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Moderate OD that doesn't lose low bass?

#21
Another vote for the Grizzly Bass. My favorite out of everything I've tried. Also, anything with a dry mix will let you keep your low end and dial in as much grit as you want. EHX Bass Soul Food is a good inexpensive option for this. On the more expensive/complicated side, you can get a preamp pedal that has a parallel loop and use any type of guitar or bass overdrive in the loop. I've had a lot of fun experimenting with that.

Another great (but expensive) option is the Verellen Meatsmoke preamp (pedal). As much dirt as you would ever want with all of the low end. Lately this has become my "always on" pedal. Hard to get away from this pedal once you've tried it.

I have a Damnation Audio overdrive on the way, so I may report back after comparing that to what I have.
 
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#23
morgan138 said:
Okay, 5th Gear and ss/bs Mini both sound promising...anyone have thoughts on the Blue Berry? I've never tried one but the writeups and clips make it seem like it might be up my alley.
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I'm a big fan of the Broughton Azure Drive, which is his take on the Blueberry. It is a fantastic low gain OD. Doesn't really get that nasty, but again for what you are looking for...I'd slot it in between the Fifth Gear and the Mini, in order from lowest gain to highest gain. Really, it is all about how gainy and nasty you want the pedal to be able to get. All three of these will accomplish what you want though, albeit in slightly different flavours and forms.
 
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#27
blindrabbit said:
Really, it is all about how gainy and nasty you want the pedal to be able to get. All three of these will accomplish what you want though, albeit in slightly different flavours and forms.
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Thanks, that's very helpful. I don't really need much gain or nastiness...the D180 (+flatback, +Rickenbacker played with a pick) provides plenty of nasty, and for medium/high gain I already have fuzz and distortion pedals I love.

Dr3thepooner said:
DarkGlass - B3K.
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I'm curious...my vague impression of Darkglass was that their stuff is fairly modern-sounding. Am I wrong, at least as far as the 3k goes?
 
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#29
morgan138 said:
Thanks, that's very helpful. I don't really need much gain or nastiness...the D180 (+flatback, +Rickenbacker played with a pick) provides plenty of nasty, and for medium/high gain I already have fuzz and distortion pedals I love.


I'm curious...my vague impression of Darkglass was that their stuff is fairly modern-sounding. Am I wrong, at least as far as the 3k goes?
Click to expand...

Yeah, if that is your setup, then I'm going to now wholeheartedly say that the Fifth Gear is the way to go, at least for starters. I've used mine with a Rick, and I'm running into a Traynor YBA-200-2. The combination was glorious.

As for the B3K...yeah, that's totally a modern sound. I have no idea how it gets mentioned in a thread like this. It does what it does very well, but it is far from the answer to everything.
 
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#30
I have settled on the One Control Hooker's Green Bass Machine, which is in a 1590A housing. It doesn't have a clean blend, but I don't really miss that on this pedal as the low end trim pot on the side of the pedal let's me dial in all the bottom end I could ever want.
I also have and like the Darkglass VMT (if you like a mid focused sound that really cuts) and the Way Huge Pork Loin.
 
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#31
morgan138 said:
I know OD pedal threads are a dime a dozen, but I've got a pretty specific question: I'm looking for an overdrive pedal that'll do "warm and saturated" but without breaking up on low notes or fuzzing out on high ones. And I don't want it to cut too much of the low frequency content. Some extra midrange is totally fine, but I've played with OD pedals that almost sound high-passed if that makes sense (looking at you, Guv'nor/Drivemaster).

Right now I'm in between a Joyo Ultimate Drive (holds onto the low end, but the overdrive/distortion sounds like it's sitting on top of the clean signal) and a Fuzzrocious Demon (good overdrive, but it kills my Rickenbacker's deep bass). I guess I do like that OCD-type of overdrive though...
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run effects parallel and mix a distorted and a clean signal together ...
 
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#33
I might be misunderstanding what this means:

morgan138 said:
without breaking up on low notes or fuzzing out on high ones.
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But nearly every pedal suggested in this thread will break up on low notes. The Blueberry/Azure does not clip under 700hz, and certain Darkglass pedals have a switch that can prevent clipping on low notes. There are others like this... Not sure where the Grizzly stands but my recollection of demos suggests the opposite is true, low notes break up more quickly because the pedal is touch sensitive and lower frequencies are a larger signal.

There are a few crossover or multi-band distortion pedals allowing you to choose how much of which frequency bands are distorted, so you could dial in clean lows with no distortion whatsoever - Brimstone, FEA and others

Many pedals have an emphasis on the mids that makes distortion sound more prominent there - OCD or RAT circuits for instance

And then there are pedals with a filtered clean blend, i.e. the effected signal will break up everywhere, but you can blend in only clean lows. FEA Photon, Damntation MBD1, COG Grand Tarkin....a large bunch of others...

