Advice on metal distortion.

[WorldCarver]

Lately my tone hasnt felt as strong as Ive wanted it to be and my solution is distortion. I have NOT messed around with many pedals in the past but a little extra "UMPH" would be nice. Im looking for a tone usable for melodic death-metal (At the Gates mainly.) Any input on what type of pedal that could give me a little bit of fuzz?

[odin70]

Imo the VTbass gives you the best "UMPH" in the world.

[BassIsFun17]

xotic bb bass preamp

[LDonnie]

I have been very impressed with my EBS Metaldrive

[Steveaux]

Originally Posted by WorldCarver

Lately my tone hasnt felt as strong as Ive wanted it to be and my solution is distortion. I have NOT messed around with many pedals in the past but a little extra "UMPH" would be nice. Im looking for a tone usable for melodic death-metal (At the Gates mainly.) Any input on what type of pedal that could give me a little bit of fuzz?

And another starts down that slippery slope ....

[DosiYanarchy]

wren&cuff pickle pie B

/thread :P

[waleross]

+ 1 on the VT bass. Of course there are many more but the vT will get you enough distortion(tasteful) leave the rest to the guitards.......................

[JetBlackJazz]

just play hard i hate it when people need to buy things to solve their problems... bass to 10, scoop mids, and play hard

[IncX]

distortion will only bury you further in the mix. if you wanna cut thru the blast beats and the frequency hogging guitars, you have to have a good cutting treble for the attack, and enough mids for note definition on the "slow" parts. and oh, hitting your strings as if you are smacking them helps a lot too (i.e. Ryan Martinie)

what bass and amp are you using?

[bassbrad]

Welcome WorldCarver, you've just asked the #1 question, search and you will see. The answer is there are too many answers and everyone has their (current) favorite. It may take a lot of searching and trying to see what will work for your desired sound set up and band situation.
My advice:
Buy used lots of buying and selling goes on here, study reviews and demos, be patient, persistent and you will find one you like.

[WorldCarver]

Right now Im playing through a custom made Carvin (lucky find at my guitarist's pawn shop on black Friday =P), Ampeg B2R, and Ampeg 810 (with a metal grill). Currently I cut through well but at certain portions of our music (clean parts/harmonies) the treble makes the bass a little too prominent. My hopes are that a little distortion will thicken up the music as well as pull back the treble a little bit. Today I went to a local music store and played through a Boss Bass Overdrive pedal and it made me feel like I was on the right track but made me wonder what could work better.

[DeathFromBelow]

Originally Posted by JetBlackJazz

just play hard bass to 10, scoop mids...

Seriously?

Originally Posted by IncX

distortion will only bury you further in the mix.

No. Your amp has a EQ section. Use it.

[benthughes]

I like the MXR M-80 Bass DI. It's a versatile DI, offers a great clean tone with EQ and pretty brutal distortion with blend. I'm not a straight up distortion kind of guy but this is tasty.

[BKBassDude]

I've found when playing metal that I tend to need to think opposite. Use distortion when I feel clean would be better, and use clean when I need to cut through.

Depends on your guitarists also. Are they doing the modern metal mid scoop? Boost your mids.

Are they doing crazy stoner doom bass to 10? That's when you want your fuzz (and still plenty of mids).

Remember what sounds super rippin in your bedroom might be the wrong frequencies to actually get heard in the mix.

[DeathFromBelow]

Don't scoop your mids. It will feed the trolls...

[Venom of God]

I use a SansAmp Bass Driver, Way Huge Pork Loin and Wren and Cuff Pickle Pie B for my overdrive sounds. Right now I really love the Pork Loin, not too over bearing and really warm.. but maybe not enough attack for what you want. The Pickle Pie is also an awesome over the top fuzz, you can EQ it to get a really aggressive buzzsaw sound. I don't have much experience with many other distortions but I have been looking into an MXR BlowTorch for a more aggressive tone. Also Chunk Systems Brown Dog is another I've been considering.

Look up everything that has been mentioned and you'll find clips on YouTube, remember that your idea of good tone may not be someone else's and a lot of people just recommend what they own (and that isn't to say what they own isn't great for them, it just doesn't mean it'll suit you perfectly too).

[WorldCarver]

If it helps we have some decent recordings to give you an idea of our genre (http://www.myspace.com/eviscerametal/music). Im not trying to get a "Stoner Doom" sound, just a little bit more distortion to thicken up the music (we are a 3 piece) and still retain the attack.

[RFord04]

I just used my VT Deluxe today to record some metal, and it turned out awesome as always. I could probably send you a clip if you're interested.

The VT isn't really a distortion pedal, but with the right settings, it can get gnarly as hell and cut right through a metal mix without muddying up the tone.

Scooping mids and cranking the bass is a bad idea, btw. Definitely not gonna get you want you're looking for....

[BKBassDude]

Killer playing dude, great band as well. As a metal fan, I usually check out local bands with trepidation, but you guys are legit! Super tight, nice production, great combination of brutality and melody!

I honestly think the sound of your clean bass really works perfectly in the mix, at least on record. I think playing through a nice tube amp with a decent amount of gain will fill the sound enough for live purposes.

If you guys ever play a NYC show let me know, I'll make sure the whole scene comes out

[Petros-J]

+1 on the VT.
It will cover your needs. I play metal too. Not death. I would say more like 2011 metal (soilwork, deftones, some djent influences also: periphery and tesseract) and this pedal combined with my Jazz Bass and a Tech-21 XXLB for some extra growl when needed kicks arse!