Ok, pedal boffins, sort me out (overdrive + blend)

rporcupine · #1 01-13-2008, 08:49 AM

ok, ive been looking around for a long time now, and basically i want to have an overdrive pedal that will blend with my clean tone, to get a subtle overdrive that still keeps all of my tone, as opposed to a straight hard dirty noise that usually gets lost in the mix.

i was thinking about:

EBS multidrive + a seperate blend fx loop pedal (i can get the multidrive for about £110)

OR

Sansamp bass driver (i can get one for £100) - i know these cut some mids, but like i said i barely want it on, probably on about a 20% wet and 80% dry or something. i know their primary use is more of a DI box but ive heard the overdrive samples and they sound pretty good.

OR

something else ?

bare in mind i am in the UK and most of these fancy overdrive pedals are barely available unless ordered from the back of beyond and adding tax etc blah

also, where they hell can you find blend pedals in the uk, ive looked everywhere..

dannybuoy · #2 01-13-2008, 09:40 AM

Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive (about £120, less if you import) or BBE Green Screamer (£50ish) according to Snakeman or DHA VT-1 (£90, made in the UK) should do you! Voodoo has a blend, I don't think the DHA does, but it sounds good without one.

The EBS and Sansamp would also do the job fairly well I suppose. Best to buy second hand so you can sell it on afterwards without taking a hit. Checkout basschat.co.uk for second hand stuff in the UK.

I've just ordered a DHA VT-2, can't wait! Dave will sort you out and has a return policy too if you feel you don't like it.

dannybuoy · #3 01-13-2008, 09:42 AM

Oh yeah, Dave Hall does blenders too, davehallamps.co.uk i think. If you live anywhere near Devon, he'll even let you come over and try his stuff out first!

hoerni · #4 01-13-2008, 09:48 AM

Danelectro Wasabi Overdrive.

I has the the blend built right in. They can be had for under $50 US, but I'm not sure of the availability in the UK.

I like mine a lot. It even works on 8string nicely.

Snakeman1066 · #5 01-13-2008, 09:56 AM

The Voodoo Lab Sparkle drive did this for me can't say enough about the product...Nice mild warm overdrive with a clean boost built right in great tone and note definition...no loss of bottom end $129.99 U.S. (but i also teamed this up with the Aphex Bass Xciter also $99.99 U.S.)

If i had the few extra dollars I would have gone with the BBE Green Screamer combined with the BBE Boosta Grande as together they are absolutely golden...a little brighter than the Voodoo Lab pedal but i had to add the extra pedal to get the same effect as the Sparkle Drive has built right in... The Green Screamer is $99.99 U.S. and comes with its own power adapter the Boosta Grande adds in another $79.99 U.S.

The T-Rex Moller Overdrive with Clean boost is awesome as well but runs about $279.99

I recently tried about 30 different overdrive pedals and for me these were the best of the bunch to my ears...

rporcupine · #6 01-13-2008, 09:59 AM

ok thanks for the advice, those dave hall amps seem pretty expensive and im not too familiar with them..

hmm, im a bit confused because there are so many of them !

Snakeman1066 · #7 01-13-2008, 10:19 AM

as was i....(Please see post entitled Ovedrive by McGroovin')

you know better than any of us what sound you have in your head now all you have to do is find the pedal that fits it.

basically i reserached every pedal i could find with the word overdrive stuck on it and then went and played them all...

In my case the thre above posted pedals really stood out and i went with the most inexpensive of the bunch...

Good luck on your search....and let us know what you end up with...lol

rporcupine · #8 01-13-2008, 10:38 AM

ok, having looked at about a million pedals, i think the safe option is to go with the SABDDI as it has the blend feature which is the most vital feature for me, and if needed can double up as a DI box.

overdrive isnt the biggest priority for me as i will probably barely use it, it would just be to add some oomph whilst the guitarist is soloing (we only have one guitarist). as usually when he is soloing, im trying to fill in the gaps with my clean bass tone, which usually ends up sounding a bit pathetic.

one · #9 01-13-2008, 11:25 AM

I'm building a blend pedal myself as my college project. I researched into blend pedals and the ones i found were;

Boss LS-2
Barge Concepts VFB-2
Xotic X-blender
Davehallamps VT-1 blender (Bob The Blender) - Valve driven
Morley FX Blender
Tone Czar VFM

There are other out there too, but many of them only blends two input signals, which would work, but first you'd need to split your signal(and run your effects inbetween the two boxes). The ones above have effect loops and are alot more convenient for a pedalboard.

As for overdrive, DHA(davidhallamps) VT-1 STD Bass is sweet. Although it needs it's own powersupply, it won't be going from my pedalboard anytime soon.

rporcupine · #10 01-13-2008, 12:07 PM

about the boss ls-2, i looked at it and it looks like the 'blend' knobs are actually just volume knobs, its quite a confusing pedal

OhThePeacock · #11 01-13-2008, 12:12 PM

The Barge Concepts one seems to be the most popular here. It'll cost you a little more than the LS-2 but you know it'll do exactly what you want it to.

rporcupine · #12 01-13-2008, 12:34 PM

that barge concepts pedal looks ideal

i think ive changed my mind and will buy one of these and an ex-demo EBS multidrive

it will be a blow on the wallet but i have a bit of money at the moment, no point compromising with something not as good. plus a blender gives me all kinds of opportunities in the future.