My style of dirt/overdrive

manchild · #1 09-07-2009, 05:17 AM

I currently use a Turbo Rat as an overdrive/pre amp, with my amp eq almost flat.

I really like the texture/timbre of the sound as its crunchy/buzzy but also 'dry' sounding even when cranked, which is what appeals to me. I use it with drive almost completely off just to give some grit and to colour the tone, then crank it if i want some over the top sound.

I also have a Boss SD1, which i like the texture of, but found it to be too 'wet', in the sense that there is too much 'fizz' with it. Hence why i wouldnt use a distortion effect such as the Bass Overdrive by Boss or the DS1.

By the way i like fuzz when its cranked, but dont think there are any subtle fuzz devices which could cater for low transparent gain settings?

Although i am happy with how the rat sounds, i am curious about a possible alternative, simple to use overdrive/pre amp for less than £150 ($250 approx) and the following caught my eye:

Blackstar HT-Drive
MXR ODGT / Distortion 3
Hardwire (Digitech) CM-2
Ibanez Tubescreamer

If you have experience of these pedals, how would you compare them? I have the feeling the last two might be too simular to the SD1???

Im also wary about too much loss of low end and mids.

Let me know what your thoughts are, or anything else you would think would be suitable for my sound, if you please.

Many thanks

dannybuoy · #2 09-07-2009, 06:25 AM

the EBS Valvedrive is brilliant for low gain fatness... and I happen to be in the UK and selling mine!

manchild · #3 09-07-2009, 06:45 AM

Yeah it looks good, and sounds ok on the ebs website clips, but not sure if it is the right sound for me.

Swift713 · #4 09-07-2009, 06:50 AM

I wouldn't have thought the Rat would be very good for low gain OD. The bass modded Bad Monkey is good for that, and of course the Blueberry

Chowderboots · #5 09-07-2009, 07:13 AM

The Tubescreamer tends to be not good for bass. Just sayin'.

manchild · #6 09-07-2009, 07:14 AM

Yeah it only just manages it - prob not for everyones taste - but i like the grainy/crunchy bite that it gives when used as a boost like that.

Yeah i understand the bad monkey is a great OD for bass - is the Hardwire equivalent just as good?

Does the bad monkey have a lot of gain when turned up or is it just good for mild stuff?

manchild · #7 09-07-2009, 08:42 AM

Any had use of any MXR dirt boxes?

dannybuoy · #8 09-07-2009, 10:25 AM

The Bad Monkey can definitely do a pretty heavy overdrive. I had a Humphrey modded one and it was great. Chopped it in to get an Xotic Bass BB, and they sound very similar.

The Catalinbread SFT is looking very promising. You can order it online through Tonefactor, international shipping is pretty quick and you won't get lumbered with customs charges. I'm strapped for cash at the moment, hence me seling some gear, but I'm a bit of an overdrive whore so that's probably going to be the next pedal I purchase once I can afford!

Higgins666 · #9 09-07-2009, 11:02 AM

I'd say that it really is worth trying out the Blackstar pedal, I've got one on my main board, & it's fantastic (although I have the higher gain one), if I was going to replace my overdrive, I would happily get another Blackstar

Pitbull Growl · #10 09-07-2009, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannybuoy

the EBS Valvedrive is brilliant for low gain fatness... and I happen to be in the UK and selling mine!

QFT. I use mine as a 2nd preamp voicing and it just kills once you dial it in. It's the only OD/Dirt pedal I've used on bass so far that actually seems (to my ears) to add lows and not just suck away your sub-harmonics. I know alotta the clips out there are searing, hi-gain madness, but it does that subtle, clean & fat, just starts to break up when you dig in type OD REALLY WELL ime. If I was set-up to do sound clips I'd post an example... but unfortunately I'm not.

Alotta people recommend the Dave Hall Amps pedals for that low gain drive effect as well.

dannybuoy · #11 09-07-2009, 12:07 PM

It's very similar to the DHA, which I've also owned (VT2 Custom). Both pedals get farty and fizzy with the gain turned up high, but they both excel at adding a soft round tubey harmonics to a fingerstyle sound, or creating a sharp barking attack when using a P-Bass with a pick!

Pitbull Growl · #12 09-07-2009, 12:27 PM

I get the sharp, barking attack fingerstyle too... but that just comes down to technique. It's (the VD) very reactive/responsive to playing dynamics, so you can get different kinds of gain from it by varying your attack and your proximity to the bridge/neck.

I've never tried any of the DHA stuff myself, but that's only because I got the VD 1st and didn't see the need to add anything else in that realm. (The VD was just easier for me to obtain at the time) The other kewl thing about the VD IMHO is the Vintage/Modern switch. The vintage setting is kinda muddy... but even that has it's use when the occasion calls for it. I run the rest of my chain thru it to fatten it all up and it's like having 2 additional preamp settings available on the fly for me. I never noticed it getting what I would call fizzy, even at hi gain settings... but "fizzy" is a subjective term and I'm sure the effect chain order and the amp it's plugged it into are gonna be contributing factors as well.

Anyway, I hope that helps ya out OP, and if ya get the chance, try a VD and/or a DHA out and see whatcha think.

Swimming Bird · #13 09-07-2009, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chowderboots

The Tubescreamer tends to be not good for bass. Just sayin'.

Big shrug on that. I really like my TS clone as a dirty boost and used to use it as a dirty pre-amp. Then again, I have a 3-band para EQ on mine that does a good job retaining lows.

Swift713 · #14 09-07-2009, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manchild

Any had use of any MXR dirt boxes?

I test drove a 250 or Distortion + once. It's a bit sharper or crunchier than the Bad Monkey, Tube Screamer types. It wasn't too bad with the low end but grittier than my taste. If you're looking for that just starting to break up sound I've also heard good things about the Barber LTD SR. I've also been getting some nice subtle drive from a Bass POD Pro

manchild · #15 09-08-2009, 04:28 AM

Nice one man thanks for the advice, think il need to test what i can and find some clips of the suggestions

Din Of Win · #16 09-08-2009, 08:11 AM

You might want to check out the Digitech Bass Driver. It has a pretty wide array of tonal options and for pretty cheap.

I tried an MXR 250 clone a few months ago. It was pretty 'meh'. It was pretty obviously voiced for a guitar and my lows completely dissapeared.

+1 on a modded Bad Monkey

manchild · #17 09-09-2009, 06:34 AM

Yeah i think the MXR dirt boxes are good for guitar but not so much on bass - how does the new hardwire overdrive sound compared to the bad monkey, does anyone know?