Bass Overdrive - Marshall Guv'nor VS Darkglass

[Almakedvelo]

Hi!

I'm looking for a bass overdrive pedal. My first idea was the Marshall Guv'nor, because I really dig the first album RATM bass tone, but others really suggested Darkglass stuff.

Would you recommend the Guv'nor on bass? or is it a one trick pony? If Darkglass, which one do you recommend around the same price range as the Guv'nor reissue?

I'd appreciate every opinion and insight!

Thanks!

 

[GrowlerBox]

Hi!

I'm looking for a bass overdrive pedal. My first idea was the Marshall Guv'nor, because I really dig the first album RATM bass tone, but others really suggested Darkglass stuff.

Would you recommend the Guv'nor on bass? or is it a one trick pony? If Darkglass, which one do you recommend around the same price range as the Guv'nor reissue?

I'd appreciate every opinion and insight!

Thanks!

I don’t have a specific answer to your question, but a general and I hope relevant observation: overdrive, and “dirt” (or effects based on the deliberate clipping or distortion of the audio signal) overall, probably more than any other category of effect, is subject to the vagaries of personal preference, and appreciation (or otherwise) of the serendipitous history and mythology of distortion. So, be prepared for a maelstrom of opinions.

For what it’s worth, I’m not a huge fan of the “Darkglass sound” insofar as that’s a thing (plenty of people are, though), and while I haven’t had a Guv’nor, I would be far more interested in that, if only for its historical relevance. A one trick pony is fine, if it’s a good trick, and if you come to enjoy the nuances of the grubby side of bass tone, you will not stop at one pedal, even playing through two or more simultaneously.

I’m sure that was of no help at all, but good luck. Remember, the answer is always “both, and also this other one …”

 

[Almakedvelo]

I don’t have a specific answer to your question, but a general and I hope relevant observation: overdrive, and “dirt” (or effects based on the deliberate clipping or distortion of the audio signal) overall, probably more than any other category of effect, is subject to the vagaries of personal preference, and appreciation (or otherwise) of the serendipitous history and mythology of distortion. So, be prepared for a maelstrom of opinions.

For what it’s worth, I’m not a huge fan of the “Darkglass sound” insofar as that’s a thing (plenty of people are, though), and while I haven’t had a Guv’nor, I would be far more interested in that, if only for its historical relevance. A one trick pony is fine, if it’s a good trick, and if you come to enjoy the nuances of the grubby side of bass tone, you will not stop at one pedal, even playing through two or more simultaneously.

I’m sure that was of no help at all, but good luck. Remember, the answer is always “both, and also this other one …”

No, it was helpful, thanks! As I said I am really happy to get any insight on this

 

[BrianVengeance]

Part of the secret sauce for Darkglass is having a clean blend baked in. You can do the same with the Guv'nor or any other dirt box and a blend pedal like the BOSS LS-2 or similar.

FWIW, the Marshall pedals sound pretty rad. I built a Shredmaster clone and it rips.

 

[Ritter667]

Personal preference, entirely, I would say.

But I never tried either, and from what I've heard and for what it is worth my personal appreciation for the typical Darkglass distortion tone is non existent.

To be perfectly frank I really hate and am positively sick of that "fizzy anemic distortion floating on top of mid scooped bottom end", wet fart-esque, signature Darkglass tone.

And I am genuinely puzzled how this has become the phenomena/plague it has.

It sounds like absolute poop, literally, as far as I am concerned.

I would personal probably look somewhere else entirely, but out of those two I have no doubt I would prefer the Guvnor.

Yeah, if I was you I would probably get the Guvnor and a Boss LS-2, or similar effect loops switch/mixer pedal, for parallel clean blend, as suggested above.

 

[humbuckaroo]

Did you post this on Reddit? I could have sworn I saw this thread there.

Either way, Blumes is my answer. A great, cost effective overdrive with tons of gain on tap (or a little, if that's what you want) and three modes to choose from.

 

[tpaul]

I would suggest spending some time on YouTube listening bass demos of a wide variety of dirt pedals. I would suggest it - but the truth is, those pedals never sound the same at home as they did in the demo. At least that's my experience.

If there's a guitar store near you that has a decent selection of pedals, auditioning them at the store might help. But of course that limits you to the major brands, in most cases.

In short... be prepared to buy, try, flip and buy again. Wash, rinse, repeat. Someday you might find the sound you've been searching for.

Good luck!

 

[el murdoque]

A general and I hope relevant observation: overdrive, and “dirt” (or effects based on the deliberate clipping or distortion of the audio signal) overall, probably more than any other category of effect, is subject to the vagaries of personal preference, and appreciation (or otherwise) of the serendipitous history and mythology of distortion.

