- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,634
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
+1, only they don't confuse me, I just find them unnecessary if the pedal has enough low end on it's own.
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Darkglass dissapointment
- Thread starter wolfkeller
- Start date
I find that dry/overdrive blends sometimes (most of the time?) don't sound right to me, I hear the two signals in parallel, not integrated into one sound. Even more so with fuzzes, a bass sound with high end sizzle on top doesn't work for me. The VMT for instance I think sounds best with the blend all the way to overdrive.
When I got my B3K I gotta admit, I was also a little bummed about how "metal" it sounded to me.
So I traded it for a Darkglass Vintage MicroTubes.
I was definitely much happier with the sound of the VMT.
It wasn't until I used the blend to remove all my original signal that I was finally happy with it.
Then I recently started blending my clean signal with my dirt using an LS-2.
I may have finally found what I was looking for.
So I traded it for a Darkglass Vintage MicroTubes.
I was definitely much happier with the sound of the VMT.
It wasn't until I used the blend to remove all my original signal that I was finally happy with it.
Then I recently started blending my clean signal with my dirt using an LS-2.
I may have finally found what I was looking for.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,634
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
That's probably what I meant by "confuse"...hearing two things when I expect to hear one.
This is with the blend at 1:00(on Raw mode), overdrive amount at 12:00, and the drive level at 1:00.
I don't hear two things here:
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12882063
(the overdrive level knob makes a huge difference in making a tone sound like "one sound" when blending, imo)
I don't hear two things here:
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12882063
(the overdrive level knob makes a huge difference in making a tone sound like "one sound" when blending, imo)
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Which is my point, why try to emulate a tone of an amp that is being produced and available worldwide unless you are looking to not use an amp(di out)
Pigtronix Bass FatDrive.
Seriously. It nails it. It's wooly and furry, not notchy and square wave.
-Ron
Seriously. It nails it. It's wooly and furry, not notchy and square wave.
-Ron
OK so to try and clarify a little bit, I really wasn't looking to try and emulate an ampeg initially, I was looking for a really good pedal to add to it and or my GKs. I was looking for a pedal that would bring me a certain sound, something like an Alice in chains, early pantera kind of thing. Driven but not fuzzy or tinny. I tried this pedal thinking it might be the one. After words I decided that its probably just best to stick to the amps alone as they do get a good drive and they are not fuzzy, fizzy or brittle. If I do want more gain I'll use my bddi as I like it but it can be harsh on the high end. I think the B3k is a good pedal just not what I want. Soon as I can afford to be a supporting member I'll list it for sale.
Definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but for me it's one of the very few pedals that gives that hi-mid attack that I hear in all my favorite recordings.
Those sounds were usually produced by solid state amps going into breakup, which was a bit harsher and grindier than SVT style breakup
Those sounds were usually produced by solid state amps going into breakup, which was a bit harsher and grindier than SVT style breakup
To get that I've read that you need to run am amp on the rails or some such thing, meaning maxed out?
Yeah, for GK's the rails thing is true. I'm not sure about the old Peavey Mark amps, but it may be similar. I have both a Mesa Bass 400(which sounds harsher than an SVT) and I usually record through my GK800RB. I'd hate to do home recordings smacking that thing against the rails, plus I greatly prefer the tone with my B3K out front(I actually run a parametric eq after it to boost the high mids that the GK doesn't have)
My favorite kind of grind came from old Peaveys and is probably too harsh for many people's tastes. I like that chorded part around 1 min and how the percussive attack works with the bass drum on the rest of the song:
My favorite kind of grind came from old Peaveys and is probably too harsh for many people's tastes. I like that chorded part around 1 min and how the percussive attack works with the bass drum on the rest of the song:
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Because if the SVT tone that you want is with the power tubes pushed hard then you have to have your amp cranked which may not be feasible depending on the size of the gig/venue. Reminds me of a previous guitarist who would never play at appropriate volume levels (and lost us some gigs because of it) since in his mind he could only get "his tone" but pushing his amp hard.
So your options are to either use pedals to get that sound or have a smaller all-tube amp for smaller venues. I know a guy who has an SVT and a VB4 for exactly that reason. Still, there are gigs where even a cranked VB4 is going to be too loud.
I've pretty much never been a guy to chase other player's tones. The one exception I can think of is early Billy Gould. Still one of my favorite bass sounds ever.
Ha. That's cool - it kinda makes me happy he doesn't really use that tone anymore. I like his newer tones as well, but my favorite remains that old clanky Chuck Mosely/early Patton era tone. The latest bass tone on an album which I really love is Mew's "And the Glass Handed Kites". It has some of that "metallic magic" on the bass
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I much prefer the mixing approach to blending. I have a OneControl blender and it is ok for what it does (tiny bypass loop with buffer and phase inversion). The better approach is a true mixer like some SFX offerings or the Wounded Paw "blenders". I use quotation marks because they are mixers, not blenders. The problem with a traditional blend knob or separate blender is that you take away from one signal to add another. A mixer will let you keep one signal at full strength and add a bit on top of that or do something completely different.
The wounded paw blender is great for mixing crazy sounds together, inverting phases, EQing, changing levels of loops on the fly, etc. For actual low end, a pedal with low end retention and/or good EQing will always be a better choice...
For me mixing/blending (I don't quite see the difference I must admit) works fine for other effects, just not dirt.
I think this is why I boost the drive side a bit when I blend. For some reason, it sounds truer and not like two things, whereas 50/50 all at 12:00 does sound like a "blended" signal. What's really strange is that the timbre is different than doing everything with just the blend. I think I remember Doug Castro also explaining something to a similar degree about his OD level control
I actually love my VT into my 75' SVT. I can leave my SVTs eq flat like usual and make minor adjustments on the pedal. Also have a separate drive on the VT which is nice for when I wanna get my tone really harsh.
I've actually been playing this pedal more then my B7K as of late but I'm keeping the Darkglass for the DI. It's great for live use and recording.
I think a lot of the tones you're seeking come from the bass and the players hands. Both bands you mentioned (Alice In Chains and Pantera) both played Spectors. They definitely have a certain sound to them that I find other basses can't achieve. What kind of bass are you playing?
I totally agree that it is more for non-dirt effects. I started out using it for crappy dirt pedals. Now, I use it for non-dirt. I do still use it for dirt but for boosting rather than blending. Like if you have a particular dirt pedal that needs more output
B3K will definitely get you Pantera.
For AIC get the VMT.
Not trying to discount your experience, but there are countless players on the boards (myself included) that have successfully gotten those types of tones with these pedals, so from where I'm sitting the problem is either elsewhere in your setup or you just didn't spend enough time playing with the knobs. Have you tried the pedal with your band? I've found that getting a tone on my own and getting a tone in a mix are two very different processes - what sounds good/accurate in one setting is unlikely to sound good/accurate in the other. In general, it's decidedly EASIER to cop an iconic tone in a mix where anything remotely close is often close enough, which is why I'm suspicious of anyone who says they just can't get the OD they want given the plethora of pedals available.
BTW I play an SVT and you need a pedal if you want in-your-face drive at less than deafening levels and/or uncontrollable feedback.
I also prefer ODs with a blend because I think being able to hear the two signals makes it sound more massive.
