• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Heavy Bass Distortion

Vlad5

Vlad5

Chronic Knob Twiddling Tone Chaser
Feb 17, 2011
2,523
787
PNW USA
#1
I would super appreciate (as I hope others would too) first hand experience with any and all Heavy Bass Distortion (not fuzz or overdrive).

I'm looking for a 'boulders rolling around a giant's iron cauldron' kinda distortion. Ever felt/heard a 7.0+ earthquake in the middle of a large city? Yep, that's pretty close to the sound I'm looking to recreate.

Possible candidates are:
EBS Metal Drive - samples seem promising, but I'm not convinced yet.

I don't know; something with a low-mid center, uncompressed, no fizz, generates concern over speaker damage, tectonic shifts, rifts in spacetime, etc..

Suggestions?

I'm using a Warwick Thumb 5 string into a Mesa M9, if that helps. I'm also using the heaviest strings I could find, DR Drop Down Tuning set to BEADG.

Also, please see my profile for a ridiculously long list of effects I've already tried and traded. If you've copped this tone before with any combination of anything I've used before though, do let me know. It's entirely possible I've missed something...

Thanks everyone! :bassist:

Here's my current board setup too:
bass%2520board%2520121027.jpg
 
#5
fleizenkruz said:
how about a combination of distortion, EQ, and hall reverb? Tried that once, I know how "boulders rolling around a giant's iron cauldron" sounds like now :D

I was using Boss ODB-3 into Boss GEB-7 into Biyang Reverb
Click to expand...

hmmm... Hall reverb, no I haven't tried that. I have been messing with my eq's a lot though, just not in the combination you suggested. I'll swipe the Reverberator off my GF's guitar board and try it out. Thanks!

Darkglass said:
How about a combination of Overdrive and octaver?
Click to expand...

I have experimented a bit with the B3K and octave. I still need to modify the Divided Octave for more volume before I give that a fair assessment. Thanks Doug.

topo morto said:
You have some promising ingredients on your board to make that kind of sound already! Parallel routings, good medium-gain drives stacked, time-based effects....
Click to expand...

I know, the effects I already have are no joke. I have parallel blended the B3K and TFR, but I couldn't get the sound I've described above. Yours is the second vote for time-based effects, reverb/delay and such. I'll try thumbing through the Timeline to see if anything else mixes well with the stuff I have, along with the reverb suggested above.

I should be getting another muff-type fuzz soon, one with less midrange scoop than the TFR. Maybe it'll parallel/serial blend better with the B3K. Better for the 'boulders in a cauldron' that is; the TFR > B3K combo is pretty damn good in it's own right
 
#6
I'm interested in this sound as well. I just bought a Diamond Fireburst for my own board to serve as a thick, sludgey, "almost fuzz but not quite" kind of distortion sound for both my guitar and bass. It looks promising. It has interesting Baxandal bass/treble controls, as well as a dedicated low-mid boost switch.

I should have it in a few days and will report back with thoughts and clips.

Also, to echo others (no pun intended), I would mess around with some reverb or delay as well. One of my favorite things to do is pound out bass chords into a deep hall reverb or an analog delay for grungey, booming feedback behind the distorted wall of sound. I've got a Timeline and a Space that I love because each has some form of high/low cut control for added focus.
 
#8
Hmm, difficult one.
I like the idea of overdrive and octaver.

Beyond that EH Micro Bass Synth the square wave combined with octave up and octave down might help. It's also a great pedal to own regardless.

Also the EH Germanium OD. This pedal is nothing like plug and play, it requires a lot of tweaking but it's worth trying. It' s really inexpensive too and worth owning.

I sound like I'm on EH payroll today but I'm not! You're unusual request just promped these two pedals. Let us know what works for you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Iristone
#18
Tech21 XXL and MXR blowtorch are the heaviest I know of. You can pick up a used Bass XXL for $50, I didn't like the Blowtorch but it's boulders rolling somewhere.

A good example of the XXL is Karnivool's Simple Boy.
 
#19
Thanks everyone!

All good advice. I've tried a few of those options: HM-2, Rat Tail, Elements. I always found too much fizz with those. Maybe it's my active electronics, maybe I just need to back off the volume a bit, I don't know. I blended the crap out of them too.

I'll look into the other effects as well. I certainly agree with you all that parallel blending two separate distortions is the way to go. I may also play some more with the Faye Sing's Rate knob, when set to manual. It can adjust the frequency of the distortion going out. Maybe a blend of the B3K/BMC/FayeSing and the TFR for some wall of sound added in.

More experiments...
 
#20
You've built a few of the BYOC effects, right? So I assume you can solder?

Try an LM386 based OD. It's normally a power amp chip, but I've seen it in a few ODs too. I have a small amp based on one, and it distorts nicely, rather heavy. Look up the Grace or Big Daddy designs on runoffgroove. I haven't tried them specifically, but I would assume they're just as heavy as the amp.

I've also personally found the Rat to be heavy under some settings, usually with the tone knob down. The Mastotron is pretty good in some settings, though I'd describe it as 'fat' more than 'heavy'.

A lot of distortions with added clean blend get heavy too. If there's a lowpass or bass boost on the clean, even better. I think I got something decent with an ODB3 with bass dimed and treble all off. It was still a bit too crunchy though, I'd say.

Hope this helps.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back