O/D Options to pair with a Stingray Special 4H

[Pyrrho Epoche]

I have A darkglass B3k, a Vintage Microtubes, a Diamond Comp. and a Joyo Oxford Sound going into my Ampeg..... It sounded better than ok, but wanted some gnarly distortion. Just got a T-rex Vulture distortion and it sounds incredible with my Stingray Special.

 

[PhinDog]

I use an active 4 string stingray and my favorites are the Broughton scorpion, CAL Grizzly, and way huge pork & pickle (pork side). If I could only choose one, it would be the scorpion.

I use an active 4 string stingray and my favorites are the Broughton scorpion, CAL Grizzly, and way huge pork & pickle (pork side). If I could only choose one, it would be the scorpion.

I have seen the Scorpion mentioned a bunch here on TB. The Griz is on my short list as well. Is the scorpion transparent or does it add color. There’s not many sound samples I can find of the Scorpion.
The short list looks like it’s forming.
Scorpion
Blueberry type OD
Pork and pickle
Barbershop.

 

[sloppy_phil]

I have seen the Scorpion mentioned a bunch here on TB. The Griz is on my short list as well. Is the scorpion transparent or does it add color. There’s not many sound samples I can find of the Scorpion.
The short list looks like it’s forming.
Scorpion
Blueberry type OD
Pork and pickle
Barbershop.

Scorpion is as transparent as you want it to be. Keep the EQ reasonably flat-ish, and the Depth fairly low, and it's (to me) a very transparent drive. Once you start cranking the Depth, and put a heavy EQ curve on it, it increases the perceived colouration.

Have you seen this?

 

[PhinDog]

Scorpion is as transparent as you want it to be. Keep the EQ reasonably flat-ish, and the Depth fairly low, and it's (to me) a very transparent drive. Once you start cranking the Depth, and put a heavy EQ curve on it, it increases the perceived colouration.

Have you seen this?

Yes. I’ve seen that. It definitely has peaked my interest.

 

[PhinDog]

Origin Effects DCX Bass is an awesome pedal. Can be an always on tone shaping pedal or set it as an OD.

This looks like a great pedal.

 

[Maxi Funkl]

Broughton Scorpion
Damnation MBD3
HAMSTEAD SUBSPACE
Shiftline A+

 

[Gabbs]

Thanks, does it do low gain as well? Seems all the vids and sound samples have it set to high gain, high mid buzz saw. Which is fun, but not sure how I’d used that in the mix. The punk kid in me wants to grind it, but my funk, blues, disco, soul, classic rock set list says otherwise.

It does a wide range of gain, from mild to full on. It will do a big full grind, but it can do subtle warmth too.

 

[Maxi Funkl]

This looks like a great pedal.

I love the pedal.

 

[PhinDog]

I love the pedal.

I just went down the YouTube rabbit hole in this one. My wallet is gonna hurt. It’s sound fantastic.

 

[Alien8]

I have seen the Scorpion mentioned a bunch here on TB. The Griz is on my short list as well. Is the scorpion transparent or does it add color. There’s not many sound samples I can find of the Scorpion.
The short list looks like it’s forming.
Scorpion
Blueberry type OD
Pork and pickle
Barbershop.

If it helps, Broughton had the same difficulty - getting a ray to play nice with dirt. The Scorpion was the solution.

I don't have one yet, I'm happy with my dirt, but it will what I buy for dirt / drive / toan next.

(I'm using stacking of boosts into a ValveCaster and sometimes a heavily modded RAT)

 

[PhinDog]

If it helps, Broughton had the same difficulty - getting a ray to play nice with dirt. The Scorpion was the solution.

I don't have one yet, I'm happy with my dirt, but it will what I buy for dirt / drive / toan next.

Good to know, thanks!

 

[dave64o]

I have a larger-than-I-really-need collection of dirt pedals that are either specifically low gain or can do a very good low gain and, as I’m sure you’re well aware, I’m also a big Stingray fan, too. I typically use three different dirts on my pedal board: one for my standard tone and set for pretty low gain (just enough to add some very light drive that warms it up), one set for a little more gain than my standard tone and brighter than it, and one set for a little more gain than my standard tone and darker than it.

