muff'n replacement? -marshall sound?

**DosiYanarchy** · #1 02-07-2009, 02:58 PM

hey y'all
I want that john entwistle sound live at leeds / kranked marshall/hiwatt. Im sure you all know what i mean, but i'll update with some relevant youtube links when i get a chance.

I thought i had it with the English Muff'n, in fact ive owned two and sold both, however in my experience it would just dissappear in a band mix. no matter what eq i boosted.

Part of me wants the Muff'n again, but its large size and awkward power supply are big turn offs. I'd also prefer not to have to use a clean blend to retain lows/low-mids, as they never sound that amazing to me (my logic: if a pedal gets lost in a mix, adding clean will just mean that the pedal will still get lost, but you'll have some clean bass coming through - which leaves me wondering why i bothered with the pedal in the first place).

I had an original Marshall Guv'nor and hated it - but to be fair i didnt really give it much of a go.
I also had a Catalinbreat Hyperpak briefly, liked the sound, didnt think the lowend would survive tho.

So im looking for something small-ish, 9v (or 18v) power.
Preferably with some sort of EQ and drive controls suited to BASS.

id pay up to £100 but if you find something suitable for a little more, let me know.

oh, i have a VTbass as the moment as well, but i dont really like the OD side of it that much.

and opinions?

theo

katri · #2 02-07-2009, 03:01 PM

Maybe the Mojo Hand mule, I've read it's similar to the hyperpak but with a better low end.

Thunderscreech · #3 02-07-2009, 06:08 PM

Boss MT-2 Metal Zone. It's practically a Marshall-in-a-box, and with a VT Bass should really kick.

WyrdoBass · #4 02-07-2009, 06:14 PM

Didn't DanielTulip post a thrad a while back about the Digitech Grunge sounding similar to his Muff'n? Might be a good cheap alternative to look into.

TrevorOfDoom · #5 02-07-2009, 06:23 PM

i see marshall in a box, i think Z.Vex Box of Rock

skulletwhip · #6 02-07-2009, 09:37 PM

maybe try adding a guitar combo amp to your rig. i borrowed a friends fender blues jr and also ran my usual 4x10 +15 rig and we almost didnt need a guitarist anymore!

i just used an aby box and kicked it on when appropriate.

good luck

mike

**DosiYanarchy** · #7 02-08-2009, 03:15 AM

Hey thanks for the suggestions:
i've owned the MT2 and it just dissappeared when i was playing with the band- and im looking for something more tube-like.

Digitech grunge? hmmm, ill check out Dan's clips.

Box of rock - if i can see one kinda cheap i might be tempted, but hows the low end?

so as far as anyone knows, theres no bass-specific Marshall-style pedal?

Mojohand Mule - ill give it a look.

dannybuoy · #8 02-08-2009, 03:26 AM

I would keep the VT Bass as a tone shaper and run another overdrive into it. I'll do some clips of my Bad Monkey -> VT, it might be exactly the sound you're loking for.

**DosiYanarchy** · #9 02-08-2009, 03:42 AM

cheers, i'd been thinking of the Bad Monkey, as i used to have a Boss Blues Driver that sounded pretty good but it did loose low-end a bit. some clips would be great.

GeoffByrne · #10 02-08-2009, 04:27 AM

Maybe you should give the Marshall Guv'nor II a go - it has an extra deep tone boost - 4 band EQ - and loses no bottom end at all. I use it for a bit of bottom end suzz.

**DosiYanarchy** · #11 02-08-2009, 04:45 AM

really? i was seriously tempted by the guv II, as i thought the original had a cool marshall sound, but thought it wouldnt last 5 minutes in a band mix. I didnt realize that the new guv had an extra deep tone boost.

They can also be had pretty cheap as far as im aware, so ill have a look.

thanks

katri · #12 02-08-2009, 04:59 AM

I have the original guvnor and at the moment im thinking of trying to mod it so i can keep more of the bass and hopefully that will mean it will sit a lot nicer in a band mix

rratajski · #13 02-08-2009, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WyrdoBass

Didn't DanielTulip post a thrad a while back about the Digitech Grunge sounding similar to his Muff'n? Might be a good cheap alternative to look into.

Why did Tulip ditch his Grunge though? I am too lazy this morning to thread diving.

**DosiYanarchy** · #14 02-08-2009, 06:25 AM

i got impulsive and just picked up a Guv'nor II off ebay for cheap, ill let my finding be known soon enough, but im hoping that with a 4-band EQ i cant go too wrong - for a guitar pedal.

I doubt its gonna sound as beautiful at the muff'n, but unless its secretly got two preamp tubes inside, i wasnt expecting too.

Thunderscreech · #15 02-08-2009, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DosiYanarchy

i got impulsive and just picked up a Guv'nor II off ebay for cheap, ill let my finding be known soon enough, but im hoping that with a 4-band EQ i cant go too wrong - for a guitar pedal.

I doubt its gonna sound as beautiful at the muff'n, but unless its secretly got two preamp tubes inside, i wasnt expecting too.

Have you thought of the Seymour Duncan Twin Tube pedals?

**DosiYanarchy** · #16 02-08-2009, 09:43 AM

good call, but i dont know how great it'd be for bass, it also looks quite big. I dont really see how it'd have any advantages over the Muff'n - except its possibly 9v, and has 2 channels (a cool feature, but not one im looking for)

I dont mind spending £30 on a pedal that might suck for bass but might work really well. I do mind spending over £100 on one tho.

my hope-beyond-hope is that EXH will read this thread and bring out a bass version of the Muff'n , or something similar.

Thunderscreech · #17 02-08-2009, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DosiYanarchy

good call, but i dont know how great it'd be for bass, it also looks quite big. I dont really see how it'd have any advantages over the Muff'n - except its possibly 9v, and has 2 channels (a cool feature, but not one im looking for)

I dont mind spending £30 on a pedal that might suck for bass but might work really well. I do mind spending over £100 on one tho.

my hope-beyond-hope is that EXH will read this thread and bring out a bass version of the Muff'n , or something similar.

Muff'n w/ blend loop maybe? Or get a used LS-2 and do just enough blend so lows come through?

one · #18 02-08-2009, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thunderscreech

Muff'n w/ blend loop maybe? Or get a used LS-2 and do just enough blend so lows come through?

Can't you read?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DosiYanarchy

I'd also prefer not to have to use a clean blend to retain lows/low-mids, as they never sound that amazing to me (my logic: if a pedal gets lost in a mix, adding clean will just mean that the pedal will still get lost, but you'll have some clean bass coming through

I personally would be thinking about trying the Z.vex BOR.

**DosiYanarchy** · #19 02-08-2009, 10:06 AM

ahh, but theres the rub.

sure with a blend clean lows will come through, making sure that my sonic presence is still full in the mix, but essentially if a pedal is going to get lost in a mix, adding clean bass isnt going to stop that, it'll just mean that there'll be clean bass AND a pedal being lost in the mix.

now i say this from the experiences ive had. The only fuzz/od pedals that i ever thought worked well in a band mix with a clean blend was the boss blues driver, the Boss Bass overdrive and the ampeg Scrambler

Im also thinking from the point of view that when our band gets really heavy - even tho we're a 3-piece, our guitarist uses his DD6/7 to loop riffs- i'll want something dirty that'll still cut through, and i mean dirty on all frequencies, not just dirty top with clean bottom.

the closest to the tone I want has come from the Muff'n but it just disappeared into the mix like it wasnt even on.

**DosiYanarchy** · #20 02-08-2009, 10:07 AM

im gonna do some research on the boR right now