help!! Edited May 30, 2011 by Salt on your Bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_bass Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 For the envelope filter (auto wah sort of thing), I use a Q-Tron pedal (the big one, not the micro). It sounds great with both guitar and bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomis Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 [quote name='GarethFlatlands' post='1250129' date='May 30 2011, 12:02 PM']Why not buy a blend pedal? They seem like useful things to have in terms of bass effects generally, plus you can use any distortion you like with the option of blending it for bass. Edit: - And a bass player with some great distortion sounds IMO is Caleb from Cave In. I believe he uses a Rat and a Fulltone Fulldrive which are both primarily guitar pedals.[/quote] +1 great bass player Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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