New MXR pedals

[NOLA Bass]

I don't know about you guys but I'm very disappointed with the sound of the Bass Overdrive in those demos. Wayy too fuzzy for me personally.
What do you guys think?

I could not agree more. Sounds totally like a fuzz pedal to me.

 

[Oreomeister365]

Yeah...too fuzz like for me. Also don't like that they go out of their way to color the clean tone.

 

[Mattbass97]

It does sound a little like a cranked down BFD

 

[Melvin7822]

Yeah...too fuzz like for me. Also don't like that they go out of their way to color the clean tone.

Earlier in this thread I had griped about the need to color the clean tone. I know of no other manufacturer of a bass overdrive that does this, nor do I know of any bassist who thinks it's a desirable trait...

 

[254 stringer]

After watching the video of the OD I'm thinking it might not be able to kick the pork loin off my board. But now I want a mini fuzz face damn you dunlop.

 

[Connormac123456]

Yeah the clips of the Overdrive are just plain dissapointing.
So I'm guessing you guys would recommend the Pork Loin then?
(that was what I was considering if the MXR turned out to be a flop)

 

[dogmeat08]

added the mxr bass chorus deluxe to my setup ( replacing the mxr black label chorus) and sounds awesome !!! will be replacing the digitech bass synth with the mxr bass overdrive once it comes out

 

[Gilian24]

Another clip of the bass overdrive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nu5VEcPFfs

 

[zachreh]

well it does keep the low end but still pretty fuzzy compared to a bddi

 

[MiJaKo]

Had a hard time hearing the Clean control do anything. I'll hold my disappointment though until I can hear an official clip on the . Dunlop site.

 

[scottfeldstein]

Had a hard time hearing the Clean control do anything. I'll hold my disappointment though until I can hear an official clip on the . Dunlop site.

True.

 

[Melvin7822]

Had a hard time hearing the Clean control do anything. I'll hold my disappointment though until I can hear an official clip on the . Dunlop site.

The is the the preset EQ on the clean blend at work. If you listen closely it's adding more lows back in than anything which really has me bummed. Why can't we have a normal clean blend MXR?

 

[Connormac123456]

Well the Pork Loin also has a preset EQ in the clean mix, but it seems to get high praise for its sound. So in that respect I don't think the clean part of the pedal is really the problem, personally.
MXR makes some great pedals, but whenever it comes to overdrive pedals specifically for bass (I.E. Bass Blowtorch, Bass Overdrive) they never seem to quite get it right, with the sound ending up being a bit too fuzzy to be a usable "overdrive" IMO. I wonder why that is?

 

[rapturebass]

I think it's a little hard to judge the Bass Overdrive at this point, and even when an official video comes out I'd imagine it'd be best to take it with a grain of salt. In Youtube videos etc. bass very rarely sounds how it does in a legitimate physical setting

 

[Melvin7822]

Check it out, Bass Player did a mini-review!

 

[Connormac123456]

LOL That Bassplayer demo actually gives me a little bit of hope for the overdrive. It doesn't sound "tubey" (like they claim) by any stretch, but it's got a nice grind to it that on subtler settings could very well be my ticket to overdriven-tone bliss (corny, I know, but you guys know how hard it is to finally find the perfect sound don't you? )

 

[crapusername]

To be honest, the clips I've heard have pushed me both ways. The first clip made me think that I would avoid it, and then I hear another that leaves me feeling like I should at least give it a good try.
The chorus vids were the same. Initially no way, but now my interest is piqued despite the price (£179 over here, best price!)
I'm really looking forward to giving them a whirl now after that last vid.
Damned gas!

 

[Laurent]

Following my previous comments, here are some additional thoughts now that I've had plenty of experience with the MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe.

The new MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe performed flawlessly during some extensive tastings I carried out with different basses and strings. It worked well with different amps (Ampeg SVT, Markbass F500) and different cabs. Its most exciting and innovative feature is the x-over which allows keeping the modulation effect out of the bass frequencies. Practically this means that the pedal keeps a strong fundamental with a subtle effect affecting the mids and the highs. The makes the effect very stealth; it’s there without taking over.

Overall the pedal is very well engineered and allows the user go from chorus to flanger without a volume surge or drop. Same thing with the x-over function, the transitions are seamless.
Tone correction is well done and it’s the first time I ever had to turn bass down on a chorus/flanger in some settings.

I compared the pedal with benchmark pedals and it did perform very well against its peers. Tonally the flanger has a modern tone, with a light tubular and ringing quality. This characteristic makes the pedal cut through the mix. Compared with the MXR Stereo Flanger and to a lesser extend the Boss BF-2, the MXR Bass Chorus deluxe is a little more aggressive sounding and less natural than the MXR Stereo Chorus in particular.

This added some life to a 62 P bass US reissue equipped with flat wound strings. Using a more aggressive sounding bass such as a Stingray delivered a more assertive tone. Paired with a Yamaha bass equipped with Dimarzio P pickups (a somewhat aggressive pickup) I had to tame down the highs to prevent the tone from getting too harsh. Overall I was impressed by how versatile the pedal is and how well it paired with flat wound and round wound strings. It also worked well with both active and passive basses.
I was also impressed by how homogeneous the pedal is, both the chorus and the flanger are really excellent.

Overall I kept on trying to find a flaw or a drawback somewhere but I could not. Even against more expensive pedals it held its own! I also like the fact that this pedal has its own tone. It’s not trying to imitate another piece of gear.

Considering the tinny form factor of this pedal this is really remarkable. The small pedal delivers two great voicing with the flange: one full on without the x-over and one more subtle with the x-over. Same thing with the chorus, the two voicing are excellent and highly usable.

Again great pedal, great tone, great price, great form factor, it works with every bass I have and in front of every amp. What’s not to like! Kudos to MXR for another great pedal.

 

[Melvin7822]

Thanks for your review Laurent. It helps me maintain the faith that somehow I received two lemons (both displayed some heat damage to the chip at U13). My BCD has been with Dunlop for well over a week now and I've received no follow up on it yet. Hopefully, I'll hear back soon.

 

[Bassed in NZ]

So I got my replacement Bass Chorus Deluxe and it's misbehaving in the exact same way. I get hiss whenever I play a note (with both tone knobs at noon) and it's even more noticeable on the flanger. If I turn intensity all the way up on the chorus, it adds static to the hiss. Overall the hiss increases at the peak of the sweep. Has anyone critically listened to their pedal to notice the same thing?

Melvin - I've just got my bass chorus deluxe and have been playing it through a good headphone amp. I'm also noticing that it adds substantial hiss when I play a note (dead quiet when engaged and I'm not playing though). I've a/b'd it against my MXR Analog Chorus and there's a distinct difference - the Analog is dead quiet, but with the BCD there's a noticeable hiss when playing a note.

Hmm, color me unhappy. Let me know what happens with Dunlop...