some people tell me that a bass overdrive can be used for somethin more other than just its overdrive... is this true? if so, what other uses does this pedal have?
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bass overdrive question
- Thread starter zymeth3370
- Start date
You can throw it at the guitarist when he plays out of time.
In seriousness, you could also use it to boost the front end of a tube amp and get more tube dirt. You could use a guitar dirt pedal to roll off lows and run into a guitar amp*. You can put it in a feedback looper and it makes drones which change pitch with the knobs.
In seriousness, you could also use it to boost the front end of a tube amp and get more tube dirt. You could use a guitar dirt pedal to roll off lows and run into a guitar amp*. You can put it in a feedback looper and it makes drones which change pitch with the knobs.
Depending on the pedal, maybe it can be used as just a gain boost? Hard to say what they meant without more details!
bongomania
Commercial User
There are children reading this forum! Tut tut!To the OP, in all seriousness, you have to let us know what the heck you're talking about, or what your friends were talking about, before we can help really. An overdrive is an overdrive, but then not everything labeled "overdrive" sounds the same, or has the same range of distortion. And yes, overdrive does compress the signal somewhat, but whether it works well (or at all) as a compressor is up to the individual application or expectations.
Kev... technically it counts as an alternate spelling, but in general...
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And this is a hole in a dike:
Okay, most of the above posts were just making fun of the question. (Although with some I was ROFL 
)
It's hard to give an abstract answer to an abstract question.
I gave up on finding the perfect distortion, and now use an overdrive pedal.
The Ibanez Phat Hed Bass Overdrive.
There is a distortion selection on that thing, but I don't like it. The artificial harmonics it creates are not great.
I use this in overdrive mode, drive fully open and a bass eq pedal in front of it. Thus I can create the drive tone I desire.
A heavy overdrive suitable for metal music without trying to replicate distortion from a guitar.
My setting is on the borderline of not being distortion,... actually I like to define it proper bass distortion.
There is screaming-guitar-alike distortion and bass distortion.
So my use for overdrive is distortion...
in my world that makes sense. 
Other use for my overdrive pedal is an enhancer for tapping or slapping or for fret noise. There is a clean mode and attack setting.
So it depends on what overdrive you have to give you other uses.
I must agree with above posters that mostly it will do a job as booster, or combined with another drive pedal an insane effect.
.... unless you get a Swiss Army Bass Overdrive pedal which will help you in survival situations. (couldn't resist
)
)It's hard to give an abstract answer to an abstract question.
I gave up on finding the perfect distortion, and now use an overdrive pedal.
The Ibanez Phat Hed Bass Overdrive.
There is a distortion selection on that thing, but I don't like it. The artificial harmonics it creates are not great.
I use this in overdrive mode, drive fully open and a bass eq pedal in front of it. Thus I can create the drive tone I desire.
A heavy overdrive suitable for metal music without trying to replicate distortion from a guitar.
My setting is on the borderline of not being distortion,... actually I like to define it proper bass distortion.
There is screaming-guitar-alike distortion and bass distortion.
So my use for overdrive is distortion...
in my world that makes sense. Other use for my overdrive pedal is an enhancer for tapping or slapping or for fret noise. There is a clean mode and attack setting.
So it depends on what overdrive you have to give you other uses.
I must agree with above posters that mostly it will do a job as booster, or combined with another drive pedal an insane effect.
.... unless you get a Swiss Army Bass Overdrive pedal which will help you in survival situations. (couldn't resist
)
Okay, most of the above posts were just making fun of the question. (Although with some I was ROFL
It's hard to give an abstract answer to an abstract question.
I gave up on finding the perfect distortion, and now use an overdrive pedal.
The Ibanez Phat Hed Bass Overdrive.
There is a distortion selection on that thing, but I don't like it. The artificial harmonics it creates are not great.
I use this in overdrive mode, drive fully open and a bass eq pedal in front of it. Thus I can create the drive tone I desire.
A heavy overdrive suitable for metal music without trying to replicate distortion from a guitar.
My setting is on the borderline of not being distortion,... actually I like to define it proper bass distortion.
There is screaming-guitar-alike distortion and bass distortion.
So my use for overdrive is distortion...
Other use for my overdrive pedal is an enhancer for tapping or slapping or for fret noise. There is a clean mode and attack setting.
So it depends on what overdrive you have to give you other uses.
I must agree with above posters that mostly it will do a job as booster, or combined with another drive pedal an insane effect.
.... unless you get a Swiss Army Bass Overdrive pedal which will help you in survival situations. (couldn't resist
Distortion is like the result of overdriving, so I don't think this applies. I have this exact same pedal and it is absoultely amazing!
Yeah, I know that. It's just that people like to label all these degrees of drive.
gain became overdrive, overdrive became distortion...
bass distortion became fuzz...
But actual fuzz is not really overdrive/distortion.
In my early years I always desired insane distortion on my bass (big Cliff Burton fan).
But now that I am a bit wiser...
...I don't desire "distortion" anymore. "Overdrive" is all I need. (And some sort of synthetic insane fuzz, but that's a different story...)How do you set up your Phat Hed? And what sound do you achieve with it.
The setting that is most to my likings is:
mode: overdrive (as said before I don't focus on the labels overdrive and distortion)
attack: 1
drive: 10
(eh, why not 
)eq low: 7
eq high: 5
level: 5
Plus a Boss Bass EQ in front of it with boosted lows and highs and carefully cut midrange (not scooped out for the record).
For me this created a fun drive.
Yeah, I know that. It's just that people like to label all these degrees of drive.
gain became overdrive, overdrive became distortion...
bass distortion became fuzz...
But actual fuzz is not really overdrive/distortion.
In my early years I always desired insane distortion on my bass (big Cliff Burton fan).
But not that I am a bit wiser...
How do you set up your Phat Hed? And what sound do you achieve with it.
The setting that is most to my likings is:
mode: overdrive (as said before I don't focus on the labels overdrive and distortion)
attack: 1
drive: 10
eq low: 7
eq high: 5
level: 5
Plus a Boss Bass EQ in front of it with boosted lows and highs and carefully cut midrange (not scooped out for the record).
For me this created a fun drive.
I use:
mode: clean
drive: 5 (it doesn't affect the clean mode anyway, I think)
eq low: 8
eq high: 10
level: 3
attack:1
plus a Boss CS-3 compressor. It gives me a sound somewhat close to Geddy Lee's, although a bit less trebly. It is more like something to make the sound a bit more aggresive and alive, not a big dirt overdrive. I use it all the time, no matter what style or song I am playing.
bongomania
Commercial User
Nice, so you use and overdrive pedal for something else than overdrive, like was asked in the OP.
I was thinking of getting a second one (they're cheap) and use it the same way you do, in clean mode.
I want to create a loop dedicated for tapping, to enhace my (poor) technique.
Nice, so you use and overdrive pedal for something else than overdrive, like was asked in the OP.
I was thinking of getting a second one (they're cheap) and use it the same way you do, in clean mode.
I want to create a loop dedicated for tapping, to enhace my (poor) technique.
I wanted another one too, just incase something happens to mine, but they are so hard to find here. I think that another one of these and a compressor would give you a great tapping sound.
Too bad you can't find another one that easy.
I probably can order them by the dozen.
A compressor? Really?
I would've thought the Boss Limiter Enhancer would be great for tapping.
But I don't know much about the pedals: compressor and limiter/enhancer.
On your advice I'll try a compressor (the CS-3) out when I have the chance.
