Bass Distortion pedal - Which one?

[LowNloud1]

Looking for suggestions for a distortion pedal with good sustain and that won't filter the low end out too much. Your suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Trying to experiment with effects and thought I would start here.

After this, I will be looking at Chorus.

[Floyd Eye]

TAFM

Pickle Pie B

B:assmaster

[Unrepresented]

Originally Posted by Floyd Eye

TAFM

Pickle Pie B

B:assmaster

While I'm not sure that the OP is actually looking for "distortion" per se, all of the items you listed are commonly considered "fuzz."

OP you'll probably get better recommendations if you give some examples of what you're specifically looking for. There're also a ton of threads on distortion here as well. A search will probably provide a ton of information.

[Floyd Eye]

Fuzz, yes...

[mjac28]

What ever you do don't listen to that one guy.

[LowNloud1]

Band project is working up Sheryl Crow's "A Change Will do You Good". There is a distorted or Fuzzed bass in the early part and at several parts during the song. That is the sound I am looking for.

[Floyd Eye]

That would be fuzz. Any of the pedals I listed will go from mild ( like the Sheryl Crow song) to brutal. Well, except the B:Assmaster. That things just brutal. lol

[fivestringgecko]

Originally Posted by LowNloud1

Band project is working up Sheryl Crow's "A Change Will do You Good". There is a distorted or Fuzzed bass in the early part and at several parts during the song. That is the sound I am looking for.

Originally Posted by Floyd Eye

That would be fuzz. Any of the pedals I listed will go from mild ( like the Sheryl Crow song) to brutal. Well, except the B:Assmaster. That things just brutal. lol

I think you're actually looking for an overdrive pedal. Like Unrepresented said, distorion, fuzz and overdrives are all different, but they can get confusing because they tend to overlap a bit. I became an overdrive freak for a while and explored 17 different overdrive pedals. The tone in that song sounds like an overdrive on the darker side of the spectrum and is a little smoother than I've ever been able to reproduce with a fuzz pedal.

The first one that pops into my head is a Catalinbread SFT. I've used it for sounds just like that. It's a great low- to medium-high overdrive with a great warm tone. Check out Catalinbread's demo videos on the SFT page, and their HEAVY DOOMY SFT demo. The Motown video is what sold me on the pedal, but the doom video proves it's got quite a bit of crunch on tap.

I've got a Flipster for sale at the moment that's actually pretty close to the SFT... Design inspiration for the SFT included the Ampeg B-15, and the Flipster is a straight up clone of an Ampeg SB-12. The Flipster has a bit more crunch available than the SFT, if that floats your boat.

Another one that would be pretty good is a Fuzzrocious Dark Driving. It's a darker overdrive that has a good crunch and a darker sound (hence the name), much like the bass tone in that recording.

A Tubeworks Blue Tube would be pretty killer for that sound too, if you can track one down. They do show up on ebay fairly regularly.

Like Unrepresented also said... there's a LOT of information available on Talkbass, and it's all hotly debated. People here do love them some dirt pedals! lol

Good luck on your hunt, keep us posted!

5sg.

[Floyd Eye]

Meh, sounds like a fuzz to me. I have been wrong before though.

[BawanaRik]

Hematoma. A also had a MP Blueberry which was sold after finding the Hematoma. I liked it put real pedal people didn't.

Heck a Tube Screamer did fine for decades before I knew better.

Here's question. Can any of the more astute pedal guys, and I realize you know more than I ever know, tell what pedal is being used by the time the bass is firmly seated in it's track?

I enjoy the oanistic joy of savoring my toys but even when dealing with a Volume Lord Guitard and a Moon wannabe it's hard to tell just what pedal I'm using.

[fivestringgecko]

Originally Posted by BawanaRik

I enjoy the oanistic joy of savoring my toys but even when dealing with a Volume Lord Guitard and a Moon wannabe it's hard to tell just what pedal I'm using.

You make a very valid point, and one I just had a discussion with a guitarist about. In a live setting, Joe Public probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference (or care) between a _____ and a _____. But that's yet another discussion completely. lol

5sg.

[DiabolusInMusic]

I get my dirt from my Darkglass B3k.

[fivestringgecko]

Originally Posted by DiabolusInMusic

I get my dirt from my Darkglass B3k.

They're all the rage on Talkbass right now, and for a reason. Doug nailed it with the tube amp sound... it sounds remarkably like overdriving the tubes on my 1974 Ampeg V4B. Now I don't have to lug around a 62lb. head to get that sound. The ONLY reason I'm parting with mine is to fund an upgrade to a B7K.

5sg.

[firmlybassed]

Agro and/or MXR Bass Fuzz.

[Unrepresented]

Originally Posted by BawanaRik

Here's question. Can any of the more astute pedal guys, and I realize you know more than I ever know, tell what pedal is being used by the time the bass is firmly seated in it's track?

There is so much that could've been done to that track, and the instrument that it'd be hard to give anything more than an educated guess, at least for me.

I agree with fivestringgecko that it's a pretty dark tone, but that could either be a product of the effect itself, the instrument, the amplifier, and/or the mixing console.

I agree that the breakup sounds less smooth than what I associate with "fuzz." If I were trying to recreate something like that, I'd probably grab something Tubescreamer-esque and run it with either my bass' or the effect pedal's tone control very low.

Originally Posted by BawanaRik

I enjoy the oanistic joy of savoring my toys but even when dealing with a Volume Lord Guitard and a Moon wannabe it's hard to tell just what pedal I'm using.

This post sounds like a cry for help that can only be properly addressed in the Band Management forum.

[LowNloud1]

Thanks to all for the replies and advice. I appreciate the info. I have not normally used effects on my bass except for a time when I used a Bass Chorus pedal but I am very curious to explore effects on bass guitar again.

This has kinda inspired me to consider a "unified" bass effects system or at least add a couple pedals. I also am going to see if someone in the band has a pedal or 2 I can borrow to experiment with.

I am going to research the suggestions and try to choose wisely.

Thanks again!

[fivestringgecko]

A great way to get started into effects is to start with a decent multi-effects unit. There are quite a few good ones out there ranging from nicely affordable to quite expensive. Starting with a multi will let you dabble with a little bit of everything and see what you like vs what you need or don't like. If I were going to buy one right now, it'd probably be a Zoom B3. It's only $199 and I hear/read pretty good things about it.

5sg.

[Waterpilot]

I'll throw in Dr. Scientist's The Elements, because that's what I always do.

[fasto]

+1 on the Catalinbread SFT mentioned before or just wait until march 2013 for the new MXR Bass Overdrive to be released.

[BassIsFun17]

xotic bass bb preamp is great too