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OD and Fuzz!

ElBarto

ElBarto

Nov 7, 2017
40
33
33
Italy
#1
Hi from Italy
I'm looking for my first distortion and fuzz pedals. I really like the Way Huge: Pork Loin and the Green Rhino (but i think it cut the low end); and the Swollen Pickle! it's a fantastic fuzz!
Pork and Pickle it's a really good solution but I prefer the swollen pickle for the fuzz... What do you recommend to me?
Pork Loin or Green Rhino?
Reference Bands:
Primus, Red Hot, Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Karnivool.
Stoner: Electric Wizard, Weedeater.
And a lot of Death Metal (I know Darkglass is the best for this, but for me it's too "modern" for the other genres).

PS. Sorry for my bad english...
 
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#2
Tritonlab jFet Bass overdrive is a great option.
For fuzz, the swollen pickle is a killer fuzz. Also the new EHX Sovtek Deluxe is awesome and if you add an expression pedal you can get crazy wah sounds with it.
 
#3
Fuzz wise id suggest the mxr bass fuzz deluxe, the green Russian muff reissue, the bass big muff dlx, and for drive, perhaps the caline orange burst, joyo orange juice, hardwire tube od, danelectro transparent drive v1 or v2

All of these can be found quite cheaply, and sit really well in a mix whilst holding low end well.
 
#4
Fun fact: the Swollen Pickle and Pork Loin were my first OD and fuzz combo :smug:

I really really like both, but there's no way to know if they will work for you. Low end retention is for sure not a problem with either. If you do get them, however, be prepared to spend A LOT of time adjusting knobs until you find your preferred settings. Those things have one million knobs, including internal trimpots (which are totally worth messing around with).

Two things I'd like to point out:

1. The Swollen Pickle is basically a muff clone, so it scoops the mids quite a lot, which makes it not stand out in the mix. Despite having a "scoop" control that allows to bring some mids back, it's always going to be on the scoopy side. It was not a problem for me, but it may be for you.

2. I find the OD side Pork Loin to be quite compressed, even at low gain. Also, it's not particularly touch-sensitive. Again, this was not a problem for me, but keep it in mind...
 
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#7
I know you said no Darkglass, but if one of your reference bands is Karnivool, the Darkglass Alpha Omega was developed in colaboration with Karnivool's bassist to get his tone. It is probably the most flexible of their pedals, does great low gain sounds, and definitely sounds less bright and modern than their other offerings.

As an alternative, check out the Damnation Audio MDB-1. It gets a lot of love around here and sounds incredible. Here is a link: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Good luck in your search!
 
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#12
Bassgeer said:
I know you said no Darkglass, but if one of your reference bands is Karnivool, the Darkglass Alpha Omega was developed in colaboration with Karnivool's bassist to get his tone. It is probably the most flexible of their pedals, does great low gain sounds, and definitely sounds less bright and modern than their other offerings.

As an alternative, check out the Damnation Audio MDB-1. It gets a lot of love around here and sounds incredible. Here is a link: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Good luck in your search!
Click to expand...

Another recommendation for the Darkglass Alpha Omega and the Damnation Audio MBD-1, I own both. The third one you should look at is the COG Effects Grand Tarkin, which I also own in the Rogue One format (two Grand Tarkin's in one pedal along with an octave channel).

I've tried most of the other pedals mentioned in this thread, for sheer versatility the three I own are by far the best of the bunch to my ears. If I had to keep just one of these three it would be a hard choice, they're all fantastic.

P.S. - I also own the Broughton Terraformer, Broughton Azure Drive, and the SS/BS Team Awesome Fuzz Machine (TAFM). The Broughton pedals are good for lighter OD (Terraformer being nicer to my ears than the Azure Drive), the TAFM is another great fuzz. Pedals I don't see myself ever parting with are still the AO, MBD-1 and Rogue One.
 
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#13
I’ll be another to recommend the mbd1. I don’t really think there’s a better drive out there right now (for me anyways). I’ve alwayd hated the Darkglass stuff and I will say the A/O is pretty gnarly. I have the omicron version and I’ve enjoyed it. However, I will say that the mbd1 cab do almost everything the omicron can do and it can do it with a thicker bottom end. Can’t recommend it enough.
 
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#14
Hi! I tried the Green Rhino and after one minute I dropped it, too soft and no character (for my taste, obviously). For fuzz I use a Green Russian Reissue and it's true that is scooped but I have no problems in the mix, until now. Despite the only three knobs is very versatile, they interact beautifully togheter, it's a beast. Low ends even with tone all open. For 89 euro it's a deal and easy to find
I'm also interested in the Swollen Pickle but it seems redundant if I already have the Russian.
If I can give you an advice be aware of darkglass, I tried a couple and they are great, but they chabge drastically between active and passive basses.
Here's a link of a very good shop in Germany with low ships costs and very good service, I already bought a TAFM and you can find a lot of fuzzes and OD that in Italy you cannot (I'm from Italy, too...)

Effekt-Boutique.de | Gitarreneffekte, Noiseboxes, Effektgeräte deluxe
 
#15
I haven't tried the pedals you mentioned OP, so forgive me for simply suggesting my favorites.

For fuzz I have to recommend my favorite pedal ever, the Malekko Diabolik. This is the most awesome, lovable fuzz, with so much personality and mischief to the sound. Yes I have mine in its own separate loop just to control the famous insane volume boost. If there was ever a sound worth accommodating in such a way, it is that of the Diabolik. Plus it only adds to the charm - it must be contained behind an astral gate lest it kill us all. The Diabolik does not care about your unity gain. It would destroy all life if it could.

For overdrive I love the TC Spark, the full size version. I could go on all day about this pedal and the many different things it does incredibly well. But to keep it brief, it's a low gain overdrive like the Pork Loin. Even lower gain I think. Supremely natural and tube like in its character and feel, with no loss of any particular frequency range. I can't think of a better candidate for an always on, subtle grit, best friend in all weathers pedal.
 
#16
fuzzspiral said:
Hi! I tried the Green Rhino and after one minute I dropped it, too soft and no character (for my taste, obviously). For fuzz I use a Green Russian Reissue and it's true that is scooped but I have no problems in the mix, until now. Despite the only three knobs is very versatile, they interact beautifully togheter, it's a beast. Low ends even with tone all open. For 89 euro it's a deal and easy to find
I'm also interested in the Swollen Pickle but it seems redundant if I already have the Russian.
If I can give you an advice be aware of darkglass, I tried a couple and they are great, but they chabge drastically between active and passive basses.
Here's a link of a very good shop in Germany with low ships costs and very good service, I already bought a TAFM and you can find a lot of fuzzes and OD that in Italy you cannot (I'm from Italy, too...)

Effekt-Boutique.de | Gitarreneffekte, Noiseboxes, Effektgeräte deluxe
Click to expand...
I find that prymaxe usually gets me better deals than Effekt-Boutique( I too am in Europe).
If you want to buy in Germany, maybe have a look at Music Store Online-Shop für Musikinstrumente in Köln, Deutschland. as well. They are catching up , in terms of pedals, but again, I find Prymaxe wins here too.(Link Removed)
 
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