Distotion/Overdrive with lots of bottom.

[mettec]

I am looking for a good distortion/overdrive pedal that will not get lost in the mix or sound thin. What would sound good with this setup?

Modulus Q5's w/EMG's
Genz Benz GBE750 head & 410T-XB2 cab
EHX Micro POG
Ibanez CF7 Chorus/Flange

[Sir Edward V]

Originally Posted by mettec

I am looking for a good distortion/overdrive pedal that will not get lost in the mix or sound thin. What would sound good with this setup?

Modulus Q5's w/EMG's
Genz Benz GBE750 head & 410T-XB2 cab
EHX Micro POG
Ibanez CF7 Chorus/Flange

uhhh carrots

try out pedals

you decide what sounds good

If you know nothing about different distortions/overdrives/fuzzes:
-good example of overdrive: any Ibanez tubescreamer
-good example of fuzz: Electro-Harmonix Little Big Muff
-good example of distortion: Boss ODB-3

not nescessarily the best in their catagories, or what you will like, but they will give you ideas for what you will want. I just gave examples of pedals readily available at most stores... there are tons of pedals out there though

[Nick Kay]

If you don't mind it being all extreme, all the time, the Tech 21 XXL Bass can have a gigantosaurus bottom end.

[Big Willy!]

Okay...the first thing you'll want to do is turn off any of those silly tweeters folks have been putting in bass cabs for the last decade.

Any real distortion or overdrive is going to sound like your head is epoxied inside a beehive. Sooooo...unless you like Fieldy's tone, turn the tweets off! You don't need 'em anyway. It's a BASS...not a treble!

Great drive/distortion (there is a difference) pedals:

DOD Grunge
Z-Vex (any)
Kay Fuzz (the old orange one...if you can find one)
Route 66
Foxx (any)

These pedals will grind up anything you put into them into nice crunchy squarewaves & leave the bottom end fully intact.

Any pedal (other than Z-Vex...Zach got it right) made for a "bass" is garbage & always sounds muffled & undefined & often is peaky in the wierd undesirable range of mids & totally not cool.

You're going to get the best response & articulation if you use only the bridge pickup while distorting heavily. For a milder simply overdriven sound, any pickup combination will work.

Hope this helps!

I'M BETTER!!

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by Better

Any pedal (other than Z-Vex...Zach got it right) made for a "bass" is garbage & always sounds muffled & undefined & often is peaky in the wierd undesirable range of mids & totally not cool.

Welcome to Talkbass. Read up here a while, you'll find that saying things like "Any pedal...always" is just trouble, usually involving the taste of your own foot. Further, TBH, I personally am not impressed by the frequency range/EQ shape of several of the ZVex pedals (though they are cool in many other ways).

[Sir Edward V]

Originally Posted by bongomania

Welcome to Talkbass. Read up here a while, you'll find that saying things like "Any pedal...always" is just trouble, usually involving the taste of your own foot. Further, TBH, I personally am not impressed by the frequency range/EQ shape of several of the ZVex pedals (though they are cool in many other ways).

+1

Avoid voicing things that are most definitely your own opinions as fact. We try to be as objective (rather than subjective) as we can around here

[superkicky]

i have to say the zvex mammoth has a ton of bottom end, though... will never let it go. it's the 'brown' sound in more ways than one!

[crapusername]

try the mxr blowtorch - it has a ton of useable sounds to be found inside, and also has a blend control (essential for ensuring a solid bottom!)

[nad]

The two drive pedals I've found with the most low end are the BJFE Blue Berry and the Z.Vex Woolly Mammoth.

Originally Posted by Better

blah blah blah

I don't know what I want for dinner tonight, can you tell me?

[Sir Edward V]

Originally Posted by crapusername

try the mxr blowtorch - it has a ton of useable sounds to be found inside, and also has a blend control (essential for ensuring a solid bottom!)

The blowtorch has a lot of tone shaping capabitities, but I don't care for the character of the sound... it is far too buzzy for me... I prefer the smooth fuzz of the LBM, but I do wish it had the same EQing capabilities

[andrew]

Though not a pedal I'd try the Aguilar AGRO for a distortion box that holds it's low end. I also like the Budda Phatbass if you can find one. For a cheaper distortion that I think has some good tones in it try the G-K Diesel Dawg.

[3NotesAbar]

Bump for the Diesel Dawg.

