Catalinbread SFT is my current fave
I also love my DOD 250 with some clean blended in for higher gain levels
I also love my DOD 250 with some clean blended in for higher gain levels
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Any good overdrive pedals out there?
- Thread starter BassPlayer364
- Start date
Depends what's good for you... took me a while to find mine and even at 1st, I did not recognize it. Took a 2dn trip on the board to make me go "Yeah, she's the one". I love that Ampeg SVT sound, so the VTDI is good for me.
+1 on the Agro. Big fan here. I like the variety I can get from it. Glad to hear others prefer it too.
Time to mention the Creation Audio Lab Grizzly Bass. I use it or Beta and I'd say the Grizzly is warmer sounding while the Beta has a more open midrange. The boost of the Grizzly seems to go more in the mid range, like maybe 350 while the Beta is about 250... The Grizzly has control of high end roll of and mid scoop, while one could say that is already optimized with the Beta. Beta uses under 10 milliamps Grizzly uses 250 milliamps and needs the higher output of a power block because it's lit up like a Christmas tree and gets warm from that. Why oh why.
To give everyone an idea of what I'm looking for, I'm searching for a 70's and 80's rock and metal type overdrive like Cliff Burton or Lemmy Kilmister (RIP).
No.
They all suck.
Seriously though, there are literally hundreds of OD pedals out there these days, dozens of which don't sound terrible on bass. There is everything from a little "tube warmth" to full on, gnarly, guitar like grind. Decide what sort of tone you want, what your price range is, if you want something that is readily available or boutique, and THEN start your search.
They all suck.
Seriously though, there are literally hundreds of OD pedals out there these days, dozens of which don't sound terrible on bass. There is everything from a little "tube warmth" to full on, gnarly, guitar like grind. Decide what sort of tone you want, what your price range is, if you want something that is readily available or boutique, and THEN start your search.
As noted there are a bazillion good overdrive pedals out there. This is a double-edged sword. The upside is that you will (eventually) be able to find the pedal(s) that best fit your needs.
The downside is having to do all that research to figure out which those are. There are so many complications: some pedals play better with passive basses than actives (or vice versa), some pedals sound better with J-basses than P-basses (or vice versa), etc etc. Aside from gear: we all have different taste, we all have different technique. I don't mean to scare you away from the process, just saying that a pedal that sounds perfect in a YouTube demo might not work as well for you... but then again, it might.
I'm using a modified boss ds-1, with components changed to increase bass response and volume. Not strictly an "overdrive" pedal but provides a very nice, smooth sound with my bass - better than it does with my guitars where it can sound tinny.
Unlike the big muff pi I used for a while, the sound is not lost amongst our guitarist's noise (mostly an overdriven Vox or Marshall head). That is by far the most important factor of it. There's no real way to find out what will cut through your bands sound without trying some pedals, and I was just lucky to have a good selection from my treble days.
It's all I use now, after a compressor so that the sound stays consistent.
Unlike the big muff pi I used for a while, the sound is not lost amongst our guitarist's noise (mostly an overdriven Vox or Marshall head). That is by far the most important factor of it. There's no real way to find out what will cut through your bands sound without trying some pedals, and I was just lucky to have a good selection from my treble days.
It's all I use now, after a compressor so that the sound stays consistent.
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I love my Darkglass pedals. I'm currently running a VMT stacked into my B3K, but this clip was from when I had an AMT-P pedal stuck in front of my B3K. You could stiick a Proco Rat in front of the B3K and it would have a similar character.
I slammed the B3K good with that AMT to get that overdrive with my passive Ric:
Dropbox - JOEDIRTE.mp3
I slammed the B3K good with that AMT to get that overdrive with my passive Ric:
Dropbox - JOEDIRTE.mp3
the 2 pedals I've used that do that sound best with no low end loss are the Zvex Bass Distrortron or Exotic BB preamp. For a cheep alternative the Marshal Gov'ner
As noted there are a bazillion good overdrive pedals out there. This is a double-edged sword. The upside is that you will (eventually) be able to find the pedal(s) that best fit your needs.
The downside is having to do all that research to figure out which those are. There are so many complications: some pedals play better with passive basses than actives (or vice versa), some pedals sound better with J-basses than P-basses (or vice versa), etc etc. Aside from gear: we all have different taste, we all have different technique. I don't mean to scare you away from the process, just saying that a pedal that sounds perfect in a YouTube demo might not work as well for you... but then again, it might.
Well govereeted! A double-edged sword with lazer-sharp edges!
Also, that perfect pedal in the YouTube demo that might work so you get it and it is indeed perfect for you and your bass after trying it and you're in tonal nirvana...
...suddenly gets lost in the mix when playing with your band...
+1 Have the Agro too. I love the tone I can get out of it. As others have said; it's extremely versatile. I keep my settings low but it's fun to just kick everything up (in conjunction with the TH's AGS)
