Distortion and Preamp for Hardcore/metal

[Grindboar]

First please forgive me if there is another thread I used the search function on the forum and through Google and didn’t come up with anything specific.

I am looking for a distortion pedal that would get my bass tone close to bands like End, Cult Leader, Scalp, Gods Hate, Year of the Knife, etc etc.

My current setup is a Fender P In drop C, EMG butlers with 130-65 rounds into a Cali76 then a B7k that I only use as a DI into my interface. I’ve been using The stl tonehub Taylor Young pack for recording but I prefer hardware.

For Distortion I’ve heard of but not tried the following: Fuzzrocious Cat, EAE Longsword, Idiotbox Blowerbox, Dunnwich Volt thrower, and Fowl Backstabber.

Preamps I’ve come across the Sansamp VT DI and that’s about the extent.

I’d love some recommendations on pedals to look into, or even “try this setting on your b7k”

 

[opivy3056]

Wow. End's bass tone is massive. Sound great! I think the Blower Box could get you fairly close.

This could also work very well:

 

[Grindboar]

Wow. End's bass tone is massive. Sound great! I think the Blower Box could get you fairly close.

This could also work very well:

killer recommend with BSRI I’ve never heard of them but dig the demo. This looks promising.

 

[Fortyweight]

My damnation audio curmudgeon is all I need for distortion in a hardcorepunk band. I feel it is a seriously underrated pedal and if I’m not mistaken its being discontinued soon.

 

[Grindboar]

My damnation audio curmudgeon is all I need for distortion in a hardcorepunk band. I feel it is a seriously underrated pedal and if I’m not mistaken its being discontinued soon.

another pedal I’ve never heard of but the demo sounds great! Do you have any recordings of your band w the curmudgeon?

 

[monsterthompson]

killer recommend with BSRI I’ve never heard of them but dig the demo. This looks promising.

It's a pretty solid pedal. The boost switch is where the magic is for me, as it really livens up the sounds. The mids eq is also fairly flexible for getting a variety of sounds.

I might end up selling my BSRI Ash Maker. I end up using the Parabellum V2 from Night Owl to get in the same tone area as I use the BSRI for, and the Night Owl works better with my rig and goals.


Unfortunately, I'm not terribly familiar with the bands you noted, so I can't say how close the fit would be for this or other pedals.

BSRI Makes some cool stuff. I like their FZZ Fuzz. I think the OP might also want to check the new Singularity.
Singularity

 

[monsterthompson]

Wow. End's bass tone is massive. Sound great! I think the Blower Box could get you fairly close.

Yeah. This is huge. The Blower Box probably can get into that level of low end, based on my memory of owning one a while back.

 

[Fortyweight]

another pedal I’ve never heard of but the demo sounds great! Do you have any recordings of your band w the curmudgeon?

No, demo was recorded with a rat but the damnation website has some very good videos. And the low end on it is massive

 

[paskisti]

That End song had pretty violent guitar sounds so I would not use full frequency range distortion. My common solution is Darkglass offering and I would be happy with B7K v2. I would cut 500hz because guitars are very effective there, and and boost 3khz for cut through slightly. Many use grunt and attack boost switches but I like more flat and raw there with my passive Jazz with drive in 3 o'clock.

In the end below 300hz is what can be heard best. Make sound so that it is crispy and you can hear it. Below 80hz I wouldn't use boost as it does not help overal.

 

[monsterthompson]

26611325[/URL], member: 382988"]My damnation audio curmudgeon is all I need for distortion in a hardcorepunk band. I feel it is a seriously underrated pedal and if I’m not mistaken its being discontinued soon.

There’s always the new Spite Box for a Damnation/BSRI merger. That 100 Hz boost is sure to make for a big bottom. Unfortunately the Demos In The Dark demo doesn’t really make it sound like a fit here.

I wish there were some better demos of the BSRI Singularity out. That pedal has some interesting looking/sounding features.

