Getting good tone with distortion on my bass amp.

Pedals with a blend in them or running a blend will get you back your low end? By nature of distortion you will lose some low end due to compression of the signal, how much is acceptable is up to you... most overdrives are ok, the further you distort the more you will lose low end though.
Try a search as there is plenty of pedals that may fit what you want

 

You need a dual band distortion pedal like Darkglass or the Tech21 DP-3x
dUg DP-3X Signature – Tech 21 NYC

These split the signal through a crossover and distort and top and bottom differently

 

Or buy a Peavey Centurion and ditch the pedals. I don't use dirt live anymore because nothing sounds as good as the overdriven tone I get when I crank the preamp on my Centurion. I just use filter and flanger now and keep all my low end intact.

 

One way, that most “famous” bands typically use, is the much discussed/debated method of bi-amping. Send all your lows to one amp and send the distorted mids/highs to an additional amp (typically a guitar amp), creating a huge sound. Brands like Radial and Lehle provide “splitter” boxes to separate the signal between amps. Lately, however, companies like Orange have worked on a solution without having to buy a ton of gear and I happen to like it. I mean, plugging into a bunch of amps like a matamp 120 or a Sunn is a lot of fun and it’s loud, but it’s also expensive. I use an Orange AD-200B but I also have an Orange OB1 that does a fantastic job of recreating the tone achieved from using 2 amps. The OB1 sounds great and it growls while still retaining bass. Orange also released the “bass butler” pedal that claims to do the same thing in pedal form, but I haven’t tried it. Yes, I love Orange gear.

 

Coincidentally there is a long thread going on the Bass Butler on the first page and I feel like it would solve your issue quite easily. Check the thread or just watch this promo

 

I have no words for this video

 

Tech 21 SansAmp DP-3X is what you need.

 

What he said!!

 

I'm a huge fan of dual-band/multi-band distortion pedals like the Tech 21 DP3X and Darkglass X7. They are designed to deliver clean low end and distorted mids and highs. I definitely recommend either of those.

That said: dual-band isn't necessary if all you want a traditional distortion sound that doesn't lose low end. As noted above, a distortion pedal with a clean blend might be all you need. One great example would be the Damnation Audio MBD2: it delivers a wide range of distortion levels from gentle to heavy, but has a low-passed clean blend that maintains solid low end regardless. There are plenty of other examples.

It would be helpful if you told us what kind of distortion you are looking for: warm, punchy, sizzly, etc. Specific examples would be great.

 

I think it's the other way around. Blend knobs don't blend distortion into your clean signal, they blend clean (or dry) signal into the distorted signal.

So when you think you're blending distortion into your clean signal, making it sound more distorted, I think you're actually removing the dry signal. No wonder you feel you're losing the lows!

I love my lows just like you do, and I think a blend knob is a very useful thing for a bass pedal.

 

Result:



PS: I've got the DP-3X and a Darkglass Vintage Ultra as well. They sound great, too, and are MUCH simpler!

 

Glad you found the dUg and it works for you! FWIW, there are other pedals besides the three of these that will do what you're looking for quite well. I suspect it isn't the concept of a clean blend that was generally failing you - it was how the specific pedals you tried happen to work. I'm curious what other drive pedals you tried that were a no-go?

 

Didn't the Big Muff you tried have a Dry Out? Mine does, so it can be biamped.