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If you could only choose one dirt pedal?

Al Krow

By Al Krow,
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totorbass Contributor

totorbass

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Thanks  Al Krow. I will take a look at the Demon Parvati. By the way I'm not bothered with the loss of top end with the B3K (thanks to the blend ) but the HF -that cuts marvelously -has Something unnatural to my ears that is not a problem when used as a grinding distortion, but is when as a smootherOD ( In fact it is not smooth), and when I need something more fuzzy or thick (as can be the runoffgroove pushed which seems very similar to the Beta),  to feed an AF for example, it is too cutting too.

edit, I wanted to add, btw: the OD can make it across the Spectrum but have Something unpleasing to your ears in it's own voice.

Edited by totorbass
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Al Krow Grand Master

Al Krow

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You're completely pushing at an open door with me when you're describing the DG overdrive as 'unnatural to my ears' and 'too cutting'! I'm probably not known as the most rabid exponent of the DG metal drive sound for the exact reasons you've just said! B|

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krispn Veteran

krispn

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What about a good clean blend pedal to retain the bottom or something like the Lomezo? There’s the whole dual band drives but they seem to be quite expensive. 

Woukd an LS2 or something like the Tyler @Cuzzie switched folk on to be useful? I feel a trip to fxpedalrental is on the cards to check out that Tyler plus I believe they have a discount code. @tonyxtiger is the man to discuss that with. 

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Cuzzie Veteran

Cuzzie

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So i’ll Just lay each of the pedals out as they are, opinions can be made by each person, as that is what it comes down to at the end of the day

the Tyler - a double FX loop with a HPF and a LPF to blend with your clean signal and it does have a Phase inverter switch. To my ears it is fully transparent so when not engaged i’d Say the normal tone goes through.

The Parvati - Based on the vintage Russian Muff from Matte. A mid control was added, to help regulate these frequencies (scoop). Additionally each clipping stage has its own switch. With the left switch (Stage 1), you can choose between Silicon - No clipping - Germanium. The right switch (Stage 2) adds another three clipping variations, again silicone, no clipping, Germanium. With both switches in the lower position, you get the clipping stages of the Green Muff. Everything else is up to you to find your personal sound! From Fuzz/Distortion to smooth Overdrive. It also has a tone knob boosting or cutting highs or lows.

I will say it has a range of sounds as you would expect, and you can keep a good handle on the lower end so it does not get lost, get that fuzzy muff and get nasty clanky modern and bits in between. I seem to find a sound I like, and then find another, and another which is cool and engaging at the same time, lots of tinker and it really loves a P bass, really loves a fat split coil. There is a big difference between my Sandberg Jazz with Sandbergs pick ups, the one with Haüssel’s andbthe P bass, all good in their own right.

@totorbass you don’t need to get too fuzzy with it, there is definite clarity in it

but Cilla, the decision is yours!

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totorbass Contributor

totorbass

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4 hours ago, Al Krow said:

I am not sure the 'Cilla' analogy translates so well into French...:) 

 

 

No, I don't get it. Is that Something like this: Cilla TV series 3rd episode titlecard.jpg? 

 

@cuzzie: about the Parvati, your description sounds nice but I did not find a bass demo on the web.

edit ah yes I see it on their site, under another pedal's name.

Edited by totorbass
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Al Krow Grand Master

Al Krow

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29 minutes ago, Thunderpaws said:

...My new Ampeg Scrambler isn’t setting my world alight, seems to need just the right input signal to make it work effectively. 

Sorry to hear that, but you may be 'relieved' to hear / may have already seen from comments elsewhere that you're a long way from being the first person who has said that the Scrambler doesn't cut the mustard. Whereas the Ampeg EQ and DI on the same pedal are just fine. But Ampeg only seem to do a DI on the Ampeg Scrambler, so if you want a Ampeg DI pedal you're obliged to get the dirt component even if you're not a fan of it.

This COG does sound awesome. How large a footprint is it going to have?

1 hour ago, bassmayhem said:

My custom ordered COG Dual Cascade Knightfall BassMayhem 556. Built right now...

Edited by Al Krow
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Cuzzie Veteran

Cuzzie

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this is the previous version of The Parvati and the newest one is an improved version to give you an idea.

you can see the actual Parvati here playing into the KMA Tyler at about 1.36mins

https://youtu.be/myS94LW6lNY

 

 

There was a dating show years ago called blind date where someone chose another based purely on how they answered questions. Hosted by Cilla Black, at the end the voice over always said “the decision is yours!”

Edited by Cuzzie
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dannybuoy Veteran

dannybuoy

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So in an attempt to answer the question 'if you could only choose one', the answer is 'it depends'... on which music style, bass and amp.

