• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Distortion Mega-Thread! User submitted Distortion reviews

#401
Boss SD-1 Modded by Humphrey Audio.
Paid ~$50 second hand from Earwaxsculptor. Pristine condition.

The Good, the bad, the ugly:

Sounds excellent with my Rickenbacker, very organic grit.
No low end loss. At all.
Bright blue LED, easy to find on the board.
Rock solid as all Boss pedals are.
Reacts beautiful to single coil pickups, chords less muddied.


Gripes:
Doesn’t take too kindly to active basses, seems to drive it hard, no matter the settings.
Not as clear when using humbucks, muddies up chords and fizzes the notes together.

Solved all my distortion needs.


I have a soundclip of it that I took from a recording of a band practice, can post it upon request. Ridiculous wanking abound.
 
#406
OK, I just got my TS-9 and it isn't modded. Yes, it's true you might lose your 15 Hz and if you're picky on that aspect better not get it or mod it as some threads in this forums suggest and/or have tips in how to do it.

For those of you who like mid-rangey stuff like punk, motorhead, certain indie bands, etc... This pedal is great for getting that sound, just don't crank the drive way too much coz then it really loses a lot of low end and can get wiry. But if you like that too....
 
#407
HBE Hematoma

Pros:

1. No low end loss at all
2. Pre-Amp feature is a nice add in
3. Goes from mild OD to heavy Distortion
4. Nice and simple controls

Cons:

1. A bit exspensive 150+
2. You do lose a bit of high end (high mids)
3. Sound changes a bit depeding on the Level knob (volume not gain).
4. Cant really get a real light overdrive

Overall, I think its a great pedal, a bit pricey for me, but im glad i bought it. I do wish it dident lose as much high mids though, but my Boss GEB-7 EQ fixes that ;).



Boss ODB-3

Cons

1. Not true bypass.
2. kind of buzz saw like no matter the settings.
3. More of a distortion pedal than overdrive.
4. Hard to dial a good tone.

Pros

1. CAN achieve a good mild overdrive with my rig
2. Sounds like a Proco Rat (tool like)
3. Also be used as an eq pedal

Overall, a decent pedal, I dont know why so many people talk like its a piece of crap, it did take quite some time to find a good setting, mess around with the volume knob, the lower the better it seems. Sounds alot better if you can put it in a loop with an EQ pedal.

HBE Hematoma: 9.5

Boss ODB-3: 7.0
 
#408
Personally I've found this pedal to give me exactly what I wanted. Which kinda sounds like a mix between an upright bass and the kind of distortion you here in Beneath the Remain from Sepultura. Just for context here is the key factors to my set up

Fretless B-E-A-D
Rotosound 88 Tape wound strings
Dimarzio Will Power Mid pickup (eq 8b, 8m, 5t)
Ampeg 115 combo (eq 10b, 10m, 0t)
Digitech Death Metal Distortion (eq 7b, 7m, 3t)

Pros:
Heaviest fullest distortion possible
DOES NOT SUCK OUT LOWS
retains tone in the right settings
three eq knobs for easy manipulation

Cons:
No versatility period
any moderate or treble heavy setups will sound like pure noise
notes can easily run together without proper technique

overall: everyone who has listened to my tone with this pedal has had nothing but good things to say about it, whether they were fellow musicians or my girlfriend who thinks me playing bass is a waste of time ;)
 
#409
i modded a tubescreamer clone from BYOC to BassDrive specs, but with higher distortion available and LEDs for clipping. it's amazing. one of my friends prefers my clone to his BassDrive.


pros:
goes from nice tube grit to fuzzy distortion
very transparent
no loss of low end

cons:
the fuzzed out distortion can be a bit much.
 
#413
EH Bass Big Muff Pi
http://www.ehx.com/products/bass-big-muff-pi
bass-big-muff-pi.jpg


I just wanted to go on record in this thread that this pedal kills!!!

I've shied away from committing to a Big Muff in the past due to low-frequency response issues. In my experience, the other Big Muff models all sound great, but roll off a lot of low end. It is possible, of course, to just turn up the overall volume to try & compensate for the low end loss - but then I was unhappy with the out-of-control treble and mid range character that results.

Enter the Bass model. It features a 3 way switch with 3 modes: "Bass Boost", "Normal". and "Dry".

"Normal" gives you the old traditional Big Muff Sound. Raspy, fuzzy and a little too much bass roll-off.

