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MBD3 vs VMT vs DCX
- Thread starter butterfingers1
- Start date
I have the MBD3, but prefer and find more useful the following:
Broughton Scorpion
Xotic Bass BB
SolidGoldFX BetaV
Wondering if the Darkglass or Origin Effects would add anything.
Broughton Scorpion
Xotic Bass BB
SolidGoldFX BetaV
Wondering if the Darkglass or Origin Effects would add anything.
I like how the VMT adds a tubey character and at the same time gives me just enough of that Darkglass metallic sound at full ERA without being over the top. I voted for that one, but I've also never had the DCX, which also sounds great. And the MBD, which I have owned is a great pedal by a great bass-centric company, but I like things just a little more brighter and in your face than that.
Short answer: Yes, absolutely.
I've owned all of these and If you like them, I'm pretty sure you'll love the DCX.
I own a VM and DCX; but an MBD3 is on the way, which indicates that I'm not extremely satisfied with them.  My subjective evaluation is below.
VM is all about mids. If you want a mid-heavy vintage overdriven sound, this is your ticket. The ability to blend your clean signal is great. However, the mids are so dominant that they kinda cause frequency masking to my low-end.
Although the DCX is among my favorite bass preamps, it never worked as an overdrive for me. It sounds like a clipped mixer channel.
In my current setup, B7K sounds better than those two.
I have high hopes for the MBD3. Let's see where it goes - to the board or into the drawer.
VM is all about mids. If you want a mid-heavy vintage overdriven sound, this is your ticket. The ability to blend your clean signal is great. However, the mids are so dominant that they kinda cause frequency masking to my low-end.
Although the DCX is among my favorite bass preamps, it never worked as an overdrive for me. It sounds like a clipped mixer channel.
In my current setup, B7K sounds better than those two.
I have high hopes for the MBD3. Let's see where it goes - to the board or into the drawer.
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I love the VMT. It’s just right for me. I didn’t care for the DCX as drive. Pretty good as an EQ tone enhancer but was overkill. Haven’t tried MBD3 but may in the future. I also have a YYZ and I like the drive I can get on that.
I like the Xotic Bass BB for the dark dirty mid frequency emphasis, nothing like it in a mix. Coupled with the Xotic RC Bass booster (which is slightly coloured and wonderful on its own) the whole is very articulate and punchy/cutting. This is why I think I might like the Darkglass VMT.
The MBD3 is very transparent, bland to me, although the drive sounds very good. For my tastes too many controls focused on low end which I don’t need. I keep Depth below 9 o’clock, Blend mostly off (there’s no clean channel, it’s just radically low-passed lows), Tone tilt eq never below noon.
The Broughton Scorpion is in a league of its own. The distortion is the richest most beautiful I have heard. It’s also a really nice Fender-ish scooped tone with a bright sparkle on top, but not clanky at all. Despite the scoop it retains presence in a quiet mix, maybe enough high-mids to cut through. Sounds really nice on its own or a quiet mix but gets lost beyond that.
The MBD3 is very transparent, bland to me, although the drive sounds very good. For my tastes too many controls focused on low end which I don’t need. I keep Depth below 9 o’clock, Blend mostly off (there’s no clean channel, it’s just radically low-passed lows), Tone tilt eq never below noon.
The Broughton Scorpion is in a league of its own. The distortion is the richest most beautiful I have heard. It’s also a really nice Fender-ish scooped tone with a bright sparkle on top, but not clanky at all. Despite the scoop it retains presence in a quiet mix, maybe enough high-mids to cut through. Sounds really nice on its own or a quiet mix but gets lost beyond that.
I've owned the MBD (v1) and VMT Deluxe (v1) for many years. Love 'em both.
VMT: has some coloration, but leans toward mid punch, unlike mid-notched pedals such as the B7K and BDDI.
MBD: I'd prefer to call it transparent rather than bland. That said, I prefer some zazz to my dirt so I usually stack the MBD into a colorful dirt pedal run at low gain. A favorite combo has been MBD -> B7K, but the VMT also works (not that I'm advocating wallet abuse
). A cool thing about the MBD is that it sounds great from barely-there grit to full-blown distortion that borders on fuzz.
No comment on the DCX. It's a quality device but haven't researched it, as I get all I need from my Origin Bassrig SV (expensive/different).
VMT: has some coloration, but leans toward mid punch, unlike mid-notched pedals such as the B7K and BDDI.
MBD: I'd prefer to call it transparent rather than bland. That said, I prefer some zazz to my dirt so I usually stack the MBD into a colorful dirt pedal run at low gain. A favorite combo has been MBD -> B7K, but the VMT also works (not that I'm advocating wallet abuse
). A cool thing about the MBD is that it sounds great from barely-there grit to full-blown distortion that borders on fuzz.No comment on the DCX. It's a quality device but haven't researched it, as I get all I need from my Origin Bassrig SV (expensive/different).
