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Beginner Doom/Stoner/Sabbath Pedal Board

L

lott1225

Jul 9, 2011
14
0
#1
I'm a newbie when it comes to effects and I want to get some solid advice. I'm looking to build a pedal board for Stoner/DOOM - Sabbath type sounding stuff. I have a budget of $500 for the effects and want good value. Right now I'm looking to do:

Wah --> Fuzz --> Fuzz --> Delay

Any suggestion on the chain would welcome and advice on gear that
are within my budget that will get me in the ballpark of what I'm attempting to sound like.
 
#2
Your on the right path with a fuzz pedal, though do yourself a favor and get one with a blend function. Off the top of my head I believe both the bass big muff and the t-rex fuzz both have the ability to blend the signal.
Try an envelope filter along with a wah to see what you like better, I've never been a fan of wah in bass so that suggestion is based on my personal preference.
If you aren't using an active bass I'd suggest a preamp/boost pedal like a Sansamp or MXR pedal, the more gain you have the better.
I'd probably try out some compression if your head doesn't already have that function, it's a good way the reign in some of that sonic mess.
 
#5
Fuzz is a key pedal. on my borad I have 2 Fuzz pedals, Octave, and Delay. I could see why you would want a wah. I was messing around with my line6 M9 wahs and found them to be very stoner.

rratajski said:
Do you want only things you can get at GC/SA/Best Buy or are you open to online dealers and boutique dudes?
Click to expand...

everyday-hustlin.jpg
 
#6
start by checking out fuzz demos on youtube... and welcome to the tone chasing adventures of the world of fuzz. check out bassfuzz.com.
a few friendly recommendations to check out: the Bluebeard, OxFuzz, Fender Sublime, Fuzzrocious, Musket Fuzz, the Wren and Cuff Tall Font Russian and the Team Awesome Fuzz Machine. All can get some very doomed out sabbathness happening. there are others of course, but these have been some of the 'keepers'...
wahs are totally to taste and Im not a connosieur.
Delays?.. my favorite at the moment is actually the EHX Cathedral Reverb..(reverb is a godsend!) but it has a delay setting.. Delay plus Reverb plus Fuzz= YOURE ALL GONNA DIE!!!
 
#8
I play in a similar kind of band myself, here's my 2 cents:

Wah - Geezer Butler used a Tycobrahe Parapedal on NIB, the Wilson Freaker wah is an improved clone of this. I sold the Parapedal and kept the Freaker but I now find myself using an Iron Ether Xerograph with expression pedal now though as it keeps the lows throughout the entire sweep, whilst most wahs use a bandpass filter. Wah/filter goes first in the chain for me, sounds great going into fuzz/distortion. Put it after and it can sound a bit like a cheesy synth.

Overdrive - This wasn't on the list but I suggest you get one. It's good to be able to layer on the gain, first with a dirty boost, then with the full on fuzz. I tend to use a Catalinbread SFT set to low gain and leave it on pretty much all the time.

Fuzz - Muff based fuzzes are a good fit. Only problem with them is that they can sound mushy, which is good for slow lines, but if you want to play anything faster and want some more of the dynamics/clarity to come through, might I suggest either muff with a clean blend (like the Bass Big Muff), or a Boss ODB-3 (which sounds amazing through the right amp, e.g. no tweeters!).

Delay - I use an MXR Carbon Copy, but I don't use it for typical delay. I mount it sideways, crank the feedback and roll the side of my foot on the delay time knob to control the wild oscillation sounds whilst playing, which are fed into a Small Stone phaser!
 
#9
dannybuoy said:
I play in a similar kind of band myself, here's my 2 cents:

Wah - Geezer Butler used a Tycobrahe Parapedal on NIB, the Wilson Freaker wah is an improved clone of this. I sold the Parapedal and kept the Freaker but I now find myself using an Iron Ether Xerograph with expression pedal now though as it keeps the lows throughout the entire sweep, whilst most wahs use a bandpass filter. Wah/filter goes first in the chain for me, sounds great going into fuzz/distortion. Put it after and it can sound a bit like a cheesy synth.

Overdrive - This wasn't on the list but I suggest you get one. It's good to be able to layer on the gain, first with a dirty boost, then with the full on fuzz. I tend to use a Catalinbread SFT set to low gain and leave it on pretty much all the time.

Fuzz - Muff based fuzzes are a good fit. Only problem with them is that they can sound mushy, which is good for slow lines, but if you want to play anything faster and want some more of the dynamics/clarity to come through, might I suggest either muff with a clean blend (like the Bass Big Muff), or a Boss ODB-3 (which sounds amazing through the right amp, e.g. no tweeters!).

Delay - I use an MXR Carbon Copy, but I don't use it for typical delay. I mount it sideways, crank the feedback and roll the side of my foot on the delay time knob to control the wild oscillation sounds whilst playing, which are fed into a Small Stone phaser!
Click to expand...

These are all good reccomendations, another good fuzz to look at is the Pharaoh from Black Art Toneworks. It's the single most brutal and doomy fuzz i've ever owned.
 
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#11
I agree, I really want to hear the Pharaoh on bass. I'm interested in getting one, but I don't know if that's just hype.

Other suggestions are: The smallsound/bigsound Team Awesome Fuzz Machine, the Wren and Cuff Pickle Pie B (which I haven't tried personally but I really like the sound of), maybe the Death By Audio Fuzz War (which the guy from This Will Destroy You uses).

Honestly, there are a ton of fuzz pedals that are available. There are also a ton of demos of said fuzz pedals that are available on the internet. Just look around and try to get an idea of what sound you like the most. I would suggest two different sounding fuzz pedals for versatility.

I also suggest seeing what other bass players from bands you like are using. Off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure the guy from Torche uses a Pharaoh fuzz. And as I mentioned, the guy from This Will Destroy You, which is a post-rock band but they get very, very heavy.

Delay is a whole 'nother issue. Just figure out how versatile you want your delay to be, and work from there. I don't know how easy it'll be getting all of this for $500, but that's because I'm suggesting boutique brands. Without knowing anything, I'm going to suggest a Boss DD-3 because they're a pretty simple delay and you can get a used one for around $60 if you look in the right places.
 
#20
Definitely check out EHX cathedral reverb, a good reverb goes a long way in this genre. Don't get deadset on wah. I was, but once I actually had it, I realized how useless it really is to me. But if you're hellbent on wah, make your chain:
Fuzz>Wah>Fuzz>Delay/reverb
 

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