A very natural, rich sounding, subtle overdrive.

[Jared Lash]

Oh.




Never mind.

Yeah, just for reference here's some shots of JMJ's studio from his "Ask a Pro" forum here on TB:

I'm guessing there's not a lot of gear he hasn't tried.

Part of why I wanted to give an answer in this thread is to try and help somebody who has passed out a lot of great info to TBers, myself included.

 

[jmjbassplayer]

Oh.




Never mind.

No it's cool - I'm thankful for your insight regardless. I should revisit my Tone Hammer and Agro. I just felt they sounded a bit "grainy" to me, but I'll get my ears on them again.

 

[groovaholic]

Oh.

Never mind.

I hope I didn't come across as busting your balls -- I was trying to keep the tally of "pedals that JMJ has already tried for this" updated.

The ToneHammer is a GREAT pedal, and it's interesting to hear the different things that people like and dislike about the same pedals -- that's probably why the pedal market has gotten SO GOOD; lots of different companies making lots of different flavors for lots of different players.

And even if the SOUND is the same, the dynamics and how the pedal affects the feel will be different to all of us.

 

[Turn Em Loose]

No it's cool - I'm thankful for your insight regardless. I should revisit my Tone Hammer and Agro. I just felt they sounded a bit "grainy" to me, but I'll get my ears on them again.

I get it now: You're THAT JMJ. Nobody ever accused of me of being particularly quick.

In response to your "grainy" experience all I can say is that both pedals, to me sound a little grainy, too. The key is to use them at very low Gain. I use the TH with the Gain at about 7:30 and IIRC I used the Agro with the Saturation all the way, or almost all the way, down. I really like both pedals like this.

I know....I know....You've already tried them like this.

 

[Turn Em Loose]

I hope I didn't come across as busting your balls -- I was trying to keep the tally of "pedals that JMJ has already tried for this" updated.

The ToneHammer is a GREAT pedal, and it's interesting to hear the different things that people like and dislike about the same pedals -- that's probably why the pedal market has gotten SO GOOD; lots of different companies making lots of different flavors for lots of different players.

And even if the SOUND is the same, the dynamics and how the pedal affects the feel will be different to all of us.

Not at all!! Honestly....That didn't even cross my mind. I must have missed the Tone Hammer reference. I always quickly scan these threads as you can never have too many fun tube-y toys to play with.


That didn't sound right, did it?

 

[isher1992]

OKKO Basstard.

It can do lots of gain, or very little depending on the signal it gets. I push a tube boost into mine to get more gain, but on its own, it can do very very mild and the Tone control adjusts the mids. Also, the + Switch is nice to go between high and low gain.

 

[Marial]

You need a Cordoba Corinthian Velvet Fuzz.

 

[Crazy Otto]

Not at all!! Honestly....That didn't even cross my mind. I must have missed the Tone Hammer reference. I always quickly scan these threads as you can never have too many fun tube-y toys to play with.


That didn't sound right, did it?

If that's wrong, I don't want to be right

 

[DirkP]

It may be too subtle depending on what you're looking for, but the EHX Bass Soul Food has a blend and treble control, and isn't particularly gain-heavy. Sounds very warm to my ears. I'm also in a bit of a honeymoon phase with that pedal right now so take that with a grain of salt.

I like what it does somehow, but the sound is extremely mid-focused and it really sucks the low-end from your bass, esp. in bypass mode. The latter is a no go IMO and every pedal sold today should have a true bypass. I would never leave this pedal in my signal chain, if I don't want it in active mode all the time.

 

[Feral Feline]

DR. SCIENTIST's "THE ELEMENTS"

It's been mentioned, but NOT ENOUGH!

Here's why I think so ...

@jmjbassplayer, The Elements does all you require mentioned in your first post (following info gleebed from Invalid Link Removed):

✔︎ "subtle overdrive flavors"

Gain Toggle
- low-medium – no-gain buffer + EQ, Boost, Low-Med OD
- medium-high — med-gain OD to High-gain Dist​

✔︎ "more on the warm side of things"

(Warm, yes, or not — depends how you set it!)
3-way Toggle:
1) no clipping/
2) asymmetrical silicon-open/
3) LEDs​

✔︎ "not particularly gain-y"

(again, it's all in how you set it)
Gain knob – toggle low = boost & saturation; toggle high = saturation/clipping distortion .​

✔︎ "Tone controls would be great"

Bass - centred on 100Hz

Bass-toggle (a switch for guitarists I guess): mild bass cut/drastic bass cut/all freqs go through gain stages.​

Mids - flat at noon, anti-clockwise cuts/clockwise boosts

Mid-Toggle centres the freq of the mids knob: 400/800/1200Hz​

Treb - centred on 3kHz, again flat at noon with cut left, boost right.​

✔︎ "down if it has a blend"

Mix knob: go completely dry to completely wet.​

That's 5-for-5!

