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Distortion and overdrive Pedals that DON'T kill your low end

spectorbass83

spectorbass83

Jun 6, 2005
1,594
50
canada
#1
So my band has gone from having 2 guitar players to just one, leaving a lot of "space" in the sonic spectrum for me to fill the gap.

I'm looking for a really good distortion/overdrive/fuzz pedal that does not kill low end response. I play a Lakland 5 string and spend a lot of time on the low B so I NEED bottom end.

I have a Sansamp BDDI and while the overdrive does sound good on its own, it get lost in the mix.

Ideally I would like to get distortion/overdrive like that of Muse/RATM.

Any suggestions for a really solid overdrive/distortion pedal that will actually not kill my low end?
 
#3
Check out a Tech 21 XXL. There's a bass version.

If my memory serves me correctly Chris from Muse has a heap of different dirt pedals, but some version of a Big Muff as well as an Akai Deep Impact seems to get some of his tones. Depends on the era/album really
 
#8
been_effected said:
Check out a Tech 21 XXL. There's a bass version.

If my memory serves me correctly Chris from Muse has a heap of different dirt pedals, but some version of a Big Muff as well as an Akai Deep Impact seems to get some of his tones. Depends on the era/album really
Click to expand...

+1 on the tech 21 xxl bass edition distortion pedal. this distortion pedal has a pretty killer sound and it doesn't seem to obliterate any low-end what so ever.
 
#11
I play a lot of distorted bass and have four pedals I use. I list them in order of best low end to least.

1) Boss ODB-3
2) DOD FX91 Bass Overdrive
3) 90's EHX Russian V8 Big Muff Pi
4) 80's ProCo Rat

And runner up: Boss Super Octave OC-3 its an octave pedal with distortion with an input voiced for bass, it gets kinda chaotic in the distortion mode.

The Boss ODB-3 is the newest and by far my fave. Its called an overdrive but it really covers the spectrum of overdrive to full on fuzz. It has a mix knob for a mix of dry and dirt signals and a two band hi/low EQ. It really is a wonder to behold. The Rat has insane distortion and sustain but it seems to prefer either low end grit or sustained buzz but not both a once, and its a balance act to get deep lows at all by its self. The DOD is rather good at keeping low end but is very subtle, the sound of slightly overdriven tubes. It really just adds a hint of grit even at full tilt. The Big Muff Pi is full on fuzz with some decent low end. But the Boss is the best by far at both a wide range of dirt to HUGE low end. Try getting a few and mixing them. I use the DOD with the Rat to give it more low end dirt while keeping the buzz-saw distortion and sustain. The Big Muff I use with the Boss OC-3 for pure mayhem.
To address your specific requirements I suggest first the Boss ODB-3 for the massive low end it provides with the whole spectrum of grit and the Russian Big Muff Pi for bragging rights.
Of note on the Muff, it is the Russian model as opposed to the other versions that is supposed to provide the low end and has for years been considered a default "go-to" pedal for bass fuzz, plus I have never played any other EHX Muff's so I cant attest to any other version. All these pedals including the Big Muff are cheap enough if you look.One good method of finding cheap pedals is look on eBay for pedals ending late at night on a weekday, like 3-4am eastern, that way its late across all time zones, no one is up to out bid. Hope this helps.
 
#15
I find it strange that you would lose bottom end with the sansamp. I have a similar rig (lakland usa 5string, prog BDDI, playing in some bands with only 1 guitar player) and never found problems in my bddi.

I have 3 settings in 1) light ampeg-simul 2) 'vintage', more mid-based growl 3) heavy overdrive blended with some clean signal (a bit muse time is running out alike).


Other dirt pedals I use without problems are a little big muff, guv'nor2 and mastotron. Never feel that I lose bottom end with those as well (au contraire: I often get compliments from band members and audience on how I carry the band when the guitar goes up high in a solo)


The blend knob in the bddi helps, but how is the rest of your setup? Asking this because I play an SWR 400 top and 4x10 and have the EQ set pretty flat - boosting low end makes for a thicker tone but pedals can mess up that bass really quick. I prefer boosting the volume to get the pressure I want and cutting on those SWR highs.



Herwig
 
#19
The only way I've achieved this is by using both channels on my amp. One clean and one effected. The clean channel maintains the lows while the effected channel gives you the distortion.

As far as straight pedals go, the MXR Blowtorch did an alright job of maintaining low end, but at the loss of distortion. You'd get more of a light growly fuzz with the blend dialed towards the clean.
 

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