Just got a chance to try a Fuzzrocious Demon King. Nicer than I expected. Pretty natural sounding. Seemed "low gain" was possible. Wasn't playing my rig so I can't ge sure. It did make me think about a regular Demon as an option down the road.
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A very natural, rich sounding, subtle overdrive.
- Thread starter jmjbassplayer
- Start date
What you doing with that BJFE?
Have you tried an aftershock? They are so tweakable I'd think you could get about any od tone you want out of it!
Returned BJFE to seller. He may or may not relist on Reverb.com.
Haven't tried, but I have a natural aversion to digital reproductions of things like germanium diodes. Could be rad though.
The Idiotbox Blower Box can deliver outrageous levels of overdrive, but I love how it sounds at subtle/low gain settings, which I can dial in even with my hot active basses. The harmonic richness seems to be more present up top, but you said you like the Rusty Box which I believe leans that way as well (the RB is on my wish list), so maybe you'd also like the Blower Box. Price is very nice, and the builder is a really cool dude (fantastic CS).
Got the SFX Micro Red Dragon today. That's it! Warm, clear, subtle, high quality unit with nice knob feel and solid switch. Build quality is top notch!
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Hmmm. TC spark is a boost right? If so I can see how you'd find your answer in a boost. I got a boost that is the gain stage of my Mu-Tron III and when I set it just right it is what I'd call a subtle overdrive that is very rich. It has some noticeable grit or grind and also very touch sensitive.
Yes, exactly. It's a boost, but it starts to do warm clipping late in the travel of the gain knob.
Sounds exactly what I've discovered with mine. I'm very picky about OD or even distortion. As in I do not care for it very often. But the boost does something different and it also sounds very natural. A suppose to be there element or nuance per say.
I was gonna mention this very early in the thread but I have absolutely no experience with any other boosts and mine I believe was a one off by John K so I didn't think I would've been adding much to the conversation. Anyhow looks like you've found what you were looking for.
My Dunwichamps Volt Thrower settings are very clean with very minimal break up. Every now and then I'll dial in some outrageous sounds but I always go back to the other setting.
I was gonna mention this very early in the thread but I have absolutely no experience with any other boosts and mine I believe was a one off by John K so I didn't think I would've been adding much to the conversation. Anyhow looks like you've found what you were looking for.
My Dunwichamps Volt Thrower settings are very clean with very minimal break up. Every now and then I'll dial in some outrageous sounds but I always go back to the other setting.
Hi Justin, what do you think of the Xotic bass rc booster? Maybe too clean for your tonal goal?
I have it. A very old version of it. I don't like it as much as the BB Preamp, but it can be useful at times.
Got a DigiTech Hardwire CM-2 Tube Overdrive yesterday; it strikes me as a nice pedal for guitar (especially for what I paid!) but the OD didn't grab me as great for bass.
So for now, my Visual Sound "Open Road" (Nobels ODR-1 clone) is my go-to.
Got a couple circuitboards from Aion Electronics; I'm going to build a Bearfoot Honeybee clone and a Maxon OD-820 clone.
The Wren & Cuff Suppa Phat Phuc is still calling to me, but I'm a cheapskate and $190 for a pedal is tough to swallow.
So for now, my Visual Sound "Open Road" (Nobels ODR-1 clone) is my go-to.
Got a couple circuitboards from Aion Electronics; I'm going to build a Bearfoot Honeybee clone and a Maxon OD-820 clone.
The Wren & Cuff Suppa Phat Phuc is still calling to me, but I'm a cheapskate and $190 for a pedal is tough to swallow.
FranklynAmps is doing this very same thing and selling the results cheap. May be worth your while to pick up one of his and see how it sounds before you spend too much time building essentially the same pedal. I have his Centaur, Bluesbreaker and a modded Bass Rat and they're pretty damn good. Bluesbreaker loses a little too much low end though. Good luck!
FranklynAmps HoneyHive OD
UPDATE: My search is over. Here's the winners, as far as it goes for me in my highly subjective trials:
Runners-Up (returned):
Fairfield Barbershop: Definitely cool. Warm and kind of special. However, it doesn't get neutral enough for me, and it's OD character doesn't play super well with flatwounds, IMHO.
