OD that doesn't rob bottom end

[Feral Feline]

Definitely seems faulty, the way the rotation and volume jump is described.

 

[vlsndgrdn]

I take one of these Maxons from eBay
Really nice.

 

[Kestrel]

I use the EHX Nano Battalion as a bass overdrive. The blend knob is very useful and there is zero loss of bottom end. Fantastic pedal, IMO.

 

[Agosix]

Damnation Audio MBD 1or 2

 

[arepa_funk]

Anyone had experience comparing the Digitech Hardwire CM-2 and EHX Crayon? Heard good things about both budget-friendly gems. From what I read, the Hardwire is a TS circuit, and the Crayon is a modified Xotic BB Preamp circuit.

I don't care much for mid boosts, and touch-responsive full, bottom-keeping breakup is what I'm after. Already have great ODs, and always looking to try more, especially at budget prices. Thanks!

 

[Lenny JG]

Split the signal

 

[Kipp Harrington]

After much more research, I am VERY intrigued with the...
Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Bass Big Muff Pi Bass Fuzz Pedal
Initially, I was only interested in achieving a mild to moderate overdrive tone. However, I have always been intrigued with the classic "fuzz" tone but thought that type of pedal is pretty much a one-trick pony.

Enter the E-H Deluxe Bass Big Muff Pi!

Lots of tone tweaking options, including a foot-switchable HPF and LPF filter, noise gate and blend control. It is supposed to be able to produce mild-moderate overdriven tones, on up to classic fuzz tones. This pedal is just too tempting and it's relatively wallet-friendly at $127. I have to check this pedal out! Maybe a trip to Sweetwater is in order this weekend. Or, if GC has it in stock... that's about an hour closer to me.

Anyone own this pedal that can offer some insight as to its versatility and tone? I would be running it in front of a relatively "clean" amp (Subway D-800). Thanks!

 

[cheapbasslovin]

i'm surprised no one's said Catalinbread SFT

I was never that keen on an SFT until I stumbled on a 5F6 at GC. That's pretty amazing and makes me more than a little curious about their other AIAB fare.

 

[vlsndgrdn]

Take a Maxon BD-02 from Ebay, i'm really happy with it.

Its a tube screamer but no clean mix. the tone control boost or flat the mids with a lot of the drive colour variation and the depht its a classic LPF tone control.

 

[dfloresjr]

Fairfield Barbershop

Or the Fairfield Modele B, which is a compact always on version of the Barbershop. I use it exactly as the OP wishes: to aid some tube amp-like dirt to a Mesa Subway D800. I also use an EBS Billy Sheehan OD which has a blend knob that is essential to keeping low end.

 

[tech21nyc]

I never understood what "unity gain" is. I've read about it but I do not understand it. ...

The sweep on the level knob is not smooth. I can slowly turn it (in either direction) and nothing will even change and then all of a sudden, BOOM! It drastically increases (or decreases) the output level. Stupid! Something may be wrong with the pedal. I am definitely not diggin' it!

If the VT Bass Deluxe is set properly for unity gain there should be no output level issues as far as the pedal is concerned. See below regarding the Mesa's Limit LED.

The reason you are having difficulty setting the VT Bass Deluxe is that you may not be aware of the "lazy pot" feature on the pedal. From the VT Bass Deluxe manual:

LAZY POT™ Another Tech 21 first, this is a unique safety feature engineered for the Drive and Level controls. When you "unlock" the EQ settings, for instance, they will "jump" to the new setting of the knob position. For the Drive and Level controls, however, this could result in you jumping out of your skin if they're at a high setting. With the Lazy Pot, there's a gradual increase to the new setting position, giving you time to turn it down. This will only happen when you initially unlock a preset. Once unlocked, the pot will react according to how you reposition it.

This is from the Mesa's manual regarding the Limit LED:

This amber LED indicates that the power amp is nearing maximum power and is entering the soft clip/limit output tube emulation mode. Soft clip/limit output tube emulation mode mimics many of the desirable characteristics of tube amp output stage overdrive while eliminating the common solid state clipping artifacts. There is approximately 6dB of range on this circuit, driving beyond this, of course, will cause gradual output stage clipping. It's acceptable for this amplifier to operate in output stage overdrive mode (if that's the tone you are after) with the LED flashing roughly 25% of the time on.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

If the VT Bass Deluxe is set properly for unity gain there should be no output level issues as far as the pedal is concerned. See below regarding the Mesa's Limit LED.

The reason you are having difficulty setting the VT Bass Deluxe is that you may not be aware of the "lazy pot" feature on the pedal. From the VT Bass Deluxe manual:




This is from the Mesa's manual regarding the Limit LED:

Thanks. Yeah, I'm aware of the lazy pot feature. I've read through the manual several times. I just don't get it. It just doesn't seem to be working correctly. I'm pretty much done with it.

 

[tech21nyc]

Thanks. Yeah, I'm aware of the lazy pot feature. I've read through the manual several times. I just don't get it. It just doesn't seem to be working correctly. I'm pretty much done with it.

Are you using the pedal live or is this at home or in rehearsal? With most programmable preamps, it's best to set them at your own pace at home and not at a gig.

