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Distortion to replace XXLB

Mr. Pickles

Mr. Pickles

Nov 11, 2006
3,971
169
Dutchess County, NY
#1
I'd like to replace my XXLB with a high-gain distortion. It will be in the loop of my VFB-2 and used for underlying textures, most often, before a chorus or phaser. I have my fuzz and light OD basses covered, so I'm not looking for anything along those lines.

I'd like something really grainy, but defined. I used to have a Metal Muff-it sounded really cool on bass, but looked corny.

Here's some of my kit so you have an idea of what I'm going for.

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Thanks in advance for your suggestions.:bassist:
 
#3
Cool. Thanks, Bongo. I've heard this mentioned before, but always thought it was somehow related to TL Audio's Fatman compressor, so I must have dismissed it subconsciously... Anyway, I checked it out at:

Link Removed

and liked what I heard. I'd like to entertain a few more suggestions before I pull the proverbial trigger.
 
#7
For what it's worth, I had a Fatman for a little while, and found I could get basically the same thing (the distortion side of the Fatman, not the psychotic oscillation side) out of the Jeckyll & Hyde I had at the same time, but without the mountain of white noise. I'm not saying the J&H was silent (it wasn't), just that the Fatman had so much noise it bordered on unusable in my view. From conversations I've had with people, I'm not the only one who feels that way.
 
#8
I replaced one with a Hematoma and was happy for a spell, but I don't know if that fits your "really grainy, but defined" requirement. Pretty good for heavy gain though.

B:Assmaster might not be a bad idea, even if it a fuzz. Definitely extreme like the XXLB, and might match up to the grain and definition of it all, but a pretty different pedal. They do both get that quick look back from your guitarist though: "jesus, what the hell did you just step on?!"
 
#9
Smurf-o-Deth said:
the Fatman had so much noise it bordered on unusable in my view. From conversations I've had with people, I'm not the only one who feels that way.
Click to expand...

Huh, interesting. I don't remember the one I had being noisy, and you know how fanatical I am about noise. But noise is always a weird thing, different experiences in different rigs and rooms, so I don't doubt your experience at all.

Another thought- the Guyatone DS-2 is pretty great. It does lose a bit of low end at the higher gain settings, but the tone is awesome, very good in a blender-loop.
 
#13
Gritty?

The Boss MT-2 (at low gains) and HM-2 can do gritty alright. The Tech21 CompTORTION has a pretty growly sound, too.

That being said, the Fatman is AWESOME. I'll try to do reviews of 'em today since I'll probably be selling the other ones soon.
 
#15
Two things:
Insane amounts of gain. I'm a stickler for proper gain staging due to my recording background and the XXL is a royal pain in my arse. It's only useable (by my standards and preferences) in the first 1/8 turn of the level knob. If it accidentally gets bumped a pube in either direction, it becomes insanely loud or frustratingly quiet.

Think of how annoying it is to get your shower temperature perfect. Same thing here.

The second issue is an unacceptable amount of white noise/static/sonic wash, whatever at the top end of the aforementioned level setting.

Playing with the blend on my Barge alleviates the gain/noise problem, but only marginally. Forget about recording the damned thing. I have to roll off all the high end to remove the noise. Then I lose all the definition.
 
#16
SpankyPants said:
Gritty?
Click to expand...
Yes, as opposed to the "torn speaker cone" fuzz sound.

But maybe gritty isn't the best way to explain it. Think of a guitar cranked through JCM 2000 or TripleRec. Very metal (although I don't play metal, I find this an interesting texture to use in rock and pop).


SpankyPants said:
That being said, the Fatman is AWESOME. I'll try to do reviews of 'em today since I'll probably be selling the other ones soon.
Click to expand...

You own more than one Fatman? If you want to unload one, I'm interested.
 
#18
I assume the Jeckyll & Hyde has plenty of low end then?
Never played one but there's a 2nd hand one for sale & I'm looking for a bass distortion at the moment.

I tried the XXLB.
I liked it but it was a bit full on, all the time.
I'd like to have the option of dialing back the gain a bit.
 
#19
davidmurphy said:
I assume the Jeckyll & Hyde has plenty of low end then?
Never played one but there's a 2nd hand one for sale & I'm looking for a bass distortion at the moment.

I tried the XXLB.
I liked it but it was a bit full on, all the time.
I'd like to have the option of dialing back the gain a bit.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's kinda' a one trick pony. Only problem is, I don't much like the trick...
 
#20
Smurf-o-Deth said:
For what it's worth, I had a Fatman for a little while, and found I could get basically the same thing (the distortion side of the Fatman, not the psychotic oscillation side) out of the Jeckyll & Hyde I had at the same time, but without the mountain of white noise. I'm not saying the J&H was silent (it wasn't), just that the Fatman had so much noise it bordered on unusable in my view. From conversations I've had with people, I'm not the only one who feels that way.
Click to expand...

I'm interested in the Fatman, but a little put off by the potential for excessive noise. Does the V2 stand for version 2 of the pedal or does it simply refer to the fuzz portion of the pedal? If it's the former, what version did you have Smurf? I'm wondering if you had Version 1 and the others that said there was no noise had Version 2. Thanks.
 

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