Bigger... fatter... more boom... boost pedal

[gregmon79]

I'm looking for something to add more girth.... bigness to my sound as a boost to kick in on choruses, or big moments in a song. I'm not looking for OD or distortion. Something that creates instant fatness, fullness, and "boom" without sucking the life out of my tone. Not a synthy dubby type pedal like the Meatbox. I was thinking maybe the Xotic RC Booster or Fultone Fatboost with Bass knob turned up a fair amount? Any other recommendations?

I always suggest either the Southampton Fifth Gear or the DOD fx10. Both excel greatly in the areas you want. Two of the best if not THE best boost pedals I've tried. The fx10 especially can warm up and get super fat and it still seems to keep it's articulation and attack. It's really weird how it does it but it does do it.

 

[P-oddz]

How well does the octamizer work with a 5 string bass?

The Octamizer is a cool sounding pedal, but it's tracking is iffy in lower register.

I personally use the Ibanez BB9 for what you are looking for. It's cheap and competent, IMO.
A clip I made a while back


Also recently played around with a Jackson Audio Prism Boost that sounds great for a low end boost.

 

[Mike Marshall]

I'm looking for something to add more girth.... bigness to my sound as a boost to kick in on choruses, or big moments in a song. I'm not looking for OD or distortion. Something that creates instant fatness, fullness, and "boom" without sucking the life out of my tone. Not a synthy dubby type pedal like the Meatbox. I was thinking maybe the Xotic RC Booster or Fultone Fatboost with Bass knob turned up a fair amount? Any other recommendations?

The Xotic RC is a good choice because its hard to get a bad sound with it.

 

[CH Design]

Hmm... that does sound pretty nice. Does it have a fair amount of boost volume on tap?

I have no idea. I haven’t been able to play one.
The website doesn’t list how much boost is available. Given that it has volume and gain controls, I would think it could provide a good increase in dB.

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[Kombo]

What about a parametric EQ pedal? Won’t suck anything you don’t dial in. Will add what you want. And most have built in clean gain.

Can I recommmend the WMD parametric EQ? Small and effective.

Nice looking pedal, I've never heard of it but the reviews look good as well. Many people also suggest the Empress.

 

[BassAndReeds]

Nice looking pedal, I've never heard of it but the reviews look good as well. Many people also suggest the Empress.

Empress is also very good. I own the WMD. Selling point being it takes up smaller pedalboard space. But the Empress I’d also suggest.

 

[Kombo]

I have no idea. I haven’t been able to play one.
The website doesn’t list how much boost is available. Given that it has volume and gain controls, I would think it could provide a good increase in dB.

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That thing looks awesome too. Freakishly simplistic as they say...

 

[Judge Nickels]

Another +1 for the RC Booster. If I was looking to get bigger at certain points in a song, I'd use my RC Booster. You can get a quite noticeable jump in volume and low end without adding much grind.

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[PullThePlug]

Perhaps a preamp pedal? I used my MXR M81 just for this purpose when I had mine. I sold it because I had dirt pedals that I preferred for a boost - but that's my own taste.

The M81 did a great job of taking your core tone and then "adding" to it if you twiddle with the eq knobs.

Good luck on your quest! I hope you find what you're looking for.

 

[scubaduba]

Thanks for all of the recommendations. This is fascinating and I think is becoming a great read for people looking for options to add "bigness" to their sound.

 

[redneck2wild]

@redneck2wild Man, I've read so many mixed reviews of the xciter. Some seem to say the pedal is nothing but snake oil. Have you been pleased?

My Acoustic Xciter is always on.
We also use an Aphex Aural Exciter in our PA rack.

The Big Bottom circuit is basically a low passed side chain Optical limiter.
The Low Tune sets a frequency where everything below it is sent to the Optical limiter.
The Low Blend controls the level of the signal coming from the limiter which is then mixed back to your original signal. Since the side chain signal has been limited, you really don't notice the effect unless it is over 5 (as your original uncompressed signal is louder).

Listen to the Youtube videos I linked to earlier and notice the change in sound when they increase the Low Blend and Low Tune knobs. That is not "snake oil".

Aphex Aural Exciters have been used in audio recordings since the 70s:
Exciter (effect) - Wikipedia

 

[Twocan]

[sfx] AY2 - (Yamaha NE-1 takeoff)

[sfx] AY2 - (Yamaha NE-1 takeoff)

 

[IngloriousOz]

The Wren & Cuff Suppa Phat Phuk is amazing and so is the Spaceman Atlas - both do exactly what you're looking for

 

[FLORINS]

3Leaf Audio Little Black Box if you can find one.

 

[Kragnorak]

You could always get one of these
View attachment 2997221

Close, but those aren't bassy enough for me. When I really want everybody's bowels to loosen I rest my heel on the MSD Earth Quake Wah:

 

[Diamond_Dave]

Sold the Spark mini quite a while ago. It just boosted whatever was behind it or what was in front of it. I need something that boosts the boom and bassy bigness. Plus it had a terrible pop every time it was engaged.

That's odd, because my Spark mini is dead quiet. (except for the boost!)

 

[scubaduba]

3Leaf Audio Little Black Box if you can find one.

I'd love to find one of these. Every time one pops up in the classifieds it is gone within minutes and I miss it. I watch Reverb and eBay too....

 

[scubaduba]

The Wren & Cuff Suppa Phat Phuk is amazing and so is the Spaceman Atlas - both do exactly what you're looking for

I had one of these once... I used it in church and covered the name with black electric tape. I agree that it could do the trick but I really want more bass pop not just overall volume/harmonic content.

 

[IngloriousOz]

I had one of these once... I used it in church and covered the name with black electric tape. I agree that it could do the trick but I really want more bass pop not just overall volume/harmonic content.

Despite the silly name - I found the phatness knob added a lot more bass pop

 

[dgrizzly]

EQ or preamp pedal with your desired frequencies boosted? Try a ToneHammer, for example