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DOD Bonebreaker
- Thread starter ole Jason
- Start date
I've checked many threads based on the dod boneshaker. including the one you've posted. I figure the only way for me to do this pedal justice is by purchasing one myself. and Recently it has arrive and I would say it's pretty decent. it does a good job on low gained drives.
I've recently got the dod boneshaker today and I've tested out. here are my thoughts. first off, it's pretty decent. the low gain and medium gain doesn't seem that different(at least through my rig it didn't). the high gain setting does seem to sound fuzzy and metallic at the same time. I think it's sounds rather good at a low gain setting. the parametric eq is pretty flexible. I kinda couldn't tell the difference with the depth control(other than using the low b string), but the eq did make up for it. decent as it is, it's does take some time to tweak some sounds. it does a good job on low gain drives, but other than that, it's a pretty good and versatile distortion pedal. if you're looking for a low gain distortion sound for bass, definitely check this pedal out.
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Hey, did you end up getting this pedal? And how much do you like it? I just bought it a few days ago semi-impulsively after seeing demos and reviews and finding a good price. But I've had my eye on the Empress Heavy for at least a year and a half now. If I buy the Express Heavy, I want it to be a be-all, end-all distortion pedal for my guitar (possibly bass too.)
I have been using one for several months now and find it a really versatile and unique pedal. I am using it to mimic a rare Systech Overdrive from the seventies that had a unique tone stack that I had never been able to replicate and the drive function is versatile enough to capture the feel of the gain stage.
Haha, yeah, I've seen your posts in several of the Boneshaker threads. I haven't had enough time to mess around with it yet but so far, I'm a little disappointed with it. :/ Hoping that that will change as I tweak worth it more. But I know at least two of the problems I have aren't easily fixable...
I believe the key for bass is to use the mids as a cut...I have the cut level at about 9 oclock with it's freq. about 4 oclock. Then most bass has depth to the far left (depth means "tighter" lows i.e., less, the opposite of what you'd expect). I'm boosting low and high at about 2 oclock, high freq. at 1 and low at 10:30. My drive level is very low, and the sound is an overdrive with lots of low end and some clank. Very old school sounding. Could be always on for some music.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,633
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
i still have my systech overdrive that i bought brand new back in the 1974 and i still dig it (and yes, it is very unique):
i actually recently cloned it, so it could be more pedalboard friendly, in a 1590B with a standard DC jack and have a status led.
I had to experiment with where to put the boneshaker to best advantage.
I like it at the end of the chain as a final tone-tweaker and post-filter-dirt stage.
I like it at the end of the chain as a final tone-tweaker and post-filter-dirt stage.
I got one. I really like it. Just had to learn it. But once I did, I really like it.
I been playing with this thing for the last 2 days on and off. Mostly through headphones. But it’s given me a chance to really hear what all the EQ points are doing. Again, I really like this pedal. Not quite what I expected but then again, I wasn’t sure what I expected. It’s cool. I’m gonna try this in with the band this week hopefully.
It’s really a shame this pedal didn’t do better for DOD. The EQ is really neat and a lot of the drive tones are great. This is before I’ve had a chance to play with a band though so we’ll see. Sunn commented on how he had some issues with it being too muddy or too wooly. I don’t think those were his exact words though. He just said he couldn’t get it to work for him. Hard to beat for $35!!
But in all seriousness, I dig. There are quite a lot of sounds in that box and a lot of them are quite awesome. So far...
It’s really a shame this pedal didn’t do better for DOD. The EQ is really neat and a lot of the drive tones are great. This is before I’ve had a chance to play with a band though so we’ll see. Sunn commented on how he had some issues with it being too muddy or too wooly. I don’t think those were his exact words though. He just said he couldn’t get it to work for him. Hard to beat for $35!!
But in all seriousness, I dig. There are quite a lot of sounds in that box and a lot of them are quite awesome. So far...
I like this pedal overall, but something about the clipping just doesn't sit right with my setup. It sounds very jagged, not in a harsh or trebly way, but almost hard-clipped without being distorted enough for real hard clipping, if that makes sense.
It does stack very well in front of other dirt, though. I'm upgrading to a bigger board soon and plan to revisit this (along with my other dirt) to see if it can earn a spot. (I have a feeling my Demon or Gunslinger will beat it, but only time and my ears will tell.)
I also noticed it works better with roundwounds than my flats. I want to get a bass VI in the not-too-distant future, and think the Boneshaker will sound much better in that context.
It does stack very well in front of other dirt, though. I'm upgrading to a bigger board soon and plan to revisit this (along with my other dirt) to see if it can earn a spot. (I have a feeling my Demon or Gunslinger will beat it, but only time and my ears will tell.)
I also noticed it works better with roundwounds than my flats. I want to get a bass VI in the not-too-distant future, and think the Boneshaker will sound much better in that context.
I like that!!! I mean, it doesn’t work great for other things it works great! I could see it working really well with flats though for sure. I guess I feel the need to sorta defend this pedal. For all the scruff and smack I saw this pedal take, I feel some of it was unwarranted. I really dig it. Not for everyone though. Like anything else.
When I first got this pedal I messed around with the settings, but couldn’t really seem to find anything I liked. Put it in a drawer for a while and just recently tried it out again. The combination of knobs is a bit tricky to dial in. The first time around I was trying to get a good mid-boosted sound, but BassBrass is right—cutting the mids does sound the best. I have my Low Level at about 1:00 and Low Freq all the way down. Mid Level at 9:00 and Mid Freq dimed. Treble Level and Freq at about 1:00. I usually don’t do this, but I have the distortion dimed and it’s still got a very tight, mean sound. Almost sounds like there’s a bit of clean blend in there, but better sounding than I could get using my Saturnworks blender with a dirt pedal. Makes my Proco Rat sound muddy. Should get to try it out with my band this Sunday.
Ended up dialing the distortion back to about 2:00, since it got kinda noisy dimed. Nevertheless, sounded good in the mix. Especially stacked with the Bedlam III I got recently. May add a bit more treble if anything. Glad it’s so affordable that I just held onto it. Sounds like a different pedal from when I first tried it.
