what dirt for me?

[groooooove]

im looking for the right overdrive.. did a search wasent really able to find info on the sort of thing i'm looking for.

im looking for an agressive, low-gain overdrive. i'm thinking similar to the (im assuming cranked tube amp) sound larry graham has in those instructional videos of his on youtube.. no, im not looking for the juggernaut pedal- his tone when hes not using the pedals. jazz bass + fresh roundwounds + wich dirt pedal, to get in that ballpark??

im playing into markbass amps, and i dont really have a budget. just looking for "the one."

[RickenBoogie]

Try a Fulltone OCD, Sansamp VT bass, Xotic Bass BB, and EBS Valve Drive. There are others, and they'll be listed by those that are familiar with them, but all 4 of what I listed have what you seek, in differnt styles.

[groooooove]

to start, i dont care for sansamps. the VT bass does emulate a cranked amp, but in such a "amp modeler" kind of way. its more of a preamp than a dirtbox IMO.

anyway, of those i think the EBS valvedrive has caught my eye the most in the past.. would you describe it as agressive + low gain? seems to be, but you can only tell so much from clips found on the internet..

[Higgins666]

I would suggest trying out some Blackstar pedals, I've been using the Blackstar HT-DistX & at the lower gain settings it sounds reminisant of Lemmy, but fear not! If a stupidly craked Marshall isn't your thing, they have two lower gain pedals, the HT-Dist & HT-Drive, I've tried both & I think they're fantastic pieces of kit, well worth trying out.

[ga_edwards]

I'm rather liking the tubescreamer simulation in my zoom at the mo, blended with clean signal. Maybe look for a real TS.

[Thunderscreech]

VooDoo Labs Sparkle Drive.

[OptimusPrime]

EBS ValveDrive. Perfect for you.

[groooooove]

i specified not wanting a tube screamer copy, and got this..

Originally Posted by ga_edwards

I'm rather liking the tubescreamer simulation in my zoom at the mo, blended with clean signal. Maybe look for a real TS.

Originally Posted by Thunderscreech

VooDoo Labs Sparkle Drive.

anyway, ill look into a valvedrive

[nad]

Originally Posted by groooooove

im looking for an agressive, low-gain overdrive.

This is how I've described the Dredge-Tone Angler in days of yore.

[Thunderscreech]

Originally Posted by groooooove

i specified not wanting a tube screamer copy, and got this..
anyway, ill look into a valvedrive

When you say copy I think of a clone. The Sparkle Drive isn't a clone, it's better, even though the circuits are kinda based off of each other.

[RickenBoogie]

Yes, the Valve Drive is sort of aggressive, yet easily tamed, (gain-wise) Able to do a convincing "crunch", but doesn;'t sound processed. Also, absolutely no low end loss. In fact, if you're not careful with the eq, it can actually add tons of bottom.

[groooooove]

Originally Posted by Thunderscreech

When you say copy I think of a clone. The Sparkle Drive isn't a clone, it's better, even though the circuits are kinda based off of each other.

thats true, but its still not what im looking for, it is essentially a modded TS, right?

the angler is next to impossible to get my hands on...isint it?

[Thunderscreech]

Originally Posted by groooooove

thats true, but its still not what im looking for, it is essentially a modded TS, right?

the angler is next to impossible to get my hands on...isint it?

Well....yeah. But it's better. IT HAS A CLEAN BLEND!!!


(I also don't want to admit I'm wrong...)

[Mark Olson]

Actually, I'm pretty certain that those Acoustic amps Larry used were solid state. And I wouldn't say the sound you're looking for is exclusive to a tube amp at all, more a very growly amp, which some solid state amps can do as well. Also that tone is actually pretty clean, believe it or not. I have quite a lot of experience applying Larry's technique to dirty amps, and quite a bit more with overdrives of all sizes, and that's not overdrive. His sound is a product of mainly his thumb, fresh roundwound strings, obviously, and a seriously growly amp. So here's the two places I'd look if I wasn't getting that tone:

1) I hate to say it but technique. Hear me out. Are you doing your thumbstyle hits with the meat or bone of your thumb, or are you hammering the strings pretty much with your thumbnail, playing through the string rather than bouncing off from it? In my experience with these techniques doing it the way Larry does, whipping the string with your thumbnail pretty much and playing through the string, creates a sound that is many times more aggressive than smacking the string with your thumbone or the meat of your thumb. It gives you more of that funky fret buzz that is key to Larry's sound. It's in my experience harder to do it the way Larry does, but if you're not doing it the way he does, that's the first place I'd start. After that check your action, because if your action is too high, you'll be missing out on that buzz that translates to growl with good technique.

2) How's your amp? If your amp just isn't bringing the growl, an overdrive pedal isn't even an appropriate substitute for a growling amp when you're talking about Larry's tone.

[ga_edwards]

Originally Posted by groooooove

i specified not wanting a tube screamer copy, and got this..







anyway, ill look into a valvedrive

Well apologies, I must of missed that, but there's no need to be rude. Actually, reading back through the thread I can't see where you specifically mentioned not wanting one if you could enlighten me.

[groooooove]

Originally Posted by Mark Olson

Actually, I'm pretty certain that those Acoustic amps Larry used were solid state. And I wouldn't say the sound you're looking for is exclusive to a tube amp at all, more a very growly amp, which some solid state amps can do as well. Also that tone is actually pretty clean, believe it or not. I have quite a lot of experience applying Larry's technique to dirty amps, and quite a bit more with overdrives of all sizes, and that's not overdrive. His sound is a product of mainly his thumb, fresh roundwound strings, obviously, and a seriously growly amp. So here's the two places I'd look if I wasn't getting that tone:

1) I hate to say it but technique. Hear me out. Are you doing your thumbstyle hits with the meat or bone of your thumb, or are you hammering the strings pretty much with your thumbnail, playing through the string rather than bouncing off from it? In my experience with these techniques doing it the way Larry does, whipping the string with your thumbnail pretty much and playing through the string, creates a sound that is many times more aggressive than smacking the string with your thumbone or the meat of your thumb. It gives you more of that funky fret buzz that is key to Larry's sound. It's in my experience harder to do it the way Larry does, but if you're not doing it the way he does, that's the first place I'd start. After that check your action, because if your action is too high, you'll be missing out on that buzz that translates to growl with good technique.

2) How's your amp? If your amp just isn't bringing the growl, an overdrive pedal isn't even an appropriate substitute for a growling amp when you're talking about Larry's tone.

markbass amps, brickhouse cabs.

i'm totally hip to what your saying about larrys techneque, how he wasent slapping the way everyone else does it. even if it was fretbuzz and the like, i think in the mix an agressive low drive OD will have the same effect, to an extent. im not looking to "be" larry graham. that was just an example of what seems like low gain agressive drive.

[groooooove]

Originally Posted by ga_edwards

Well apologies, I must of missed that, but there's no need to be rude. Actually, reading back through the thread I can't see where you specifically mentioned not wanting one if you could enlighten me.

apparently i diddnt.. my bad

i intended to put that.. and thought i did.. oh well.

[JMDT]

The Way Huge Pork Loin sounds like a good candidate here it has a nice low gain OD and with the clean blend maxed, it does a good job retaining dynamics. I use it when I want to add a slight crunch to my slap tone while still retaining the harmonics and clarity.

And no, while similar to the sparkle in operation the Way Huge Pork Loin is NOT based on the tubescreamer circuit. It is a completely new design.

[Surly]

VT gets you the sound of power tubes breaking up if that's what you like, the Drive knob changes the sound a lot. It has replaced my other pedals which just sound fizzy.