Help me find the perfect OD pedal!

[Kipp Harrington]

I demoed dozens of pedals, from less than $100 up to some boitiques that were around $300. Could not find the "sound" I was looking for in my head. I recently hit the jackpot with the Tech 21 Geddy Lee YYZ pedal! A plethora of rock tones with a great variety of tweaking options. You gotta try one! If thats too pricey for you, check out the Orange Two Stroke.

 

[noahw1]

There’s no best. You will just keep buying different flavors that you like. Sometimes you might even stack them to get something you like more.
There are a ton of factors that go into getting the tones you are trying to emulate - amp, bass, strings, eq settings, how hard someone plays, using a pick, studio “magic”, etc.
good luck on the journey and have fun. Find a sound that you like.

 

[LowActionHero]

I'll second (or fifth) the Aftershock. 6 presets, can emulate most anything, and quite well. It's the only dirt on my bass board.

 

[fivestringgecko]

There’s no best. You will just keep buying different flavors that you like. Sometimes you might even stack them to get something you like more.
There are a ton of factors that go into getting the tones you are trying to emulate - amp, bass, strings, eq settings, how hard someone plays, using a pick, studio “magic”, etc.
good luck on the journey and have fun. Find a sound that you like.

I'll second (or fifth) the Aftershock. 6 presets, can emulate most anything, and quite well. It's the only dirt on my bass board.

+1 to both of these. The Aftershock would be a great place to start if you're new to Overdrive, because there are so many shades of "overdrive" out there and the AS will let you dip your toes in the pool and try a bunch. And you can go as deep as you want. Stick with the 6 onboard presets, or dive into the Neuro app to see what others have created or make your own sounds. (Personally, I don't use the mobile app at all though, I stick with the PC editor.)

@Kipp Harrington's suggestion of the YYZ is also a good one. The YYZ is a great overdrive and has tons of tonal options other than just "Geddy" if the Aftershock isn't your thing.

5sg.

 

[Zak TMD]

You can get used Rat 2s all day long for under $100 and they are one of the better dirts for bass with a lot of boutique clones that do the same thing different ways. The filter helps keep the low end. I just snagged one for $50. Beyond that, most of my experience is with more expensive dirts. Edit: link to used market for the Rat 2s: ProCo RAT 2 Distortion | Reverb

I posted a thread searching for dirts awhile ago and there was lots of good advice, so feel free to take a look:

Hit Me with your Fav Dirt

 

[Zak TMD]

Not in the <$100 price range:

A lot of people recommend the Damnation Audio mbd-2... I borrowed my friends recently and ran it through the paces for a brief period and while it didn't suit me (probably didn't spend long enough with it to be honest), the clean blend is a cool option to have. Given time and tinkering, I could see it being a great pedal to find an ideal tone.

My current fav dirt is the Fuzzrocious Lil' Fella. Out of the box through my meatsmoke it sounded killer and the fine tuning was effortless for what I wanted, now I just alternate between that and my OD channel to get some variance. It just sounds RIGHT on bass. Really an exceptional pedal.

 

[SlowpokeJoe]

The TC MojoMojo can be had for under $40 used and sounds great, specially as a "dirtyfier" behind other pedals

Also: +1 for the SA Aftershock

 

[Dynomuttasaurus]

Welcome to the rabbit hole. I love those player tones.

I was using the B7K. Great at home and recording. I just didn't always love it live in the mix.

Switched to the Tech21 DP-3x. Really awesome, but lacking just a bit live. Always seems to need more overdrive/distortion to get the same tone as playing alone with headphones.

So for live, I've added a Walrus Eras 5-State Distortion before the DP-3x. Pretty happy... for now.

 

[MidlifeBeginner]

The Joyo Ultimate Drive is great. There are plenty of videos out there about it.
It is a fuzz type overdrive. I pull three sounds out of it; bit of almost classic overdrive, touch of fuzz, and full fuzz. An octave pedal fed into it comes pretty close to some Muse songs.

I did break the cheap battery clip on mine. Rest of the pedal is very sturdy. Rather than replace the clip, I just plug the pedal in now. Currently the pedal is $35 on Amazon.

Surprisingly Patrick Hunter has a video on it.

 

[Isaac_James]

Hello guys!
Recently I decided to get an overdrive pedal but I'm so lost...
To give an idea, I'm looking for an organic dirty sound like Faith No More, Helmet, Snot, Tomahawk (I really love Kevin Rutmanis sound), but I also want it to be pushed further like in Around The World by the RHCP.

I don't really like the synthy sound (atleast that's what I've heard from the demos) of the ODB-3, even if it seem versatile.

I thought that the Darkglass B3K would be good but the price is way too high for my tiny budget (under 100$)
Joyo seems like a good compromise, but I'm really not sure about the quality.

And if you have samples of a pedal with the sound I'm looking for (it can even be the ODB) I'll be glad to hear it too!
Thanks!

"Organic dirty" sounds like you want something that emulates the sound of tube overdrive. I've been pretty happy with my Sansamp VT Bass, just a smidge of dirt fills the sound out a lot but it also sounds nice when pushed a bit further. My guitarist is a huge FNM fan and once told me "whatever you're doing with your tone, keep it. You sound like Billy Gould."

