How are you using Your Distortion Pedal?

[Fumble Fingers]

Just curious. I for one rarely use a distortion pedal when playing bass, but I'm curious to see how everyone else is using them.

For those of you using yours just to get a little growl, are you leaving it on most of the time?

 

[symbolic_acts]

this really depends on the kind of music i want to hear

If i'm trying to play some OM style stoner doom..clearly i turn up the muffiness to 11. I made a custom aftershock preset with half bass big muff and half germanium fuzz.

If i want to play some oldschool soul with a p bass i might just put a tiny bit of amp distortion for a bit of added harmonics

if i'm playing some rush style hard rock or whatever i want to hear some audible tube drive and use my aftershcok + amp distortion combination.

if you're playing modern metal you want that b3k style distortion on the top end and clean bottom end.

 

[Hypocrite]

I would say it depends on what you want to do. Do you want an audibly overdriven/distorted bass tone, or do you just want something to help cut through the mix? I run my A/Om pretty heavily distorted at all times with my two-guitarist, zero-dynamics drummer techdeath band. It not so much cuts through the mix as it just sits perfectly in the mix. For just a little bit of growl and extra presence I use a B3K, medium gain, low-ish blend

 

[Kro]

My VTDI is always on, with a healthy, but still natural amount of touch-sensitive distortion on tap at all times.

It's usually relatively subtle, but I can coax it out pretty easily when I want more with just the right attack.

 

[jazznrick]

Lately I haven’t been turning off my Spaceman Nebula. From overdrive to fuzz to octave drive and octave fuzz.

 

[Bassist4Eris]

I don't currently use a distortion per se. I have an overdrive and a fuzz. I set the OD to subtle, and typically only kick it in when I need to cut through the mix a little better. It's surprisingly good for slap in that regard.

The fuzz is set to "not subtle". I use it to rip people's faces off.

 

[catcauphonic]

i slowly started tinkering w a few select pedals outside of my main band (that really doesn't have much use for me using them), and the Aguilar Agro was one of the first. I was adding it for awhile with them as an always-on ever-so-slight presence with good results.

Ended up getting a Fuzz just for fun, and ultimately joined a second project that encourages the most extreme settings of both, and anything else i decide to incorporate down the line. Uh oh

But i voted #1

 

[SunnBass]

I couldn't figure out which to vote for since my clean tone isn't super clean.
And I have two stages of distortion after that.
On all the time is a Darkglass B7K, set with a little hair, just a little.
Then stage one is an Earthbound Audio Iron Pig V2 set for some grit.
And when I want/need more, I kick on my Lone Wolf Left Hand Wrath.
If I stack them, people bleed from their pores.

 

[Fumble Fingers]

I couldn't figure out which to vote for since my clean tone isn't super clean.
And I have two stages of distortion after that.
On all the time is a Darkglass B7K, set with a little hair, just a little.
Then stage one is an Earthbound Audio Iron Pig V2 set for some grit.
And when I want/need more, I kick on my Lone Wolf Left Hand Wrath.
If I stack them, people bleed from their pores.

What kind of music are you playing?

 

[Kro]

What kind of music are you playing?

I'm guessing adult contemporary...

 

[XXL]

I have a custom distortion pedal that I use plenty. Clipping options of silicon/led/mosfet, I tend to use mosfet the most.
I set it for med gain to high gain.. it’s got a great blend so no loss of lows.

 

[SunnBass]

What kind of music are you playing?

Well, the link in my signature would take you there but:

 

[Mvilmany]

I own a Vintage 80’s Made in Japan (famously better than the Taiwanese model) Boss DS-1 distortion pedal.

I use it between my guitar player’s Tele and his amp.

 

[AndyMaidens]

I'm using my boss os2 in parallel with a black Russian big muff, with clean blended over the top of it. Why have 1 LS2 when you can have 2?

 

[scottfeldstein]

In the studio I give a totally dry signal to the mixing desk and count on my producer to run me through any amp sims/effects he thinks will sound good. Later on, I listen to the finished product and decide how I want to reproduce it live. I find that I reach for the distortion when he's got me in a solo or near-solo situation for a few bars and you can really hear it growling on the album. In those cases I usually want to go beyond what he's done, adding more distortion than was on the record. Just so that it's noticeable in a noisy live setting.

The other scenario is if we're covering some retro classic rock tune.

Otherwise, mine's off for 8 out of 10 songs when playing live.

 

[Frank77]

"Enough to where I can audibly hear it" with the band (i.e it would sound like too much on its own, but turns out just right in the mix).

Overdrive switched on for a few songs only - funk band.

 

[scottfeldstein]

"Enough to where I can audibly hear it" with the band (i.e it would sound like too much on its own, but turns out just right in the mix).

Yeah, this. Too much is just right on stage.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Whatever the gig need.

 

[scottfeldstein]

I should also add this: If you're not an always-on kind of guy, and I'm not, you'll want to make sure that switching it on doesn't dramatically affect how you sit in the mix. Especially in the lows and low-mids. In fact, that's how I dial in the level of my distortion pedal. Even if I'm obviously louder when I switch it on, it doesn't matter. As long as I'm at unity in the "bump" range, say 4-500 Hz? That's where I want to be the same volume, even if there's a ton of extra harmonic content happening above that range.

 

[Stevorebob]

All of the above.

Fairfield Barbershop always on. Wampler Euphoria for overdriven. Blended IdiotBox Blower Box for heavy distortion. Wren & Cuff Pickle Pi B — there’s a reason it’s named Hella Fuzz — for beautiful raspy screeching tones.