Distortion pedals?

[tjkennelly]

Basically, I'm in need of a new distortion pedal. I'm currently using a Proco Turbo Rat (pinched from my bands guitarist) and I'm sick of my bass sounding like a fart cannon.

So I need some advice as to what to get, I'm mainly looking for a nice crunchy tone without it just becoming pure noise.

Thanks

Tim

[Mr. Foxen]

All of them. In a chain.

Or look here: [url="http://bassfuzz.com/"]http://bassfuzz.com/[/url]

There are so many, also, checkk our own Umph's line: [url="http://www.myspace.com/mammothsoundaudio"]http://www.myspace.com/mammothsoundaudio[/url]

[1976fenderhead]

T-Rex Bass Juice.

[Dood]

I mention this one a lot.. but look for a distortion pedal that will allow you to mix in the dry bass tone as well, to keep the bottom end and 'power' intact. The MXR M80 is a good pedal for doing this.

[leonshelley01]

The EHX Bass Big Muff Pi is very good as well, with three modes including a dry mix tone.

[iamapirate]

woolly mammoth!!! they rock (with a passive bass )

[pantherairsoft]

Having just got my hands on it, I have to say I'm impressed!

The Ashdown James Lomenzo Hyper Drive. Ignore the James Lomenzo sound... the fact that this just distorts the mid frequencies, and you can control which mid's at that is fantastic. No loss of bottom end at all. Just some great fuzz overtones to your existing sound.

Very impressed!

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='iamapirate' post='501954' date='May 30 2009, 10:41 PM']woolly mammoth!!! they rock (with a passive bass )[/quote]

But get someone to clone one, because they are stupidly overpriced for a really simple circuit.

[tjkennelly]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='501976' date='May 30 2009, 11:21 PM']But get someone to clone one, because they are stupidly overpriced for a really simple circuit.[/quote]

Where could I get this done?
I don't know much about the tech tbh.

[mildmanofrock]

The Boss HM 2 (Heavy Metal) is very good. It was made in the 80s and sounded like wasp in a jam jar on electric guitar, but works a treat with bass - nice thick bottom end. You might be able to pick one up for about £40 to £50 on ebay? Make sure you don't accidentally buy the Boss MetalZone pedal though, as this isn't as good, apparently.

[nick]

[quote name='tjkennelly' post='502006' date='May 31 2009, 12:22 AM']Where could I get this done?
I don't know much about the tech tbh.[/quote]

Woolly Mammoth is a great fuzz. I built one myself & as Oli (Mr. Foxen) says, it's a simple circuit.
It is quite synthy, I love mine. But, not sure it would give you the 'crunch' that you say you're after

Sounds to me, like you need an overdrive - Fulltone Bassdrive(?)

Edited May 31, 2009 by nick

[thisnameistaken]

Try the MXR Bass Blowtorch. It doesn't sound like anything special on its own, but it works great in a band situation. It doesn't do full-on mega-fuzz, but it is very versatile tonally, and has a wet/dry blend too.

I often wish I'd kept the one I had. Most practical distortion pedal I ever used I think.

[Happy Jack]

Check out the For Sale section here on Basschat.

Where (by an amazing co-incidence) you'll find my BOSS ODB-3 pedal ...



Edited to put in the correct model number!

Edited June 1, 2009 by Happy Jack

[tayste_2000]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='502659' date='May 31 2009, 10:40 PM']Check out the For Sale section here on Basschat.

Where (by an amazing co-incidence) you'll find my BOSS ODB-1 pedal ...[/quote]

and a crap load of my effects as well

[iamapirate]

I have a boss ODB-3 going pretty cheap. PM me if u want a price - I'm not sure if I want to part with it if the priceaint right !

[Doddy]

I really like the EMMA ReezaFRATzitz. It can do everything from smooth overdrive to total filth and doesn't lose
low end.
The Bass Big Muff is nice too.

[tayste_2000]

Best place to start really is the Talkbass Wiki there are hundreds of distortion sound samples in there.

[Kongo]

[quote name='dood' post='501946' date='May 30 2009, 10:26 PM']I mention this one a lot.. but look for a distortion pedal that will allow you to mix in the dry bass tone as well, to keep the bottom end and 'power' intact. The MXR M80 is a good pedal for doing this.[/quote]

+1

Never use just distortion, kills the low end.
Most BOD or BD units allow the mixture of dry signal...as do select few amps.

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='Kongo' post='503414' date='Jun 1 2009, 11:14 PM']Never use just distortion, kills the low end.[/quote]

It really depends what the guitars are doing (or even if the song has guitars). I get away with pure fuzz quite easily because our guitarist doesn't really use distortion - he's usually using harmonisers and delays.

[Boneless]

I'm quite impressed by the Q/P ratio of the Ibanez PD-7. Nice, thick distortion, doesn't do subtle overdrive really well (it's more of a full-on distortion), but it does the "wall of sound" thingy nicely. Of course, it's not as "refined" as other pedals may be, but really, I think it fares better than many higher priced pedals (the Boss ODB-3, for instance).

Also, try the VTBass, very nice as well.

[lemmywinks]

+1 for the MXR M80, blends with your signal so you can keep the low end and still get silly with the gain!

It has 2 pedals, one for the effect eq section and another for the OD (you have to have both on for the OD to work). I set mine up so i can use it as a clean boost/eq switch and also a distortion pedal so it's very handy

It also functions as a DI box too!

Oh and if you want class fuzz without Wooly Mammoth prices check out the ZVEX Mastotron (there was a thread about it recently). I paid £76 posted for mine and it rules.

I currently use just these two pedals for OD/fuzz, both keep the low end and sound the tits!

Edited June 2, 2009 by lemmywinks

[gm jack]

For overdrive, I like the Fulltone bass drive. The boosted midrange in some settings may make it feel like the low end is being cut, but as I said before, it is just it boosts the mids, so the drive cuts through nicely.

For fuzz, I use the Earthbound Audio Effects Supersollider. It's based on the Muff circuit, but just outperforms it in every way, bar price and availability. Hold the low end though the depth knob, which is hard to decribe, but awesome. It allows you to control mids, rather than the standard scoop from the muff circuit.

I also have an ODB-3. Pretty rubbish in all honesty, with very few usable tones, but it can get some ridiculously heavy distortions with some good use of the EQ section.

[Alun]

I love the sound of the Ibanez PD7 but I'm not impressed by the build quality - my second one is going back on Monday due to a faulty footswitch. The first batch were known for it but this was a brand new one - still crap

[SkinnyMike]

[quote name='leonshelley01' post='501952' date='May 30 2009, 10:38 PM']The EHX Bass Big Muff Pi is very good as well, with three modes including a dry mix tone.[/quote]

+1, I have this which also goes through my sansamp driver and you can get such a variety of "heavy" distorted sounds. The dry mix tone is a godsend on this pedal! check it out if you can.

[Dood]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='504073' date='Jun 2 2009, 06:23 PM']+1 for the MXR M80, blends with your signal so you can keep the low end and still get silly with the gain!

It has 2 pedals, one for the effect eq section and another for the OD (you have to have both on for the OD to work). I set mine up so i can use it as a clean boost/eq switch and also a distortion pedal so it's very handy

It also functions as a DI box too!

Oh and if you want class fuzz without Wooly Mammoth prices check out the ZVEX Mastotron (there was a thread about it recently). I paid £76 posted for mine and it rules.

I currently use just these two pedals for OD/fuzz, both keep the low end and sound the tits![/quote]


There's an M80 in the for sale section now too! [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=51034"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=51034[/url]