I did a little research, Billy Gould used old busted Peavey cabs as well as an Ibanez Tube Screamer on a low setting (this is a distortion, not OD but on low it gives a similar effect)

Flea's Around the World sound comes from a fuzz, probably something like a Big Muff. You won't really get that out of an overdrive (I've tried).

It sounds like budget is a concern, if a VT Bass (new or used) isn't in the cards I think Behringer makes a pretty decent clone for much cheaper. It won't be as durable, but I have read that it sounds pretty good at a fraction of the price. There's also something like the Zoom B14, again this is a budget pedal but it has a lot of different effects built in so you can probably dial in some different flavors of dirt to suit all your needs.

 

[Jxff]

You can get used Rat 2s all day long for under $100 and they are one of the better dirts for bass with a lot of boutique clones that do the same thing different ways. The filter helps keep the low end. I just snagged one for $50. Beyond that, most of my experience is with more expensive dirts. Edit: link to used market for the Rat 2s: ProCo RAT 2 Distortion | Reverb

I posted a thread searching for dirts awhile ago and there was lots of good advice, so feel free to take a look:

Hit Me with your Fav Dirt

There is also a mini version. It's the one I have. I also have a Keeley modded full size Rat that is in need of repair, so I can't compare, but very happy with the mini. I got it used at GC for $60. The downside of the mini is it is hard to see the levels. I believe it was on TB that I noticed someone posted a pic of using a silver Sharpie on the pots knobs. You can also get a full size TC Spark for $70 new these days. Depending on the amp, I might use either. I use the Rat mini more, mostly because it is in a loop with a blend pedal.

 

[mxmxm]

You could try to give a listen to the Fulltone OCD.
It can go from a soft overdrive to an all-out distortion (the "Around the World" intro works great with it).

Personally, I landed on the Nobels ODR for my favorite overdrive of all times. It actually put an end to my overdrive G.A.S.

 

[DuluthDank]

I really like the Way Huge/Pork&Pickle smalls version. It’s tiny and you can flip between overdrive and the fuzz you’re talking about on around the world. Plus it has some cool clean blend and tone controls.

I tried out the Aftershock, but to me it couldn't beat out the Pork and Pickle, and I returned it. The way the clean British preamp signal blends with the OD is unique on the P&P, and can't be beat if it's your thing.

I also realized that I don't like pedals that require software to tweak. I set my settings by myself at home, but would have had to derail practice to set them to the band mix with my computer/phone. Not my thing.

 

[fivestringgecko]

The Aftershock doesn't require external software, it "adds the benefit of" it. The pedal is perfectly usable (aka tweakable on the fly) with the 6 presets and onboard controls.

5sg.

 

[Renardo0o]

Thanks yall for your answers!

Here's also another great example of the exact sound I'm looking for-


For more info, I have a Mustang PJ, and a Hartke amp (no gain knob on it sadly) so I think I'll need a preamp to have that crunch sound more than an overdrive (I think maybe getting a pricier preamp and a cheap overdrive?)

Would a Sansamp do the job? (It seems to be a must for the style of playing that I'm into)

 

[mxmxm]

Thanks yall for your answers!

Here's also another great example of the exact sound I'm looking for-


Would a Sansamp do the job? (It seems to be a must for the style of playing that I'm into)

Personally, when I want this kind of tones, I use a Tube Screamer. Not very versatile overdrive on bass though.

 

[Isaac_James]

Thanks yall for your answers!

Here's also another great example of the exact sound I'm looking for-


Would a Sansamp do the job? (It seems to be a must for the style of playing that I'm into)

Yes, I think a VT bass would do just what you're looking for. I checked Invalid Link Removed which says that he uses a Bass Driver DI - similar to the VT bass, maybe a little less aggressive in the mids.

 

[Isaac_James]

Yes, I think a VT bass would do just what you're looking for. I checked Invalid Link Removed which says that he uses a Bass Driver DI - similar to the VT bass, maybe a little less aggressive in the mids.

Based on that Equipboard link it looks like Frank also prefers PJ basses, to me it sounds like he's got both pickups in the mix. The bridge pickup adds some growl and snarl that a neck position split coil alone won't ever get, no matter how many pedals you run through or knobs you fiddle with.

 

[Muddytone]

I'm going to be the first to stand up for the Boss ODB-3. But, have to say, I don't like the way it (wants to) sound either. With ridiculously low settings (dry-wet at about 7:30, gain less than 8), it is indispensable to me. It adds teeth to my sound like nothing else I have tried does, and now it goes into a SansAmp PBDDI, my pedal board has shrunk dramatically. I have tried plenty - the Em Drive, Barbershop, Recovery Electric, Timmy, TS909, Alexander Litho Boost (best of the list) and more, but they don't cut it next to the ODB and BDDI together. I do play BEAD tuning and have Seymour Duncan Quarter pounder pups - do not underestimate pick ups (or fat strings) when it comes to a gritty responsive tone!

 

[landrybass]

I tried out the Aftershock, but to me it couldn't beat out the Pork and Pickle, and I returned it. The way the clean British preamp signal blends with the OD is unique on the P&P, and can't be beat if it's your thing.

I also realized that I don't like pedals that require software to tweak. I set my settings by myself at home, but would have had to derail practice to set them to the band mix with my computer/phone. Not my thing.

Man I am right there with ya, I have a Source Audio Spectrum and it is love/hate every time I use it.