Overdrive/Dist/Fuzz pedals

[JMT3781]

Ok
My board currently goes >

Radial BigShot
TU2
Boss Chorus
Demeter Opto compulator
Ebs Octa Bass
Ebs Dyna Verb

Ive done a few gigs with this set up, and just feel it misses a Dist or overdriven sound. I used to use a EHX microsynth, but my synth sounds are now taken care of by a Moog Little Phatty. The problem is, is that i have owned many many dist/over pedals, but have found many of the same flaws in all of them. None of them seem to cut through or if they do, all the arse end disappears. Thus far i have owned...

Boss ODB3
ZVEX Wooly Mammoth
Fulltone Bassdrive
DHA valve thing
EHX bass big muff pi
Sansamp Bass Driver

Am i missing something? or do you think i just don't like distortion on bass, and should give up on it lol?

[ahpook]

who says you [i]should[/i] like it ?

i really don't like chorused bass....so i don't use a chorus*



[size=1]*but i still own one - go figure[/size]

Edited June 7, 2010 by ahpook

[deej]

Have you tried blending any of your distortion pedals? I always use my dirt pedals with a blender now, I feel lost if I dont.

Saying that, most of the time I only use a subtle drive as its what fits the song, despite the urge to go full on fuzz half the time.

[Colledge]

ive always felt the same way about losing the low end, but ive seen a few pedals out there (cant remember any of the top of my head) that can split the signal so that you get overdriven mids and highs and it leaves the low end alone. should solve the problem.

[mildmanofrock]

I can heartily recommend this:

[url="http://www.sfxsound.co.uk/mainpage.asp?page=sm"]http://www.sfxsound.co.uk/mainpage.asp?page=sm[/url]

I bought one a few weeks ago was going to write a review on here... just haven't had the time as yet.

It's perfect for me - allowing me to mix my clean bass signal in with any effect. I .use it with a Big Muff and Barber Ltd Silver overdrive pedal - so I get a nice bottomy crunch (or a nice crunchy bottom, whatever takes yer fancy). I cut through all the time, unless the guitarist is buzzsawing like a maniac. (In which case, no amount of knob fiddling will make a blind bit of difference.)

Highly recommended - and costs a lot less than the Xotic Blender equivalent.

Edited June 7, 2010 by mildmanofrock

[dannybuoy]

I recommend either a modded Bad Monkey or an Xotic Bass BB. They both sound very similar to each other, and also to the Fulltone Bassdrive but with more low end. When this gets kicked on the bass stands right out in the mix and keeps the lows intact.

[xgsjx]

The Ashdown Lo Menzo (or whatever his name is) blends a clean low freq channel with the higher frequencies being o/d'd. No idea how it sounds tho.
I use my bass murf as an o/d sometimes & the resonant filters can allow you to add extra depth to the sound, tho it's a bit pricy to use just as an o/d.
I've also just found an old PSK Super Distortion that I got about 15 or more years ago & has never been used (still in it's box too). A friend of mine bought it to use with his acoustic guitar (not semi!) & then discovered that he couldn't use it so gave it to me. It's sat in a cupboard ever since. I'm gonna try it out tomorrow on my bass.

[Colledge]

[quote name='xgsjx' post='860551' date='Jun 7 2010, 11:42 PM']A friend of mine bought it to use with his acoustic guitar (not semi!) & then discovered that he couldn't use it so gave it to me[/quote]

Hahahahahaha, that sounds similar to a story ive heard of a guy buying an electric guitar from a music shop, fitting nylon strings,"because theyre easier to play," and complaining to the shop that they sold him a guitar that doesn't work.

[xgsjx]

Well I tried out that PSK Super Distortion & it does give a super amount of distortion! If you turn the gain just slightly (about half way to 1-10) then you get a nice amount of distortion that makes some nice synthy sounds when used with my mf 101, but I can get much better o/d or distortion sounds with my mf 105b, so it won't be going on my board.

I am tempted to mod it tho & change the resistor in the gain section.

[mcnach]

I have tried a number of overdrive pedals, and wasn't too happy with most of them for the same reason you mention. I currently own three that I use to some extent. Actually, four. I never bought any of the ultra expensive ones with cheesy or sci-fi names, just because I refuse to pay big $$ when I can get something that gets me 90% there (sometimes they even sound worse!) for a lot less and it's not an effect I use much anyway.

I currently own:

Digitech Bass Driver.
NOT a very nice pedal. However, when I want very filthy distorted bass, it has a couple of decent sounds. It allows you to blend dry signal with od, so I just dial in a touch of dirt, just so you hear the distortin but retain the original bass (and definition). It's the pedal I used for a short-lived metal project. I play in a Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band, and this is the pedal I use for "Around the world". It seems that the original used a Boss ODB-3. I had one and hated it, I prefer the Digitech.

Ibanez PD7 Phat Hed.
Interesting pedal. A bit noisy, but good sounds. You can't mix the dry signal in, but it manages to retain the low end quite well. Variety of sounds: clean, distortion and overdrive types, and in addition the "attack" switch that adds some metallic grit to the top end. One of my favourite sounds with this is on the clean mode, with the attack switch on. It gives you this fat bass sound with a metallic overtone, dirty but very fat and well defined. It's not a sound you'd use very often (unless you're in a metal band) but it's a good one. The overdrive, straight, is pretty good too, without the attack switch. Fat. Definitely a pedal to keep, for me.

Danelectro Transparent Overdrive.
Cheap. Very cheap. Very nice. At its lowest gain setting it sounds just clean. You can add minute amounts of hgain, just warming up the sound. Or reach quite substantial levels of fat overdrive. The 2-band EQ is pretty useful in shaping the effect. I use this on "Suck my kiss", for instance. It sounds great on guitar too (which is what it is designed for)
I think they're about £30 new.

I also have an MXR M80 Bass DI+. It's a kind of back up for me, to have a DI box with me for gigs. It has distortion in it, and I used it purely as a distortion box for a while. It's a heavy distortion, not refined at all, more ala "Around the world" type... again you can blend it with the dry signal so you can retain the bottom end and definition. Not the best, but as a package of distortion plus a good DI box... it's a nice unit.

[Mr. Foxen]

I think the Lomezo Hyperdrive should be the go to bass distortion, it is pretty good and cheap.

[Bassnut62]

I am using Catalinbread SFT and ZVex Woolly Mammoth on passive bass into old Fender valve amp. Both these dirt pedals sound great in the mix and can be made to cut through even more with a compressor. No dissapearing bottoms insight. So how do I achieve this masterstroke, you may ask.......simples........form a band with no guitards! All of us bass-FX-heads should be allowed this joyous situation at least once in our musical lives.