I REALLY love my Broughton FlipTop as my standard tone though it does add some color (think old Ampeg B15) - but it’s a wonderful color! It's very low gain but it does what it does exceptionally well.

For a change of pace, I also use a Spacemen Effects Saturn VI as a standard tone and that’s actually what’s on my board right now. Spacemen actually calls it a harmonic booster because it has separate controls for both even order and odd order harmonics, as well as a passive tone control. I find it to be quite transparent, especially when favoring the even-order harmonics (the Boost knob) and blending in the Drive knob (odd-ordered) for a touch or the dirt that gets noticeable when I hit the strings harder.

FWIW, I specifically said “standard tone” rather than “always on tone” because I don’t stack my dirt pedals, so none of my ODs are always on. So the one I use most I call my standard tone. Yeah, that’s picking nits, but it helps better explain how I use my pedals.

Another transparent one I like is the JPTR FX Jive. Because I tend to stick with relatively low gain, I tend to use only the Gain knob without engaging any of the clipping diodes. I think it works nicely that way and is fairly transparent for my purposes, even with the gain up around 2:00

I also LOVE the Blueberry circuit, probably my favorite drive flavor, and use a Bearfoot FX Blueberry as my darker toned, slightly more driven tone and think it’s heavenly, especially on blues songs and older classic rock. At low gain I find it pretty transparent but it will color your tone more at higher gains (I rarely go about 12:00, though). I also have a One Control Blackberry and a Bearfoot FX Queen Bee, which are two different variants of the Blueberry circuit. I prefer the simplicity of the basic Blueberry myself, but the other two are also excellent and my impression is that they have a little less overall gain than the Bearfoot FX version, especially the Blackberry.

I have several other low gain drives worth mentioning for your application, but these will impart some kind of color:

• I love the One Control Hooker’s Green Bass Machine, which I find somewhat Blueberry-like. This one does NOT lose low end – I find it pretty beefy. I have the original three-knob with a bass level control that you access via a screwdriver on the side of the chassis. But they now have a 4-knob version that the old bass control up to the top of the chassis with the other knobs. The videos I watched make me think it sounds much the same as the original.
• The SolidgoldFX Beta is a great low gain drive, but it’s pretty colored (though it’s a really nice color!). I have the original version, not the II which has the mid switch or the current V, which has several other controls. It does a great lower gain, old school tone, especially for a Motown kind of tone.
• Also consider the Way Huge Pork Loin, which has a ton of tonal control and can be set to be not too colored at low gain. I haven’t had it on my board very often, but I really do need to use it more.
• This one was pretty much hated when it first came out but I really like it a lot – the EHX Bass Soul Food. It reveals more color as you raise the Gain above 2:00-3:00 and the Treble above noon but I love it with the Blend knob about noon, the Gain below 3:00, and the Treble no higher than noon (if I need more definition, then I’ll boost the treble on my bass). It truly is low gain, so if you use it the way it was intended and don’t push the Gain too high, it’s a great sounding pedal. YMMV.
• I almost always use my Broughton SV-Pre as my dirtier and brighter than my standard tone pedal, but I keep the gain below noon. Even with the Ultra Low switch in the middle setting (basically flat), it still has plenty of low end and I also turn on the Bright switch. It also has a selectable mid frequency and a mid boost or cut. It can get dirtier than I need (by a lot), but it works great for me with the gain set below noon. It does have an SVT-like color but, again, at low gain it’s not too obvious and it sounds great.
• My [sfx] Micro Red Dragon is a great sounding low gain drive, also kind of Blueberry-like to my ears, but these have been discontinued for several years and are just plain hard to find. I was lucky that I happened to see the listing on Reverb for this a short time after the seller posted it, so I was able to grab it.

Yikes, sorry for the long post. I got started and couldn't close the floodgates. But I like the low to med gain tone of these and they sound especially good with my Stingrays.

 

[PhinDog]

I have a larger-than-I-really-need collection of dirt pedals that are either specifically low gain or can do a very good low gain and, as I’m sure you’re well aware, I’m also a big Stingray fan, too. I typically use three different dirts on my pedal board: one for my standard tone and set for pretty low gain (just enough to add some very light drive that warms it up), one set for a little more gain than my standard tone and brighter than it, and one set for a little more gain than my standard tone and darker than it.