The Lazy Pot is to avoid a sudden volume change. When you change to a preset the physical controls on the pedal do not represent the preset.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Are you using the pedal live or is this at home or in rehearsal? With most programmable preamps, it's best to set them at your own pace at home and not at a gig.

The Lazy Pot is to avoid a sudden volume change. When you change to a preset the physical controls on the pedal do not represent the preset.

I use it at both rehearsal and live. We're a loud band, so the rehearsals are every bit as loud as our venue volume.

I've tried setting it several times and I think it's just too much (power) going into the front end of my amp. Tired of dealing with it.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

I have a Fulltone OCD (either a V2 or V3). I will try that out (if I can find it)... LoL. I remember reading that people spoke of losing bottom end with it, though. Can anyone comment on this? Thanks!

 

[4Mal]

A bit of Ampeg'sh grind, without hammering the input of the Mesa. What i do is Line 6 Hx Stomp into a Mesa D-800+ I adjust the gain on thr HX and on the Mesa as appropriate and honestly I don't care if the clip light lights... long as it sounds good...

My goals are slightly different. I'm sorta more wooly B15'ish right on the edge. However I want more clear highs...

What I do with the HX is on Path A I put a LA Studio compressor block followed by a Crossover Split. When you insert a split, you get Path B and everything below the crossover split is routed to Path B. Everything above remains on Path A. I'm using 160 hz as my cross over point.

I put a distortion block on the Path B and dial up just a bit of grind to simulate the sort of breakup you might have when punch a 15 and a small tube amp just a smidge too hard. How much OD is completely a matter of taste. I didn't feel it necessary in my case however you could include an EQ block to bump the lows as well...

On my Path A I put a modulation block and frequencies, fundamentals and overtones get that so I can get a nice clean deep chorus on top of a slightly wooly low end and retain all the punch. On your Path A, you could put another distortion block and essentially have a different distortion for each of the bands.

If you want to take it over the top... You can get Helix IR's for an SVT and a variety of cabs and pipe that through the mesa dialing it to as flat as you can get... I'm using their stock Mesa 400+ model some. Overall as I like my D-800+ and MAS rig I'm not finding that really necessary. YMMV

 

[Kipp Harrington]

A bit of Ampeg'sh grind, without hammering the input of the Mesa. What i do is Line 6 Hx Stomp into a Mesa D-800+ I adjust the gain on thr HX and on the Mesa as appropriate and honestly I don't care if the clip light lights... long as it sounds good...

My goals are slightly different. I'm sorta more wooly B15'ish right on the edge. However I want more clear highs...

What I do with the HX is on Path A I put a LA Studio compressor block followed by a Crossover Split. When you insert a split, you get Path B and everything below the crossover split is routed to Path B. Everything above remains on Path A. I'm using 160 hz as my cross over point.

I put a distortion block on the Path B and dial up just a bit of grind to simulate the sort of breakup you might have when punch a 15 and a small tube amp just a smidge too hard. How much OD is completely a matter of taste. I didn't feel it necessary in my case however you could include an EQ block to bump the lows as well...

On my Path A I put a modulation block and frequencies, fundamentals and overtones get that so I can get a nice clean deep chorus on top of a slightly wooly low end and retain all the punch. On your Path A, you could put another distortion block and essentially have a different distortion for each of the bands.

If you want to take it over the top... You can get Helix IR's for an SVT and a variety of cabs and pipe that through the mesa dialing it to as flat as you can get... I'm using their stock Mesa 400+ model some. Overall as I like my D-800+ and MAS rig I'm not finding that really necessary. YMMV

Thanks for the input but I really just want something straightforward and more simplified. I've also been seriously considering the EH Soul Food

 

[4Mal]

@Kipp Harrington I thought that was probably the case. I thought to include this though as it is a relatively new way to approach it and so maybe other folks reading would this as a possibility.

I do get that my approach seems involved (and of course it's a 450 to 500 dollar box used ...) it took me about 5 minutes to set my patch up and get it tweaked and now it's on a button... The HX is a lot easier to work with than most folks would expect.

Good Luck in the hunt!

 

[vivaknoxvegas]

I'm currently liking Broughton SV-Pre > Fuzzrocious Li'l Fella > Tech21 VT Bass DI. Plenty of low end. Also the SV-Pre might be my favorite magic tone sweetener ever.

These three stack and build really well into each other. I've never liked splitting my signal ala the Boss LS-2. The output sounds unnatural to me, but others here love it. So, maybe try it for yourself.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

I'm currently liking Broughton SV-Pre > Fuzzrocious Li'l Fella > Tech21 VT Bass DI. Plenty of low end. Also the SV-Pre might be my favorite magic tone sweetener ever.

These three stack and build really well into each other. I've never liked splitting my signal ala the Boss LS-2. The output sounds unnatural to me, but others here love it. So, maybe try it for yourself.

Thanks for the reply. I have determined that the Tech 21 Bass Deluxe preamp is just too much hitting the front end of my amp. It's history. Going for an overdrive pedal instead. I have a Fulltone OCD and MXR custom badass '78 that I'm going to try. If there's a low end deficiency, I will engage the deep switch on my D-800. Hoping this will work for me.