• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Adding overdrive without losing bottom end

jcburn

jcburn

Oct 11, 2003
2,628
1,674
53
Tasmania, Australia.
everburn.com.au
#1
Hey guys - been around talkbass for about 5 years now but an absolute noob to effects. Looking at adding a bit of overdrive/crunch to my live sound and was wondering how to go about it. Have dicked around with some pedals borrowed from a few g*****ists but all they seem to do is give me a weak distorted tone. What I wanna do is add maybe an effect pedal (I'm guessing here but maybe a Sansamp Bass Driver DI or a Dunlop MXR80 I think are the two units I'm looking at) that doesn't effect my current tone but adds in that slight crunch/overdrive. My bass and amp nearly do it. I'm currently using a Fender US Deluxe J5 and an Eden Nemesis NC212 320 watt combo. I must stress I'm not looking at getting a Lemmy style sound, just wanna add some crunch with an effect pedal without losing volume/bottom end etc.
Is this possible?
Thanks for any help
 
#5
Generally speaking, when it comes to distortion effects, borrowing what your guitarists use is probably a bad idea. Most distortion pedals are guitar oriented and tend to lack bottom end. With most other pedals (chorus, delay, etc.) you don't have to worry so much about that, as they tend to be instrument-neutral... but with overdrive/distortion/fuzz, you generally want to steer towards the built-for-bass stuff.

So you only want a mild overdrive? Any particular artist who might have that tone you're looking for? I know you're trying to avoid the Motorhead tone (which I actually like :p).

The M-80 may not be what you want, as its distortion section is gritty, IMO. The SansAmp BDDI can add some mild overdrive, but IMO if you're happy with the tone you have now, you may not be wholly satisfied with how it interacts with your preamp - it tends to darken the tone and scoop mids you might not want to lose.

I'd suggest spending a little time here and reading through the tons of threads that have been done by those seeking mild, fairly transparent overdrive. The solution is out there, but it's a bit hard to cover in just one thread if you're not sure what style of mild OD you're trying to nail.
 
#7
I use the amp models on my multi effect for OD. I seem to change my settings every month or so. I'm currently favoring a Bassman model, not blended.
I will also recommend the EHX LPB 2ube pre amp. I think it's very transparent and can go anywhere from clean to quite gnarly.
 
#9
I absolutely recommend you try the Fulltone Bassdrive. It does mild grit better than anything else I've tried and can make you roar like a lion when you engage the boost switch. Although it doesn't really lose much bottom I also use it with a seperate blender- prefer having a clean sound beneath my OD. good with active and passive basses and cuts through in a band setting very well. I preferred it over the EBS multidrive for lower gain setings- but the EBS sounded better to my ears for higher levels of overdrive.
 
#10
jcburn said:
Hey guys - been around talkbass for about 5 years now but an absolute noob to effects. Looking at adding a bit of overdrive/crunch to my live sound and was wondering how to go about it. Have dicked around with some pedals borrowed from a few g*****ists but all they seem to do is give me a weak distorted tone. What I wanna do is add maybe an effect pedal (I'm guessing here but maybe a Sansamp Bass Driver DI or a Dunlop MXR80 I think are the two units I'm looking at) that doesn't effect my current tone but adds in that slight crunch/overdrive. My bass and amp nearly do it. I'm currently using a Fender US Deluxe J5 and an Eden Nemesis NC212 320 watt combo. I must stress I'm not looking at getting a Lemmy style sound, just wanna add some crunch with an effect pedal without losing volume/bottom end etc.
Is this possible?
Thanks for any help
Click to expand...

I myself had this same problem as of a few weeks ago but i recently solved it....

I have a Hartke 3500 series head with a tube in the pre-amp section....i took out the stock tube (Tung-Sol) and stuck in a Sovtek 12AX7-LPS which added a bit of gain and grit to the head...

still wasn't quite what i was looking for so....

i turned off the 10 band equalizer on the amp, set the pre-amp on my bass to flat, added a Vodoo Lab Sparkle Drive (See thread by same name), a MXR-M80, and an Aphex Bass Xciter to my pedal chain..... after twiddling around with the knobs for a few hours i found the perfect combination for me......my problem solved....my tone is fantastic and i have the grit i wanted without being too distorted or fuzzy.....(Think Geezer Butler on Bassically (intro to N.I.B.) with just a little more grit) and managed not to lose any bottom end or note defintion.....

