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Name your ultimate pedal into bass rig tones...

Tendollarcat

Tendollarcat

Aug 19, 2005
767
14
Brisbane, Australia
#1
I did a bit of a search on this and have found snippets of information but mainly in different threads.

I have two bass rigs and a bunch of pedals. I use passive precision basses and 100% believe a great pedal works well on any amp. That said, every now and then I find a perfect tonal combo - especially with my dirt pedals. I'd love to hear about some examples of where you feel a pedal sounds it's absolute best.

Here are a couple of mine -

EBS Valvedrive into Tecamp Blackjag 700 and Tecamp L212 - the Tecamp stuff is so clear and powerful. It's a great clean and articulate tone by itself. By hitting the Valvedrive, there's a huge boost in bottom end and growl. It literally sounds like the rig is melting down under cooking tubes. I love it! Pedal off and I'm back to clean tones. If anyone builds an amp with these two channels, I'll sell my grandmother to buy one :-)

Dwarfcraft Baby Thundaa into Orange Bass Terror 500 into Glockenklang 2x12. Seriously, take a Dwarfcraft pedal like this or the Eau Claire, back off feedback and gain and all other bits to almost minimum. Turn the tone blast on and set volume to taste.....then get detuned Kyuss guitar tones with a chunk of bottom end holding it in the mix. This pedal deserves more love and is really something special at it's lower settings.

One more -

EBS Valvedrive into Iron Ether Oxide thru anything! Not sure what sort of mad genius Taylor is but we need to start a petition to get him to make something with tubes. The Valvedrive/Oxide combo is a fuzzy, sustainey, gritty, snarly beast! It works great in the mix and also delivers a huge grinding stoner rock tone with a bunch of harmonic overtones :-) sounds like a review for a pedal that needs to exist...

Anyhoo - let's not get all amp obsessed here. Let's talk about where your pedals really come to life and give some kudos to the pedals and builders who deserve the attention.
 
#3
I just own one amp. I love this signal path for insane tone.

The Ultimate Pedal -> the amp I own -> a speaker I own.

I plug a bass into the ultimate pedal for best results.





On a more serious note I don't have the money to worry about the synergy between my rig and a given pedal. If the pedal works with my other gear then great! If not then I never think twice about what other gear a pedal might pair well with. I also drink red wine with fish so YMMV.
 
#4
Dark Barn said:
I just own one amp. I love this signal path for insane tone.

The Ultimate Pedal -> the amp I own -> a speaker I own.

I plug a bass into the ultimate pedal for best results.





On a more serious note I don't have the money to worry about the synergy between my rig and a given pedal. If the pedal works with my other gear then great! If not then I never think twice about what other gear a pedal might pair well with. I also drink red wine with fish so YMMV.
Click to expand...

Ah yes, the obligatory "whatever works man...it's all in the fingers.....just do your own thing......whats the best bass for metal......this is soooooo last thread" post.

I think it's valid to read about good experiences another player may have on a pedal before I purchase it. If a player uses a similar rig to me and has gotten a "great" tone that they love - thats useful information in my humble opinion. I was therefore seeking "useful" contributions :eyebrow:
 
#5
large_willy_wonka_blu-ray13.jpg
 
#7
Right now it's a Precision w/ DiMarzio Model-P P/U into a Boss LS2 with a Bass BB Preamp in loop A. I mix a bit of OD into my clean tone, then into VT Bass w/ character and drive at 11:00, into a fairly flat Mesa Walkabout running 2 1x15 Bag Ends. Set it, forget it - I've never been so happy with my tone.
 
#10
I just posted my feelings on this $10 Cat and saw your thread. It's not an exciting setup by any means but I love this sound...
Bass - Aria Pro II Integra custom with passive Bart HBs - Boss SD-1 Monte Allum SD808 mod - my rig below.

I have the pedal set - Level - 12 oclock, Tone - a hair above the lowest setting, Drive - 9 oclock or lower.
What I get is slight TS break up (or I call it "grunt"), retention of all low end but also adds a high end sheen to the sound, sort of like a well set up aural enhancer. I was most surprised.

Mate you definitely have done the rounds of OD/distortion pedals eh?
 