In addition

- "Vol" only controls the effected signal, not the dry signal
- Expression Pedal input for the Mix control – fully dry to fully wet
- It comes in a variety of cool finishes (check with Ryan & Tanya @ Dr Scientist to see what's current)​

Check out the (geetar) Invalid Link Removed, and from the same website it's listed as one of the Invalid Link Removed.

Of course, you could get Azure Skies (J Broughton) to add any of those features to his Azure Drive, he's very open to custom-tailoring his builds to his clients' needs.

I'll echo others' suggestions: a Barbershop and/or a 5th Gear would sit well alongside your Beta.

Coincidentally, these are all Canadian pedals — Happy Canada Day!

 

[dannster]

My favs for this kind of thing...

JohnK Gamma OD

VFE Pale Horse 'Bass'

Neither are easy to find but well worth it.

 

[skydivingninja]

I like what it does somehow, but the sound is extremely mid-focused and it really sucks the low-end from your bass, esp. in bypass mode. The latter is a no go IMO and every pedal sold today should have a true bypass. I would never leave this pedal in my signal chain, if I don't want it in active mode all the time.

According to EHX it is a true bypass pedal. Maybe check the internal switch? I haven't noticed any significant bass loss either on or bypassed.

 

[blr2]

When I want a tone like this, I'm always plugging my Hardwire CM-2 Tube Overdrive through one of the loops of the Boss LS2. On classic mode, with the drive set anywhere below noon , it gives me a nice, warm saturation without much grain. Blend in some clean signal and you could get exactly this: mild, rich and warm OD that is not clearly audible as grainy in the mix, but enriches the tone. Pushing the high and low tone controls on the pedal dials out some of the mids for a transparent tone with added harmonic content. Sounds very good with flatwound strings as well.

I've recorded with a setup like this, just adding a touch compression to the clean channel from EBS Multicomp. Sounded quite good in the final mix.

 

[Dave Hill]

Find an original BJFE BBBOD. They are special. Most other OD's sound like a kazoo in comparison. It is not a transparent pedal, but, what it adds, and the feel (touch sensitivity) are what provide the juju.

I'd like to hear a direct comparison with an Azure Drive. I treasure my BJFE so much I'd like to keep it at the house.

 

[10cc]

Find an original BJFE BBBOD. They are special. Most other OD's sound like a kazoo in comparison. It is not a transparent pedal, but, what it adds, and the feel (touch sensitivity) are what provide the juju.

I'd like to hear a direct comparison with an Azure Drive. I treasure my BJFE so much I'd like to keep it at the house.

This. I have tried the Babershop, Beta and Dave Hills original BJFE BBOD and hands down I thought his took the cake. I'm pretty sure @Mosfed just picked one up too. So maybe he could swing by with his consensus.?
The Babershop was good but I wasn't impressed with its tone.
At one time we did a comparison at a show we were both on the same bill at. So as one watched from the crowd the other was jumping back and forth between the different pedals. Every time when asked it was the BBBOD that had the best sound.
I'm also a huge fan of J.Broughton (own his P-15 and HPF) we are very lucky to have this guy around. His products are wonderful and his Azure Drive fits this bill as well. But with Josh, he will work with you and find out what your expecting from a pedal and he can make it happen. Custom tailored. Bro-Ton is the man!
Let us know what you end up with.

 

[MGR]

My favs for this kind of thing...

VFE Pale Horse 'Bass'

Neither are easy to find but well worth it.

Funny, I had one of these for sale for months here with zero interest.

 

[MGR]

Hi all,

I've been following recent, similar threads and thought I'd ask for more specific recommendations as it pertains to me.

I'm looking for some more subtle overdrive flavors, more on the warm side of things, and not particularly gain-y. Tone controls would be great, and I'm always down if it has a blend, though that's not mandatory. The best pedal I already have that do what I'm after are the Xotic BB Preamp and the Solid Gold Beta. Also maybe the Tronographic Rusty Box, and the old Tubeworks Blue Tube. Those are all cool, I'm just always looking for other similar flavors to those.

Any recommends?

Thanks,
Justin

Just got one of these in the mail and I have to say that it is probably the best low gain OD I've found yet. Totally uncompressed open tone, zero low end loss, great variety of tones, built well and oh yes........super affordable.
FranklynAmps BluesBreaker "Marshall Tone"

 

[Azure Skies]

Find an original BJFE BBBOD. They are special. Most other OD's sound like a kazoo in comparison. It is not a transparent pedal, but, what it adds, and the feel (touch sensitivity) are what provide the juju.

I'd like to hear a direct comparison with an Azure Drive. I treasure my BJFE so much I'd like to keep it at the house.

There's a comparison clip on my sound cloud.

 

[cplegue]

Three words...

Grizzly f**** bass!!

 

[Crazy Otto]

There's a comparison clip on my sound cloud.

Gottalink?