 

[Grindboar]

There’s always the new Spite Box for a Damnation/BSRI merger. That 100 Hz boost is sure to make for a big bottom. Unfortunately the Demos In The Dark demo doesn’t really make it sound like a fit here.

I wish there were some better demos of the BSRI Singularity out. That pedal has some interesting looking/sounding features.

I took a look at the spite box but didn’t listen to the demo yet, also gave the singularity a listen. I think the band that it was made for sounds more like Portrayal Of Guilt style post hardcore with low gain guitars.

 

[sutarappa]

Of note may be the Peavey Century 200H on the Ampeg cab in that End vid. It has a lovely distortion on board.

 

[sutarappa]

 

[Zak TMD]

I'm in a hardcore adjacent band. I've got a Fuzzrocious Lil' Fella (which is a modded/updated version of the demon.) Ryan can speak to the differences between the Cat Tail (you mentioned above) and the Lil' Fella better than I could, but the Lil' Fella is awesome and highly versatile. My fav distortion I've laid hands on with my rig.

I also have a Aguilar Tone Hammer that I was heavily using before getting a Verellen Meatsmoke, and it's EQ carving capabilities are super useful to hone your tone around what your guitars are doing.

 

[Grindboar]

Lol so many replies to respond to.

FortyWeight: is the curmudgeon good for fast attack? I keep reading it billed as a pedal meant for doom/stoner.

Pastiki: I’ll definitely try out those settings! Personally still on the fence about it just because it has a super modern sound that brings it into djent territory.

Sutarappa: I’m not sure if that’s the bass players main rig because each video/show I see him using a different setup. But I did check out that amp. No luck with any nearby currently.

Zak Tmd: I havnt had a Fuzzrocious pedal since like 2011 with a dark driving. Wish I still had that. What about the current pedal do you really like?

I’m starting to lean towards the singularity just because even if that short demo it really sounds massive. And I’m a big slut for pretty looking pedals. For Pre-amps still no closer, but have considered springing for a head/cab so I can perhaps join a local band.

 

[monsterthompson]

26609627[/URL], member: 328596"]For Distortion I’ve heard of but not tried the following: Fuzzrocious Cat, EAE Longsword, Idiotbox Blowerbox, Dunnwich Volt thrower, and Fowl Backstabber.

Worth noting that the Cat, Blowerbox, Volt Thrower, and Backstabber are all Rat based circuits. Each has a spin on the classic, but it sure seems like a theme in your initial bunch. Magic Pedals has suggested a Volt Thrower+ could be in the works.

 

[Grindboar]

Worth noting that the Cat, Blowerbox, Volt Thrower, and Backstabber are all Rat based circuits. Each has a spin on the classic, but it sure seems like a theme in your initial bunch. Magic Pedals has suggested a Volt Thrower+ could be in the works.

Lol pretty sure the longsword is also technically a rat pedal with extra steps. So many choices man!

I’ll admit I just picked a bunch of pedals I was familiar with prior to the post. I’ve gone through like 4 different guitar setups to finally land on a swollen pickle into an Engl Fireball

 

[Fortyweight]

No issues with the attack. The sludge/doom vibe is mostly with the depth switch on. I used to have a peavey century as mentioned above and the curmudgeon is designed to have the same vibe as those solid state amps.

 

[monsterthompson]

I’m starting to lean towards the singularity just because even if that short demo it really sounds massive.

I’m interested in what you find if you go this route. I think the Ash Maker is good but it isn’t my favorite. On the other hand, the FZZ is a favorite from BSRI (though probably not what you’re after here).

 

[Grindboar]

@monsterthompson

I considered the fzz based on listening to Year of the Knife bass player
Using a microtubes and another hyper fuzz clone the demon lung.

I’m pretty open to suggestions. just wanna avoid buying and selling a ton of stuff just to get something that fits the vibe I’m looking for.