Gritty boost to fill out mix behind guitar solos?

[Short4since64]

Power trio veteran. Octave pedal, dry out into clean bass rig. Wet out into distortion pedal and a second amp. Similar to what Mike Kerr does with two amplifiers. Low end stays solid.
Was doing this before octave pedals were invented, built my own analog octave doubler which is inherently dirty, ran from that into a guitar amp. Compressor/limiter on the main rack set at normal playing volume, could slip in and out of overdrive with the volume on the bass and picking technique.

 

[mikewalker]

V4B? Hit it with the LPB!!!

 

[Aussie Player]

When a band sounds thin, its not necessarily a bad thing. Free played live in Sydney once (with Deep Purple and Manfred Mann) and the only criticism I saw was that they could have been a little louder.

I have played in 3 piece or 3 plus singer for 90% of my career spanning close to 55years now and have never used a pedal. I neither recognise a benefit nor a need or anything between the bass and amp, but I mostly use tube amps, so "thin" is a foreign word when relating to sound.

Recommend listening to the original recordings and artists again for the songs that concern you, before taking another look at what you play or how you play it. It may be the guitar solo that is thin and not you?

 

[REV]

I've been using a Bearfoot Blueberry for a long time (>10 years). I keep trying other pedals but so far nothing has replaced the blueberry. It goes from grit to grind.

 

[TomB]

TCE’s MojoMojo has the technological heart and soul of the Spark if used as a clean boost but it also has its own drive if you need to add some hair. Very economical as well.

 

[sunbeast]

I was in a heavier power trio playing through a tube rig and my pedal of choice for this purpose was a Fairfield Accountant- it is a slightly dirty compressor at heart, but with plenty of boost on tap as well. Depending on the compressor switch settings it adds a really nice "pop" to the notes due to a slow attack (it lets the transients of the note through before clamping down). I like it a little less through a solid-state amp, but through tubes it really excels at filling in space and punch.

For an easier to obtain option, I agree with the other posters who have mentioned the larger version TC Spark Booster. There is EQ and a little bit of hair on tap to fill out your sound and push your amp.

 

[Citizen Nara]

Spark Booster will do the trick. 4 knob version can be set dirty on it's own since it has drive control and also eq! It can push the tube amp. It's also quite affordable.

I was using Way Huge Pork Loin for the similar thing, but Spark is more flexible soundwise.

This. It's an incredibly versatile tool, especially combined with an amp like V4B, it will squeeze a lot of juice from that head!

 

[Lowbrow]

Suggest the Darkglass Vintage Microtubes at a low overdrive setting.

 

[neptoon]

Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Bass Big Muff
While fuzz and muffs can be too much for most people, the deluxe has a wonderful blend built in. The blend lets you as just enough hair to your tone; everything from subtle to insane. In my band I step on the fuzz to exactly thicken the tone out and sound big in a subtle way. There is a HF and crossover function, but I rarely use this. An example of using this fuzz is in Mr Bightside when the bass tone goes from overdrive to Thick Power. My Boss ODB-3 gives the overdrive, which goes into my DBBM, which I kick on at that moment, tone and saturation dimed and blend soaked back a lot, just enough to bring the thickness into the song. It’s a joy!

Darkglass harmonic boost
A very different approach to the problem. Blast specific frequencies to change your tone when needed. It could be more low mids is exactly what you need. If I wanted to play old school Marilyn Manson, I just take my standard tone and and max out the mids, no distortion pedal needed.

i also use a boss odb-3

 

[sutarappa]

V4B? Hit it with the LPB!!!

Was thinking the same. I enjoy the EHX LPB-1 for clean to gritty boost and the Muff Overdrive for gritty to fuzzy boost. Old school tools.

 

[OnlyFlats]

For a dirty boost I use the Jive on no switches mode, and Gain just starting to drive the signal. You're using a great amp so you might not need much dirty, just clean boost.

I suggest you try an eq pedal with a bump in the mids, where the guitarist was sitting in the mix prior, before he went up a few octaves to wiggle around on his upper strings. That's the reason why it seems like the mix has a gap in it, it's not you.

Personally I don't mind when a 3 piece go into guitar solo mode, it's a nice change to the mix, everyone gets clearer for a bit. Only takes a few moments as an audience member to adapt to the change. Notable mention to High on Fire live when they do this. Allows the nuance of the bass tone to be discerned. Hendrix Band of Gypsies live album also comes to mind. When Jimi starts to wail, do you think 'jeez the guts dropped out' or 'great now I can hear the dope bass line better '?