Fuzz, Distortion, or Overdrive?

JBoucks · #1 10-05-2009, 04:16 PM

I'm about to buy another amp to bi-amplify and I want to make a dirty tone to it like a lot of bassists out there do. (Justin Chancellor, Tim Commerford[BIG TIME haha], etc.) Do I want a fuzz, overdrive, or a distortion pedal? Any suggestions?

René_Julien · #2 10-05-2009, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBoucks

I'm about to buy another amp to bi-amplify and I want to make a dirty tone to it like a lot of bassists out there do. (Justin Chancellor, Tim Commerford[BIG TIME haha], etc.) Do I want a fuzz, overdrive, or a distortion pedal? Any suggestions?

I think you can scratch overdrive.

You want a distortion/fuzz unit.

So much to choose frome. I believe Justin uses a ProCo Rat, not sure what Tim uses. (a Muff? i'm too lazy to search for it.)

Higgins666 · #3 10-05-2009, 04:46 PM

Yep, Justin uses a ProCo Rat, but I thought he EQd some low end back in afterwards, with an EQ pedal. & I think Tim uses a Marshall Guv'nor, but then again, I don't really follow his set up.

Anywho, you're best looking at a distortion, or fuzz. Or you could try running a regular guitar head into a bass cab for your distortion sound.

J-Razz · #4 10-05-2009, 04:52 PM

You might want to try out the Boss OD-20, it has all of those pedals built in.

NortyFiner · #5 10-05-2009, 05:32 PM

In general, it seems like more guys who play dirty use fuzzes than distortions or overdrives, but maybe that's just my perception. As for Tim Commerford, I heard somewhere (here? not sure) that he used a EHX Bass Big Muff on the last Audioslave album, but given how he hides his gear, who knows...

JBoucks · #6 10-05-2009, 06:04 PM

Thanks for the info guys. And Higgins, i have the Gov'nor, it's a great pedal but it's for his distortion stuff like the end of Know Your Enemy. I think I would have to go with ProCo Rat cuz I'm getting a GK head/cab anyways.

M@ddest_H@tter! · #7 10-05-2009, 11:50 PM

I read somewhere that Commerford built his own custom distortion and thats one part in the mystery of how he got his special sound

jimmyjames77 · #8 10-29-2009, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBoucks

I'm about to buy another amp to bi-amplify and I want to make a dirty tone to it like a lot of bassists out there do. (Justin Chancellor, Tim Commerford[BIG TIME haha], etc.) Do I want a fuzz, overdrive, or a distortion pedal? Any suggestions?

You're about to buy another amp to biamp and you don't know what flavor OD you like? Seems like alot of trouble to go through when you are not even sure what you like.
I'm not saying you are wrong to want to do this but maybe biamping isn't even what you are looking for. There are units out there that you can keep your original signal and the pedal OD seperate and then blend them together to taste. That is kind of what you are looking to do. Can't remember the names of the units right now but they aren't too much bigger than stomp boxes.

socialleper · #9 10-29-2009, 01:30 PM

Here's what I want to know:
How do these two and other players like Derek Boyer, Jack Gibson, Frank Bello, Nick Schendzielos and Erlend Caspersen have whats technically a clean tone that breaks up just a little in the highs/high mids, but their lows remain completely solid and intact? I know some use full bore dist/OD/fuzz here and there, but their regular tone still has just extra dirt in just the right place.
I've tried using ODs, distortions and fuzzes only to find that they take over your sound or they put the effect in the wrong place (the AGS circut in my tone hammer muddies up my low end and makes it sound farty while not doing a damn thing to the highs.)

Is this some kind magic?

Smurf-o-Deth · #10 10-29-2009, 01:59 PM

You can split your frequencies, send the highs to the dirt and keep the lows clean, then mix them back together--I do exactly this.

RickenBoogie · #11 10-29-2009, 02:03 PM

Exactly. Or run 2 amps.

socialleper · #12 10-29-2009, 03:18 PM

Please elaborate. Even though I've been playing for a while I've never really picked up on any of the gear wizardry that goes along with effect loops, bi-amping etc. Generally I just go Bass -> pedals -> amp's instrument input.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smurf-o-Deth

You can split your frequencies, send the highs to the dirt and keep the lows clean, then mix them back together--I do exactly this.

jimmyjames77 · #13 10-29-2009, 03:30 PM

Here are a couple units that can blend dry with dirty signals.
Radial Eng. Big Shot Mix
or a...
Xotic X-Blender
You can blend to whatever amount of dirty and clean that you want. The boss ODB-3 has a blend knob for dirty and clean signal too.

wetzelman1 · #14 10-29-2009, 03:33 PM

boss ls2 line selector blends and A and B signal, might be gettin this to try to make my mt2 actually useable

Smurf-o-Deth · #15 10-29-2009, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by socialleper

Please elaborate. Even though I've been playing for a while I've never really picked up on any of the gear wizardry that goes along with effect loops, bi-amping etc. Generally I just go Bass -> pedals -> amp's instrument input.

I'll just repost my pedalboard, which will hopefully explain better.

Signal path is --> FEA Dual Band Comp (I split the signal here at 250 Hz, with a slight shelving boost below that point) --> (Zvex Box of Metal [highs] Aguilar Octamizer [lows]) --> Xotic X-Blender (used to remix the signal) --> EQD Grand Orbiter --> MP SWAW --> tuner -->. This lets me keep my low-end clean when I turn on the hate box, send only low frequencies to the Octamizer, and I can stomp off the highs as a sort of instant thump button (it's like having a tone knob on my Stingray, weee!)

M@ddest_H@tter! · #16 10-29-2009, 04:27 PM

I think a Zendrive might give you the sound your after