I REALLY love my Broughton FlipTop as my standard tone though it does add some color (think old Ampeg B15) - but it’s a wonderful color! It's very low gain but it does what it does exceptionally well.

For a change of pace, I also use a Spacemen Effects Saturn VI as a standard tone and that’s actually what’s on my board right now. Spacemen actually calls it a harmonic booster because it has separate controls for both even order and odd order harmonics, as well as a passive tone control. I find it to be quite transparent, especially when favoring the even-order harmonics (the Boost knob) and blending in the Drive knob (odd-ordered) for a touch or the dirt that gets noticeable when I hit the strings harder.

FWIW, I specifically said “standard tone” rather than “always on tone” because I don’t stack my dirt pedals, so none of my ODs are always on. So the one I use most I call my standard tone. Yeah, that’s picking nits, but it helps better explain how I use my pedals.

Another transparent one I like is the JPTR FX Jive. Because I tend to stick with relatively low gain, I tend to use only the Gain knob without engaging any of the clipping diodes. I think it works nicely that way and is fairly transparent for my purposes, even with the gain up around 2:00

I also LOVE the Blueberry circuit, probably my favorite drive flavor, and use a Bearfoot FX Blueberry as my darker toned, slightly more driven tone and think it’s heavenly, especially on blues songs and older classic rock. At low gain I find it pretty transparent but it will color your tone more at higher gains (I rarely go about 12:00, though). I also have a One Control Blackberry and a Bearfoot FX Queen Bee, which are two different variants of the Blueberry circuit. I prefer the simplicity of the basic Blueberry myself, but the other two are also excellent and my impression is that they have a little less overall gain than the Bearfoot FX version, especially the Blackberry.

I have several other low gain drives worth mentioning for your application, but these will impart some kind of color:

• I love the One Control Hooker’s Green Bass Machine, which I find somewhat Blueberry-like. This one does NOT lose low end – I find it pretty beefy. I have the original three-knob with a bass level control that you access via a screwdriver on the side of the chassis. But they now have a 4-knob version that the old bass control up to the top of the chassis with the other knobs. The videos I watched make me think it sounds much the same as the original.
• The SolidgoldFX Beta is a great low gain drive, but it’s pretty colored (though it’s a really nice color!). I have the original version, not the II which has the mid switch or the current V, which has several other controls. It does a great lower gain, old school tone, especially for a Motown kind of tone.
• Also consider the Way Huge Pork Loin, which has a ton of tonal control and can be set to be not too colored at low gain. I haven’t had it on my board very often, but I really do need to use it more.
• This one was pretty much hated when it first came out but I really like it a lot – the EHX Bass Soul Food. It reveals more color as you raise the Gain above 2:00-3:00 and the Treble above noon but I love it with the Blend knob about noon, the Gain below 3:00, and the Treble no higher than noon (if I need more definition, then I’ll boost the treble on my bass). It truly is low gain, so if you use it the way it was intended and don’t push the Gain too high, it’s a great sounding pedal. YMMV.
• I almost always use my Broughton SV-Pre as my dirtier and brighter than my standard tone pedal, but I keep the gain below noon. Even with the Ultra Low switch in the middle setting (basically flat), it still has plenty of low end and I also turn on the Bright switch. It also has a selectable mid frequency and a mid boost or cut. It can get dirtier than I need (by a lot), but it works great for me with the gain set below noon. It does have an SVT-like color but, again, at low gain it’s not too obvious and it sounds great.
• My [sfx] Micro Red Dragon is a great sounding low gain drive, also kind of Blueberry-like to my ears, but these have been discontinued for several years and are just plain hard to find. I was lucky that I happened to see the listing on Reverb for this a short time after the seller posted it, so I was able to grab it.

Yikes, sorry for the long post. I got started and couldn't close the floodgates. But I like the low to med gain tone of these and they sound especially good with my Stingrays.

