Bass Big Muff settings.

Whease · #1 01-13-2010, 08:44 PM

Hey guys, first post here. I just bought my first fx pedal which happens to be the Bass Big Muff. I did a search but nothing really addressed my specific question so I'll try to keep it short. I guess I was just looking for some advice from fellow BBM users on settings for it. First off I play a MIM Fender Jazz through an Ampeg B2RE head and Ampeg 4/10. I switch off playing with fingers real soft-rock like and sometimes pluck away very much in a punk rock spirit with 1mm's. I play a lot of hard hitting punk-inspired blues or "indie-rock" I guess you could say. I played around with the settings for a good 2 hours and what I came up with sounding best for both worlds (finger picking and hard plucking) was the switch in the Dry/Distortion position, tone almost all the way treble and the sustain/distortion all the way cranked. It seems to keep the low end I want because of my dry signal still being in the mix but does it seem weird to have the distortion tone almost all treble? I know it's all subjective and I like the tone I'm getting out of it now but I guess I just wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions or input, thanks!

kevteop · #2 01-13-2010, 09:14 PM

Full treble on a Muff on bass can sound really good, so no it's not weird. But I'd wait to try and find a good sound in rehearsals with your band if I were you. The hard part of using fuzz on bass is making it work in the mix with your guitarist(s). Often there's a space for you, sonically, and you need to find it. If not you either need to turn the fuzz off or have way more volume than the guitarist(s) do (generally not appropriate or practical in rock bands).

Getaway Driver · #3 01-13-2010, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whease

It seems to keep the low end I want because of my dry signal still being in the mix but does it seem weird to have the distortion tone almost all treble? I know it's all subjective and I like the tone I'm getting out of it now but I guess I just wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions or input, thanks!

If you want bigger low end, check out the ODB-3 or throw in a bass boost or EQ pedal after the BBM. I have the bass cranked on my Amp's EQ and it's pretty thick like that, even with my treble-y overdrive pedal running through the BBM's dry out.

Whease · #4 01-13-2010, 09:26 PM

Right. The other thing I didn't mention is this band is a trio so I've got only got one guitar to worry about. But yeah, the most important thing to me is if it adds to the music well so what matters is definitely how it ends up sounding in the mix. So I definately keep that in mind and that's why I thought the idea of always having my clean mixed in there would help.

kevteop · #5 01-13-2010, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whease

Right. The other thing I didn't mention is this band is a trio so I've got only got one guitar to worry about. But yeah, the most important thing to me is if it adds to the music well so what matters is definitely how it ends up sounding in the mix. So I definately keep that in mind and that's why I thought the idea of always having my clean mixed in there would help.

Yeah it won't hurt to have a blended clean signal in there, but in practical terms that might be all you really hear (seriously!), in which case what's the point of having a fuzz on at all.

Anyway yeah, don't bother with the tone knob until your guitarist has found his all-important "tone", assuming he's one of those guitarists and he uses dirt on everything you use dirt on.

Whease · #6 01-13-2010, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevteop

Yeah it won't hurt to have a blended clean signal in there, but in practical terms that might be all you really hear (seriously!), in which case what's the point of having a fuzz on at all.

Anyway yeah, don't bother with the tone knob until your guitarist has found his all-important "tone", assuming he's one of those guitarists and he uses dirt on everything you use dirt on.

Ahh yes, very good point.

It's funny you say that because the guitarist is my brother and we are both pretty minimalistic...I just bought him a NYC Muff...it's the first pedal (besides his tuner) he's ever owned, haha. But I've been in a few bands where the guitarists would sit in front of their amps and tweak their "tone" for a longer amount of time then the prior "practicing" would take. Ugh.

kevteop · #7 01-13-2010, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whease

I've been in a few bands where the guitarists would sit in front of their amps and tweak their "tone" for a longer amount of time then the prior "practicing" would take. Ugh.

That's how I spent my Tuesday night this week, very depressing.

It's been a long time since I came across a guitarist like this, but this one seems to be one. Although he says he's a bit rusty, hasn't done a band for a while, so I'm waiting for him to settle down. In fairness he's very good, just a bit scatty and tone-headed.

Getaway Driver · #8 01-14-2010, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevteop

Anyway yeah, don't bother with the tone knob until your guitarist has found his all-important "tone".

Very important to do. Lucky for me my guitarist listens to me cause I'm the Gear-head of the group. I say "set it for a scratchy, cutting trebly distortion so I can fill out the bass easily" and... HE DOES IT!? whaaa? It's pretty nice. +1 on the clean channel, though. No matter how your distortion sounds, it might still get lost in the guitar and drums. Everyone knows what a clean bass sounds like and they can pick it out pretty easy. In the end, that's what's going to stand out.

manchild · #9 05-21-2010, 10:06 AM

i recently got a bbm - and was wondering if you would agree that putting the tone at 10o'clock in normal mode and putting bass boost on with the tone at 2 o'clock gives the same bottom end with more high end in place?

wetzelman1 · #10 05-21-2010, 11:14 AM

its not exactly the same. The dry is mixing the wet and dry so it's not really giving a low end effect, but allowing your unaffected signal through and therefor retaining the natural low end. I find with the bass boost I'm actually getting more low end than in dry.

Deluge Of Sound · #11 05-21-2010, 11:21 AM

I play regularly with a dude who really doesn't care about tone.

I jam less regularly with a guy who is really into it.

There are pros and cons to both.

Sharko · #12 05-21-2010, 11:33 AM

As people have said, the high tone settings sound great solo but can sometimes get lost when the guitar gets going. Solo I turn the tone up, when I'm with the band I turn it way down.