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Help me!!!!!!!!!!1
- Thread starter 00who7
- Start date
I've seen Line 6 uber metals and Boss metal zones for somewhat cheap...not sure how they sound though..
DOD FX-69 Grunge pedal - I really like the sound (on a bass, even!), they're solidly built metal units, and they're dirt cheap. Get em used on eBay all day long for about $20.
Are the boss metal zones for bass?
From what I've heard, the Metal Zone can sound thin on bass. However, a buddy of mine said he tried the new Boss Metal Core (ML-2 I think?) with a bass, and it held the low end much better. I have no direct experience with it, however. Hope that helps
boss metal zone is a guitar pedal but it honestly has some incredible distortion. its really crisp distortion and holds your signal together better than most without breaking up or becoming just staticy. i'd pick it over just about any distortion pedal out there thats under 150. digitech has the distortion factory which has 7 different distortions and i've heard good things about that too.
I demoed my guitarists Metal Zone pedal and didn't like the results at all. It sucked out ALL low end. It could work ok with a blender or something like that.
most of the pedals suggested here will probably give you a great distortion, but the downside to that is that most pedals not made for bass will eat up your lowend, and in a band you'll wonder where your bass went when you switch your pedal on, i had a Metal Muff and although it has a powerfil 3-band EQ, the frequencies were all wrong for bass (in my opinion) which meant that when i switched it on, it just sounded muddy, but not quite deep enough.
Although alot of people here hate it (as far as ive seen in posts) the boss bass overdrive has a blend circuit (marked BALANCE) that is essential to keeping ur low end in tact, it also has a 2-band EQ (bass and trebel) and will probably be what your looking for, and mainly its quite cheap compared to alot of bass distortions on the market. i had one for about a year, and it does what it sez on the tin, personally i got a bit bored of the fizzy sound, but you may love it, and heres the key to making it work well: keep the balance to a minimum: if 7oclock in off, then try between that and 10oclock that way you'll keep most of your tone and add some crunch on top. the EQ is very effective too.
Digitech make a similar pedal (Bass Driver) but apparently that doesnt get much love round here as apparently its blend circuit isnt all that powerful (or so ive read, ive never tried it, it might be great). i've also tried the Ibanez Phat Hed, which sounded alright but never cut through enuf for me (but it was years ago i had one, and probably didnt realise how to use it properly)
these are quite budget bass pedals, u can go cheaper and get an Arion Bass distortion or a Behringer, but tone quality aside, pedals made of plastic will break alot faster than ones made out of metal. personally im using a MXR Bass Blowtorch which, as the name suggests, will cut through anything but in Britain its 3x the price of a boss bass overdrive in the shops (altho i got mine second hand for about the same price off ebay)
id say that a blend function or a bass-specific pedal would be the way to go, especially as with metal, you need that low end.
the other more expensive alternative is find a distortion u like, buy it and get a blend pedal too, so u can blend ur tone with ur distortion and still keep ur low end, i do this too with a boss Blues Driver and a Boss Line Selector, and ive been very tempted by the Boss Metal Zone, as its got a 3-band EQ with a parametric mid-shift (i think) - your midrange will help you cut through a band, but without a bass's fundamental low end, then it'd probably sound a bit nasty.
its also important to note that the mighty cliff burton used a Big Muff, and apparently the Little Big Muff is good for bass (but will kill ur low end a little, especially if the tone is above 110'clock)
Although alot of people here hate it (as far as ive seen in posts) the boss bass overdrive has a blend circuit (marked BALANCE) that is essential to keeping ur low end in tact, it also has a 2-band EQ (bass and trebel) and will probably be what your looking for, and mainly its quite cheap compared to alot of bass distortions on the market. i had one for about a year, and it does what it sez on the tin, personally i got a bit bored of the fizzy sound, but you may love it, and heres the key to making it work well: keep the balance to a minimum: if 7oclock in off, then try between that and 10oclock that way you'll keep most of your tone and add some crunch on top. the EQ is very effective too.
Digitech make a similar pedal (Bass Driver) but apparently that doesnt get much love round here as apparently its blend circuit isnt all that powerful (or so ive read, ive never tried it, it might be great). i've also tried the Ibanez Phat Hed, which sounded alright but never cut through enuf for me (but it was years ago i had one, and probably didnt realise how to use it properly)
these are quite budget bass pedals, u can go cheaper and get an Arion Bass distortion or a Behringer, but tone quality aside, pedals made of plastic will break alot faster than ones made out of metal. personally im using a MXR Bass Blowtorch which, as the name suggests, will cut through anything but in Britain its 3x the price of a boss bass overdrive in the shops (altho i got mine second hand for about the same price off ebay)
id say that a blend function or a bass-specific pedal would be the way to go, especially as with metal, you need that low end.
the other more expensive alternative is find a distortion u like, buy it and get a blend pedal too, so u can blend ur tone with ur distortion and still keep ur low end, i do this too with a boss Blues Driver and a Boss Line Selector, and ive been very tempted by the Boss Metal Zone, as its got a 3-band EQ with a parametric mid-shift (i think) - your midrange will help you cut through a band, but without a bass's fundamental low end, then it'd probably sound a bit nasty.
its also important to note that the mighty cliff burton used a Big Muff, and apparently the Little Big Muff is good for bass (but will kill ur low end a little, especially if the tone is above 110'clock)
If you want to get a cheap pedal that will retain your low end and still cut through the mix, you cant beat the Ibanez phat head. Period.
While I haven't used one of these, in my readings of peoples posts, they hate it because it is labeled an overdrive, when it is really a distortion pedal. I have heard that some like it as a distortion.
i think the blowtorch is amazing, and the EQ is immense, but in britain theres a MASSIVE price difference between that and the ibanez/boss/digitech pedals of about £100, i dont know what its like in the states and elsewhere, and 00Who7 did specify cheap 