Thank you for taking the time to write this out. Very informative.
I see some of these coming my way as fall into the rabbit whole. But couldn’t be more fun! thanks again.
I’ve played the pork and pickle. I liked it. Might have to try it again. I’ve also owned the Beta. I like the SGFX stuff. But it was a bit dark and I put it up against the DGVMT and the DG won out. But agree on the Motown feel.
The blueberry and Saturn I will have to investigate as well.
Ever play the Scorpion. Could only find one clip. Sounds great and the depth knob really can change the texture and fatten it up or clean it up.
Thanks again!

 

[Sugarbear08]

I have seen the Scorpion mentioned a bunch here on TB. The Griz is on my short list as well. Is the scorpion transparent or does it add color. There’s not many sound samples I can find of the Scorpion.
The short list looks like it’s forming.
Scorpion
Blueberry type OD
Pork and pickle
Barbershop.

The scorpion covers a lot of ground. It can be whatever you want... transparent or colored. If you haven't done so already, check out the very persuasive product description on the Broughton audio website.

 

[JimboP]

After trying many, my current go-to is a Fuzzrocious Demon for low-medium grind with my Stingray 4H. It's an OCD based circuit with different custom mods you can add on. Mine has a clean blend, a second drive on a separate footswitch and a toggle switch to activate a more aggressive gated boost on the second footswitch. I play with a pick and it gives me exactly that natural grindy break up I'm after, and the second footswitch comes in very handy.

 

[dave64o]

Thank you for taking the time to write this out. Very informative.
I see some of these coming my way as fall into the rabbit whole. But couldn’t be more fun! thanks again.
I’ve played the pork and pickle. I liked it. Might have to try it again. I’ve also owned the Beta. I like the SGFX stuff. But it was a bit dark and I put it up against the DGVMT and the DG won out. But agree on the Motown feel.
The blueberry and Saturn I will have to investigate as well.
Ever play the Scorpion. Could only find one clip. Sounds great and the depth knob really can change the texture and fatten it up or clean it up.
Thanks again!

I never tried the Scorpion but have seen the same video you referred to. Don’t know if you listened to the SoundCloud samples linked on the Scorpion web page, but they have some nice tones, although I don’t need anything like the Distortion sample. That’s higher gain than I need. I especially liked the Grindy Bass sample, and the Half Depth and Full Depth samples sounded similar to a Blueberry with the Nature control (basically a tilt EQ) set well below noon so more bass goes into the drive circuit,

But, IIRC, the tone controls are basically a Fender tone stack, which I’ve always found kind of confusing. I get the concept, but my experience with it is that I forget it’s not a more straightforward boost and cut for each tone knob and I end up screwing up my tone. I’ll have to see if my memory is correct and, if wrong, I’d be might be tempted to try one.

 

[Grooveline]

So many different kinds of od/saturation sound. It really is a personal preference type of thing. Plenty of good suggestions so far. I myself like the od sounds I get from a v4b or gk400rb. If i didn't have them i'd probably own the Origin Effects Bass Rig Super Vintage for the Ampeg overdrive sound or the Master Effects Super 800 for the GK drive sound.

Drive pedals that I do have and enjoy are the Damnation Audio GMP for light drive, Dunwich volt thrower for a ratt type distortion and the COG Effects Grand Tarkin for light to heavy fuzz. I usually run the pedals through a Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 (my clean amp). So five different types of saturation sounds for me between the amps and pedals. I don't really ever stack drives because I prefer a very light saturation/edge of break up sound most of the time.

Favorite out of all this bunch for me though is actually my Stingray Classic through the GK400rb. There's just something about the pairing of a Stingray and older GK rb series amps. I find the combination of the double mid knobs on the amp and the bass and treble knobs on the bass give me a lot of control over the sound.

 

[Gluvhand]

I like the Bad Monkey with my Rays.

 

[mouthmw]

Love MBD2 with my Stingray. Russian muffs are my favorite for fuzz tones. Jive is excellent as a dirty boost, and running it into MDB2 makes a great raunchier drive. Phat Phuk B was also a great boost with it. I liked VMT but it softened my high end and attack too much. Barbershop was neat for transparent light drive too.

 

[PhinDog]

As a follow up, I just got a TC Spark to try. So far it seems ok. Definitely transparent and adds a bit of grit but seems a little cheaply made. Anyone have any experience with this one? I know it’s inexpensive, but it seems like the button is poorly made. Might be just the one I got. ?