New sound New Sound New sound.

Duncorama · #1 04-26-2009, 09:51 AM

I need a new distortion sound.
I'm in a two piece, bass and drums, this is what my currrent setup sounds like -
www.myspace.com/apesfightback.
I've had this sound for a couple of years now and i'm looking for something a bit more aggressive, something a little less fuzz and a lot more crunch and attack.
Are their any distortion pedals out there that anyone knows of that have the fullness of a fuzz but the sound is a lot more harsh?
I know that's probably a bit too vague but it's the best i can do!
I like the sound Brian Gibson gets in Lightning Bolt but am i right in thinking that's more down to the fact that he drives his speakers way too hard?

rcubed · #2 04-26-2009, 10:02 AM

Look at what the dudes in Big Business and Om are using.

Duncorama · #3 04-26-2009, 10:08 AM

Yeah, Om's a bit too fuzzy for what i want.
I was chatting to the Bass Tech for Big Biz wwhen they tour europe the other week and he said Jared uses 3 rigs - ones a gk head with an 810, ones some kind over valve head (can't remember which one) going through another big ass cab and the other is a cheap guitar combo that he turn up all the highs on and the volume on and that adds the high end to all the lows that other two put out.

Both bassists have amazing tone buts it's not as agressive as i want, i'm looking for a more middle sounding tone if that makes sense?
Cheers for the reply fella!

cybersnyder · #4 04-26-2009, 10:17 AM

Give a Line 6 X3 Live a shot. You can combine bass and guitar rigs in two independent signal paths. The models may not be 100% perfect, but you get to try out a lot of different combinations for a relatively low price.

**DosiYanarchy** · #5 04-26-2009, 10:17 AM

Yo, checked out the tunes and really dug them and your sound.

Check out the MXR Bass Blowtorch
heres a demo i did (settings are listed) - its essentially got one sound, but its really tweakable withing that sound (3-band eq, blend, 3-position mid-freq selector, 'torch' switch for harder clipping)

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6880146

Duncorama · #6 04-26-2009, 01:09 PM

OOh that sounds tasty! Is that straight out of the di? It sounds good but a bit flat but that might be because there's no speaker sound in there.
You know the band Part Chimp? That huge sound they get with big chunks of middle in there, that's the kind of thing i'm going for.
How long have they been doing that pedal for?
Cheers for the nice words about our tunes too, is that a fender Jag you're playing?

**DosiYanarchy** · #7 04-26-2009, 03:52 PM

the jag is retired at the moment, it just sits there string-less and bridgeless with a semi sanded down finish, looking like its been raped. I'll get it up and running at some point, but between my MIM Fender deluxe P-bass special and my MIA Fender Deluxe Jazz, the Jag doesnt get any love, which is a shame

The Blowtorch has been around for a while, and can be found for a good price used (look for about £60 -£100 for a used one).

The blowtorch does sound different (read: better) coming out of a bass cab. It also woulda sounded a bit cleaner with the VTbass (which i had before the Blowtorch) switched off.

Its not dynamic, but its a hella-aggressive tight midrange fuzz that almost sounds gated.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #8 04-26-2009, 04:34 PM

Have you listened to the stuff put out by godheadSilo by chance?

Duncorama · #9 04-26-2009, 04:46 PM

Good stuff, i've found ashop just down the road that stocks that pedal so i shall be trying it out tomorrow, cheers boss!

Brian! I have never heard godheadsilo but people have mentioned them before, any good?

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #10 04-26-2009, 04:49 PM

Yeah- they were the first drum/bass act I had heard, and they're definitely aggressive like your band- check out the album Elephantitus of the Night.

Duncorama · #11 04-26-2009, 04:50 PM

Will do!

Duncorama · #12 04-27-2009, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DosiYanarchy

Yo, checked out the tunes and really dug them and your sound.

Check out the MXR Bass Blowtorch
heres a demo i did (settings are listed) - its essentially got one sound, but its really tweakable withing that sound (3-band eq, blend, 3-position mid-freq selector, 'torch' switch for harder clipping)

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6880146

I tried the pedal, i liked it but it didn't have as an agressive attack as i'm after, thanks for the suggestion though.
Has anyone tried a Pro Co Rat on bass?

rratajski · #13 04-27-2009, 09:46 AM

I just built myself a General Guitar Gadgets RAT replica this week. It's amazing on bass, but I encourage that it gets modded to fine tune the filtering through capacitors. It still takes out a little low end, but with a blend pedal, it will keep the lows. The RAT is VERY aggressive.

DO NOT GET A RAT II. A vintage rat or vintage reissue rat w/ an LM308 chip is a must.

rratajski · #14 04-27-2009, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rratajski

I just built myself a General Guitar Gadgets RAT replica this week. It's amazing on bass, but I encourage that it gets modded to fine tune the filtering through capacitors. It still takes out a little low end, but with a blend pedal, it will keep the lows. The RAT is VERY aggressive.

DO NOT GET A RAT II. A vintage rat or vintage reissue rat w/ an LM308 chip is a must.

PS - Video and shootout w/ byoc rat coming soooooon.

Thunderscreech · #15 04-27-2009, 09:50 AM

You should give the Tech 21 XXL Bass Edition a whirl. It's a Bass-specific Distortion pedal. In other words, it is the big. It can do a good range of tones, IMHO.

I'm in a 2-piece doom/sludge band, so I'm the same boat as you when it comes to distortion.

Duncorama · #16 04-27-2009, 09:50 AM

So just the basic Pro co rat is what i should look at?
What's wrong with the rat 2?

Thunderscreech · #17 04-27-2009, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncorama

So just the basic Pro co rat is what i should look at?
What's wrong with the rat 2?

The Rat 2 is made very cheaply. and it doesn't have the LM-whatever chip that give it a nice sound.

stflbn · #18 04-27-2009, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DosiYanarchy

Yo, checked out the tunes and really dug them and your sound.

Check out the MXR Bass Blowtorch
heres a demo i did (settings are listed) - its essentially got one sound, but its really tweakable withing that sound (3-band eq, blend, 3-position mid-freq selector, 'torch' switch for harder clipping)

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6880146

Your clean sound in that clip isn't really clean though. Hell, there's more OD in your clean sound that I often use in an OD sound.

LoL.

.

The Lurker · #19 04-27-2009, 10:04 AM

Check out Rob Wright of NoMeansNo.

Mexi P-bass and a cheap hybrid Marshall guitar amp.

rratajski · #20 04-27-2009, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncorama

So just the basic Pro co rat is what i should look at?
What's wrong with the rat 2?

Vintage or Vintage Reissue RAT only. Must have the vintage LM308 opamp in there.