I've come across some nice finds in Devi Ever pedals (he makes tons of drive pedals, and little else). So far, I've had the GZ (octave fuzz with huge gain variation), and still hold a KP (OD), and EB (OD) hostage. NONE stole any bottom end. Just to be clear, my personal definition of a distortion pedal retaining bottom end while still performing its function (distorting the signal...) is one that sounds louder within reasonable limits when kicked in, in terms of bass frequencies. Simply put, no mid scooping.

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by crapusername

try the mxr blowtorch - it has a ton of useable sounds to be found inside, and also has a blend control (essential for ensuring a solid bottom!)

+1

It's a very aggressive, well-defined fuzz pedal with tons of bottom and a midrange focus. Plus, it has a Blend knob to mix your clean and fuzz signals. It's my weapon of choice.

I can't guarantee you'll like the sounds you can get out of it (it's equally loved and hated around here), but there isn't a fuzz pedal like it out there.

[osciphex]

Originally Posted by Better

Okay...the first thing you'll want to do is turn off any of those silly tweeters folks have been putting in bass cabs for the last decade.

I recommend turning down the trebel with EQ rather than turning off the tweeter - with the tweeter all the way down you risk [literally] cooking the attenuator with many cabs. The only truly safe way to 'turn off' a tweeter is to completely bypass the crossover. But this even will sound different than it would if the tweeter were turned down, because now your woofers will be working with the full range of sound.

[Nick Kay]

Originally Posted by osciphex

I recommend turning down the trebel with EQ rather than turning off the tweeter - with the tweeter all the way down you risk [literally] cooking the attenuator with many cabs. The only truly safe way to 'turn off' a tweeter is to completely bypass the crossover. But this even will sound different than it would if the tweeter were turned down, because now your woofers will be working with the full range of sound.

Unless your crossover doesn't have a low-pass for the woofers anyway. Then you're in the clear.

[mettec]

Originally Posted by Sir Edward V

uhhh carrots

try out pedals

you decide what sounds good

If you know nothing about different distortions/overdrives/fuzzes:
-good example of overdrive: any Ibanez tubescreamer
-good example of fuzz: Electro-Harmonix Little Big Muff
-good example of distortion: Boss ODB-3

not nescessarily the best in their catagories, or what you will like, but they will give you ideas for what you will want. I just gave examples of pedals readily available at most stores... there are tons of pedals out there though

I was just curious on what pedals to try rather then which ones not to try. I do have many choices from a few different music stores so this is just to get a idea of what might be good for my system. I have tried a Little Big Muff and that is a possibility.

[mettec]

Any opinions on the Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde distortion? Tried it and seems pretty cool.

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by mettec

I was just curious on what pedals to try rather then which ones not to try. I do have many choices from a few different music stores so this is just to get a idea of what might be good for my system. I have tried a Little Big Muff and that is a possibility.

See, that's the problem... it's really hard to tell you which to try, when no one (including yourself) is really sure what you're looking for.

If the Little Big Muff seems like a good option to you, then you're probably hunting for a fuzz pedal of some sort.

The EHX Little Big Muff, Prescription Electronics Depth Charge, and MXR Blowtorch are my personal favorites for fuzz. All are very different in character, though - they're nothing alike.

There's a lot of other boutique and non-boutique fuzz pedals out there that are really popular on TB. I'll give a few names for you to work with - definitely search on each one to get more info and opinions from past threads:

- Malekko B:Assmaster
- Zoom Ultra Fuzz
- Sanford and Sonny Bluebeard
- Wren and Cuff Pickle Pie
- EHX Big Muff (Russian version)

And here are some of those old, vintage, discontinued ones - some fuzz pedals are based on these legendary old guys:

- EHX Big Muff (Sovtek versions)
- Way Huge Swollen Pickle
- Maestro Bass Brassmaster

My list is by no means comprehensive - I'm not too well-versed with the world of boutique fuzz pedals.

[Sir Edward V]

Originally Posted by mettec

I was just curious on what pedals to try rather then which ones not to try. I do have many choices from a few different music stores so this is just to get a idea of what might be good for my system. I have tried a Little Big Muff and that is a possibility.

I say try them all. You never know, you could absolutely love the tone from a pedal that the rest of us hate, and there is nothing wrong with that either.

[::Saint::]

+1 to the Blowtorch .. I love mine. It is a very focused fuzz, and I'm looking at possibly getting an LBM as well for a different kind of distortion.. and a BMS for a really synthy square wave type of sound.