OD/distortion pedal shootout

heavyfunkmachin · #1 05-26-2008, 05:20 AM

hi all,

im looking for a OD/dist pedal, I have searched well, i just can make up my mind, let me explain...

i´ve struggled throug my bp-200 distortions: i hate them all... they get me through.. but tone suckes... the i got a behringer bass distortion (the purpel one)... cheap worthless piece of... plastic.

i realise od/dist/fuzz arent the same thing... but i have my ears open, i just wanted some noise!!

i tried the boss odb-3, i didnt like it at all.. sterile... thin.. soulless... tried the old proco rat but i t was a low end sucker... gave it to my guitard...
ive heard some nice things about the DOD Overdrive/Preamp 250, but no chance of trying one... EBS MultiDrive loks also nice, though a bit pricey for me. the big muff gets lots of talk... and i wonder...

so pretty much, i dont really know what i want and i intend to buy something ear-folded (ebay) based on your advice...

i want something that can be av feeded, and doesnt suck low-end... some bands i like... stooges, mogwai, pink floyd, a silver mt zion, the velvet undergound (i love european son´s bass sound btw), tv on the radio, sigur ros...

anyway, ANY help will be very welcomed... i open to all kind o suggestions, and thanks a lot.

KarateKid25 · #2 05-26-2008, 05:36 AM

The DOD 250 is a really nice overdrive. I own some pretty expensive ODs and the 250 holds its own with them. I won't be selling mine in a hurry.

It has a great bypass and holds the low end nicely. Its nice to play with too as it responds nicely to light playing and digging in. If your looking at picking up something to have a go with, I highly recommend it. Also, it won't break the bank (even new) so thats another bonus too

Swimming Bird · #3 05-26-2008, 06:41 AM

What's your setup?

I'd say you either want fuzz (for Mogwai and Sigur Ros sounds) or a light overdrive (for Stooges sounds). I mean, it really depends what your tastes are and each of these bands (at least the ones I know well) has a bassist with a pretty wide tonal range.

You may want to look into a Sansamp PDDI or a Pigtronix Disnortion -- each has multiple stomps for multiple sounds but they are very different.

Zappstorius · #4 05-26-2008, 06:42 AM

For a distortion pedal I like the Ibanez PD7. It's cheap ($45 new-cheaper on ebay), and retains tons of low end. It's not the most durable pedal, but DOD doesn't have the greatest reputation in that regard either.

heavyfunkmachin · #5 05-26-2008, 06:42 AM

thanks, but i belive there are at least 3 versions of it... are the 3 of them fine?

Zachass · #6 05-26-2008, 07:24 AM

I love my 250, sounds great out of the box, especially for light to medium grit, and only loses a bit of low end on the highest settings. Ditto on how well it responds to your playing. I did some easy modifications on it (it's a very easy circuit to play with), and now it sounds even better.

heavyfunkmachin · #7 05-26-2008, 08:02 AM

my main setup is (im a gear slut

)

mim jazz with fender custom 60´s pickups + nice 3d bridge
+
behringer bass od (SOON out of the chain)
+
BOSS G EQUALIZER FOR BASS
+
digitech bp 200
+
boss rc-20 xl
+
roland db-500 (amp)

so, so far the idea i get is that my dream setup would be a dod 250 AND a big muff or something like that?

btw how about the marshal guv´nor?

and where could i listen to some sound samples? bands? internet? and what about the MXR Distortion +?

Zachass · #8 05-26-2008, 09:17 AM

For sound clips, there's a sticky at the top of the thread called the effects FAQ, there's a link to the soundclip database thread in there that you should peruse to get an idea of what you may or may not like. As for the DOD 250/Big Muff combo, it's pretty much what I use for distortion (only difference is my pedals have been modified quite a bit), and it gives me a pretty good range of options, though I'm looking to add a few new flavors to my distortion pallet this summer.

tomvelsor · #9 05-26-2008, 10:08 AM

visual sound jekyll and hyde. extremely bass friendly, and its both a distortion and overdrive. infact, the distortion side is a tubescreamer with a bass boost switch. very nice.

Elemeninki · #10 05-26-2008, 04:49 PM

Danelectro Liquid Metal is something else.

It has a trés useful octave switch.
But youd probably want to try one before you buy it. It might be too much.

It's tonal range is kind of rip your face off to blow your face off

ihateusernames · #11 05-26-2008, 08:04 PM

my latest additions are a dod250 and wasabi od. both are great, the dod250 will be in my signal chain for a good bit. in 20 years of playing this is one of the best pedals i've played. sansamp rpm is working very nicely for me too.

manmountain8 · #12 05-26-2008, 08:12 PM

I don't own any of these pedals yet, but I sure have looked up a lot of crap about them. These are my picks in this order.

