• 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

#121
I have been looking for a distortion for a long time as well. I have tried countless pedals and could never find the tone i wanted. The issue i had was that all distortions sound too fuzzy and sounded just like my actual fuzz pedal(s) and therefore they were redundant, especially in the mix. I found the only cure was to play with a pick or crank up the treble to get a similar attack and that helped in getting the distortion sound less fuzzy. Having said that the closest I've gotten was the Rat Tail or MXR bass DI+. But the EQ needed was so drastically different to my base tone that it meant i needed the distortion in a seperate loop with an EQ pedal...too much work and pedalboard space and was not worth it for me.
 
#123
I don't know how much heavier a distortion you can get other than stacking an OD and a fuzz. I put my B3K in front of my Black Russian Muff and it is seriously the most gnarly sounding bass distortion I have ever heard. I'm starting to think you have a sound in your head that doesn't exist. On the documentary for " Darkness on the edge of town" Bruce Springsteen talks about how he spent days and days trying get this crazy, epic drum sound only to realize that the sound he heard in his head wasn't even possible to achieve.
 
#124
I know many would consider it a fuzz but...I just picked up a bass big muff deluxe and it is the thickest bass distortion sound I've ever gotten. It's much smoother sounding than my Bluebeard so I feel like it's more of a distortion sound. The crossover circuit is key to making it heavy as balls.
 
#127
Those are two awesome songs!

To the original poster... I'm on a quest for the ultimate bass distortion as well. I'm always underwhelmed by the bass fuzz/distortion videos I've seen. The closest I've come to the tone in my head is with a POD X3. I think I'm going to have to build my own pedal and not expect to buy something off of the shelf. I know that's already been suggested in this thread, but if you can't build it yourself then I might be able to recommend a pedal builder/designer for you. PM me if you want. Giving a builder/designer examples of the tone you want to achieve along with the equipment you plan to use might be a better idea than just trying to find a premade solution. Especially since you've tried so many of those options already.
 
#128
father of fires said:
I know many would consider it a fuzz but...I just picked up a bass big muff deluxe and it is the thickest bass distortion sound I've ever gotten. It's much smoother sounding than my Bluebeard so I feel like it's more of a distortion sound. The crossover circuit is key to making it heavy as balls.
Click to expand...

What are your settings for the Bass Big Muff Deluxe? I'm getting some decent sounds, but not as good as I like my MXR Bass Fuzz Deluxe for fuzz. I'd love to see some good distortion settings!
 
#131
Wow! Thanks everyone!

Yeah, those are some heavy sounding effects, for sure. That Bogner has elements of what I'm looking for...

Always with bass distortion is the tendency to stagger off to fizzy fuzz town. Which is my challenge with most distortion effects.

What I'm looking for may simply not be possible to achieve with a standard bass... maybe I need a baritone bass or something... perhaps a Warwick Vampire Darklord with an F# string or something... it's on my list... heh.

The other problem with 'distortion' as a word to describe my intention is that anything other than a clean bass tone is distorted, really. So fuzz is distortion, overdrive is distortion, chorus is distortion, etc... its all convention nowadays. Stacking the Tall Font Russian into the B3K is uber heavy, and very satisfying. I use that tone a lot, and love it to pieces, but it is one of a few 'distortion' sounds I'm after. The missing one is the subject of this thread...

It's like I want something that will take all top end fizz out, leave the low-mid rumble, yet maintain high mid articulation without getting all buzzy. That is a tall order.

I may have to split my signal into low/mid/high and effect each with different types of distortion. Sure there are pedals out there that will split and distort, but none I know of that split and distort in different ways.

I think I may have to get creative. And yeah, perhaps gathering up several samples of close facsimiles to what I want, listing my gear, and sending that off to Wren and Cuff or someone is the way to go. Thing is, I'm not exactly either wealthy or world famous, so commisioning a professional builder to cater to my artistic whims may be beyond my pricepoint, and their time.

Still, I'm enjoying this discussion, and am glad you all are into it. The most fun I get out of music is creating something new. And chasing this tone is an act of creation, for sure.

I will try to record some samples of my current sound this week. I'm still waiting for my B3K replacement. Since it's such a large part of my current sound, new recordings will have to wait until it arrives for an accurate representation of what I have to work with.

