Help with Iron Ether Oxide - Active Bass overloads it?

[chaosMK]

I've just started exploring the Iron Ether Oxide that I found used/locally.

It appears that my bass kind of overloads it on just about all of the settings. When I play a note I get a huge undefined low end tone and then once it finally decays (a good while later 4-6 seconds depending on what my attack was like), the fuzz/oxide sounds will come out. If I play super lightly (or just fret the strings with my LH) to avoid that threshold thing going on, I can coax some of the sounds that I was expecting out of it.

Is this just how this type of pedal is supposed to work? Do I need to turn the volume on my bass down to 1/2? Next stop may be TB classifieds...

 

[chaosmic]

It can definitely get squishy and compressed with an active bass, especially if it's high output and you have your EQ boosted. This causes that note bloom you're describing. What is your basses output like and how are you setting your onboard EQ before you hit the Oxide? Keeping the Gate control more in the clockwise region and the Drive set low (like 9:00) seems to eliminate/reduce that for me.

 

[smperry]

Mine doesn't sound like that at all, and I'm usually playing with an active bass.

 

[MCS4]

This happens to me all the time with my active basses. I think it's all down to the individual bass and the individual pedal, so sometimes you just need to experiment to find what works.

Well-loved pedals that sound like crap with my active basses include the Heavy Electronics El Oso and the Mad Scientist The Elements.

 

[Jean Baudin]

Works fine with my active bass. If your bass is that HOT, you are probably going to have problems with other pedals too. Might want to check if there's a trim pot inside your bass before dumping the Oxide.

 

[chaosMK]

I am using an 18V USA Cirrus. I generally run it flat or close to flat. I set it flat in my experimentation with this pedal. The Cirrus has a pretty strong output.

I will try it next in my Bass 400's FX Loop where the signal should be weaker (the FX loop is at instrument level and has a "blend" control which I think impacts the strength of the signal... when I run pedals like a Muff in there, it barely triggers it).

 

[dannybuoy]

Is turning down the volume knob on your bass an option?

 

[Taylor Livingston]

The Drive knob attenuates the input to the fuzz so by turning it down you are lowering the input volume (not to the "clean" side though). This is equivalent to turning your bass knob down but without having to change levels when playing different pedals.

Here is the manual. I know you're thinking a manual is not necessary for a fuzz pedal but it really does help!

http://ironether.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/oxide-manual-pdf.pdf

 

[takfar]

Yes, I tend to play the oxide with the "drive" knob below the 9 o'clock position for best results with my active bass, in "brassmaster" mode. In "woolly mammoth" mode (ie. morph below 9 o'clock) you need to go higher with the drive in order to get the proper gated fuzz effect.

 

[chaosMK]

Also, has anyone noticed that this pedal has *tons of noise* when engaged? I have to use a noise gate after it. I am wondering if mine has issues or if that is just the design.

 

[smperry]

I was having that issue in my band practice space, and I haven't gigged it yet. Since I was using a One-Spot, I'm going to try using a separate power supply to see if that helps. I didn't have that excessive noise at home.

I really like the sound of the Oxide, but I've got to pin down that issue too.

 

[takfar]

No noise problems whatsoever, here. Don't have noise on any of my pedals, tbh (both IE pedals and other brands). Your power supply may have something to do with it.

 

[JohnDavisNYC]

Not to be 'that guy' but could this be a technique issue? I have had no issues with my oxide with nearly any input level.

J

 

[mmbongo]

Can you try another bass? Are the pickups in your Cirrus active (not passive with an active preamp, but actually active pickups)? I've found that active pickups (like EMG) do not play well with dirt pedals.

 

[alec]

Noise is not a problem with mine at all, with active or passive basses. Quite the opposite - with the Morph control to the left, it's a great noise gate.
Like takfar said, it could be your power supply, especially if you're chaining other pedals on the same power. Have you tried it on its own?

 

[sunbeast]

I had the same issue with some high output basses when I had an Oxide (where the output actually swelled UP in volume after the attack!), but leaving the Gain below 9 o'clock cleaned it up (as someone else also mentioned). If you are pushing it into heavy compression it wouldn't be surprising to get lots of noise on the Fuzz side. Do you find any noise on the a Clean side? If so, I would guess it could be a power issue (my Polytope is noisy when daisy-chained with certain pedals).

 

[MCS4]

Folks here need to keep in mind that the issue with active electronics and pedals does not relate only to output. I keep the output on my active basses relatively low -- noticeably lower than my very hot passive Gibson bass -- but still have issues with a lot of dirt pedals. It's just the nature of the beast with active basses.

 

[Basehead]

I use my Oxide with my 18v Spector with no issues...it's on an isolated power out from my Cioks DC10.

 

[sunbeast]

Folks here need to keep in mind that the issue with active electronics and pedals does not relate only to output. I keep the output on my active basses relatively low -- noticeably lower than my very hot passive Gibson bass -- but still have issues with a lot of dirt pedals. It's just the nature of the beast with active basses.

However all of my basses used were passive and I had a similar issue as the OP with the two hottest ones (both G&Ls). Lots of people use the Oxide with active basses without issue (or pushed by other pedals like octaves which also give the pedal the equivalent to an active signal). Pretty sure in this case it is a Gain issue. With my problem basses I was able to barely turn up the Gain and still get plenty of fuzz, so my recommendation would be to start with the Gain all the way down and go from there.

 

[MCS4]

However all of my basses used were passive and I had a similar issue as the OP with the two hottest ones (both G&Ls). Lots of people use the Oxide with active basses without issue (or pushed by other pedals like octaves which also give the pedal the equivalent to an active signal). Pretty sure in this case it is a Gain issue. With my problem basses I was able to barely turn up the Gain and still get plenty of fuzz, so my recommendation would be to start with the Gain all the way down and go from there.

Yeah, I don't disagree... gain is often a problem with effects, particularly with active basses, and it may well be the problem here. But some people assume that it is the only possible issue if an active bass doesn't play nice with an effect, when in my experience some combinations simply just don't work.