good overdrive for stoner/doom?

The Ethanator · #1 03-09-2009, 03:10 PM

in my never-ending quest for what i consider to be an epic stoner metal tone, i find myself in need of an overdrive. currently i have an ibanez pd7, which i use for overdrive, and an ehx bass big muff for fuzz. what i like to do is use the 'dry' mode on the muff, run my pd7 into it, and adjust to taste for a good blend that doesnt sound like 2 seperate pedals being played simeltaneously. usualy ill have one of them with a little more bass and one with a little more treble. im looking for something that doesnt sound completely and totaly artificial like the pd7 does, for under $120 or so. if its just an overdrive thats all fine and dandy, but it would be even better if i could also get a good metal distortion out of it. overdrive will be my main purpose for this pedal as well. i want something fairly small, mxr blowtorch-sized or smaller. im open to using effects that arent bass-specific as well. heres what im looking at:

mxr blowtorch (is it capable of lighter overdrive or just fuzziness?)
mxr gt-od*
fulltone bassdrive
tech 21 bass xxl
ibanez ts-9dx
delta lab td-1*

*considering that they are the same color and have the same controls, are these 2 pedals basicaly tube screamer clones? at $50, the delta lab overdrive looks tempting...

whoatherechunk · #2 03-09-2009, 03:26 PM

there have been millions of threads on this.

SoonerMatt · #3 03-09-2009, 03:30 PM

If I were to get an overdrive aside from my BDDI I'd actually go with either the Barber LTD or the Boss ODB-3, which is a surprisingly good OD pedal.

Based on what you've posted, I will definitely say to think twice about the XXL. It's probably the most one-sided pedal I've come across and really is too harsh for an OD, IMO.

Joe Gress · #4 03-09-2009, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoatherechunk

there have been millions of threads on this.

Effect's forum threads: 22,785

More like 10,000.

And yes, you might want to do a search for older threads were this has been discussed before.

Oh, and I know it's out of your budget, but the GeminiDrive is a really cool OD that has a separate clean channel.

**DosiYanarchy** · #5 03-09-2009, 03:56 PM

lol, what has been mentioned above is true, i have seen alot of thread's like this, but just my own opinion on some of the pedals mentioned:

MXR BASS BLOWTORCH: the blowtorch is very tweakable, but not to the extent that you'd get what anyone would call overdrive, some people have mentioned that it can get almost muff-like, but personally i find that it excells at synthy buzzsaw, and if you wanted a pedal for any other sound, better alternatives exist.
clip i did: http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6880146

Tech21 XXL for BASS: I currently one one too - and unfortunately it lies around my room looking sorry for itself - i bought it coz i love Tech21 and thought if i tweaked it right i could get a OD sound from it, I was wrong, at the lowest gain settings, its still a distortion, at highest gain, its a blistering distortion, if i was looking for a replacement for my Green Stache then it may be on my board now, but alas i wanted an OD and got a distortion (still holding onto it though)

Also should be mentioned that the Fulltone Bassdrive is also a tweaked tubescreamer clone. I had one of the V1 Bassdrives (non mosfet, no switches) didnt have much use for two gain stages when i already had other fuzzes, also the tone wasnt as tube-like as i believe the current mos-fet ones are. Oh and I thought there was sod all lowend (but i never actually tried it at volume with a band, so who knows)

id say as far as od goes, you're probably best looking for some kind of harmonically rich tube-like overdrive, id say give the Bassdrive mosfet a go if you can and see how it speaks to you. Maybe even an EHX English Muff'n (real tubes, that can be swapped out for higer/lower gain tubes if you want) - dont be fooled by the name either, its not a muff, its more like a Marshall amp pre.

NKUSigEp · #6 03-09-2009, 04:05 PM

Aguilar Agro.

Jared Lash · #7 03-09-2009, 04:11 PM

If you are playing Stoner/Doom I wouldn't be looking at an overdrive at all, let alone the ones you mentioned.

When I think of Doom I think of the basic tone being a pushed tube amp. There are some pedals that could get you somewhere close, but there's nothing like the real thing, especially for Stoner/Doom.

But in particular, you've chosen some very cutting sounding pedals (XXLB, Tubescreamer clones, the fizzy sounding Blowtorch) which isn't what I think of when I think Doom bass tones. If the price tag didn't scare you off, MAYBE a Blueberry would fit the bill.

But really, I think of Doom as being all about real tube amps, with a heavy fuzz to really kick it up when needed. Though I've heard the Boss ODB-3 sounds much better in front of a tube amp, I still think it would be too industrial. When I had it I remember thinking that the Frantone Bassweet would be great in front of a tube amp for doom stuff.

bovine mind · #8 03-09-2009, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBigO

But in particular, you've chosen some very cutting sounding pedals (XXLB, Tubescreamer clones, the fizzy sounding Blowtorch) which isn't what I think of when I think Doom bass tones. If the price tag didn't scare you off, MAYBE a Blueberry would fit the bill.