I've used all three and currently have the dcx and mbd3 on my board. The dcx is always on in eq mode for a bit of body and grit, and the mbd is before it in the chain for actual distortion as needed. (usually I find that ordering pedals most to least gain gives the best results, otherwise the lower gain pedals end up being kind of covered up). the vmt is too voiced for my present purposes, it's very mid heavy and "soft" in a way, definitely a cool sound but not useful as an overdrive per se. on the other hand the mbd is flexible enough to get different levels of really well defined, punchy distortion without radically shifting where you sit in a mix. I've gotten compliments on my tone with it from singers, guitarists, people who wouldn't typically notice these things. only drawback, if you can call it that, is that at the upper end of the gain range adding in the boost can also increase treble a bit.
Personally, I'm a bigger fan of the MBD-1/2.
The 3 has yet to find it's proper place in my collection.
The blend in the 3 is active, highs cut, mid scoop, big bump in the lows.
I actually prefer the original clean blend on the 1/2.
Playing the MBD-1/2 against the Broughton Scorpion (another personal favorite) I was able to get some similar tones.
To me the Blend is almost unnecessary, the Volume is enough of a full whole signal. I can still appreciate that contoured Blend though, it sure “bigs up” and darkens the tone. Plus there is that Tone tilt eq. I never had the previous MBDs but I have zero complaints about the MBD3.
I've used the MBD (all variations) with no depth or clean dialed in.
And it sounds good.
The limited run Retro Bass Distortion they (Damnation Audio) did is a simple volume, tone, drive, and sounds amazing.
The way I like dialing in the full-on MBD pedals is bringing up the low-passed clean to unity, then slowly dialing in the distorted side at low gain, tone control up.
That way I'm getting my lows/mids from the clean side, highs/crunch from the distorted side.
Doesn't sound "right" to me dialing in the MBD3 that way.
The Scorpion & MBD 3 have a lot in common each sits on one of my pedalboards. I've never tried the Bass BB but have heard nothing but great things about the BB or RC. Sames goes for the BetaV.
Darkglass tone and I don't jive with I'm completely not a fan of their products.
I own the DCX I prefer it in EQ mode 95% of the time. But as a drive pedal it does play well in the mix.
But if I had to recommend a drive pedal currently it's the Singular Audio Tubedrve. The real tube feel the DCX mimics & does it all from clean boost to Fuzz. NO it's not cheap but it brings that certain something only tubes can bring that no matter how well certain pedals mimics the response its just not authentic.
Fuzzrocious LiL Fella has caught my interest recently. But unless I start a new pedalboard I have no real need but it seems to be a very capable pedal.
DCX is a console based preamp that can be clipped if you like it but it’s much more than the other two pedals.
What I loved about the VMT is despite the slightly digital sounding high frequencies (which disappears in a mix) it manages to boost mids to help cut through without changing overall tone of the bass.
What I loved about the VMT is despite the slightly digital sounding high frequencies (which disappears in a mix) it manages to boost mids to help cut through without changing overall tone of the bass.
I own a Vintage Deluxe and an MBD3, but I've never tried the DCX. I prefer the MBD3 because it has a more satisfying and natural-sounding breakup, though I wish it had a bit more midrange punch like the Vintage.
I have both MDB and DCX. I prefer DCX in OD mode.
The DCX is easy to dial in and MDB is a lot of knob turning.
DCX doesn't sound really that good on it's own but in a mix its killer.
I like the MDB but it probably is too transparent for my taste and I bought it hoping it would be my two-in-one dirt pedal. Sounds good at home but either too much lows, low gain or too loud. I wish it just had a bit more gain when you engage it and a bit lower gain, when engaging boost. Regret selling MDB-2, sure was a noisy unit but it ripped. I think the low pass clean was a bit more useful also.
I probably would have loved the original MDB-1 more, I think.
The DCX is easy to dial in and MDB is a lot of knob turning.
DCX doesn't sound really that good on it's own but in a mix its killer.
I like the MDB but it probably is too transparent for my taste and I bought it hoping it would be my two-in-one dirt pedal. Sounds good at home but either too much lows, low gain or too loud. I wish it just had a bit more gain when you engage it and a bit lower gain, when engaging boost. Regret selling MDB-2, sure was a noisy unit but it ripped. I think the low pass clean was a bit more useful also.
I probably would have loved the original MDB-1 more, I think.
The MBD3 lows are easy to control I find. Blend completely off sounds fine, and that Tone tilt eq works surprisingly well to get good tones. I just wish there was something for middle-frequencies, but if they come from elsewhere the MBD3 won’t affect them.
The Darkglass is the rare drive pedal that is polarizing. Some swear by it, some want nothing to do with it.
The Darkglass is the rare drive pedal that is polarizing. Some swear by it, some want nothing to do with it.
