A fuzz\synth distortion that doesn't get lost in the mix?

[DonKartofflo]

Hi Fellas,
First of all im a bassist in a prog\alt rock band and i'm way into using distortion\fuzz on my bass.
I have been playing bass for like 3 years so i don't own a monstrous rack but heres what i got:

-EHX Bass Big Muff (non russian)
-EHX Bass Micro Synth

I bought the Big Muff first since it's like the best in it's price class, but what bothered me so much was that as soon as i turned it on during a jam or a gig, i got totally lost in the mix
I then bought a Bass Micro Synth cause i love the sound and i hoped it wouldn't get as lost as the Big Muff.. well silly me i play it with square wave 80 percent up, octave down off octave up off filter sweep start and stop on max and trigger on half. i love the synthie distortion fuzz sound but i hate the fact that it still gets lost-.-
So my question to you guys is: which fuzz\distortion\synth should i get? i want it to sound nice and to cut through the mix while keeping low end and punch
been thinking about the wmd geiger counter or the synth mangler from dwarfcraft but i just dont know which one will fulfill my expectations...

another thing i thought about was getting another amp like a keyboard amp which has more mids and highs... would that help my micro synth cut through the mix?
or another bass? i currently play a ray 34 sterling which is a budget stingray.. dunno but on clean its very punchy and cuts through the mix nicely.. are there basses which go better with fuzz? or maybe the active eq is the prob?
help please

[f'nar f'nar]

You should check out the markbass super synth! I don't own one personally but I've heard them in action both live and in the studio and they rock! I'm strongly considering getting one myself! There's a great video of one in action on YouTube too!

[sillyfabe]

Wooly Mammoth
Tech 21 Red Ripper

I use these two for fuzzy synth as well as a Behringer BSY-600 for synth. I add a Boss OC-2 as needed to make it more synthy and aggressive

[BassMonstrum]

MXR Blowtorch.

I used the black russian BM, the BBM and the Woolly Mammoth. Settled for the Blowtorch.

[BigBassBob]

Wren and Cuff Pickle Pie B.

[eyvindwa]

Originally Posted by BassMonstrum

MXR Blowtorch.

I used the black russian BM, the BBM and the Woolly Mammoth. Settled for the Blowtorch.

Yup, the Blowtorch will make you cut through

[M Sterling]

an eq pedal with the mids boosted will help most fuzz/synth sounds pop through a little more. I currently use a Boss GEB7 but will upgrade to a parametric soon (probably the empress).

[DonKartofflo]

Originally Posted by sillyfabe

Wooly Mammoth
Tech 21 Red Ripper

I use these two for fuzzy synth as well as a Behringer BSY-600 for synth. I add a Boss OC-2 as needed to make it more synthy and aggressive

ouh me likey!
red ripper and bsy are really the kind of stuff im looking for

[kevteop]

The instrumentation of the band you're in, and the sounds they use, are the important aspect. Not (necessarily) what pedal you've got.

Originally Posted by M Sterling

an eq pedal with the mids boosted will help most fuzz/synth sounds pop through a little more.

This is the best response you've had so far. It's true that the MXR Blowtorch can help distorted bass be heard amongst distorted guitars but this is precisely because it has a lot more EQ options than most distortion pedals have.

Generally speaking, if your guitarist(s) is/are using a lot of distortion, the chances of you also using a lot of distortion and still being heard while your guitarists are playing are slim to none.

[HiFi]

If you have a chance, try an Iron Ether Oxide. Has a ton of sounds and cuts through in the mix wonderfully.

[Unrepresented]

Originally Posted by kevteop

The instrumentation of the band you're in, and the sounds they use, are the important aspect. Not (necessarily) what pedal you've got.

+1. Any pedal is going to potentially sound bad in some mixes. If you're competing in a particularly full mix, you'll probably have trouble cutting through. Most people would argue that to get the most mileage from either the Muff or the BMS, you'd do best to use them when not competing against other distorted/fuzzed guitars.

[Joe Nerve]

I've owned and sold lots of boxes and multi fx units. Never quite got the effects on bass thing, and felt the same as you. As soon as I kicked anything on, the bottom was gone. Being a trooper, I haven't given up. Recently bought a ZOOM b91ut and am for the first time happy with what this thing does. It has a preamp section that makes it easy to dial the umph back into my sound. It also gives me a lot of tweakability with the overdrive and distortion effects. And the synth sounds on it are usuable... they actually sound like analog synths. I had a boss multieffects where the synth sounds were ridiculous, and a digitech pedal that was even worse. Before dropping a bunch of bucks on a synth pedal, you might want to check out one of these things. My $.02.

[M Sterling]

+1 on the Oxide. It has cut through and sounded great in every mix I've used it in.

[vegas532]

Malekko B:Assmaster - not only is it hard to dial up bad sounds on it, it's nearly impossible to not be heard in a mix when you kick it on.

[Ubersheist]

What about overdrive pedals? The Bass Blogger by EHX has a certain sound to it, but it's also pretty versatile and also has distortion. It holds the bottom end well.

LIke you mentioned in your original post, I also use the EHX Microsynth for distortion, and it never seems to get lost. Then again, I'm playing in mostly funk and reggae bands. It's tough for any bass to get lost in that mix.

Originally Posted by kevteop

Generally speaking, if your guitarist(s) is/are using a lot of distortion, the chances of you also using a lot of distortion and still being heard while your guitarists are playing are slim to none.

+1. You'll cut through more by boosting the mids with a clean tone. It may not be pleasant sounding by itself, but it may be what the song is requiring.

[chuck norriss]

Two things: I put my portacon preamp/eq after my distortion pedal which seemed to help slightly but in the end I ditch the distortion & let the synth & guitar (both very dirty) cover that ground. I could hear myself (without distortion) during loud dirty moments on the other hand when it's just bass & drums I can go dirty & be heard. You probably know this already.

To answer your question Markbass' synth is also programmeable, more malleable; i really like the idea of customizing it. I don't like filtered effects but the squarewve/distortions and octave tones sound sick (see YouTube there's an Asian kid who goes through all ofthe diff tones on the synth). I don't own one yet but being in the same boat as you, the programmability on the MB super synth & the many kick ass synth distortion sounds are selling points for me & might do what you want. Sounds like what you're looking for.

Charles (not Catherine)

[DonKartofflo]

aw the red ripper is awesome but i'm not sure how i feel about the behringer synth... i mean it sounds awesome but i don't know what tracking speed and quality i can expect from a SYNTH pedal (which are normally pricey) which only costs 45 bucks?
also the markbass seems to be an awesome tool.
i have an alesis micron and the possibility of programming all the effects is nice. the thought of having these possibilities with my bass gives me chills
any hand-ons with the supersynth?

[DeltaPhoenix]

I owned the super synth and really liked it. I just moved on to a Roland GR-55 (sick!). The markbass is decently programmable but with a few shortcomings as well. Gastric has some cool presets that he made on his website for the MB SS. FYI the MB is a saw wave, not a square.

[knumbskull]

Originally Posted by vegas532

Malekko B:Assmaster - not only is it hard to dial up bad sounds on it, it's nearly impossible to not be heard in a mix when you kick it on.

indeed!

[rob_thebassman]

MXR el grande bass fuzz is quite decent