But really, I think of Doom as being all about real tube amps, with a heavy fuzz to really kick it up when needed. Though I've heard the Boss ODB-3 sounds much better in front of a tube amp, I still think it would be too industrial. When I had it I remember thinking that the Frantone Bassweet would be great in front of a tube amp for doom stuff.

why not have both? i use the ODB3 in a "experimental" sludge band pushing an svt-cl. it's great having the clarity of the ODB3 to cut thru oppressively heavy guitars burying you in mud. doom is a genre that could use a few less clones anyway, so my bid is to use tones and fx that are a little different than the norm. it's a brutal pedal for my tastes, and i settled on it after wasting plenty of cash finding the bassdrive, hematoma, BDDI to be too murky or too low gain.

mox12 · #9 03-09-2009, 05:00 PM

I've never played one but the Earthbound SuperCollider looks and sounds awesome. BassFuzz.com did a review of it you can find on youtube.

http://www.myspace.com/earthboundaudioeffects
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkJexL4Iwd8

roflol · #10 03-09-2009, 05:47 PM

i'd keep the set up you have now and play louder with a tube amp ;<

IPS · #11 03-09-2009, 05:48 PM

the supercollider is definitely a fuzz, not an OD like the op is looking for

icarussmicarus · #12 03-09-2009, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBigO

If you are playing Stoner/Doom I wouldn't be looking at an overdrive at all, let alone the ones you mentioned.

When I think of Doom I think of the basic tone being a pushed tube amp. There are some pedals that could get you somewhere close, but there's nothing like the real thing, especially for Stoner/Doom.

But in particular, you've chosen some very cutting sounding pedals (XXLB, Tubescreamer clones, the fizzy sounding Blowtorch) which isn't what I think of when I think Doom bass tones. If the price tag didn't scare you off, MAYBE a Blueberry would fit the bill.

But really, I think of Doom as being all about real tube amps, with a heavy fuzz to really kick it up when needed. Though I've heard the Boss ODB-3 sounds much better in front of a tube amp, I still think it would be too industrial. When I had it I remember thinking that the Frantone Bassweet would be great in front of a tube amp for doom stuff.

+1

Here's a stone rock riff I recorded in C using the Blueberry OD

http://media.putfile.com/stonerberry

The Ethanator · #13 03-09-2009, 09:40 PM

yeah, ive got fuzziness taken care of. im just looking for a nice, smooth overdrive for those bass lines that are meant to be dirty, but not fuzzy. like i said before, ill blend it with my fuzz to get more tone options, but id like to be able to use it individualy as well

edit:
just stumbled upon this
http://www.buildyourownclone.com/overdrive2.html
looks alot like a mosfet bassdrive clone, with more adjustability and a much smaller pricetag AND smaller real-estate. and theres a mosfet mod kit available for an extra $8. what do you guys think?

smo · #14 03-09-2009, 10:21 PM

For stoner - I like the MI Audio Blue Boy Deluxe - but it won;t get all the high end sparkle at a bass guitar setting.

EDIT - the best OD I've ever used for bass work was the Tubeworks Blue Tube. Pity it just keeps crapping out on me!

Jared Lash · #15 03-09-2009, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icarussmicarus

+1

Here's a stone rock riff I recorded in C using the Blueberry OD

http://media.putfile.com/stonerberry

I still really dig your BBBOD clips. Good stuff and that one's no exception.

One other idea for stoner/doom overdrive might be the English Muff'n. You could swap out the stock tubes for more grit/gain, but I think that might make it too cutting of a sound. It might work best as is.

Deluge Of Sound · #16 03-10-2009, 07:20 AM

Best tone I've heard for this genre came from a BDDI into a solid state amp.

Just some food for thought.

icarussmicarus · #17 03-11-2009, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBigO

I still really dig your BBBOD clips. Good stuff and that one's no exception.

One other idea for stoner/doom overdrive might be the English Muff'n. You could swap out the stock tubes for more grit/gain, but I think that might make it too cutting of a sound. It might work best as is.

Just so happens I had the English Muff'n as my OD just before I got the Blueberry. Personally I think it's too grainy for the kind of amp like sound you want in stoner rock overdrive.

I've got an example of the English Muff'n being used for a live cover of the stone rock song 'Feel Good Hit of The Summer'.

myspace.com/offbeatanticsrockyourface

Having said that, I never played with the tubes. So who knows what its capable of?

bassboysam · #18 03-11-2009, 02:38 AM

For stonerrock I would recommend the Voodoo Labs sparkle drive. Most people think its too thin and bright sounding for bass, but in front of a tube amp in a band setting it kills. I wish I still had mine I traded it for the Fulltone Bassdrive and sometimes regret it, the bassdrive just does not seem to push my amps the same way the Sparkle Drive did. With the sparkle drive you can also change the input capacitor to allow more low frequencies to go through the OD circuit if you want to make it a bit more bass friendly (you can probably have that done for a few dollars) but you can also just add lows using the blend knob on the pedal.

I may just have to go get me another Sparkle Drive now.

Kapatain_Kool · #19 10-05-2010, 05:18 PM

I've got this ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGPV4...eature=related

Colonel Monk · #20 10-06-2010, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smo

For stoner - I like the MI Audio Blue Boy Deluxe - but it won;t get all the high end sparkle at a bass guitar setting.

EDIT - the best OD I've ever used for bass work was the Tubeworks Blue Tube. Pity it just keeps crapping out on me!

Mmmmm, zombie (still fresh)....

Yup. Blue Tube. If I was you I'd find a schematic and get it repaired, they rock and one of the best OD/distortions for bass I've found.

Disagree totally with English Muff'n for stoner rock, if even for bass at all. I thought it was extremely thin when I had it, just didn't care for it.

Don't have it anymore, but the distortion section from the 3dfx fatman/V2 had tons of bottom end - if it wasn't for the lamely implemented oscillator I would have kept it.

SFT - yeah I bought it because of the viddy linked in this thread - but I have yet to create that sound with mine. It just sounds alot more fizzly and high-end in my rig - maybe I need to try again. I was thinking maybe they doctored the sound to cut highs or something.