Just trying to bring some clarity to this discussion, which so far reads like every other "here's my current favorite dirt pedal" thread
 
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#34
I'll second the Darkglass VMT - I've been through at least 6 other pedals this year looking for the perfect moderate OD and nothing has beat it yet. The Blend just makes it so useable. Many say it colours their tone too much, but with the blend at 50% I certainly don't hear it. Just sounds like a better version of my tone with additional clarity. Every time I kick it on my drummer notices instantly and loves it. In this band we're playing mostly blues oriented classic rock: BB, SVR, Coco Montoya, Powder Blues Band, Chris Duarte....
 
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#35
Deadsound said:
I might be misunderstanding what this means:



But nearly every pedal suggested in this thread will break up on low notes. The Blueberry/Azure does not clip under 700hz, and certain Darkglass pedals have a switch that can prevent clipping on low notes. There are others like this... Not sure where the Grizzly stands but my recollection of demos suggests the opposite is true, low notes break up more quickly because the pedal is touch sensitive and lower frequencies are a larger signal.

There are a few crossover or multi-band distortion pedals allowing you to choose how much of which frequency bands are distorted, so you could dial in clean lows with no distortion whatsoever - Brimstone, FEA and others

Many pedals have an emphasis on the mids that makes distortion sound more prominent there - OCD or RAT circuits for instance

And then there are pedals with a filtered clean blend, i.e. the effected signal will break up everywhere, but you can blend in only clean lows. FEA Photon, Damntation MBD1, COG Grand Tarkin....a large bunch of others...

Just trying to bring some clarity to this discussion, which so far reads like every other "here's my current favorite dirt pedal" thread
Click to expand...

??? An overdrive mimics a tube amp being overdriven...I've never heard of a tube amp that only over drives the high notes. Doesn't sound like a feature I would want in a dirt pedal. the Grizzly, blueberry and Barbershop are all great examples of really good overdrive units with minimal colouration of the bass sound. The mid range focus that you speak of is a mid boost or cut / baked in tone that messes with your basses sound and is done via EQ and not by the overdrive circuit. Generally it's not something bassists look for in an overdrive pedal. OCD and RATs do not emphasise a specific frequency band, they effect the whole bass signal and are considered fuzz pedals not overdrives.
The barbershop, OCD and Grizzly don't need a blend knob...the grit can be dialled out to zero which is the same as a clean blend. I don't know what you mean by filtered blend...I'm not sure you do either. The MXR Bass Overdrive has an EQ circuit that is blended with a knob...is that what you mean?
 
#36
Dr3thepooner said:
DarkGlass - B3K.

Blend knob - check.
Arguably best OD / Distortion tone - check.
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Yes I'd happily argue that...so no...check, I really dislike the baked in EQ in Darkglass dirt pedals and their grit sounds strangely fizzy and unpleasant. For an overdrive pedal...I've never heard a tube amp sounding anything like a Darkglass pedal.
 
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#37
GMC said:
Yes I'd happily argue that...so no...check, I really dislike the baked in EQ in Darkglass dirt pedals and their grit sounds strangely fizzy and unpleasant. For an overdrive pedal...I've never heard a tube amp sounding anything like a Darkglass pedal.
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Much agreement here. As a fan of OCD style overdrive, which the OP has expressed interest in, I'd certainly say VMT over the B3K, if anything in the Darkglass family. I'm not saying the DG stuff isn't liked nor useful, but I wouldn't align it with the OP's goals, at least not near the top of the list.

Edit - For context, I do own a B7K and a Ric 4003, and a Dunwich ODB.
 
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#39
Part of the issue is that overdrive, by its nature, compresses, which can sound like a loss of lows. Also, the harmonics generated create emphasis on higher frequencies, which detracts from the character of the lows.

On paper, what your want is a clean blend that has a LPF on it. Consider something like the COG Knightfall or the 66
Cog Effects - Knightfall 66
Cog Effects - Mini 66 Overdrive

Each uses a filtered clean tone blend, and offers control of the low end content being sent to the overdrive. I have no actual experience, but I like these on paper. I believe they are OCD based circuits.
 
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#40
As an alternative...

I was looking for a low gain/ overdrive sound, similar to tube break up. I tried the joyo American sound, but just couldn't get the sound I was looking for. For lack of a better description, it was too mid focused for my rig.
So I had my mind set on the TC spark....And I loved all the videos and reviews of this pedal. It sounded awesome.
But during that search, I came across a discontinued pedal by joyo called the tai chi. At the price, I thought I'd give it a shot.....And I LOVE IT. With the gain all the way OFF, it has just the right amount of creamy break up with no discernable loss in bottom end. Turning the gain up....And it has a nice slow saturation of grind that moves on into a good heavy distortion.
Give it a shot....Its cheap.


Amazon.com: Joyo "Tai Chi" Overdrive Electric Guitar Effect Pedal Aluminum Alloy Housing True Bypass: Musical Instruments
 
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