I could not agree more! Actually, I'm considering this quote as a signature ;-)


I want to add that you're not "into" bass drive pedals unless you've tried at least a dozen.

As to the OP's question:
Tim Commerford has always been pretty secretive about how he engineers his sound - and when you read that he uses a Guv'nor then you don't know if he sends the Guv'nor signal to one rig while sending another signal to another rig, if the Guv'nor circuit has been modified or if it's some sort of parallel blend he does.
The Pedal on its own is more or less useless when you're going for a fat sound - because it cuts lows.

Darkglass in general has a baked in sound that creates a zingy sound, a metallic whipping of the ear canal that bites through a mix with unstoppable force,
but is quite polarizing for the listener. I agree with GrowlerBox and say that I personally do not like that trademark sound and while having owned several Darkglass products, I kept none.

 

[Drifter8230]

I would recommend combing through used ads and picking up things you like at a discount and trying them until you get what you are looking for. Personally, I don't think Tom Commerfords tone and Darkglass are compatible, really .

Just research, experiment, and keep an open mind

 

[BrianVengeance]

The “Darkglass sound” is honestly a bit of an overblown perception at this point. There was definitely a lane they broke out for, but their offerings are actually pretty diverse and each one of their pedals features at least one nob that rotates in a way that turns the gain / distortion down.

The VMT also sounds seriously good on guitar.

 

[bassbrad]

When I want a Marshall type sound I reach for @sushi Box FX JC Emerald that sounds brilliant on bass.

 

[Almakedvelo]

Did you post this on Reddit? I could have sworn I saw this thread there.

Either way, Blumes is my answer. A great, cost effective overdrive with tons of gain on tap (or a little, if that's what you want) and three modes to choose from.

Yeah, I posted this there too. Thanks for your answer again!

 

[BassBrass]

I have a Gov'Ner 2 and it's doesn't cut lows. actually it has 2 low freq knobs Low and Deep (seem like 100 and 250?), as well as Mid and Treble controls like a Bonebreaker.
For a comprable sound try The Blower Box delux, the one with a filter on the clean. Dark Glass, the kneejerk recommendation here the last couple of years, has no appeal to me, sound or price.

 

[Almakedvelo]

I would suggest spending some time on YouTube listening bass demos of a wide variety of dirt pedals. I would suggest it - but the truth is, those pedals never sound the same at home as they did in the demo. At least that's my experience.

If there's a guitar store near you that has a decent selection of pedals, auditioning them at the store might help. But of course that limits you to the major brands, in most cases.

In short... be prepared to buy, try, flip and buy again. Wash, rinse, repeat. Someday you might find the sound you've been searching for.

Good luck!

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind!

 

[Hypocrite]

Personal preference, entirely, I would say.

But I never tried either, and from what I've heard and for what it is worth my personal appreciation for the typical Darkglass distortion tone is non existent.

To be perfectly frank I really hate and am positively sick of that "fizzy anemic distortion floating on top of mid scooped bottom end", wet fart-esque, signature Darkglass tone.

And I am genuinely puzzled how this has become the phenomena/plague it has.

It sounds like absolute poop, literally, as far as I am concerned.

I would personal probably look somewhere else entirely, but out of those two I have no doubt I would prefer the Guvnor.

Yeah, if I was you I would probably get the Guvnor and a Boss LS-2, or similar effect loops switch/mixer pedal, for parallel clean blend, as suggested above.

"I've never tried either, so let me tell you why I absolutely hate that sound. Also, I only listen to radio rock so I can't possibly fathom why other people like something that I don't."

That's you, that's what you sound like.

 

[_Some Dude]

One of the reasons I like the B7K is that it's relatively neutral (for a distortion) and retains the sound of my bass while adding dirt.

Personally, I haven't had this issue of hollow scooped mid/excessive high end others describe, although it will do that sound if you dial it in for that sound.

I will say that if you like the sound of your bass and just want to add more, the B7K is a good option. If you want something that takes over the sound a bit more then there's better options out there.

If the goal is an early Rage kind of sound, you want something that takes over the sound a bit more.

 

[ghiggin1079]

The Orange Bass Butler does a LOT of things I don't understand, but it's the closest thing I've heard to commerford outside of commerford. It's been around long enough to be 3rd or 4th hand so you don't have to pay the silly +$400 new sticker price

 

[andymac]

I don’t have a specific answer to your question, but a general and I hope relevant observation: overdrive, and “dirt” (or effects based on the deliberate clipping or distortion of the audio signal) overall, probably more than any other category of effect, is subject to the vagaries of personal preference, and appreciation (or otherwise) of the serendipitous history and mythology of distortion. So, be prepared for a maelstrom of opinions.

