Distortion help!

[xseanx]

So, I am very new here. I have been playing bass for about 1 year now and I play in a hardcore / metal (whatever you want to call it) band. Obviously I want to make my tone a little bit distorted but since I am a noob I can't figure out how to do it without a distortion pedal. I have a gallien krueger 1001rb and (unfortunately) an acoustic b810. The only way I could get the tone to distort a little bit was when I turned up the boost a lot but then the amp would clip, and whenever I ask if clipping is bad I seem to get a different answer from everyone. Please help me out!

[spaz21387]

the best way is a pedal... but finding a pedal you like for bass is very hard because most distortion pedals seem to suck the bass out of the eq even if you crank it on your amp. Even the ones for bass do this. the best one i have found is the tech 21 sansamp. I have experimented with quite a few guitar distiortion pedals own a few for guitar but the only one for bass i liked enough to buy was the sansamp. I still want to try the mxr bass blowtorch... i hated the bass big muff that was awful for me but theres alot out there so demo them all and get the one you like best.

[xseanx]

i do have a tech21 sansamp and its great, I just want to be able to get my tone to distort without the sansamp. This is a huge noob question but, do all people who have any sort of distorted tone use a pedal?

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by xseanx

i do have a tech21 sansamp and its great, I just want to be able to get my tone to distort without the sansamp. This is a huge noob question but, do all people who have any sort of distorted tone use a pedal?

not all. some use their amps. if you're getting a pleasing sound out of your gk that's distorted, it won't hurt it at all. but if you're switching back and forth between clean and dirty, i would recommend a pedal. it's very unwieldy to do that with an amp.

[Plays_For_Dog]

Dude, fuzz pedals and distortion pedals are APLENTY. I recomend going with a fuzz first for your style. Youtube some videos (Bass fuzz) to see what is out there and possibly latch on to something you like. Be willing to save and spend around a hundred for a quality pedal. Don't cheap out, you'll regret it.

I have several different fuzz and distortions. I think the MXR El Grande bass fuzz is right up your ally. For hardcore metal, it's got the balls to push heavy riffs. It also does a great job of holding the low end.

If you go with the El Grande Bass Fuzz from MXR, be prepared to have to learn it. It's a plug in and go pedal, but it's touchy. It took me about a week to dial it in where I wanted it and to learn where on the dials different things started happening.

Also, if your bass is active, that will have some effect on some pedals. If the pedal you choose just doesn't act right, it may not be the fault of your pedal. It may be your bass is pushing too hot a signal through it. So, try adjusting the knobs on your bass. Maybe try turning knobs on your amp as well to work that tone where you want it. It's a hat dance trying to dial everything in where you want it, but worth the effort.

[MIJ-VI]

Pedals which have a blend control are a must IMO. They allow one to blend some of the instrument's un-effected sound in with the effected tones in order to preserve bottom, note definition, and overall dynamics no matter how crazy one gets with overdrive etc.

Tech 21's Para Driver DI offers decent sounding overdrive tones in a blend control-equipped pedal. It also has a sweepable semi-parametric mid-range control and is a phantom power-able DI box as well.



http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sa...adriverdi.html

In this video a guitarist uses a P-Bass copy to put a Para Driver DI through its paces via Tech 21's stock settings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WByH0uiVnI4

However in this video the same player uses a guitar to give a Para Driver DI a workout that involves more knob twiddling which better showcases how useful that semi-parametric mid range EQ really is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-0xo...eature=channel

Unfortunately neither of these videos properly demos the blend control.

I used to use a Tech 21 Character Series VT Bass (which I've since gifted to a young bassist). It lacked a blend control thus once there was enough overdrive for snarling treble strings, the bass strings turned to mush. A blend control would have allowed some of my MIJ Fender VI's dynamic low end punch to be dialed back in. It is for this reason that my next overdrive pedal will likely be a Para Driver DI (which sells for ~$230 CND).

Here is the same player & bass through a Tech 21 SansAmp VT Bass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_be9G...eature=channel

[Mr. Foxen]

GK amps do that growl when they distort, if that's what you are after, that is the way. The more usually desirable amp distortion comes from valve amplifiers though. But even as someone with an excessive collection of valve amps, I still use an Sansamp VT bass for an easily switcheable low maintenance low weight drive sound.