#11
jcburn said:
I just posted my feelings on this $10 Cat and saw your thread. It's not an exciting setup by any means but I love this sound...
Bass - Aria Pro II Integra custom with passive Bart HBs - Boss SD-1 Monte Allum SD808 mod - my rig below.

I have the pedal set - Level - 12 oclock, Tone - a hair above the lowest setting, Drive - 9 oclock or lower.
What I get is slight TS break up (or I call it "grunt"), retention of all low end but also adds a high end sheen to the sound, sort of like a well set up aural enhancer. I was most surprised.

Mate you definitely have done the rounds of OD/distortion pedals eh?
Click to expand...

Nice one! I'd say thats a perfect example of the right combination of gear and playing coming together. I guess my point with this thread was to say it's not about the "best" effects - more about finding that sweet spot and sharing how it works. For me, I need to gig and rehearse with pedals to really understand them. If I had a dollar for every time I got excited about a tone at "talking in the bedroom" volume, I would be a rich man :) I think there are so many factors in finding a sweet spot for tone with effects.

I think some players do this very naturally and just tweak away and find something great. Me personally, I've been learning as I go. I've got the perfect live vehicle as I play in an original noisy three piece indie rock band. I sing as well and had to figure out a way to give the guitarist space to play melodically and not be tweaking away between songs and creating those awkward dead silences :) So I've literally spent 18 months trying cool dirt pedals and finding tones that work for me. I use a bunch of them but I literally set each preferred tone and use them as single channels live. I'm not wealthy by any means so there has been a bunch of trades and $20-$60 losses as I try and flip pedals but I've really got some tones I love now.

I've also found builders like Wren and Cuff, Iron Ether and Dwarfcraft - whose pedals actually get better in loud settings. Dirt pedals in particular just add a whole dimension to the way I play now. I use a bit of Phat Phuk grit at times, or add in some thicker tube grind like the EBS, or go for a great muff tone with a Tall Font Russian and then have more dramatic sounds with the Oxide and Baby Thundaa. I used to write riffs and then find a tone for it. I've started finding tones and writing riffs lately. It's awesome fun and I'm really learning to use effects as more than "something different for this solo".
 
#12
vegas532 said:
This Grabber into this B:Assmaster into this Ampeg SVT. :D

YouTube - ‪Malekko B:Assmaster (Ge.) with Vintage Gear.‬‏
Click to expand...

Man, every time a setting is tweaked on that pedal, it still sounds awesome! It's the exact opposite of pedal demos you see where you go - clean tone.....muddy......tinny.....fret rattle.....that bits good.......no bottom end.......that bits great..... :) I think I'm going to sit down with my Oxide pedal and try to mess around with the B:Assmaster side more often. You've given me GAS for a Grabber now too. Eddie from Thrice uses them and he has some of my favourite tones of all time. I wonder how he does it without THAT grabber :D
 
#13
Lowbrow said:
Right now it's a Precision w/ DiMarzio Model-P P/U into a Boss LS2 with a Bass BB Preamp in loop A. I mix a bit of OD into my clean tone, then into VT Bass w/ character and drive at 11:00, into a fairly flat Mesa Walkabout running 2 1x15 Bag Ends. Set it, forget it - I've never been so happy with my tone.
Click to expand...

PS Soundclip of path described above, recorded direct from amp's DI:
Bucket Of Bites by Lowbrow on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free
 
#14
Lowbrow said:
PS Soundclip of path described above, recorded direct from amp's DI:
Bucket Of Bites by Lowbrow on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free
Click to expand...

Great track!

That tone reminds me of the some of the clips I have heard for the Tronographic Rusty Box. It has that great edgy rock grit that sits really well in the mix. Theres just something about that pick driven precision bass tone with dirt blended in. The fact that you have that recording tone from the amp DI is really impressive.
 
#20
You guys have me inspired with those B:assmaster clips. Rehearsed with my Oxide set to this type of tone during the week and loved it.

Mark - I wasn't really referring to the age old tube vs solid state debate. It could be from tube amp to tube amp or solid state to solid state. Whatever works for the respective player is of interest. Btw, I thought it was the immense drug consumption in the music scene in those days that let people to say "Clapton is god" :-) Muddy Waters would have said - "Of course he is. He fits the marketing demographic"
 

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