Thanks for sticking with me on this and not dumping a bunch of 'dude, just get a P-bass and a big muff and call it done' balls on me.

Lets do something new! :bassist:
 
#132
Well if that isn't gonna do it then mabe change the the cab that you are using. On your sig it says that you are using a Mesa M9 and a Mesa PH210. The cab not the amp may not have the low end to produce that sound your trying to get. Something bigger may do it. I have heard the M9 before with diffrent cabs and i know that thing has some thick sound that it can produce.
 
#134
Vlad5 said:
It's like I want something that will take all top end fizz out, leave the low-mid rumble, yet maintain high mid articulation without getting all buzzy. That is a tall order.
Click to expand...

At the risk of being annoying by restating an earlier suggestion :D I'm going to say again that you should at least try an Eau Claire Thunder (or Baby Thundaa). The way you just described what you are looking for is pretty close to how I would describe the pedal in general. I wish I still had mine because I'd send it to you to test!!! Anyway, give it some thought, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by trying to use it, even if it was just in place of the TFR when combined with the B3K. The ECT has far more definition and aggression than the TFR does. Far, far more. Oodles more. Monstrous amounts more. Not to mention the KA-BAM low end.
 
#135
kleinenenten said:
What are your settings for the Bass Big Muff Deluxe? I'm getting some decent sounds, but not as good as I like my MXR Bass Fuzz Deluxe for fuzz. I'd love to see some good distortion settings!
Click to expand...

I can snap a pick later to confirm but I believe it's something like:

Level - to taste
Blend - 1:00
Tone - 12:00
Sustain - max
Gate - 9:00
HPF - 11:00
LPF - 11:00
10 dB pad - engaged
Crossover - engaged

The rest of your signal chain will have a big effect on your sound as well.

I'm using a G&L SB-1 with an aftermarket stock Fender pup. Into the bass big muff. Into an Hartke HA5500 set up close to this: (but I have more highs dialed in) into a mid 90's SLM Ampeg 8x10.
 
#136
Just read this and I'm convinced a bass with a neck pickup is the way to go. Also- I had a Mesa M6 for awhile when they first came out and loved it, but it has a very inherently modern edgy character that may be contributing to your problem especially when paired with a bass like yours (the wideness of its response- both those high highs and lots of deep lows tends to give it a more scoopy character than a more focused amp would). I can get tones similar to what you are describing far more easily through either my Mesa Walkabout or Aguilar DB750 (even when using more modern basses) than I ever did through the Carbine.
 
#137
blindrabbit said:
At the risk of being annoying by restating an earlier suggestion :D I'm going to say again that you should at least try an Eau Claire Thunder (or Baby Thundaa). The way you just described what you are looking for is pretty close to how I would describe the pedal in general. I wish I still had mine because I'd send it to you to test!!! Anyway, give it some thought, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by trying to use it, even if it was just in place of the TFR when combined with the B3K. The ECT has far more definition and aggression than the TFR does. Far, far more. Oodles more. Monstrous amounts more. Not to mention the KA-BAM low end.
Click to expand...

Not annoying at all! ;)

I actually appreciate you not letting me dissmiss the Thunder so quickly. The demos I've heard online lend me to think its a fuzz machine, like a cross between a Big Muff and TAFM or something.

I'll pick one up next time I see one, and when my effects budget replenishes.

Thanks!

sunbeast said:
Just read this and I'm convinced a bass with a neck pickup is the way to go. Also- I had a Mesa M6 for awhile when they first came out and loved it, but it has a very inherently modern edgy character that may be contributing to your problem especially when paired with a bass like yours (the wideness of its response- both those high highs and lots of deep lows tends to give it a more scoopy character than a more focused amp would). I can get tones similar to what you are describing far more easily through either my Mesa Walkabout or Aguilar DB750 (even when using more modern basses) than I ever did through the Carbine.
Click to expand...

That all sounds like what I've been thinking, yet I just cannot get rid of the M9. Like 90-95% of everything I love about my tone comes from the combination of Thumb bass and M9... It's just that I want to hit a switch and go all bouldery, and so far, I haven't been able to do that. It's a REALLY deep and aggressive sound I'm going for, not for every song use, (even for the metal I like to play). I've messed with the M9's eq settings and have come close, but not quite there.

