supercollider vs. depth charge?

bovine mind · #1 12-24-2008, 10:29 PM

how do they compare? i'm looking for a fuzz that will retain all low end and provide a very thick, very high gain, squishy but pronounced punch.

I'm currently using the depth charge but can't raise the volume very high with the setting i like [ blend, tone, and gain controls almost all maxed ] without clipping my preamp. i like to blend my fuzz almost completely into my signal. don't care so much for the blend function on this. it also hisses like crazy. i DO like how saturated and thick the fuzz is. i have a feeling when i get a tube amp i'll really be able to hear it rage without worrying about the solid state clipping issues i'm having with it.

i like the aesthetic, name, and background of the supercollider, especially since it's built from the stoner/doom perspective. i play heavy psych, noise, sludge oriented lines. sound clips i've heard haven't convinced me if it would be a better fit quite yet, seems to be on the crunchier side rather than the dense monsoon of buzzing fuzz sound i'm looking for ala Mclusky, Harvey Milk, Autolux, Thrones, etc. i play a stingray, how does it manage with active basses? if anyone is willing to point me in the direction of a clip with the fuzz "blended" completely into the signal, with a few notes sustained i'd be very grateful.

smo · #2 12-27-2008, 07:16 PM

Can't help you with the clips - have nothing to record with !
Check out BassFuzz.com. Grygrx has some fine clips there with a P-bass. Those clips actually helped me to decide to get a Supercollider in the first place.

I play through a "franken-ray"
It's a Yammy with the SD-Basslines musicman alnico pup and active preamp. Side by side with a real stingray, it's pretty close, just lacking a little of the top-end magic - but it's still all there.
The SC works fine with an active. No clipping at all. But I've only tried it with a 9v - nothing higher than that. I use a P-bass also, and the SC doesn't seem to show a huge difference in definition with either, provided you use some kind of buffer first (I use a wah).

With gain down to nothing, the SC is still quite fuzzy. Bottom end is no worries with this fuzz. I've found that the "depth" control boosts the low end, but also boosts the gain a little too.
At higher gain settings, the lows seem to get a boost also.
Bear in mind, this pedal is NOT subtle, and all the Freq. range will get fuzzed out, so not all the lows will come through thumpy - fuzzy instead.
If you're a real thumpy-thump kinda player, this pedal is gonna change that tone dramatically.

I do think a blend would work very well, adding a little more definition to this fuzz also.
It works very well if you wanna gain stage. I haven't found any pedals it won't play nice with yet. And it won't need an isolated power supply either. Volume control has a large range, able to cut or boost.
At the highest gain settings it can be pretty wild and woolly, with a dramatic loss of definition. As any good fuzz should.

A recent gig at the hyde park hotel - during a song called Technical Difficulties (long story on THAT one

) one of our guitarists cut out for half the song. (lead stepped on by patron - again.)
So I kicked in the SC to fill the gaping hole he had left, without any huge loss of low end, but adding a fat fuzzy thickness.

I vote Supercollider. Sorry for the essay

**grygrx** · #3 12-27-2008, 07:45 PM

The supercollider is smoother than the Depth Charge, and to my ear it's really just a big muff variant (though a very nice one). The Depth Charge is a Brassmaster based fuzz. If you like the general sound of it, you might look at the Malekko B:assmaster. Which is both more true, and more ear pleasing (IMHO) take on the pedal. The DC has this shrieking box of bees sound that I would not recommend to anyone who was playing with a cab that had a horn or a tweeter.

On bassfuzz there are clips of this pedal with a P bass, an Active Jazz bass, and a couple of others (no ray'esque basses though). I experienced no issues with impedance issues with any bass I used.

I don't think the SC does the "dense monsoon of buzzing fuzz". You might take a look at the Shin-Ei/Univox Superfuzz or a fuzz based off it.

bovine mind · #4 12-28-2008, 01:34 PM

Thanks for your input. i like the more DC's more extreme take on the Brassmaster fuzz. the "box of bees" sound is very much what i like what i like about it. i went back and listened to your clips and still find the SC to be slightly more of a meaty crunchy fuzz sound, rather than the turbulent buzz fuzz of the DC. "buzz" is the sound i want, if that's any beacon. the b:assmaster sounds too spitty and again, crunchier than i'm looking for. for now i think i'll have to tame the GAS and stick with the DC until i can find a tube amp and really decide. i messed with my EQ last night and cranked the volume 3/4 open & cut out a lot of treble and mids on my bass and i'm hearing the sound i want for the time being.

**grygrx** · #5 12-28-2008, 01:41 PM

Yeah, odds are if you like that "box of bees" sound, you will have to live with some hiss. I'm not sure I've heard a gated fuzz that will do it. I'll see if I can coax it out of my zoom ultra fuzz.

bovine mind · #6 12-28-2008, 01:53 PM

i'm running the DC in a barge loop, with a noise gate outside of the loop, before the fuzz. this way it cuts all feedback when the notes end. i tried the ISP decimator after the fuzz, and while it cut the hiss, it doesn't clamp down on feedback between notes. i guess i'll just have to live with the hiss when the pedal is on or buy another ISP and have it after the fuzz. we have some quiet/loud dynamics where i like to strike a huge fuzzed/modulated note and immediately have it cut totally silent. what's strange is the hiss fades away after a note is cut with the ISP set up before it. this probably makes sense to those with experience using noise gate, but i'm new to them. can't have everything i guess.

**grygrx** · #7 12-28-2008, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bovine mind

i'm running the DC in a barge loop, with a noise gate outside of the loop, before the fuzz. this way it cuts all feedback when the notes end. i tried the ISP decimator after the fuzz, and while it cut the hiss, it doesn't clamp down on feedback between notes. i guess i'll just have to live with the hiss when the pedal is on or buy another ISP and have it after the fuzz. we have some quiet/loud dynamics where i like to strike a huge fuzzed/modulated note and immediately have it cut totally silent. what's strange is the hiss fades away after a note is cut with the ISP set up before it. this probably makes sense to those with experience using noise gate, but i'm new to them. can't have everything i guess.

Have you tried a pedal like the Boss NS-2. It can do a pretty effective gate if manipulated correctly.

bovine mind · #8 12-28-2008, 02:04 PM

i have and got rid of it due to the tone suck. it did solve my feedback and hiss issues though. i figure i can slam on and off the loop when i want those harsh/silent moments. i won't be able to do it away from my pedalboard unfortunately [ ideally i'd like to be on the other side of the venue on top of something very tall, ha ] but i can live with that for now.