Need Distortion But Don't Want the Volume

[mcdisease]

I need some recommendations for a distortion tone.

Our set up is as follows:
Me - Ampeg SVT-VR & Ampeg 6x10 classic cab (Fender p bass)
Rhythm guitar - Some Music Man 2x12 combo from the 70's
Lead guitar - Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier & 4x12 cab
Drummer - he's got some drums and some cymbals

Anyways, I'm looking for some recommendations on how to get a good sawtooth distortion sound and/or other distortion type sounds but not be loud as heck. As it is our guitar player must relieve himself once per practice due to the bass entering his bowels.

I've tried using the natural overdriven SVT distortion from my amp but it's too loud.

I have a big muff and a double muff, but the distortion is too much. When it sounds good it's too loud.

I'm thinking about buying a compressor pedal (don't want rack mount stuff) but I don't know where to put it in the chain.

So here's what I have:

• Boss Tuner
• Morely A/B Box
• Double Muff
• SVT-VR

I'm thinking I want to run a parallel type system where the second channel is dedicated to distortion only or to give me a good mix. I want to get a compressor but don't know where to put it in the chain. I think it needs to go after the distortion pedal to reduce the volume. At the same time it seems like the compressor usually shows up at the beginning of most chains.

Thanks for any help in advance.

[tripb19]

I have Source Audio Pro Classic Distortion stompbox . . . you can choose your type of distortion, how much pre and post gain, your output, and then EQ the signal - save it to a preset and hit it with your foot. 3 foot switches, perfect for any occasion.

[JimmyM]

if you like the natural ampeg distortion, the vt is the pedal to get. the source is also a cool pedal if you want a handful of tones. fuzzrocious makes a cool rat pedal clone optimized for bass if you want something heavier but not a fuzz. there are a butt-ton of distortion pedals for bass, all with their own sound. you can find lots of clips of different pedals on youtube and on here as well to start narrowing it down.

as for the comp, i don't know...if you're using distortion you may not want to use one since distortion has its own compression characteristics. i've kind of soured on compression lately. it can be useful sometimes, but i'm in a "i want to feel my dynamics" stage right now.

[bassman1185]

Ditch the double muff. It is one of the only distortion pedals I have ever seen that doesn't have a volume control. There are a million drive pedals out there with volume controls that you can use instead.