A neck pickup, that seems the most probable solution, since it will have the greatest effect on my overall tone. The Thumb is amazing for my tastes, but is pretty limited in range without that neck pickup. Another mental hurdle for me get over.... My favorite bass of all time won't do everything I want... boo hoo. :p


And yeah, working with a 210 cab does limit me a bit... It gets quite midrangy if I don't eq it properly. I can and do get a serious amount of thump out of it, but it's natural eq curve is in the mids for shure. I thought about getting a 115 to go with it, as I understand that combination is pretty full range.

As in most things these days, it's a matter of money...
 
#139
Ok, been almost a month, time for an update:

I've gotten a couple tremolos to mess with, and find the EQD Hummingbird to do what I need for simulated breakup.

I just got a BYOC Overdrive 2 kit (modded TS808 circuit) which I'm gonna modify the hell out of to suit my needs, if possible. I already have a few different resisters and capacitors to swap in and out. It may or may not be distorted enough for me, but I'm finding that less gain and more volume (as has been suggested) is the direction I should head in. Since this effect is basically a Fulldrive 2 MOSFET with an independant volume booster (which I'm gonna mod to be switchable before or after the drive section), I should have plenty of volume/gain to work with.

Then, I'll break it up with a hard chopping Vox percussion type tremolo (Hummingbird), blend that with some clean signal, and I should be able to get closer to what I have in mind. At least, I will have learned something new from direct experience (u-toob vids get me only so far).

Thanks again everyone for your input. I'm combining a few of all of your suggestions, and find the mix and match distortion techniques to be VERY educational.

Give me a few days to build the overdrive and test it, and I'll report back here what's what.

Oh, I'm also looking into modding my bass with a neck pickup (jazz, same as the other two).

maybe...
 
#140
Well, finished buiding (and modding) the BYOC Overdrive 2.

It's basically a modified Fulltone Bassdrive MOSFET now, which sounds pretty good.

There are basically 5 modifications one can make to this effect, 6 if you include the 'bass' mods (which I did).
1. input section - modded this to MOSFET specs to maintain input clarity.
2. clipping diodes - Kept this stock as I like the 'diode lift' (center position on the clipping switch) for my needs more than silicon, MOSFET or LED. I tried the MOSFET diodes but found it too similar to the (standard) silicon diodes at the gain/volume I'm set too, so I put the LED diodes back in and notice more of difference at high volume/high gain than with the diode lift function. More variety, but it still sounds too fuzzy in LED/silicon mode.
3. operation amplifier - So far I like the Burr Brown best, but I have yet to experiment with the MOSFET op amp. I'm planning on running this effect at 18v, which will explode the MOSFET op amp, so I'll try it at 9v later...
4. boost section- left this stock for now, but will try the MOSFET version this week. I understand that the stock configuration has more drive and bass than the MOSFET, so I haven't messed with it yet...
5. output section - left this stock as well for the same reasons as #4 above.

Conclusions (partial) - I'm mostly convinced now that low gain/high volume is the way to go. I agree that most drives at high gain sound like fuzz pedals but this one does not when in 'diode lift' mode. When in any other mode, yeah, fuzzy, not what I want at all.

Pushed into the B3K, the OD2 sounds heavy and grindy and not as gritty as the B3K alone. Totally different distortion sound than from either alone, which is nice. This may end up being the combination that almost gets me there, but not quite. Very heavy, very NOT fuzzy, almost but not quite.

Parallel and serial blended with the Tall Font Russian isn't very exiting, so far. The TFR tends to overwhelm everthing before or after it, so I may leave these two effects in the same channel and switch them on/off seperately.

Tremolo blending is a challenge. I have yet to put the tremolo (EQD Hummingbird) first in the channel 2 chain, so more experiments there are needed. It is too synthy sounding after the effects, so I may just end up putting it in channel 1 with the gated fuzz and other synthy effects, leaving channel 2 to heavy distortion flavors only.

If it turns out I can't get a workable distortion effect from the OD2 I may put it on the guitar board, where I still need a decent overdrive pedal to push the pre-amp tube a bit. And this is a decent overdrive pedal for sure. Just have to mod it back to non-bass specs.

Oh, I socketed the inside of the pedal so mods are as easy as plug in and plug out.

More experiments...
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back