Fun with Dirt

pickles · #1 04-05-2008, 09:39 AM

What would you step on first?

I'm trying to suss out which combinations of distortion and overdrive work best together (I love 2-stage dirty sounds).

Thats separate blendable distortion and overdrive/emulator loops, all pumping through the AGRO (which needs no blend), then off to my amp (in this case an Eden setup with the 212XLT).

I'll be playing my passive JO5 w/ series mod.

-- Update: scroll down for sound clips! --

Hookus · #2 04-05-2008, 09:48 AM

Ehhhh. Looks like that will make a whole bunch of noise to me. I suppose I would put a leave on all the time overdrive first, then the RAT, and ditch everything else, but thats just me.

OptimusPrime · #3 04-05-2008, 09:48 AM

I'd keep the TurboRAT, the GT2 and the TS9DX(?).

pickles · #4 04-05-2008, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hookus

Ehhhh. Looks like that will make a whole bunch of noise to me. I suppose I would put a leave on all the time overdrive first, then the RAT, and ditch everything else, but thats just me.

This is an audition. They're vying for one or two spots on the pedalboard.

Though I had to try all-on for giggles. It will feed back with no cable plugged into the input

nad · #5 04-05-2008, 10:20 AM

The Rat, and I would play Breed at maximum volume.

pickles · #6 04-05-2008, 10:25 AM

Early favorites in the J-bass test:

AGRO - just a great sound with no blending needed. Really well controlled with tons of EQ for finding different shades. The only negative thing I could possibly say about it is that sometimes it feels a bit too controlled ... hard to explain, but sometimes it isn't quite nasty enough for me. However, with various boosters in front of it, nastyness is not far away

DS1->TS9DX both blended - This is a great combo, the character of the TS9 alone is great for a grainy, soft breakup, and using the DS1 as a slightly hairy boost morphs the sound into a truly nasty snarling beast of a sound. The only downside is that it retains a bit of that tubescreamer midrange that needs to be cut later (a nice tube amp does the trick very well!), and there is some unattractive high end if you play through a DI or hi-fi cab.

DS1->GT2 both blended - so far, I've not found that the GT2 plays well with others. But it does like the DS1. Its odd, but if you put a pedal that boosts ahead of the GT2, that boost seems much stronger with the GT2 on. So I set the DS1 to add some hair, but actually drop the volume a bit, and that worked out for a nice crunchy combined sound. Odd. The GT2 isn't quite what I expected.

Badder Bass Monkey, mixer output, blended - this is actually really good! The mixer output cuts the extreme highs so it plays well with hi-fi amps and DIs, and the distortion character sits somewhere between the AGRO and the DS1. I actually like this a lot, and it was cheap. On the controlled side of things.

Turbo RAT blended - this pedal sounds quite good, quite nasty, by itself at about a 50/50 blend with clean. Has some HF artifacts, but not too bad, and its got a good snarl to it.

pickles · #7 04-05-2008, 10:58 AM

Breed! Good call, thats what I'll rock for the rest of the test.

The RAT solo sounds good, but it really does need some help from a rock sounding amp ... through a flat amp or DI, it misses the mark a bit for me. Does sound quite cobainey ... but I like to put a bit more of a mid contour on that type of sound. I could probably get there by putting a 7 band EQ in line hmmmm ...

blended RAT->AGRO -- Oh my. The nasty clip structure of the RAT meets the control and EQ magic of the AGRO. Wow.

blended DS1->AGRO -- this is similar to RAT-> AGRO (and is a current benchmark of mine), but a bit thinner final sound. Side by side, this sounds a little boxy compared to the RAT->AGRO.

DS1 blended->BDDI 100% wet -> Truly, truly nasty. Thumbs up, but not for everything.

pickles · #8 04-05-2008, 11:54 AM

Lots of looser combinations on here!

I'm just going to stick to the winners.

GT2 set for a nasty edgy grind blended about 75%, by itself of before the AGRO. This is the first combo where all 3 (one, the other, combo) sounds are great. The RAT->AGRO combo is a bit better, but I'd never use the RAT alone.

theunknowndude · #9 04-05-2008, 08:05 PM

interesting way of testing it all out!

and yes I too dislike the turbo rat on its own.... its an awesome pedal but theres just no "bite" to me for want of a better word?

hence why I want the devi ever bass fuzz,... on low settings its almost like a turbo rat but I WILL MAKE YOU HARSHER IF I NEED IT DAMN YOU!

Ryan Mohr · #10 04-05-2008, 08:49 PM

Cool way of testing, for a distortion tone, maybe test the DS-1, GT-2 and Turbo Rat separately and compare it to DS-1 + Agro, GT-2 + Agro, Turbo Rat + Agro. Not many TBers use the DS-1. It's been a while since I tried it with bass, is the tonal character fuzzy or crunchy/chunky/gritty?

