I'm not to articulate when it comes to bass terms but the grizzly and aftershock is what I'm looking for. Versatility and power.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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.
Bass overdrive decisions
- Thread starter christianjgodoy
- Start date
-
- Tags
- bass overdrive overdrive
been using the drive on my mini moog delay recently which just thickens up the tone and pushes the mids if you don't dial it in too high, usually i suggest the fuzzrocious rat tail no diodes setting or the fuzzrocious dark driving pedal, but i think i've already suggested them dozens and dozens of times and people already know they're awesome by now
Benjamin Earl
Commercial User
- Dec 31, 2008
- 281
- 469
- Disclosures
- Fretboard Visualization Author
I like my EHX Soul Food. The gain is limited to subtle only. It is slightly mid-range and can boost the highs. It has a clean blend, which enables me to get a very light grind. It works perfect for that sound only. I have several dirt pedals that cover more sounds, and you will likely need another pedal to use for more extreme OD.
OF those 4 alone, I would go with the Boss or EHX. Most likely the Boss though. The Boss has a line out too so that's a bonus and can be used as a preamp. Plus it most likely sounds great too.
The EHX was awight. I wouldn't have considered it a keeper when I had because there were simply better options out there. I would've picked the EHX glove over the soul food any day. It sounded better to me. The soul food was sorta stiff to my ears. Not sure how else to describe it. Brittle maybe. I don't remember being impressed by the TS9B, and I'm a TS lover for the most part. But that was also a long time ago. I have tried the Xotic EP booster, not quite what youre asking about. But I did like it. It ended up being a tad too muddy and or dark for my tastes. Take that for what its worth (nothing
).There are so many OD choices out there for us bassists nowadays. May I ask, why are you limiting your search to those 4? I recently discovered the Way huge pork loin after all this time and I LOVE it! I did do the 1 cap swap out mod to it that JohnK told us about. But even before that, I thought it was a very nice sounding OD. The Hardwire CM2 is also a great one. Has a voice all its own IMO though, that you may or may not like. But again, of those 4, I would go with the Boss for sure.
That is the beauty of it all. Just 15 years ago, there was not much at all that most bassists could use without low end loss unless they blended it. Today, there is a TON of OD and other dirt pedal options for us. So many. And yes, it can be overwhelming at times. What helped me was demos. I watched all that could, still do. When it came down to it, I bought and tried what I could when I could and moved on if it didn't work. That was the thing I had to learn too, if youre looking for a specific OD sound or a certain sound with your band, you most likely wont find on the first try. You may, who knows. Its taken me over 3 years to finally come to a solid decision on an OD. Ive used so many, really liked so many (still do) but it came down to one that has been out for years. For me, it came down to what worked best for my band and our sound and mix. It also came down to ease of use too. Of course flavor plays a part too. It takes times sometimes. I know if did for me. But for some, they buy one, try it, and love it and never stop using it again after that because it simply works. Lets hope in the latter group!! Because it is indeed a deep, deep rabbit hole haha. Just like FUUUuuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzz
+1 for for the Grizzly Bass. I have one and I really like it. It has separate drive and overdrive controls so it can really from light tubey overdrive to all out distortion with both maxxed out. The icing on the cake are the mid scoop and high pass controls !
The Blowerbox is cool too but not the same animal at all. It is a RAT variant with bass and treble controls. To me it's rather in the hard side of distortion.
It's a lot like saying, "I think I want to paint my room red and these are the shades I've researched. Which one do you think would be best?"
First response: "Have you considered orange?"
Ampeg SCR-DI (might look around for a used one).
Ampeg SCR-DI - Bass Preamp with Scrambler Overdrive
Ampeg SCR-DI - Bass Preamp with Scrambler Overdrive
I've not tried many others but I really like the EHX Bass Soul Food (maybe I should broaden my horizons 
) To me the BSF Sounds great on both my passive and active basses (I have noticed the gain is more subtle on a passive bass though). Also I've never yet had any experienced any reliability problems with EHX , and I own lots of different EHX pedals.
) To me the BSF Sounds great on both my passive and active basses (I have noticed the gain is more subtle on a passive bass though). Also I've never yet had any experienced any reliability problems with EHX , and I own lots of different EHX pedals.
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.
here's some pretty detailed info on the grizzly...kind of hard to find, since it's not linked on the product page: Creation Audio Labs
it's $195 direct from CA right now, wich is a steal considering what this pedal is capable of.
(full disclosure: I do NOT work for CA, just a satisfied customer
)
Last edited:
As you're looking for overdrive and included the Tube Screamer in your list you could try the Bad Monkey
I have the B7K, it's my favorite pedal for aggressive tones. It doesn't have to sound aggressive, of course, but that's its strength IMO.
I think the Blowerbox works great for subtle, low gain OD as well as the high gain stuff... but yeah, the BB would not be my first choice for vintage/warm tones.
here's some pretty detailed info on the grizzly...kind of hard to find, since it's not linked on the product page: Creation Audio Labs
it's $195 direct from CA right now, wich is a steal considering what this pedal is capable of.
(full disclosure: I do NOT work for CA, just a satisfied customer
You b@st@rds have convinced me to buy one!!
It's funny lookin', but I love the feature set. The sale makes me wonder if they're coming out with a new version, but whatever, I've been curious about this pedal for awhile and look forward to checking it out.
Luckily the used market is saturated with OD pedals so you can buy, try and flip if they don't work out. In my humble opinion any type of dirty boost/overdrive/distortion/fuzz pedal is going to be highly rig dependant. In other words somebody else's trash may be your treasure and vice versa. That said I really dig the catalinbread SFT.
Looking forward to knowing your opinion on that one. I actually use mine either for tone shaping (mostly high end roll off and some mids) or for light drive.
I have a BB1X and it does the light grind to a pretty full-out distortion really well. The balanced line out is great for DI to the board.
Funny thing is that I got the BB1X specifically for using with my MarkBass and Eden amps to give a little grit. Stumbled across an old Standel amp that gets the exact grind I was dialing in on the BB1X naturally!
Funny thing is that I got the BB1X specifically for using with my MarkBass and Eden amps to give a little grit. Stumbled across an old Standel amp that gets the exact grind I was dialing in on the BB1X naturally!