"Bass Boost" adds some bass frequencies back in, but it sounds like they are boosted pre-distortion. So, while the bass response is improved, it also results in slightly more distortion saturation as well. It's a cool sound, but possibly less "Big Muff" sounding if you're familiar with the old pedals.

"Dry" mode turns the Volume knob into a Pseudo-Blend knob. In this mode, the pedal will pass your unaffected bass tone even with the volume knob all the way off. (note: in "Dry" mode & the volume all the way down, the unaffected bass tone has slightly less output than if the pedal is bypassed) Basically, you can set up any amount of Big Muff crunch that you want & then add it in to your original bass signal. The volume will increase overall as you "blend" in the Big Muff signal. The result is just what I've always wanted a Big Muff to sound like: Grindy, raspy distortion bordering on all-out fuzz but with plenty of low end punch!

Other controls (function the same in all modes):
"Tone" emphasizes low-mid frequencies in the counter-clockwise positions and emphasizes treble in the clock-wise range. 12 o'clock is pretty balanced with perhaps a very slight amount of mid-cut scoop. This control has proven very useful to me by allowing me to either cut through a mix better or by thickening up my Muff sound.

"Sustain" acts as a distortion amount control. At higher settings, I suppose it does "sustain" notes longer - but really this control is your fuzz "gain".


For my needs, "Dry" mode works the best. I can get that classic Big Muff fuzz/distortion sound while still retaining the low-end energy I'm so finicky about.

The Bass Big Muff Pi is true bypass and works with a standard Boss-style adapter or a single 9v battery. It also features dual outputs: one that only passes your dry bass signal (useful for dual amp applications or multi-track recording) and an effected output.
 
#415
seanm said:
Would the "dry"mode of the bass Muff basically be a normal Muff in the loop of a blender?
Click to expand...

Not exactly... Think of the BBM's "Dry" mode as more of a parallel mix. It's more like you have a given set amount of dry signal (not changeable) that you can add a variable amount of Big Muff signal into.

Does that make sense?
 
#416
scotch said:
Not exactly... Think of the BBM's "Dry" mode as more of a parallel mix.
Click to expand...

That's what a blend loop is, too - a parallel mix. :D

However, your next point is true - it doesn't operate like your usual blend pedal:

scotch said:
It's more like you have a given set amount of dry signal (not changeable) that you can add a variable amount of Big Muff signal into.

Does that make sense?
Click to expand...

So, sean: a typical blend loop will have a Blend (or Mix) knob and sometimes a Level knob. The Blend knob would change the volume of both signals as it's adjusted.

The BBM is a bit different. It works off of a preset, unchanging Dry level (which is the same level as it would be when the BBM is bypassed). The Volume knob on the BBM controls the overall level of the Muff signal, rather than adjusting both levels.

The one drawback of this design is that to get, say, a 70% Muff / 30% Dry mix, your overall volume gets MUCH louder than it would be when bypassed. But the 50% Muff and below mixes are awesome.
 
#417
MysticBoo said:
That's what a blend loop is, too - a parallel mix. :D

However, your next point is true - it doesn't operate like your usual blend pedal:



So, sean: a typical blend loop will have a Blend (or Mix) knob and sometimes a Level knob. The Blend knob would change the volume of both signals as it's adjusted.

The BBM is a bit different. It works off of a preset, unchanging Dry level (which is the same level as it would be when the BBM is bypassed). The Volume knob on the BBM controls the overall level of the Muff signal, rather than adjusting both levels.

The one drawback of this design is that to get, say, a 70% Muff / 30% Dry mix, your overall volume gets MUCH louder than it would be when bypassed. But the 50% Muff and below mixes are awesome.
Click to expand...

That makes sense, thanks! I may try whipping something up to try that with a normal muff.
 
#418
I'm totally in love with my Penny pedals modded Boss Ds-1, it got its first public airing the other night and it killed. I've got it on the overdrive setting with the drive cranked well up and it's a beast. I was amased at how much gain it has; I've only got it turned up the tiniest bit and it has bottom end galore. For the last few years i was using a Boss ODB 3 and it did a decent job, but sometimes decent isn't enough (I know that sounds cheesey!). For about a month before I got it I was using the guitar Dod grunge with my Spector Euro and it actually sounded pretty damn good with it despite a bit of low-end loss. However I'm using my P bass live now and the grunge sounded horrible with it. Anyways, I can't recommend the Penny modded Ds 1 highly enough and Matt who runs penny pedals was a complete gentleman to deal with. 'Nuff said

Forgot to say I gave the ODB 3 to a friend and he think's it's exactly what he has been looking for
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back