I was reading on the Z vex forums that the wooly mammoth doesn't work well with active pickups. Does anyone here use one with actives? If so how is it?
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wooly mammoth w/ actives
- Thread starter ARCtrooper225
- Start date
The forums were right. Fuzz in general doesn't work well with active basses.
However some fuzzes have a built-in buffer (Subdecay Flying Tomato, MI Audio Neo Fuzz, etc.) that allows them to be used with active basses. You can also have a buffer custom-built for the same reason. Tayste_2000 had Barge Concepts make a buffer/bypassloop/blend pedal for a reasonable price.
However some fuzzes have a built-in buffer (Subdecay Flying Tomato, MI Audio Neo Fuzz, etc.) that allows them to be used with active basses. You can also have a buffer custom-built for the same reason. Tayste_2000 had Barge Concepts make a buffer/bypassloop/blend pedal for a reasonable price.
Ineresting- you learn something new everyday.
Spanks- the various muffs are fuzzes, correct? They seem to have universal appeal.
Also, I have a Black Cat Bass Octave Fuzz that is completely irrating and face melting (in other words, I love it!). I wonder if it acheives this sound because of a lack of a buffer?
If so, I may need to get a Wolly Mammoth.
Spanks- the various muffs are fuzzes, correct? They seem to have universal appeal.
Also, I have a Black Cat Bass Octave Fuzz that is completely irrating and face melting (in other words, I love it!). I wonder if it acheives this sound because of a lack of a buffer?
If so, I may need to get a Wolly Mammoth.
Ive actually sucessfully used a woolly with actives, needed the buffer though. I got the John Cuniberti REAMP- http://www.reamp.com/. The problem isnt with the active pickups themselves, its with the impedance singal they put out. You need a high impedance to get the woolly to work. The reamp will take your low impedance signal and change it to a high impedance.
Yup for the most part. The Double Muff and Muff'n are different, though. The Muff'n is OD, and the DM has 2 OD circuits (maybe?) I think. The Metal Muff also toes the line between distortion and fuzz. NYC, LBM, and sovtek are all undeniably fuzz though.
I wonder how they acheive such great tone on active basses, because I really doubt if they are buffered.
They're not. I have a passive P bass, and I have problems with the LBM even with that. I can't have the Sustain above 9 O'clock before the fuzz drops out, leaving a much quieter, undistorted note. I'm looking to try a Flying Tomato soon (hopefully).
Do you use active basses and fuzz? What unit? How is it working out for you?
Do you use active basses and fuzz? What unit? How is it working out for you?
Yes- I play an Acacia Custom 4 w/ EMG's. I have two Sovtek Big Muffs (A green version and a civil war version) and a Black Cat bass Octave Fuzz.
They all sound wonderful (althought tone IS subjective). The BoF get a real face ripping tone- even more so than what the Wolly Mammoth can acheive IMO.
Mine sounded bad with my active bass... So using a dedicated buffer in front of the Mammoth would solve the problem?
Nope. It's two Muff Fuzz circuits cascading into each other.
The Muff Fuzz has been resurrected as the Nano Muff Overdrive, because it's really too mild to be a fuzz, and it sounds like a vintage bluesy overdrive on guitar.
So yeah... imagine two Nano Muffs in a row. Pretty much the same thing.
I should also add that the Little Big Muff and other Big Muff pedals seem to be finicky when it comes to active basses. My LBM works perfectly fine with an active bass, but Spanky's doesn't.
I'm not sure of the reason, though. My current active bass has both active pickups and an active EQ system running off of a 9V battery, and I'm not having any issues. However, I did have to turn down the Sustain a bit to get the original level of distortion I'd been achieving with my previous pickups.
Spanky, I'm not sure if anyone has asked you this yet, but are you running anything else in front of the LBM when you're testing it? I wonder if something else is driving it too hard.
I'm not sure of the reason, though. My current active bass has both active pickups and an active EQ system running off of a 9V battery, and I'm not having any issues. However, I did have to turn down the Sustain a bit to get the original level of distortion I'd been achieving with my previous pickups.
Spanky, I'm not sure if anyone has asked you this yet, but are you running anything else in front of the LBM when you're testing it? I wonder if something else is driving it too hard.
Yeah- dump that wussie LBM and get a SBM. Join the dark side!
Grow some hair on those nads, son!
Depends on the fuzz :scowl: my The Roar which is buffered doesn't like my Barge's buffer at all and I have to run my boost pedal in front of it [the setting doesn't matter really] to fix this
on the other hand it can take my active bass no prob.
Yeap. I got a Cirrus recently which didn't agree with either the Mammoth alone, or the Mammoth within the loop of a variable buffer Barge Concepts Looper.
Yeah, mine does varying degrees of terrible depending on what's eing put into it. Somehow my boss compressor has the best results and my piezo bass isn't bad, but all the other pedals I've tried first don't work out.
Here's the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] on the ZVEX forums, apparantly for one guy, a passive volume control was all he needed to use it with an active. THere's another thread on here that had conflicting results with a couple buffers/etc... I'll dig it up after lunch.
I'd love a good solution though, as I wouldn't mind an octave before the mammoth.
Here's the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] on the ZVEX forums, apparantly for one guy, a passive volume control was all he needed to use it with an active. THere's another thread on here that had conflicting results with a couple buffers/etc... I'll dig it up after lunch.
I'd love a good solution though, as I wouldn't mind an octave before the mammoth.
bongomania
Commercial User
I agree- remember, buffer = active = preamp. The terms are interchangeable (although the implementation will vary).
