Hey y’all, I recently got a Rat Distortion pedal, absolutely love it for punk and grunge music. But, sometimes its too much. Any suggestions on how to get a good distortion tone for, er, lets say, somewhere around classic rock territory.
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Help dialing in a good distortion tone?
- Thread starter dezisapunk
- Start date
Turn down the volume on your amp, now turn the Gain fully clockwise. There you go!
This only works on amps that have enough gain.
This only works on amps that have enough gain.
Might sound kinda obvious but have you tried turning the gain right down and making up the volume loss with the master and using the filter to taste? Personally i never dug the stock rat on bass, but i never gave it a real go.
I never cared for the BDDI on its’ own but this clip of me playing a J bass into a Proco RatII through a BDDI direct didn’t sound bad or lack bass at all.
Jam with my buddy on guitar/drums by Centaurus A
Jam with my buddy on guitar/drums by Centaurus A
My personal approach has been to buy almost every distortion pedal ever made for bass, and return most of them, because they were nowhere near the subtle drive sound I have in my head. Be warned this is a time consuming pursuit - having been at it 5 or 6 years, though, I'm sure the next pedal will be "IT".
A lot of times, when listening to video demos, I have heard the perfect slightly distorted tone - "THAT's IT!!!!", and then they turn the pedal on, and....fizz or a box of angry bees results. Maybe what Youtube does to clean audio is the perfect subtle bass overdrive?
A lot of times, when listening to video demos, I have heard the perfect slightly distorted tone - "THAT's IT!!!!", and then they turn the pedal on, and....fizz or a box of angry bees results. Maybe what Youtube does to clean audio is the perfect subtle bass overdrive?
This was a problem for me until I learned of the joys of running a parallel signal. First one I got was a Boss LS2.
The input splits your signal into 2 lines... so you have your 'dirt' line and your 'clean' unaffected line (both with their own independent volumes) that come together at the output jack, making practically any pedal more usable for bass because your untouched bass tone is still coming thru.
If your gonna go that route, I'd recommend jumping right over the Boss for a few $$ more and get an EHX Switchblade Pro, as it gives a dedicated clean line with 2 useable loops you can load with pedals (I keep my dirts in one, and modulations in another.) Plus with the EHX the jacks aren't all crowded together on the sides.
The input splits your signal into 2 lines... so you have your 'dirt' line and your 'clean' unaffected line (both with their own independent volumes) that come together at the output jack, making practically any pedal more usable for bass because your untouched bass tone is still coming thru.
If your gonna go that route, I'd recommend jumping right over the Boss for a few $$ more and get an EHX Switchblade Pro, as it gives a dedicated clean line with 2 useable loops you can load with pedals (I keep my dirts in one, and modulations in another.) Plus with the EHX the jacks aren't all crowded together on the sides.
Hmmm, when it comes to the technical stuff I think you're kind of a Guru around here, but are you sure this is what you meant to write?
I would turn the master volume all the way up and control the volume with the gain dial. Too much gain = too much dirt, no?
That's the recipe for playing clean, the OP wants some crunch, no?
Ah yes, I forgot to add the step of dialing BACK the gain IF there's too much distortion, but IME most bass-amps don't have enough Gain to be dangerous.
Obviously there are exceptions, like many Ampeg, Fender Rumble (with the Drive on), Aguilar, G-K.
Oh wait, that list is getting long, so I'll start the other list, ones w/o enough gain for O/D:
Genz-Benz - real disappointment, I mean what is the point of a tube pre-amp if you aren't going to overdrive it?
Markbass
Eden
You're making me blush. Thanks!
I'll come back to reply to this after some errands I'm about to run out to do. Need to finish practicing thru my Genz Benz Shuttle first
If you're overdriving it with a pedal, this was all rhetorical.
Disclaimer: What I mean is that folks just expect to use a pedal for O/D, but with some amps it's not necessary.
For subtle OD look at the TC Spark (full size, not mini) or the Way Huge line of dirts.
the solidgoldfx beta is a great pedal for mild to medium overdrive.
Check out the MBD-1 (The 2 is soon on the way). I use mine for mild distortion, but it can get as mean as you want.
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When I want a lot of dirt, I go with a good old EHX Bass Big Muff Pi. But like the Rat, it doesn't really do "just a little" very well.
For that I use a TC MojoMojo. I dial it back even further than they do in this video and it still works pretty well. I'm sure there are better answers out there, but for $47, it's pretty good.
For that I use a TC MojoMojo. I dial it back even further than they do in this video and it still works pretty well. I'm sure there are better answers out there, but for $47, it's pretty good.
For a classic rock sound, I think an EHX Bass Soul Food works well for relatively little. If you have a bit more to spend, maybe try a Darkglass VMT or Vintage Deluxe. The Rat is great, but it’s not what I would choose for a classic rock tone.
You can send your Rat to Kinnatone in Oregon and they can add a clean blend.
Ditto. Countless pedals have come and gone, both cheap and boutique and not gotten the job done. An endless quest in futility. Yet, I keep going.
