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Grindy distortion pedal for heavier styles

#41
bassmusic17 said:
I always see people who say they want this guy's tone or that guys tone. I have even done it myself before. Although that might be a great start to get you in the ballpark.

Why not make your OWN tone. That way maybe one day people on Talkbass will be like..."man...I want that guys tone".
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This is probably the best piece of advice you can give a new bassist starting his exploration into tone. For years I thought it would be so cool to sound like some of my heros. Then one day, I can't remember where I saw it or who said it, someone simply said, find your own tone. It's a hell of a lot more rewarding. Once I heard that it felt like a weight had been lifted. I was free to do anything I wanted. So I did. And I couldn't be much happier that I did. No doubt I'm still inspired by my bass heros tonally, but I'm never trying to cop their tone. I wants my own.


Killing gods
 
#42
Thijsklaps said:
I'm considering buying the B3K, but am I going to regret not buying the B7K? Should I just settle with the B3K, or spend some more and get the B7K instead?
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Again, it all depends on what you're going for. If you just want a dirt pedal, grab a 3. If you want a preamp that can get a grindy dirt going on in it, get the 7. Either way I think you'll be happy. If you're good with your setup now and your tone is good where you want it, go with the 3. If you want a little more color added to your tone with some dirt as an option to that coloring, get the 7.


Killing gods
 
#44
Sometimes trying to replicate someone else's tone leads to new places you'd never think you'd end up, and pedals you never thought you'd try. And in this experimentation, you end up finding a combination of things that turns out to appeal to you more than you ever could of planned.
 
#45
dannybuoy said:
If it's something you want to leave on all the time as stated in the OP, and your amp has a decent EQ section and DI, you can save your money and go for the B3K without missing much.
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That's what I've never understood about the recommendations for the B7K. Seriously question: unless you're trying to heavily tweak your tone when you turn on the dirt why bother with a pre-amp as opposed to just doing all of your EQ on the amp? Because you want to modify your tone before it hits other pedals?
 
#46
bassmusic17 said:
I always see people who say they want this guy's tone or that guys tone. I have even done it myself before. Although that might be a great start to get you in the ballpark.

Why not make your OWN tone. That way maybe one day people on Talkbass will be like..."man...I want that guys tone".
Click to expand...

I both agree and disagree at the same time. My favorite bassist's tone has changed over the years, but I like some of his earliest tones the best. Once I make up synth parts, drums...maybe singing one day.....finding my "own tone" has probably already happened. But I don't care if it doesn't. I want to continue my favorite bassists "old tone" because I hear it in the music that is in my head and it goes well with the contrasting synth parts I come up with really well. (soft/abrasive)

And, like that bassist, my tone changes a little from song to song. I like metallic grind, and for my top end to sound like a tin can. Can I make it blatant in every song? No, but I can get some of my character to slip through in a lot of stuff I do. (I have a friend who sometimes disagrees with that tone until he hears in context)

Did a bassist I follow even care about that sound? I don't know, but it's what makes me want to play bass. If bass sounds dull, I quickly lose interest in the instrument as a whole. I guess I'm a mix of a guitarist and bassist in that regard. If it were one band, I'd say I like to incorporate parts of Adam Clayton and The Edge 50/50 into my sound.

I guess I'm trying to say it doesn't matter how you get there, as long as music comes out. Nobody has ever gone and said to me "You sound just like Faith No More" or "M83" because I don't think I ever will. I have gotten "That sounds like Billy Gould joined the Cocteau Twins" before. I consider that a big compliment. Both are a big influence on me, and the arcane pathways I use to sound like both makes something completely different. I think that's the way it is anyway - Jaco even copped other players, except he kept what he liked and tossed what he didn't about them.

I think Talkbass as a whole doesn't represent real-world many times, and people grossly over-think things. And I also agree you CAN waste too much time not being creative to focus so much on tone. I've definitely been there:)
 
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#47
I found a Tech 21 sansamp character VT 2 Bass at a local shop (I'm from Belgium), is it any good? I'm going to buy a pre-amp type of pedal with some dirt in it, does this pedal have enough of it and is it good for the kind of sound I'm going for? If not, I might buy an aditional distortion pedal.
 
#48
Thijsklaps said:
I found a Tech 21 sansamp character VT 2 Bass at a local shop (I'm from Belgium), is it any good? I'm going to buy a pre-amp type of pedal with some dirt in it, does this pedal have enough of it and is it good for the kind of sound I'm going for? If not, I might buy an aditional distortion pedal.
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Again, it depends on what you're going for, but yeah, that's a great pedal IMO. Ampeg sound, dirt, great preamp pedal in my eyes. I didn't dig the dirt in it as much as others I've gravitated towards, but many others like it. I used it as a rather clean pre when I had it, a little bit of dirt dialed in, barely. Great pedal and worth checking out.


Killing gods
 
#52
the ebs metaldrive is a good choice for a grinding distortion pedal. It has a warm metal-oriented distortion sound(think boss metal zone through an ampeg svt) with solid lows. I own one and it sounds pretty cool.

the darkglass vintage microtubes would be another good choice. This pedal can provide you with a warm grinding distortion sound that can go from a 70s rock bass sound to a 90s metal bass sound. I plan to purchase this pedal real soon.
 

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