If I'm playing classic rock / blues / R&B with my P Bass and flats, hands down the Aguilar Tonehammer for the warm wooly overdrive it gets with the AGS on. On the other hand, if I had a Tonehammer amp at my disposal (which I would probably buy if I had the need to play this stuff out more since it has a variable AGS control AKA the 'Drive' control) then I wouldn't need a pedal at all, but I would have fun working out which one paired the best with that setup (a journey I have not gone on yet).

If I'm playing more modern rock with my Yamaha BB1025X and rounds, the B7K sound of the M900 amp is my core tone. So if I had no amp, or just a clean amp at my disposal, the B7K Ultra would be my one pedal. On the other hand, since I have an M900 for the core sound, that leaves a spot for another dirtbox... On the board I have a SolidgoldFX Beta for a warm vintage sound, an IdiotBox Blower Box for more aggression, and an EHX Russian Muff for full on sustain. If I could only take one though it would probably be the Blower Box.

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totorbass Contributor

totorbass

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Yes the blowerbox is very useful. I mostly use it to add grit /graininess with gain at 10-11 o'clock, but It can  get much more distorted.

BTW don't you like the vintage microtubes, Danny? -it seems quite intermediate beetween the ones you mention.

Edited by totorbass
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dannybuoy Veteran

dannybuoy

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1 hour ago, totorbass said:

Yes the blowerbox is very useful. I mostly use it to add grit /graininess with gain at 10-11 o'clock, but It can  get much more distorted.

BTW don't you like the vintage microtubes, Danny? -it seems quite intermediate beetween the ones you mention.

I keep the gain fairly low on the Blower Box too, it sounds shite otherwise!

I like the Vintage, but not as much as the B3K/B7K circuit for my current sound. I'm using a BB1025X with both pickups on, which results in a scooped sound like a Jazz bass. Something about that bass combined with the B3K/B7K makes it slot right into the mix like a glove with barely any EQ adjustments. I find I have to tweak the EQ quite a bit if I flip the amp over to Vintage mode.

Both Darkglass drives though have a similar characteristic where they let the low end through clean and uncompressed, just distorting the mids. Kind of like a solid state clean bass amp mixed in parallel with a distorted guitar amp. This works great for aggressive or dynamic playing styles, but sometimes you want the full range of the signal to be compressed and driven, making a sound like an old cranked amp pushing a speaker to its limits. That's what pedals like the Tonehammer and Bearfoot Blueberry do so well, it works great for more mellow slower numbers. The M900 amp can't really do that tone alone, but you can flip the Microtubes engine off and you have a clean transparent amp that you can then dirty up with one of the aforementioned units.

Also have to give a shout to the Pike Vulcan - it's like a less scooped B3K and brighter more agressive Vintage crammed into a single box, with a blend knob between both sounds. In short it can approximate both the main Darkglass sounds and costs less than either one of them!

Edited by dannybuoy
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CRV Newbie

CRV

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Posted

I would like to suggest to the topic the Carl Martin Bass Drive.

It's the only overdrive that I have (so I can't compare to others) but I like the sound of it!

Has anyone tried that pedal?

P.S.: I'm new in the forum and my english it's a little rusty, so I'm sorry if I'm offtopic eheh.

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Al Krow Grand Master

Al Krow

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@CRV welcome to Basschat! I've not come across Carl Martin products personally, but I see that this is a tube driven pre-amp / overdrive. The guy on the review below does "chat" quite a lot at the start and you don't really get to hear the pedal until you get to around 3:40 in the clip. But on the 'dirt spectrum' of warm-valve-->overdrive-->distortion-->fuzz the Carl Martin seems to cover the warm-valve-->overdrive-->distortion-->fuzz part of the range very well. It seems to have been around for a few years now and it would be interesting to see how it stacks up against more recent EQ valve drive pedals e.g. the DHA VT1 Pro (which offer a lot more functionality).

 

5 hours ago, bassmayhem said:

It will have the same footprint as the T-70. 

That's going to be BIG then! :) 

 

 

Edited by Al Krow
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CRV Newbie

CRV

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I've searched the VT1-Pro-Bass-Drive and you're right, it offers more possibilities. And actually, it's in the same price range.

What I like in mine (the Carl Martin Bass Drive) is the valve tone and the EQ (it's very sensible, if you choose to "take out" some treble, the sound of the effect will be very different from some other possibilities. What I want to say is that you can hear some different overdrive sound without moving the level and gain knobs, just the EQ makes different sounds). But anyway, I believe the VT1 it offers more variety of sounds since it has more knobs.

Good luck finding your overdrive, and write here what was your final decision :)

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