The distortion I'd want

ndrly · #1 10-08-2007, 08:00 PM

I think I'm going to settle for a Big Muff. I don't think I could ever get a Tone Bender or Big Cheese. I think you can only get 'em from England, and I live in Australia.

Next time I'm in a shop, I'll ask if I can try out a Big Muff on bass. I have a funny feeling that I will like it, considering the fact that Chris Wolstenholme uses one.

Distortion and overdrive will come from my amplifier (if I have a valve preamp). I will require a fuzz pedal for synth-like sounds (Hysteria, Supermassive Black Hole, Time Is Running Out - just about any Muse song really).

steve21 · #2 10-08-2007, 08:01 PM

The distortion I'd want would kick babies.

Sir Edward V · #3 10-08-2007, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve21

The distortion I'd want would kick babies.

The distortion I'd want would pierce the skull of Chuck Norris.

JanusZarate · #4 10-08-2007, 08:07 PM

The Little Big Muff is cool, but if you want synth-like fuzz sounds without having to complicate your setup... see if you can find an MXR Blowtorch to try!

Also, there are dealers who will ship the Tonebender anywhere. You just need to be sure you want it.

JanusZarate · #5 10-08-2007, 08:14 PM

Hmm... I should clarify about the Little Big Muff - or any Big Muff in general.

Alone, it won't give you most of the Muse tones you're looking for. Wolstenholme usually doesn't use his Russian Big Muff by itself.

There's been a lot of discussion in the past about how to nail the sounds in songs like "Hysteria" - I'd recommend looking up those threads via the search function.

ndrly · #6 10-08-2007, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MysticBoo

Hmm... I should clarify about the Little Big Muff - or any Big Muff in general.

Alone, it won't give you most of the Muse tones you're looking for. Wolstenholme usually doesn't use his Russian Big Muff by itself.

I know. He uses an Akai Deep Impact. I think it generates an octave below the original signal.

Maybe a BOSS OC-3 would work for me.

Sean S · #7 10-08-2007, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ndrly

I know. He uses an Akai Deep Impact. I think it generates an octave below the original signal.

Maybe a BOSS OC-3 would work for me.

His DI does more than just an octave below; Hysteria, for example, has some synth through fuzz...

JanusZarate · #8 10-08-2007, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ndrly

I know. He uses an Akai Deep Impact. I think it generates an octave below the original signal.

Maybe a BOSS OC-3 would work for me.

An octave below? Sure, it can do that, but that's not its real purpose... it's a bass synthesizer pedal, and Wolstenholme uses it to the fullest!

You might want to check out this thread:

The Synthesizer Review MEGATHREAD!

I should note that I was probably more harsh than I should have been on the Deep Impact during my review, in retrospect. But honestly, the tracking just wasn't working for me. I'm sure others may have an easier time with it.

bongomania · #9 10-08-2007, 09:06 PM

ndrly, it seems like you've been starting a lot of threads lately about how you've "decided" on one thing or another, without having ever tried it.

I understand how fun it is to GAS over all kinds of gear that I can't afford yet. But there's really no point to saying what you're going to buy unless you are actually really about to buy it, and even then it's just vanity. And saying what you want without a good idea of what it sounds like is pretty much just silliness.

assboglin · #10 10-08-2007, 09:33 PM

If you have a valve preamp?

Do you play in a band?

g00eY · #11 10-08-2007, 09:42 PM

There is a Big Cheese on sale in the classifieds, for what it's worth. I don't know where the seller is located, though.

bro)))616 · #12 10-08-2007, 09:59 PM

The distortion I'd want would sound like the motorhead logo knawing on your leg!

acleex38 · #13 10-08-2007, 10:19 PM

The distortion I'd want (and have - my Bluebeard) holds other distortions down and does naughty, naughty things to them.

ndrly · #14 10-08-2007, 11:28 PM

bongomania, I've heard the Big Muff on various Muse records. Next time I get a chance to try out a Big Muff on bass, I will. I base what I want mainly on what records I've listened to and price.

What I'm interested in is a distortion pedal that can give harsh distortion or synth-like sounds while still retaining the low end. Seems like the Big Muff takes the cake there. I'm also considering a Pro Co Turbo RAT (used by Justin Chancellor on H.), but I don't know if I could get synth-like sounds out of that, or how it is on the low end.

Niff · #15 10-08-2007, 11:37 PM

justin had to run his turbo RAT through an EQ cause it's a low end sucker.

you can't get synth tones out of JUST a fuzz-box. needs an actual.. well, synth. by the way, your topics seem like big trains of thought rather than actual discussions..

JanusZarate · #16 10-08-2007, 11:38 PM

ndrly, you do realize he's also running multiple rigs? Heck, both Wolstenholme and Chancellor do. That's how they're retaining such deep, clean low end and definition, on top of what those distortion pedals provide (or don't provide).

I'm not saying you won't like the two pedals... I'm just trying to keep you from holding false expectations of these pedals.

I wouldn't consider the Big Muff to be a good option by itself for a synth-like sound, and that's from personal experience. The same goes with the Turbo RAT - it's crunchy, aggressive, and quite a distance from a synth distortion tone. It has much better low end than the regular RAT, but it needs more low end support from EQ and a second rig.

bongomania · #17 10-08-2007, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ndrly

bongomania, I've heard the Big Muff on various Muse records... I base what I want mainly on what records I've listened to and price.

OK, one important thing you should know is that there is absolutely no record by any of these big artists where the sound is just bass through a pedal. Not only are all kinds of studio tricks applied such as multiple channels of DIs, pedals, miked cabs, and preamps in parallel, but beyond that there is extensive engineering and mastering to adjust the tone and fit it perfectly into the final mix.

Artist "X" may in fact use a Rat or a Muff or whatever, but the recorded sound is a whole different creature. Basing your wishes and purchases on the sounds of a major-production recording is pretty much a dead end path.

ndrly · #18 10-09-2007, 02:03 AM

I'm actually thinking of using three rigs when I go pro. That'd be cool.

1. Clean, running direct
2. Wet, all effects go through here
3. Dirty, valve drive turned all the way up.

And by the way, I've tried my Dad's multi-effects unit on my bass. The only sound I could get out of the distortion sounded pretty much like a synthesizer.

Also, National Anthem's bassline sounded synthy to me.

Sir Edward V · #19 10-09-2007, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ndrly

I'm actually thinking of using three rigs when I go pro. That'd be cool.

1. Clean, running direct
2. Wet, all effects go through here
3. Dirty, valve drive turned all the way up.

And by the way, I've tried my Dad's multi-effects unit on my bass. The only sound I could get out of the distortion sounded pretty much like a synthesizer.

Also, National Anthem's bassline sounded synthy to me.

It must be fun to live in fantasy-land...

assboglin · #20 10-09-2007, 11:51 AM

You can't really determine whether the gear you intend to buy will do the trick for you until you've really tried it, trust me, a lot of stuff looks good on paper and isn't as hot as you'd think. And while it's fun to try to cop certain sounds, it's really useless unless you're playing in a band that covers that music or you're writing songs that you intend to perform that require those sounds. You ignored my question about being in a band which leads me to believe you're not, so I'm going to encourage you to start something up and let your desire for different tones be affected by what you have a practical application for in a band setting rather than what you liked on record. Trust me, trying to cop tones that you're never going to use in the real world is a big waste of money.