Bass overdrive pedal

Heck, I want one now..ya almost have to get one as they're so cheap.
I like just a lil drive, no gross fuzzy beez in a can sound.

The demo for bass sounded pretty dope too. (and I play guitar as well, so..)

 

Hologram Infinite Jets. Not cheap but it will be your go-to for bass and guitar.

 

The BSF is an acquired taste, I'll admit. I almost flipped it right back onto Reverb same-day, until I spent a little more time with it. I've been used to pedals with a fuller gain range, where you don't need to dime it because you get all you need somewhere between 9 and 3 on the dials. It's kind of like having a few more horses under the hood of your car than you really need, because it's nice to know they're there even if you rarely floor it.

So, a pedal that maybe gets you to heavy drive when you dime it is a different experience. What that does, though, is give you a lot more control over the exact flavor of light drive, and this makes the pedal a great always-on, "not quite clean" option for a number of genres. The pedal excels at the just-over-the-edge flavor of "clean bass" from the arena rock days of pushing Ampeg fridges hard because the PA still wasn't quite beefy enough to help you, and in the upper third of the dial you start getting what I've been calling the "don't f*** with me" growl that works really well as your "clean" for alt-ish genres.

I am still planning on swapping over to the Hot Wax on my live board, though. You can get much the same tones out of one side or the other at about half the gain setting, with many more options for hotter sounds with the stacking capabilities. I will keep the BSF around, though, I like what it does too much to let it go.

 

The legendary classic...for bass.

Ibanez TS9B Bass Tube Screamer Pedal Review

 

I've gigged behringer pedals for decades now. Other than the damn rubber falling off the pedal press area (cheap glue) on some of them, they're just fine. I mean, don't keep plugging/unplugging, put them in a pedal board so the plastic jacks don't wear out. And watch the knob shafts - don't kick them - but in case you didn't notice, that rule is true of MANY other pedals also. Not all are made like the 1980s Boss pedals any more with solid REAL metal shafts.

I love behringer pedals - my chorus, wah and noise gate are behringer pedals, and until recently my tuner pedal also (only changed to a physically smaller tuner now).

the chorus is a copy of the boss CH-1 super chorus - which is a more subtle and less thick chorus than the other boss pedals, and personally my favorite. The behringer sounds literally identical to it except at one or two extreme settings that I never use anyway.

The noise gate is really quite outstanding - works perfectly and is every bit as good as others I've used. The noise gate has a foot switchable effect loop which is also super useful.

The behringer tuner works great on bass or guitar or anything really, has 2 outputs which is helpful, one is mutable with footswitch... making it a pretty useful tool like the front end of a boss LS-2.

The wah pedal has some known physical issues with older models that they seemed to fix in later ones, but mine is older and I just did the standard tiny "cut the cardboard slot" mod on mine to make it a perfectly good and VERY versatile wah pedal. It's the hellbabe... more or less a copy of the crybaby from hell, and has pitch/q controls (and more) making it work as well on bass as on guitar.

... I mean, yes roland invented them, but the cheap copies work perfectly well. And they have buffers which sound perfectly good - nothing wrong with the component choices they use or the electronic build quality, and anyone telling you they can hear a behringer buffer versus any other good buffer would be shocked if they did a blind listening test.

 

I use a TC Electronic MojoMojo Overdrive occasionally which works good with guitar and bass. It's probably the best value I've gotten out of a pedal for $50 or below.

 

I think you hit the nail right on the head. If you use the BSF for the things it was designed to do and it's good at, it's a pretty good choice. But don't blame it because you made the wrong choice and expect it to do things it can't. I always got the impression that at least some of those who badmouth were guilty of that.

Like you said, one of the things I like most about it is the level of fine tuning you can do within its gain range. I can easily set it just where I want it. On the other hand, I really like the sound of the Wampler Euphoria but it has too much gain range for my needs. That makes it hard for me to set the drive level where I want it because it's always a little too little or it's a little too much. So my brother who plays guitar is going to take it off my hands (that one sounds GREAT on guitar!).

 

That's been my experience as well, very nice OD on the cheap. Demo:

 

I use a SolidGoldFX Beta for a little dirt. Zero low end loss, and it's pretty transparent. The Boss ODB-3 is awesome, too. I usually keep the blend knob set very low, with the gain cranked.

 

I'm always willing to pay more for something where the money doesn't go directly overseas. With that said, I picked up an American Sound here on TB 2nd hand for $25 and it's a fantastic pedal that I think the OP would be quite pleased with.

As far as the Boss ODB-3 goes, that was one of my first dirts and I hated it from day one. Fizzy can of bees with the gain anywhere past zero, it does not do light OD very well, IME.

 

Agreed and agreed. I have an ODB-3 around this hoarder's paradise somewhere, but it hasn't been on my board in years for that exact reason; anything off minimum gain is ridiculously hairy full-on thrash. If I do find it, it's probably getting 'Verbed.

I mentioned it because it's kind of like the TS9 of bass ODs, in that everyone's heard of it and has probably used it or something very like it. But unlike the TS9 it has far fewer fans. So, maybe more like the DS-1; a distortion everyone loves to hate on whether they've used one or not, but their own dirt pedals are probably based on it.

As for "buy American", I own a Wampler Low Blow, but it's probably the least favorite dirt pedal I own, especially trying to run direct. My other two pedals, both EHX (US design, Russian/Chinese manufacture) are much easier to dial in to a variety of rigs. That's as much mentality as manufacture, but the Wampler's also the noisiest pedal I own, hands-down, and that's a design and materials-quality issue. I obviously can't tar every US pedal maker (or even all of Wampler's) with the same brush, it's just one anecdote from one bassist about one pedal, make of it what you will.

 

Enjoyed the Joyo Ultimate Drive.
Currently enjoying the Joyo California.

 

The DSM Sub Atomic is fantastic.

DSM Noisemaker Sub Atomic Bass OD

 

i use the EQD Plumes for overdrive as well. i run the gain lower, and adjust the level to taste. it was a bit too crunchy for me at first, but i have learned to dial it in. Also, i use the Hummingbird as a clean boost, and it sounds huge! now i am curious about the Westwood...

 

+1 on the Joyo American Sound. Youtube clip showing range, but playing strictly with a pick over the bridge pickup.

My own recording with the American Sound. Played fingerstyle over the neck pickup (blend 50/50) on an EMG soapbar equipped bass.


For an overdrive that starts to border on distortion, the Joyo Orange Juice is a great choice too. Youtube clip showing range, but playing strictly with a pick over the bridge pickup.

My own recording with the Orange Juice. Played fingerstyle over the neck pickup (blend 50/50) on a a jazz-esque bass.

 

subbed

 

JOYO ORANGE JUICE

Unbelievably cheap, unbelievably awesome.

 

I think the thing to consider when it comes to overdrives is how they sound in mix. I play in a modern hard rock band. Lots of dirty
Guitars and the guitars are tuned down to B. I ended up using the darkglass Microtubes X which based on demo videos I initially would have thought was the wrong pedal for me. But it’s all about how it sounds in the mix with the band. I’ve owned many overdrive pedals over the years where the grit sounds good by itself but then when I’m playing with the band you couldn’t even tell I was using them. The microtubes x is a pretty extreme overdrive but in the mix it sounds great to me. Often times I think people who really want subtle overdrive would actually be better off using one of the nicer boost pedals on the market than an actual overdrive.

 

NuX Scream Bass Overdrive sounds pretty good and is affordable. I have one and like it.

 

Yes! Surprised this doesn't get more love. Very versatile with a blend knob and separate bass and treble controls. Great for low to medium OD.