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Folks, I'm seriously looking into getting a MBD-2 for its versatility, but one of the things I need it to do is a bright, high register, high gain, dare I say djenty distortion.
In particular I'm looking at replacing the Darkglass X7 on my live board, because getting all the x-over bands and everything else right on a stage simply doesn't happen for me, so it's being relegated to home recording duty. I'm looking for something that can get just as bright and metallic (when combined with low action fret clank) on the treble side while delivering good low-end. I'm 100% convinced that MDB has excellent low end, but not so much on the bright distortion. All youtube demos are very dark, muddy, fuzzy, or they are just mild overdrive.
What say you? Am I looking at the wrong pedal? Am I better of with an Alpha Omicron or something? If I can, I'd rather get the MBD because I can use it for everything else too.
PS. Walrus Eras seems to do what I want for a point of reference. Shame, because I'm not buying Walrus products due to my repeated past sour experiences with them.
In particular I'm looking at replacing the Darkglass X7 on my live board, because getting all the x-over bands and everything else right on a stage simply doesn't happen for me, so it's being relegated to home recording duty. I'm looking for something that can get just as bright and metallic (when combined with low action fret clank) on the treble side while delivering good low-end. I'm 100% convinced that MDB has excellent low end, but not so much on the bright distortion. All youtube demos are very dark, muddy, fuzzy, or they are just mild overdrive.
What say you? Am I looking at the wrong pedal? Am I better of with an Alpha Omicron or something? If I can, I'd rather get the MBD because I can use it for everything else too.
PS. Walrus Eras seems to do what I want for a point of reference. Shame, because I'm not buying Walrus products due to my repeated past sour experiences with them.
Yes, I believe you're referring to the slap sequence and the ending riff. Those in particular got me worried because I hear a lot loose, over-boosted bass mud in there. I immediately hear a glaringly badly dialed in tone*, but I'm concerned that that's what the pedal normally does.
*for my tastes and purposes
I can post some personal recordings tomorrow showing exactly what I want, but think the high-end clarity in this riff:
(headphone check, jumps directly into distortion)
...with a bit more low end.
Sascha Erni
Making things go whoomp, whoomp since 1994
That’s where the Depth dial comes in. It’s basically a high-pass filter before the distortion stage, you blend in your clean tone with the, well, Clean dial afterwards. The higher Depth is dialled in, the more gets through to the distortion circuit, producing more harmonics all over the spectrum. You can simulate a fuzz if you’re so inclined with that knob (and perhaps the +20 dB switch).
Soooo, if you want a clanky, bright tone in your distortion, you’d dial Depth down until you lose “body”, so to say, and keep Clean as low as is feasible, i.e. until you’re happy with the fundamentals being still there. Adjust Tone to taste, there’s also a switch for changing the center frequency.
It’s not something most YouTubers would feature, as it’s great in a hard/metal band context, but not for clickbaity bass-plus-drumloop videos. Jeff ships the MBD-2 with a handy cheat card, which is pretty clear and down to the point. The MBD-2 is very versatile.
Thanks everyone, that sounds promising. I think I’ll take the plunge. If I really really hate it for this sound there’s plenty more I can do with it.
While not "technically" a boost, I run a Sushi Box Space Heater after my MBD2.
What are you curious about?
One thing to keep in mind,
A few of the demos, like Hondo's, are recorded direct.
It'll sound different when played through an amp.
It's a pedal that you should definitely spend some time with.
For me, I rarely touch the Depth knob, as it adds this overly thick low-end to the distortion side.
I tend to use a liberal amount of the Clean side, to establish a solid foundation, while using the distortion side to dial in the highs and crunchy top-end.
Mostly just how things sound with a boost-type effect before vs. after the MBD.
I'd suggest setting the MBD to slight OD with your passive basses, then find a sweet spot with the clean boost to push the input gain.
Tried Amp Mode into the MBD.
Behaved as expected.
I have the MBD set for light gain (just some crunchy harmonics on the top-end)
Engaging AM pushed it into a medium gain overdrive.
you're welcome!
Here's a decent price on a used one w/free shipping
Damnation Audio MBD-2 MOFSET Bass Distortion - Silver Sparkle Finish | Prymaxe | Reverb
Too late
When I said I’d take the plunge I meant it, I should be able to mess around with it by Fri and report back.