I have become obsessed with sound now and am looking at trying out the BBE Sonic Maximizer but thats probably overkill considering....lol
 
#11
dirtgroove said:
I absolutely recommend you try the Fulltone Bassdrive. It does mild grit better than anything else I've tried and can make you roar like a lion when you engage the boost switch. Although it doesn't really lose much bottom I also use it with a seperate blender- prefer having a clean sound beneath my OD. good with active and passive basses and cuts through in a band setting very well. I preferred it over the EBS multidrive for lower gain setings- but the EBS sounded better to my ears for higher levels of overdrive.
Click to expand...
+1
It was my ONLY pedal until a Line 6 BODXTLive showed up.
 
#12
How cool are you guys - jumped straight in. Sorta confirmed what I thought but had no way of being sure. Like I said my tone is nearly there. If anyone wants to check the sorta tone I'm after (and yeah I love Lemmy's tone - just noy quite right for my current stuff!) -
Rex Browns tone at the intro to the Pantera song 'I Cant Hide' from 101 Proof
Pat Badger - Cupid's Dead/Anything off 'Waiting For The Punchline'
Billy Gould - King For A Day (I realise sorta a combo of his Zon and also maybe some chorus/compression)
Sorta nice and clear, nice cutting mids, fat bottom and a hint of snarl! I want it all really dont I!
Definitely gonna check on the Sansamp, EBS, Dunlop and Fulltone pedals - bonus is I think I have reviews of all those pedals in BP mag!
Keep the ideas comin tho guys, thank you all so much.
Jake.
 
#13
hey now this example can be funny, but am looking for the overdriven sound bryan adams had on his bass at the slane castle 2000.
has anyone seen that concert on dvd or something? its got a white set with the band members and the instruments everything dressed in white!
i would try to find a clip from youtube...but thats my idea of a nice overdrive which is not overkilling but rather fitting in the mix with a 3piece band every well! (ofcourse B.Adams has professionals doing his sound for him and the band)

EDIT: this is what am talking about;
 
#14
I'm telling you guys the Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, or the BBE Green Screamer teamed up with the BBE Boosta Grande are both golden and will achieve what you are looking for...

They are both Modded versions of the TS808 but sound so much better than the Ibanez Re-Issue its not funny....

The Voodoo Lab pedal includes a clean boost on the unit and with both dialed in at right around 50% to 60% will get you what you are looking for...

The BBe Green Screamer IMHO is the best of the best 808 clones it has even better tone and note defintion that the Voodoo Lab pedal and when it is teamed with the Boosta Grande pedal (20db clean boost) it will make you cream your jeans...

I recently spent 4 hours in Guitar Center trying every pedal they had in stock with the word overdrive in the description...(See Overdrive thread by McGroovin') and these were the best two IMHO

People kept telling me about the fulltone as well but i never got the chance to try it but i'm guessing its a bit too strong for what i wanted...
 
#15
I think this thread is nearly done hey but just before I sign off I probably should state that the clean tone of my bass is the sound I want - just just want to add grit/crunch to it. Dont wanna spend much money so I reckon I will go and check some HC/Bassgear reviews and grab something from Ebay with a clean/wet blend. Wanna thank all you guys again for input - has helped me a tonne but if there are some more opinions keep 'em comin'!
 
#16
Snakeman1066 said:
People kept telling me about the fulltone as well but i never got the chance to try it but i'm guessing its a bit too strong for what i wanted...
Click to expand...
The Guitar Center out here just started carrying these and a lot of the other Fulltone line. I still recommend them. The CompCut mode will give you mild overdrive/volume boost and the the Boost channel will give you Lemmy and beyond if you want options at some later date.
 
#17
"I think this thread is nearly done hey but just before I sign off I probably should state that the clean tone of my bass is the sound I want - just just want to add grit/crunch to it. Dont wanna spend much money so I reckon I will go and check some HC/Bassgear reviews and grab something from Ebay with a clean/wet blend. Wanna thank all you guys again for input - has helped me a tonne but if there are some more opinions keep 'em comin'! "

Once again the Voddo Labs Sparkle Drive runs $129.99 and includes a clean boost on the unit so you can customize the amount of overdrive you want in the sound it can go from very subtle to massive growl but not so much that is obnoxious.....its also true bypass with no loss in signal and with the overdrive turned off you get a 20db boost to your clean sound.....fit the bill for me....go give it a test spin
 
#20
If you're going the SansAmp route I'd suggest the RPM or the floor pedal version of it (ParaDriver). The parametric mids are wonderful for not losing your mids. All kinds of shades of light crunch, OD or full on distortion are available, which can be blended in whatever amounts with your clean signal. Plus the RPM has more overall gain on tap than the RBI if you want to get into heavy distortion (or not). Sansamp or not, a blend pedal is an excellent idea as others have posted. I have the Boss LS-2 and love it.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back