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Best Fuzz/OD for Bass

Have you tried the R. Pickle? One of the reasons I bought it, other than the sound, is that I read that Jeorge Tripps got hold of the original parts from Russia so, this one will be kind of unique being that when the parts run out (and there aren't many left), so will the pedal. I like unique :) Supposedly the sound resembles the original Big Muff of the 90's, which I've never actually heard, but I like this pedal because it gives my bass the fuzz tone I crave. I actually thought what I wanted was OD until I put this on my bass. I bought this pedal for my guitar. Sounds great with the guitar, but it seriously works wonders for the bass. IMO.

I was thinking the tall font from w & c.. pretty much the values of the weak cheap parts of Russian pedal is what makes it good for bass.. to lower the values for the knob I believe it take a resistor.. to do that, but I'm no good at electronics.. lol
 
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I heard about the Darkglass, but I can't seem to make myself part with $300 - $500 for one! I have the MXR and can't find a nice balance between the bass and drive. It's like the bass and drive are separate entities. The RP is $159 and it really turns me on.

I didn't think I could either. Then I did. And I forgot all about that expensive price tag! I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a hefty spender on pedals in one sitting. But I have a small handful on the expensive side and DG is a couple of them. Their pedals are so worth it IF you are into that sound. They aren't for everyone though. So I can understand how the price tag scares some off.

As far as my fav bass ODs and fuzzes?


ODs:
Dunwich ODB- what a bad a$$! This thing sounds ridiculous in the mix and sounds wonderful soloed. It just has that great way of blending in with your bass tone and driving it. Yummy
Way Huge Pork Loin (modded though)- I got one shortly after hearing about the JohnK mod. This will always be one of my all-time fav bass ODs
Mr Black Bass OD- I only had it for a few months but really thought it was quite nice sounding
Southampton Fifth Gear- magic in a box
DOD 250 in the various versions I’ve played. All of them rock for different reasons

Fuzz:
My custom muff that Dennis P made for me. Based off the Green Russian as well and has some mods to it
Way Huge Russian Pickle does really rule @gjohnson441496 I had one when it first dropped and I really liked it. My only complaint was I wish I could’ve made it just a little brighter. But overall, I felt there something magical about it too
DG Alpha/Omega- this is more of a dist but man does it sing!
Malekko B:Assmaster- ripping good time!!

There are so many great ones out there today. The Longsword by Electrical Audio Experiments and the MBP1 from Damnation are really nice. It’s been a great time to be a dirt loving bassist for the last couple years and on.
 
My dirt section is as follows:

Darkglass VMT -> Darkglass B3K -> Team Awesome! Fuzz Machine -> Way Huge Swollen Pickle -> Iron Ether Oxide -> Black Russian Big Muff

All of them rip, and each is unique enough to have on the board at the same time. Only thing I'm wanting at this point is to possibly replace the Muff with a Cog Grand Tarkin - if one ever shows up in the classifieds!!
 
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Best bass overdrive in my opinion are the darkglass bass distortion pedals. the vintage microtubes and the vintage deluxe are the best bass overdrives I've ever heard. I plan to buy one once again. I do miss it. I plan to save some cash and buy one of these pedals.

As for best bass fuzz, I personally like the mxr bass fuzz deluxe and the ehx nano bass big muff. the mxr bass fuzz deluxe I like for it's fizzy but versatile fuzz sound. the ehx nano bass big muff I like for it's heavy fuzz-like distortion and it's compacted size. but I don't necessarily need a bass fuzz in my arsenal. especially since I got an amptweaker bass tight metal jr. for all my heavy distortion needs. but If I want a bass fuzz, I would go with one of these fuzz pedals.
 
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Tronographic Rusty Box for OD and/or distortion is the winner for me, so far. I have pitted it head-to-head against the following: Darkglass B3K, VT Bass, Blower Box, Volt Thrower, Joyo Orange Juice. There is something about the clarity, presence, and non-fizzy/fuzziness. I do run it through a VT Bass 500 class D head preamp, though, which allows for post-eq (not sure I need it though). I then run to a heavily modified (by me) Mesa D-180 power amp section, with the option of using the class-D of the VT if I want/need more power (haven't needed it yet).
 
As for fuzz, the W&C TFR was the best/most versatile fuzz that approached OD clarity/capabilities while remaining massive that I ever tried, though I settled on the Mountainking Magnetar for all-out fuzz madness. I also really liked the Heavy Machine, Musket, and W&C Pickle Pie B. I imagine the Russian Pickle to be very similar to the W&C TFR; anyone compared them?
 
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Best bass overdrive in my opinion are the darkglass bass distortion pedals. the vintage microtubes and the vintage deluxe are the best bass overdrives I've ever heard. I plan to buy one once again. I do miss it. I plan to save some cash and buy one of these pedals.

As for best bass fuzz, I personally like the mxr bass fuzz deluxe and the ehx nano bass big muff. the mxr bass fuzz deluxe I like for it's fizzy but versatile fuzz sound. the ehx nano bass big muff I like for it's heavy fuzz-like distortion and it's compacted size. but I don't necessarily need a bass fuzz in my arsenal. especially since I got an amptweaker bass tight metal jr. for all my heavy distortion needs. but If I want a bass fuzz, I would go with one of these fuzz pedals.
I really liked the Tight Metal Junior as well. What it lacked in massive girth (as I directly compared against a W&C PPB), it made up for in clarity, lack of noise, and indeed, "tightness"; I could imagine it excelling in a progressive metal type band, vs a sludge/doomy type band. I was looking more for the latter at the time, which is why I sold it.
 
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My dirt section is as follows:

Darkglass VMT -> Darkglass B3K -> Team Awesome! Fuzz Machine -> Way Huge Swollen Pickle -> Iron Ether Oxide -> Black Russian Big Muff

All of them rip, and each is unique enough to have on the board at the same time. Only thing I'm wanting at this point is to possibly replace the Muff with a Cog Grand Tarkin - if one ever shows up in the classifieds!!
Are they all or some switched on simultaneously?
 
I use the Darkglass Alpha/omega and Darkglass duality fuzz. My A/o stays on most of the set. I really only turn it off when I'm using the duality or occasionally when I want a clean tone. Sounds great for heavy music. The duality fuzz I use more for Muse like tones and for parts where the guitar player is playing more lead type stuff and I need to fill out the sound more. It's not as "heavy" sounding as the A/o but it's dirtier. Got a new delay recently , took this pic in the middle of moving things around.
IMG_3152.JPG
 
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I seriously didn't know there were so many fuzz/od pedals on the market. I'm serious. If I had waited to buy a fuzz before buying the Russian Pickle, and found this thread, I'd be so overwhelmed I'd just give up and not buy anything. Good grief.
Ha! It's either all or nothing; choose wisely, the rabbit hole is deep!! Lucky for you, you probably made a great choice with the Russian Pickle, if it's anything like the Wren & Cuff Tall Font Russian.
 
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