Overdrive/Distortion/Muff/Fuzz

[mpdd]

i used a skyline p into a fuzzrocious rat tail with the clean blend and feedback loop into a ss gk head for the 90s nirvana and jesus and mary chain thing, while a more subtle option is the fuzzrocious dark driving which is based off the old school blueberry

 

[mmbongo]

I found the b3k to have rather unnatural sounding mids...hence altering the tone quite a bit.(maybe it was the settings, but that's what I got from it)
Very useful for some, not so much for others.

Yeah I use my B3K to make my Carvin sound closer to my Roscoe. My Roscoe has huge, clear mids and my Carvin (which is a 4 string..my Roscoe is my 5 string) has a flatter, more even response but I've got the B3K set up to give it the mid boost and clarity that it needs to get in the same sonic territory as my Roscoe. I love that dang B3K, it definitely alters the tone. That being said, I've got a Vintage Deluxe on the way to see how it performs that job. Figure the extra EQ might be a good thing.

 

[friendlybass]

The ehx bass big muff deluxe does a lit of those sounds and you can blend a lot or a little in. Its also got some filter stuff happening to focus the fuzz.
Check out the ehx English muffin, its what I use. Very touch sensitive i can go from a little bit of dirt to snarling overdrive with just my plucking/picking.
The new bass soul food also will do as you ask, check it out

 

[KevInDaBassment]

The ehx bass big muff deluxe does a lit of those sounds and you can blend a lot or a little in. Its also got some filter stuff happening to focus the fuzz.
Check out the ehx English muffin, its what I use. Very touch sensitive i can go from a little bit of dirt to snarling overdrive with just my plucking/picking.
The new bass soul food also will do as you ask, check it out

I second this. I own one and it is the only muff fuzz that I like to use because of the blending options. People dog on the crossover function a lot, but if you spend a little time tweaking it you can get some massively aggressive sounds or subtle fuzz as well. The clean blend knob is fantastic and the pad also helps it work with hotter basses as well. I'm in a grunge rock band now, it's a great pedal to have in your board.

 

[bassmusic17]

The EHX Deluxe Big Muff PI sounds like no thank you IMO. I had one for a while. It's a pretty not good muff pedal and wouldn't be the tones the OP was looking for IMO. The crossover is lame. The Gate is cool but whoopty doo.

I still think a Rat would suit you best even though you said you didn't want much tone coloration or check out Dr. Scientist the Elements. I think you are gonna want more gain than you think. I could be wrong.

Or just get a Mesa or an Ampeg tube amp and crank the shag out of it!

 

[socialleper]

Hello effects people,
I'm not accustomed to effect pedals, so that's why the title is obscure.
I play in a band covering grunge and punk. My gear is Precision on a Hartke Kickback 15 (which is subject to change on stage).
I need an effect (I'm not sure if it's overdrive or distortion etc) like Krist Novoselic sounds in Breed, and if it's possible with one pedal, Muse bassist Chris Wolstenholme.
I know this is not a new question, I read lots of forum posts here about lots of pedals (RAT, BOSS ODB3, Big Muff etc), all having positive and negative feedbacks. But my need is simple and I'm not looking something too fancy, it's not needed to be the exact same effect Krist or Chris uses, all I need is a little dirt, without totally erasing my original lovely bass tone.
PS: If you have time and if you care, you can try to explain the differences of the effects named above

Thanks in advance

The difference between Overdrive, distortion and Fuzz have to do with levels of saturation.

Overdrive: The name comes from literally overdriving tubes in an amp until the signal starts to break up. OD tends to keep some level of definition in the strings and focuses more on the mids. OD is also commonly referred to as "dirt" as it musses up your tone without altering it completely. The OD pedal I use, the Way Huge Pork Loin, is a light weight effect that adds some thunder to the lows and rounds off the highs just a little.

Distortion: This is high gain overdrive that tends to consume the tone of the instrument and might have a little more sizzle than regular overdrive. Full on distortion is more common on guitars because the loss of articulation makes bass muddy and might suffer from what is called bass or tone suck, meaning that the deep lows are rolled off. I have used Boss distortion pedals in the past to meld my bass in to the guitar tone, but stopped once I learned more about bass tone.

Fuzz: This is a thicker saturation that I don't think you can usually get out of an amp without some serious EQ. Because there is a lot of focus on the lows, bass players tend to gravitate to fuzz pedals rather than distortion pedals. The variety in tonal signatures of fuzz pedals is vast. I believe that both Krist and Chris use fuzz pedals. I owned a Black Russian Muff to try it out but could never find a proper use for it. Personally I think it wrecks your articulation and breaks up your lows, making you sink into the mix. When played by themselves they are fun.

