Help me get dirty

[Drop1]

I have an EXCELLENT punchy, modern hi fi tone.
I have a couple amps that have some tube character. Hartke 3500, Genz shuttle 6.0 and I have a Mesa wd 800 coming so tube needs are somewhat satisfied. I'm looking for a couple quality pedals that can do subtle to full blown madness. The dark glass pedal look interesting .
Anyone using distortions with very modern sounding basses? What do you like?

 

[bassbrad]

Source Audio Aftershock

 

[theunknowndude]

Damnation audio mbd1, especially if down tuning.. just love the way can get a good transparent “grind”.

 

[Krisfield]

Full blown madness... Suncoast.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

I'll do my best...

 

[Matt Dean]

There are many ways to get your dirty tones on, but next level dirt fiends use a Damnation Bloop with they’re choice of dirt for blending purposes.

 

[thabassmon]

Source Audio One Series Drive.
I got the Kingmaker because I liked the purple, but the Aftershock and L.A. Lady are the same thing.

 

[minddrain]

I got the Aftershock because of having the modes and tone prints. It’s like having 10 different pedals, with less space.

 

[Bassmike62]

For me, the need to get dirty is fulfilled with the good old Tech21 VT Bass.

 

[Drop1]

Great. You guys have definilty given me enough to research. The programmable models look super interesting.
I use a lot of software. Distortions, amp sims and such. The computer just doesnt play so nice live. It's hard to keep noise out.
I like the idea of a highly tunable pedal if the sound is good and usable.

 

[Fuzzbass]

New to dirt? There's good news and bad news.

The good news is that there are a bazillion dirt pedals that sound great for bass. That also happens to be the bad news: meaning, you'll get a bazillion different opinions, and may have to do a lot of research.

FWIW, I love Darkglass pedals: I have B7K, Vintage Deluxe, and X7. I also love Tech 21 pedals: BDDI, VT Bass, Oxford, Leeds, and I especially love the DP-3X (but it has a lot of tonal coloration). I also love the Damnation Audio MBD-1 if you wanna get straight ahead dirty, not a lot of coloration, lots of versatility from gentle to heavy OD. Idiotbox Blower Box is a versatile Rat variant with plenty of bottom if you want it... sounds killer at low, medium, high gain levels, and the price is extremely nice.

Trust me, I could go on, but I'll stop there.

 

[RadioactiveGuy4]

Source Audio Aftershock or Darkglass X

 

[Nunovsky]

There's so much you could say about dirt...
You have the Darkglass line of pedals that get much love around here. I'm not a fan of their sound because it always felt to much processed and too much compressed, but the Alpha/Omega is the one I like the best. It's a killer dirt box.
On the overdrive side you have sooo much good stuff out there right now... I've just ordered a Damnation Audio MBD-1, and everyone seems to agree that it's one of the best OD out there. I also love the Smallsound/Bigsound Mini OD.
If you like transparent drive, and by that I mean a OD that doesn't colour too much your sound and gives it a bit of hair on top, the Earthquaker Devices Westwood is a really great drive and I'm loving to stack it with other pedals, feeding them to it. I love how it sounds with a muff before or my Beta OD.
Distortion is another realm and you can't go wrong with a RAT. And you have many great pedals using that circuit. One is the Blower Box, another is the Cat Tail by Fuzzrocious or the MXR Bass Distortion (a version of the Cat Tail), and don't forget that cheap jewel called Black Rat by Mosky.
If you're looking for a tight midranged sound that kills it also check the new Geddy Lee pedal by Tech 21 that sounds absolutely killer on the demos that I've heard.
And I won't go to the fuzz territory because that's just another new universe to talk about...

 

[Drop1]

Its hard to expalin what I'm after. What ever it is, its not much. A subtle texture. Something I can adjust a bit more than built in amp tubes.
Let me explain in greater detail and you guys can tell me how best to move forward.

I recently put a John east pre in. This pre is fantastic. It transfers the acoustic sound of the I instrument almost perfectly . This is stellar for recording. It gives an untainted signal to be processed.
Where it falls short is live. And it's really not a fault . For some types of music it is just the thing. If the song requires clean, this pre amp gives it in spades.For more aggressive types I need that subtle edge. That subtle low end distortion.
This was my plan. Start with the absolute cleanest sound possible and add character where needed.
By doing this I can make many more tones from jazz to country to classic rock, to death metal to 70s funk and not be tied to the character of the Ibanez's stock pre which was blurry in the lows, harsh on the highs and lacked punch.
I didn't plan to be playing live again. I don't like the late nights. It was just supposed to be for studio use as I dont care for the studios p bass. Some friends from my old band I played with in my 30's found out I was playing again and I let myself get roped in.
The point is, we play some modern original music but we also do covers ranging from 70s classic rock and funk to to 2000's rock and pop. The bass never sounds bad, it just lacks that old school character needed for the classics.
With both my guitarist playing fuzzed out or distorted, the basses clean sound pokes out just a little too much.
When we used to play shows, I played on a 1995 Warwick thumb and a 1998 Ibanez sr 390 Into a hartke amp and cab, using a boss dt1, boss metal zone and boss ODB 3 overdrive. The thumb was my preferred because it was nicer but the Ibanez was easier to play and didnt sound bad at all.
I know distortions and fuzz are extremely personal but there are so many cool choices now that I don't know where to start. You guys have given me some good tips but if there is anything more specific to the situation I'm in, hopefully you guys will know and be able to guide me. I'm trying to avoid spending thousands on pedals. Thanks and sorry for the long post.

 

[Fuzzbass]

Seems to me that you could use a nice neutral overdrive, or a distortion that sounds good at lower gain levels (lighter distortion). I wouldn't worry about fuzz, that's a specialty thing.

FWIW I always use at least a little bit of overdrive, even for country/blues/pop. The OD is audible when I'm setting up (playing solo), but in the full band mix it gives a nice warm girth to my tone without sounding metal. (For hard rock I use heavier distortion but that isn't what you're looking for).

Here's the example I like to use. I had no idea Sting's bass tone was so dirty until I heard the isolated track.


A really great neutral overdrive is the Damnation Audio MBD-1, in the $200 range, but I'm sure others will have lower-priced suggestions.