Distortion for Bass

[nugget]

Hi guys - ok this might be a stupid question –
Is overdrive on a bass sound a good thing???
I’ve been playing for quite a few years now and I still don’t really get it! So many amp are good because they can be overdriven to give a distorted sound, there are loads of bass pedals for OD. With the exception of Hysteria by muse are there any other mainstream songs that have a distorted bass sounds? I know tone/sound is a very personal thing but I look for a clean sound that cuts through well in a live (loud) band with good high frequencies that enhance the low end, every time I’ve added OD I loose definition that I’ve struggled to find.
I’ve listened to quite a few demos of OD pedals / amps on youtube and honestly It doesn’t work for me….. I do like the idea of tube ‘warmth’ in a sound but not much more than that.

[mancunianfox]

It's subjective really and it depends on the song. Nine Inch Nails have used some really nice overdriven and a few fuzz bass sounds on their last couple of records which have really impressed me. I don't think overdrive sounds like your thing tbh although you might want to try blending the overdrive/distortion with the clean signal. That can sound really great and helps maintain the lowend.

[Kirky]

There's quite a few bits of fuzz bass in Sly and the Family Stone tracks, even the poppier ones.

[Jarhead]

I really like distortion on bass, in the right situation. I wouldn't use it in my current band, it'd sound like cr@p, but in a metal band it'd sound good, to me. It's all subjective really.

Zach

[Jerry_B]

Can't think of many mainstream songs that use distortion, but there are plenty of examples from various alternative bands. I like combining distortion (I have an old Boss HM-2) with compression.

[HMX]

In my opinion, you really need the sonic space to be heard. For example, Muse, Rage Against the Machine, etc. all have this in common. It worked well in those bands.

[Marvin]

Agree that it's probably not used much in mainstream. However, alternative and the likes of metal probably used more than is often assumed.

In the right place it does its job

[Tait]

i onl ever use it when recording, sometimes i'll do a distorted track and a clean track. even then, the distortion is very little, and is mixed quite low, but i just find it gives te recording something clean tracks can't. i never use it live though.

[budget bassist]

i use it on my ABM a fair bit, mainly because when i bring in the valve drive, it boosts some mid frequency that i just can't find on the EQ, but the drive isn't really obvious, i keep it fairly low. A good valve overdrive really does trounce a digital/solid state overdrive circuit though.

[thisnameistaken]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5-1H7R-6-w"]Big Muffed bass FTW[/url].

[Cat Burrito]

I would never use it personally but it wouldn't fit the music I play. It's like anything, don't worry about what others do - if it works for you, go for it.

[Mog]

Like any fx, if used at the right time it can be good. Theres not many mainstream bands doing it now but then again theres not too many stand out bass tracks in mainstream music. (taking stuff like JLS, Westlife etc. as mainstream).Distortion/OD can be tricky to get right in most situations. Trying to go up against two screaming high gain amps with a distorted bass is pointless IMO.

[Musicman69]

I think if it suits the music and the other musicians, particularly the guitarists, it can work. Best with a guitar on clear and maybe the other with modulated effects or even an acoustic. 3 distorted instruments playing at once probably wont sound like much unless youre slightly deranged.
Generally I dont really like to hear distorted bass.. thats why I bought a Trace!

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='Musicman69' post='755727' date='Feb 24 2010, 01:36 AM']I think if it suits the music and the other musicians, particularly the guitarists, it can work. Best with a guitar on clear and maybe the other with modulated effects or even an acoustic. 3 distorted instruments playing at once probably wont sound like much unless youre slightly deranged.[/quote]

+1. I used to use a lot of fuzz in a band where the guitarist preferred playing around with delays and filters, it worked very nicely. Listen to Ed O'Brien's sound on Radiohead's Exit Music (For A Film), although we were a lot more beat-driven and electronic than that.

[The Funk]

I've used distortion (and an envelope filter) on a ballad. It can be done if you write the song.

[xgsjx]

[quote name='The Funk' post='755745' date='Feb 24 2010, 04:28 AM']I've used distortion (and an envelope filter) on a ballad. It can be done if you write the song.[/quote]
Funny enough, this is pretty much what I use in my acoustic band (Me & a Guitar/banjo/vocalist & a Mandolin/whistle/spoonist! & sometimes a drummer/percussionist).

Adding a little OD when someone is soloing or using the filter to keep the top & mid off the bass & using the pedal to open the filter to build dynamics into the song.
You can get a nice dirty blues sound using the filter with some OD.

[yorick]

Motorhead FTW... admittedly it's amp overdrive, but hey

[gafbass02]

Check out my video link in my sig for an example of overdrive blended with clean from a hartke vxl just to add grit and grind. It's on all the way through but imho really adds to the bit where the bass carries the verse. I use it in this way in a few tracks with lounge fly.

[PauBass]

[quote name='gafbass02' post='755876' date='Feb 24 2010, 10:22 AM']Check out my video link in my sig for an example of overdrive blended with clean from a hartke vxl just to add grit and grind. It's on all the way through but imho really adds to the bit where the bass carries the verse. I use it in this way in a few tracks with lounge fly.[/quote]

I love that tone!

For me that's the perfetct example of how some overdrive can really enhance your sound.

[fatback]

[quote name='HMX' post='755577' date='Feb 23 2010, 10:06 PM']In my opinion, you really need the sonic space to be heard. For example, Muse, Rage Against the Machine, etc. all have this in common. It worked well in those bands.[/quote]

Good point I think.

Some person of taste posted this link to jackshit a while back: fuzz sounding great, but as you say, a lot of space.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbIvoYyzm8k"]jackshit[/url]

[cheddatom]

I love distortion, but there are so many different ways to get a cool distorted tone. I always use blending because without that the tone lacks "punch" imo. I guess that's the distortion taking away from the attack.

[gafbass02]

[quote name='PauBass' post='755881' date='Feb 24 2010, 10:26 AM']I love that tone!

For me that's the perfetct example of how some overdrive can really enhance your sound.[/quote]


Thanks mate. Appreciated, it's a p bass in the video but the recording was done using my jazz bass on the neck pickup which was a prototype of the wizard 'gaffer' i've mentioned in a few threads. It's supposed to make a j sound like a p. The hartke is an underrated gem of a drive pedal but does need taming with compression as it also boosts the level too much.

[Earbrass]

Don't use it myself, but in the right place it can be wonderful. Check out Hugh Hopper's silky smooth fuzz in Soft Machine. For a great example of bass changing from fuzz to straight, listen to the live version of Exiles on King Crimson's live "USA" album (John Wetton + P bass + Fuzz Face I believe).

[JTUK]

I normally do everything I can to not get it, I prefer clean.

Not an effects person anyway, but I do think one or two new amps with presets (RH450, for example) can be a good idea, if only for presetting levels and possibly sounds, when changing basses. The bass OD is quite good if that is your thing.... or look at the Tone Hammer which seems to OD with out any low end loss.

[Wil]

My sound always has a touch of overdrive from my amp, which is essentially a Sansamp/poweramp combination. Just warms things up and adds a certain something to the sound, and when I dig in it adds a bit of "grind". Love it.