Yeeeah, none of those are gonna be super popular around here.
But, of those, probably the soul food for me.
...OR my VTDI
But, of those, probably the soul food for me.
...OR my VTDI
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Bass overdrive decisions
- Thread starter christianjgodoy
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- bass overdrive overdrive
It really depends what sound you're after... The drive pedals I settled on fall into three main camps:
Warm, fat, vintage, tubey? Bearfoot Blueberry.
Something brighter and more agressive? VT Bass , Agro, Le Bass.
Scooped and metallic? Darkglass B3K/B7K.
The aforementioned Aftershock pedal should be able to cover all the bases, and let you edit the parameters via an app and store 3 presets available from a toggle switch. Looking forward to trying this one!
Warm, fat, vintage, tubey? Bearfoot Blueberry.
Something brighter and more agressive? VT Bass , Agro, Le Bass.
Scooped and metallic? Darkglass B3K/B7K.
The aforementioned Aftershock pedal should be able to cover all the bases, and let you edit the parameters via an app and store 3 presets available from a toggle switch. Looking forward to trying this one!
I have an RC and BB for bass, the only things I've tried that you mention. Very different. RC is NOT an OD, you want BB. I've been searching for something better than my BB (because 'Murica 
) and haven't found one yet. It's all personal preference, really I'd recommend trying all of them. When I play my P bass through the BB, my guitar player would say something like "I heard ya had your Dusty Hill tone going", which is really what I was after in the first place. YMMV.
) and haven't found one yet. It's all personal preference, really I'd recommend trying all of them. When I play my P bass through the BB, my guitar player would say something like "I heard ya had your Dusty Hill tone going", which is really what I was after in the first place. YMMV.
With your rig the VT is killer. i use it w SVT into a fridge with a stingray. just tonight added a b3k and a/b'ed the two....tough choice they both deliver the goods. They have different sonic footprints, but both are great. Love the VT, the b3k is new to me so not as familiar with it yet.
The Tube screamer will suck all the bottom end out the the signal. TS circuits are notorious for cutting bass due to the High Pass filter in the last stage of the circuit. This is why there is a separate bass version called the Ibanez TS9b (bass).
If money is tight, a TCe Mojo Mojo will fit the bill better than most. But the Grizzly is REALLY well regarded.
If I was an Overdrive newbie and wanted versatility...I would choose a Source Audio Bass OFD without hesitation. It's the only digital dirt that really works and it's very very good. You name the classic dirt pedal...this thing can nail it.
No one has mentioned the EBS MultiDrive, so I'll throw it out there. It's super simple to use. Just a drive knob and a volume knob with a switch to select normal, tubesim, or flat mode. It sounds like a warm, overdriven tube amp to me. I love it.
Like others said before, I think the SA Aftershock will be a great choice. Its capable of everything that you said you were looking for and much, much more.
I'm so GASing for one of those... drool
I'm so GASing for one of those... drool
If you're going for a blinding, over-the-top insane overdrive, like this:
the BB-1X might not your pedal. It's more suited for for a grindy, moderately overdriven tone, like this:
So depending on what sound you're going for, I'd get the BB-1X or Tube Screamer.
the BB-1X might not your pedal. It's more suited for for a grindy, moderately overdriven tone, like this:
So depending on what sound you're going for, I'd get the BB-1X or Tube Screamer.
Slight curveball: I will recommend the Idiotbox Blower Box. At the low end of the dial it's a transparent low gain overdrive. Crank it to around 11 and you get moderate OD. But you can keep going past that and get ridiculously heavy distortion. I prefer to use it for low to moderate gain. On top of all that, the price is nice... and it looks cool!
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I'm not sure I'd call this transparent, as it has a noticable mid-scoop thing happening (at least once you get past around 10:00...haven't really played it at low gain on its own). That said, this is true -- I just got one of these myself and am loving it, as long as I can feed some mids back in with another pedal.
For just fattening up your tone, I'll suggest the TC Electronics full size Spark Boost. Never gets gnarly even with the gain cranked. Just fat, warm, tubey goodness.
For higher gain, I love th Fuzzrocious Cat Tail. Modded Rat clone, capable of a huge range of gain, and the LED clipping is warm and smooth. It does compress a bit, so there's that to consider.
For higher gain, I love th Fuzzrocious Cat Tail. Modded Rat clone, capable of a huge range of gain, and the LED clipping is warm and smooth. It does compress a bit, so there's that to consider.
Thanks guys. You all had great opinions about your favorite OD/distortions/boosts. I've dropped all the original 4 as options. I'm digging the b7k but it's a little too pricey for me. It's down to the grizzly bass and the source audio aftershock. That pedal looks amazing 
.
.I don't think I've ever heard anyone call ehx substandard before, care to elaborate?
Yeah, I think you're right... getting up toward 11 o'clock and beyond I wind up cutting bass and treble on the EQ. But I often run the Blower Box all by itself with Drive at 9 o'clock and below, as always-on low gain OD. In that range, the scoop isn't really there: far closer to flat than the BDDI or B7K. I'd call it a little extra harmonic richness on top, perhaps a bit more girth below.
Define overdrive. The term means different things to different people. What do you have in mind?
Aftershock is a no brainer
Second place, mxr bass distortion which is an excellent take on the rat
Second place, mxr bass distortion which is an excellent take on the rat