BJFE BBBOD: see below.
Cusack Screamer Bass: too much of a specific TS808 tonality for my taste, and not thick enough at the bottom.
Winners (kept):
5) Wren & Cuff Suppa Phat Phuk. Really thick sounding, very cool texture that is pretty useful. A slightly tubey-er version of what my Bass BB Preamp does. Not ultra low gain, but good low to medium gain. Pretty great in front of a sterile amp.
4) Bearfoot BlueBerry Bass OD. Thick, rich, warm, dark, and totally killer. A little bit stoner-rock in its innate character, it's a joy to play. You might find this surprising, but I bought (and returned) an original BJFE BBBOD, and I distinctly preferred the Bearfoot version. It doesn't go quite low-gain enough at times, but it's very satisfying.
3) TC Spark: This pedal surprised me. Great EQ points, nice gain character for bass, and excellent for clean boost with a touch of OD.
2) Klon KTR. The legend, reborn. So great on bass...or anything. Limited EQ is the only drawback.
1) Rawkwerks Light OD: Taylor from Paramore turned me on to this. Turns out, it's insane for bass. I have two versions, including one somewhat rare one with separate bass and treble controls. This is ostensibly a Klon Centaur/KTR clone, but it's a little different in a way I can't exactly quantify. Maybe a little thicker. Get one if you can. Awesome.
Thanks for help, wisdom, and opinions.
JMJ
Runners-Up (returned):
Fairfield Barbershop: Definitely cool. Warm and kind of special. However, it doesn't get neutral enough for me, and it's OD character doesn't play super well with flatwounds, IMHO.
BJFE BBBOD: see below.
Cusack Screamer Bass: too much of a specific TS808 tonality for my taste, and not thick enough at the bottom.
Winners (kept):
5) Wren & Cuff Suppa Phat Phuk. Really thick sounding, very cool texture that is pretty useful. A slightly tubey-er version of what my Bass BB Preamp does. Not ultra low gain, but good low to medium gain. Pretty great in front of a sterile amp.
4) Bearfoot BlueBerry Bass OD. Thick, rich, warm, dark, and totally killer. A little bit stoner-rock in its innate character, it's a joy to play. You might find this surprising, but I bought (and returned) an original BJFE BBBOD, and I distinctly preferred the Bearfoot version. It doesn't go quite low-gain enough at times, but it's very satisfying.
3) TC Spark: This pedal surprised me. Great EQ points, nice gain character for bass, and excellent for clean boost with a touch of OD.
2) Klon KTR. The legend, reborn. So great on bass...or anything. Limited EQ is the only drawback.
1) Rawkwerks Light OD: Taylor from Paramore turned me on to this. Turns out, it's insane for bass. I have two versions, including one somewhat rare one with separate bass and treble controls. This is ostensibly a Klon Centaur/KTR clone, but it's a little different in a way I can't exactly quantify. Maybe a little thicker. Get one if you can. Awesome.
Thanks for help, wisdom, and opinions.
JMJ
Thanks for the update, Justin.
A friend just leant me the W&C Phat Phuk, the original with one knob. It's an incredible boost/light drive/medium drive. Didn't think I'd like it as much as I do!
I didn't know about Rawkworks. Too bad they're not in business any longer. I have an Idiotbox Han-Taun on the way....also based on a Klon. Really excited for that one. I haven't had a Klon circuit before and have been incredibly impressed with what I've heard.
A friend just leant me the W&C Phat Phuk, the original with one knob. It's an incredible boost/light drive/medium drive. Didn't think I'd like it as much as I do!
I didn't know about Rawkworks. Too bad they're not in business any longer. I have an Idiotbox Han-Taun on the way....also based on a Klon. Really excited for that one. I haven't had a Klon circuit before and have been incredibly impressed with what I've heard.
+1 on the darkglass vintage microtubes. I own one myself and it is such an awesome bass overdrive.