What GrowlerBox said times 1000! It's very personal. And very dependent on the rest of your rig, so very hard to judge from youtube videos, or even from testing in store.

The $1000 question with dirt pedals not designed for bass, is how much they cut the low end. Which you can sometimes manage by running a parallel loop, but nicer if it works without that bother. So thanks @BassBrass for the confirmation that the GV-2 doesn't cut low end! And thanks @bassbrad for the SushiBoxFX JC Emerald recommendation. Two more pedals that will be going on my wishlist... A dirtbox habit is not good for the budget.

Does anyone know how the original/reissue Guv'nor does with low end? Or the other Marshall pedals?

I feel like Darkglass have gotten some flak for their success. When they came on the scene, they brought in a bunch of options for bass that were not there before, which was exciting. One of those options is a certain metal sound that has gotten popular, that isn't to everyone's taste. But Darkglass does a lot more great things than just that one "Darkglass sound". I love what a lot of different bass players do with their stuff.

Darkglass aren't to my personal taste for my playing, because I find that, while they are very flexible, all their sounds seem "modern" to my ears, in a way that I'm not aiming for. I prefer my dirt to be (mythology incoming) on the quirky, janky, analog side. If the OP is looking for RATM that might be true for them too. But to each their own!

 

[Almakedvelo]

The Orange Bass Butler does a LOT of things I don't understand, but it's the closest thing I've heard to commerford outside of commerford. It's been around long enough to be 3rd or 4th hand so you don't have to pay the silly +$400 new sticker price

I'll check it out! I live in Hungary tho and the used pedal market is not great here

 

[Almakedvelo]

What GrowlerBox said times 1000! It's very personal. And very dependent on the rest of your rig, so very hard to judge from youtube videos, or even from testing in store.

The $1000 question with dirt pedals not designed for bass, is how much they cut the low end. Which you can sometimes manage by running a parallel loop, but nicer if it works without that bother. So thanks @BassBrass for the confirmation that the GV-2 doesn't cut low end! And thanks @bassbrad for the SushiBoxFX JC Emerald recommendation. Two more pedals that will be going on my wishlist... A dirtbox habit is not good for the budget.

Does anyone know how the original/reissue Guv'nor does with low end? Or the other Marshall pedals?

I feel like Darkglass have gotten some flak for their success. When they came on the scene, they brought in a bunch of options for bass that were not there before, which was exciting. One of those options is a certain metal sound that has gotten popular, that isn't to everyone's taste. But Darkglass does a lot more great things than just that one "Darkglass sound". I love what a lot of different bass players do with their stuff.

Darkglass aren't to my personal taste for my playing, because I find that, while they are very flexible, all their sounds seem "modern" to my ears, in a way that I'm not aiming for. I prefer my dirt to be (mythology incoming) on the quirky, janky, analog side. If the OP is looking for RATM that might be true for them too. But to each their ow

What GrowlerBox said times 1000! It's very personal. And very dependent on the rest of your rig, so very hard to judge from youtube videos, or even from testing in store.

The $1000 question with dirt pedals not designed for bass, is how much they cut the low end. Which you can sometimes manage by running a parallel loop, but nicer if it works without that bother. So thanks @BassBrass for the confirmation that the GV-2 doesn't cut low end! And thanks @bassbrad for the SushiBoxFX JC Emerald recommendation. Two more pedals that will be going on my wishlist... A dirtbox habit is not good for the budget.

Does anyone know how the original/reissue Guv'nor does with low end? Or the other Marshall pedals?

I feel like Darkglass have gotten some flak for their success. When they came on the scene, they brought in a bunch of options for bass that were not there before, which was exciting. One of those options is a certain metal sound that has gotten popular, that isn't to everyone's taste. But Darkglass does a lot more great things than just that one "Darkglass sound". I love what a lot of different bass players do with their stuff.

Darkglass aren't to my personal taste for my playing, because I find that, while they are very flexible, all their sounds seem "modern" to my ears, in a way that I'm not aiming for. I prefer my dirt to be (mythology incoming) on the quirky, janky, analog side. If the OP is looking for RATM that might be true for them too. But to each their own!

Thanks for the insight! Tho I really like the RATM sound by band writes songs in a more modern mindset, that's why I even started to consider Darkglass. So I'm not really afraid that it will sound modern.

Right now I'm leaning towards Darkglass. Big part of it is the blend function, because as multiple people said so, the Guv'nor scoops the lows and I don't want to buy a different pedal just so I can run a clean sound parallel to the Marshall.

I looked into the Blunder and it sounds great, but it's really not the sound I'm looking for. Others that have been recommended to me are harder to get in my country and also are a bit out of my price range.