BJFE Blueberry Bass Overdrive
Dredge-Tone Bass Angler OD
Malekko B:assmaster -octave up fuzz
EBS Valve Drive
Analogman modded Ibanez Tube Screamer
HBE Hematoma
Fulltone Bassdrive Mosfet
EBS Multi Drive
Z Vex Wooly Mammoth
Analogman Sunface

These pedals aren't cheap but you get what you pay for.

KarateKid25 · #13 05-26-2008, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manmountain8

I don't own any of these pedals yet, but I sure have looked up a lot of crap about them. These are my picks in this order.

BJFE Blueberry Bass Overdrive
Dredge-Tone Bass Angler OD
Malekko B:assmaster -octave up fuzz
EBS Valve Drive
Analogman modded Ibanez Tube Screamer
HBE Hematoma
Fulltone Bassdrive Mosfet
EBS Multi Drive
Z Vex Wooly Mammoth
Analogman Sunface

These pedals aren't cheap but you get what you pay for.

I agree with you in general, but in the case of the DOD 250, getting what you pay for just isn't true IMO.

I currently own a BJFE Blueberry and 2x Cream Pies (its in the light OD / Boost category) and am waiting for an Assmaster to arrive in the mail. I have owned other ODs in the past too.
IME the DOD 250 mixes it with those guys, no worries.
Considering I paid $300 for my blueberry, $300 for my Assmaster and $200 each per Cream pie, its pretty amazing that my 250 cost $40ish brand new.

If we go on a bang for your buck comparison, it totally smokes my other ODs.

CamiloDíaz · #14 05-26-2008, 11:28 PM

modded TS9 or, even better, Ibanez TS9DX for OD

Metal Zone or SD-1 for distorsion (tweeked right, MT-2 is a blast on bass. Really)

Wooly Mammoth or RUSSIAN Big Muff for Fuzz- ish bass. Fulltone Colorsound Bass Fuzz is named often too for this category.

Those are not thaaat expensive, easy to find new or on e-bay and pretty re-seller friendly (ethics, everybody, re-sell is not the same as rip-off) in case you don't like' em.

If you're looking for mogwai/sigur ros territory, you have to have AT LEAST an OD and a Fuzz.

basslyon · #15 05-26-2008, 11:35 PM

I use the old marshall guv'nor for my fuzz and also a EBS Valvedrive. I find with the fuzzier boxes that cut your low end you are better served using a blender so you can mix in a clean signal. That way you can get a crazy distorted sound with a true bottom end. I use the boss ls-2 for this but there are plenty of options. I think there are some boxes which actually have a clean singnal mix option on them (I just can't think of any right now)

Also i know at least one of ashdown's distortion boxes only distorts the mid frequencies leaving the bottom clean

Curtybob · #16 05-26-2008, 11:44 PM

I have a Line 6 Uber Metal that I think sounds pretty mean. It has 3 types of distortion, and a pretty tweakable EQ section. It can be a bit noisy with cheap power supplies (that are perfectly quiet with other pedals, btw), but batteries or a good power supply will fix it right up.

heavyfunkmachin · #17 05-27-2008, 12:57 AM

so far this looks like a get-a-250-and-a-russian-big-muuf-itis

ErebusBass · #18 06-04-2008, 01:24 PM

I see that the DOD 250 is a guitar pedal, how does it handle a low B, or in my case a low A?

paganjack · #19 06-04-2008, 01:30 PM

i use a Boss SD-1 that I did the Monte Allums GT mod on- two more switches and it sounds like beautiful tubey peanut butter- the tone knob makes it go from creamy to crunchy. all in all cost me $100 and some patience and its totally worth it.

kevteop · #20 06-04-2008, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by basslyon

I find with the fuzzier boxes that cut your low end you are better served using a blender so you can mix in a clean signal. That way you can get a crazy distorted sound with a true bottom end. I use the boss ls-2 for this

That's what I'm currently doing. Muff in an LS-2 loop.

Quote:

Originally Posted by basslyon

I think there are some boxes which actually have a clean singnal mix option on them (I just can't think of any right now)

Pickle Pie 'B' for one. I'm hoping it will replace my Muff/LS-2 combo when mine arrives in a couple of weeks' time.

The MXR Blowtorch also has a blend knob on it, and lots of EQ options. Well worth a look. It ranges from O/D to a very smooth-sounding fuzz, but to be honest mine's always cranked so I couldn't tell you how good the overdrive sounds are.