Unfortunately there isn't a Swiss Army, one-size-fits all, approach to these. You have to do a lot of homework and testing to find what will work for you. The upside is that pedals are easy to buy used and resell if they don't work out for you.

 

[static0verdrive]

To me, you definitely want a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. You can blend your clean back in, and it sounds so great. Another GREAT pick is my favourite, the Link Removed. The real tube sounds phenomenal for adding a little dirt.

 

[friendlybass]

Just came to mind, the new mxr bass distortion look badass definitely worth checking out

 

[giglawyer]

We can all offer you written opinions of how to get there, and they might all be as valuable as flatulence in the wind. I would spend some time listening to sound samples here - Overdrive-Pedals and here - BassFuzz.com . If you can't find the tone you are looking for on these pages, it does not exist, or cannot be had with one pedal.

 

[gregmon79]

IMO, you want a good, simple, and effective fuzz. EHX Black Russian muff. For OD, tons of choices. The Joyo ulitmate drive is a good start. So is the EHX glove. To me, all these are great starting pedals and they are inexpensive.

 

[JohnnyWishbone]

I believe that both Krist and Chris use fuzz pedals.

Only ever seen Kurt using a Boss DS-1 (of all things!)

 

[bassmusic17]

I don't think Krist ever used a fuzz pedal. At least live anyway. It was always a rat. I guess there was a few times he used Kurts old ds-1 but not for very long before he went back to the Rat.

Chris on the other hand uses a lot of pedals and a lot of fuzz.

 

[cnltb]

Yeah I use my B3K to make my Carvin sound closer to my Roscoe. My Roscoe has huge, clear mids and my Carvin (which is a 4 string..my Roscoe is my 5 string) has a flatter, more even response but I've got the B3K set up to give it the mid boost and clarity that it needs to get in the same sonic territory as my Roscoe. I love that dang B3K, it definitely alters the tone. That being said, I've got a Vintage Deluxe on the way to see how it performs that job. Figure the extra EQ might be a good thing.

It'll sure give you more/other colours.
Not a bad thing. And if you're into Darkglass pedals, a good way to go I think!

 

[waveman]

A Source Audio OFD would be a good choice too. and you could have a couple of different sounds on hand as well. I personally use a Zoom MS-60B (Bass BB) or my Source Audio Multiwave distortion Pro. I can get anything from light OD to heavy fuzz with either.

 

[socialleper]

I don't think Krist ever used a fuzz pedal. At least live anyway. It was always a rat. I guess there was a few times he used Kurts old ds-1 but not for very long before he went back to the Rat.

Chris on the other hand uses a lot of pedals and a lot of fuzz.

The lows on Breed sounded like a fuzz to me.

 

[gregmon79]

A Source Audio OFD would be a good choice too. and you could have a couple of different sounds on hand as well. I personally use a Zoom MS-60B (Bass BB) or my Source Audio Multiwave distortion Pro. I can get anything from light OD to heavy fuzz with either.

Oh yeah, this would be a great choice for the OP IMO. Its not the BEST dirt pedal around, but for what it is and what the OP needs it for, its pretty damn good. This way, you can dial in two presets of two different dirts and be good to go. Great 3 badn EQ, blend and gate as well. Great suggestion.

 

[spaz21387]

The black out musket is probably the best muff out there. But Krist used a rat go find a used rat 2 for like 50$

 

[Fingerpickingood]

+1 on the Joyo Ultimate Drive. I got one at the suggestion of a few folks on here, and I like it WAY better than the Double Muff pedal I was using before. The Joyo gives you a VERY broad array of overdriven sounds. I believe I paid $28 for it on eBay.

 

[socialleper]

A Source Audio OFD would be a good choice too. and you could have a couple of different sounds on hand as well. I personally use a Zoom MS-60B (Bass BB) or my Source Audio Multiwave distortion Pro. I can get anything from light OD to heavy fuzz with either.

That does seem like a pretty neat pedal if you want to toy around with different sounds on one pedal. $170 isn't pocket change, but I know people drop $300 on fuzz pedals all the time.

EDIT: I just went to listen to the demos. I don't hear a lot of OD in this pedal. 80% of its effects sound a lot like fuzz to me.

 

[Moosehead1966]

The EHX Deluxe Big Muff PI sounds like no thank you IMO. I had one for a while. It's a pretty not good muff pedal and wouldn't be the tones the OP was looking for IMO. The crossover is lame. The Gate is cool but whoopty doo.

Hey, good enough for Tony Levin.. Good enough for me!



Marc