Rhythm5 · #11 04-05-2008, 08:58 PM

Haven't tried the Agro yet, but so far the only overdrive I like is the Fulltone Bassdrive MOSFET. Really smooth sounding.

pickles · #12 04-06-2008, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AqueousView11

Cool way of testing, for a distortion tone, maybe test the DS-1, GT-2 and Turbo Rat separately and compare it to DS-1 + Agro, GT-2 + Agro, Turbo Rat + Agro. Not many TBers use the DS-1. It's been a while since I tried it with bass, is the tonal character fuzzy or crunchy/chunky/gritty?

The DS-1 is somewhere between fuzzy and crunchy. I actually like it quite a bit on bass as long as you have the capability to blend with clean and do some serious EQ after it. It cuts the lows in a big way, and the highs past 2k are nasty, but between about 100 and 2khz its got a cool vibe.

I've done exactly what you suggested, and have a pretty good feel for what each pedal does by now (except the GT2, which I am still learning). The AGRO does amazing things to a distorted bass signal, and I prefer every pedal on the board (other than the sansamps) when they also go through the AGRO. I've messed around a bit with how much saturation to use at the AGRO, and that remains an open question. The distortion ratio of the two boxes has a big impact on tone.

Where I ended up last night was that the TS-9 and Bad Monkey are too close to the same vibe as the AGRO to justify using them together (even though TS-9 -> AGRO sounds fantastic -- like a les paul through a marshall), so my next cut at a board will contain the AGRO, the Turbo RAT, and one of the Sansamps (having trouble deciding which one -- they're quite different).

pickles · #13 04-06-2008, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhythm5

Haven't tried the Agro yet, but so far the only overdrive I like is the Fulltone Bassdrive MOSFET. Really smooth sounding.

I've tried the non-mosfet, and it wasn't what I'm looking for in an overdrive. Sounded midrangey, like billy cox with the band of gypsies, and I'm going for something more modern.

Ryan Mohr · #14 04-06-2008, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickles

The DS-1 is somewhere between fuzzy and crunchy. I actually like it quite a bit on bass as long as you have the capability to blend with clean and do some serious EQ after it. It cuts the lows in a big way, and the highs past 2k are nasty, but between about 100 and 2khz its got a cool vibe.

I've done exactly what you suggested, and have a pretty good feel for what each pedal does by now (except the GT2, which I am still learning). The AGRO does amazing things to a distorted bass signal, and I prefer every pedal on the board (other than the sansamps) when they also go through the AGRO. I've messed around a bit with how much saturation to use at the AGRO, and that remains an open question. The distortion ratio of the two boxes has a big impact on tone.

Where I ended up last night was that the TS-9 and Bad Monkey are too close to the same vibe as the AGRO to justify using them together (even though TS-9 -> AGRO sounds fantastic -- like a les paul through a marshall), so my next cut at a board will contain the AGRO, the Turbo RAT, and one of the Sansamps (having trouble deciding which one -- they're quite different).

Since the DS-1 and Rat have similar circuits, what puts the Rat ahead?

pickles · #15 04-06-2008, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AqueousView11

Since the DS-1 and Rat have similar circuits, what puts the Rat ahead?

It was neck and neck, but the RAT just makes the final tone a bit fatter when used in front of the AGRO (I posted about those tests above).

Thats another case where I can't see having both on the board since they are quite similar ... and I decided to give the RAT a shot. I've already used the DS-1 -> AGRO setup on a rehearsal, and it does indeed ROCK. So now we'll see how the RAT does out there in the real world.

One MAJOR downside to the Turbo RAT is that I can't take the rubber feet off. The screws that held them on bottom out when they're still sticking out 1/4". So I put velcro on the bottom of the feet, but thats pretty weak.

pickles · #16 04-19-2008, 12:17 PM

KarateKid25 · #17 04-20-2008, 12:07 AM

Woah... Clips, clips and more clips.

Better start downloading

Swimming Bird · #18 04-20-2008, 08:52 AM

Nice -- you really know how to get good sounds out of dirt boxes.

From the clips, my favorite sounds (fingers and pick) came from Rat >> BDDI. It seems to cut but also have a lot of bottom. The pic attack sounds perfect. I may have to try that...

pickles · #19 04-20-2008, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swimming Bird

From the clips, my favorite sounds (fingers and pick) came from Rat >> BDDI. It seems to cut but also have a lot of bottom. The pic attack sounds perfect. I may have to try that...

I agree, thats a great sound. Raw and nasty.

pkw13 · #20 04-21-2008, 10:13 AM

Hi,

Great Clips! MY favorite is the RAT + BDDI. What were your settings on the two?
Did you clean blend the RAT in the clips(solo or combinded with the Sansamp)?

Thanks,

Pete