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Overdrive pedal that keeps the lowend

#41
I am going to disagree with you both some and agree some. I never found the B3K to increase lowend but it never lost any too (except maybe thin setting). When playing it at home it gave the impression of losing lowend because it emphasizes the high mids with it's voicing. When engaging it in a band mix, no lowend was lost but those high mids cut through the rest of the mix like a katana.
I really wasn't a fan of the B3K until I took it practice because I was under the impression that it cut lows because there is some sort of audio illusion going on with it. One thing to take into consideration is that we all have different basses and amps, etc. Pedals sound different through different rigs.
 
#44
I might chime in here with my opinion, which doesn't have anything to do with signal path etc, just my experience with the ODB3.

It's not a well loved pedal but I like mine. I have a standard version and a Monte Allums modded one.

As far as the standard pedal goes what I found was that the pedal with all EQ in 12 o'clock position actually created quite a mid scoop. Sounded OK by itself but in a band mix got lost. Boosting the low end didn't help. What I found helped was to cut the highs quite a bit to about 9 o'clock, cut the bass to about 11 o'clock and then on your amp/EQ pedal boost low mids to bring back the booty.

For me it is the mid scoop that is getting you lost/seemingly losing bottom end, but I may be wrong.

Lots of mucking around with EQ though but I do like my standard pedal. The mod takes away all these issues away though, replaces scooped mids, takes away the harsh spiky distortion and gives the gain greater scope.

My 2c worth!
 
#45
Xotic Bass BB and a ProCo Rat with a Ruetz mod. I didn't like the BB all that much because it's a tube screamer variant and I just find them to be a bit lackluster. The breakup is just really boring sounding to my ears.
Sure, the rat is a distortion pedal, however, the Ruetz mod brings it down into more of the overdrive territory.
 
#48
I use a Mad Professor Blueberry in a true bypass loop with a clean blend. I like dialing in some clean signal but I wouldn't say that brings all the lows back.

I fixed the problem by putting an Empress ParaEq at the end of my chain, that way I can dial in plenty more bottom end to make up for the lows lost due to any overdrive or other effect.
 
#54
erigod23 said:
So, what we've learned here is that no two pedal experiences are the same.
Click to expand...

Yup, they vary from pedal to pedal and amp to amp, especially when going from solid state to tube. We can all try to give an idea of how we felt that each peice of gear interacted with the rest of our gear, but that's really as far as any of us can take it.

Also, with any OD/Dist/Fuzz thread, there will be hundreds of different responses. Much like picking out a bass, everyone has their own different taste and resons for using it. There is never truly a "best" option in any of these categories, only a choice that we feel best suits our own standards and environments. Take these threads as what they are - suggestions for stuff to check out and never a "go and buy this now."

FWIW, I found that the B3K didn't like my mesa 400+, but did like my ampeg b15n a lot. It could be the greatest sounding pedal within every other rig, but it wouldn't fit with my main rig. Would I ever tell people not to buy it? No. I might tell them that it doesn't mesh with a 400+, but that would be as far as I would ever go. I also found that Dr. Scientist the Elements wasn't really for me either in that setup. It's a never ending journey for some of us.

NOW FIND ME ANOTHER PEDAL BUILDER TO TAKE MORE OF MY MONEY!

:bassist:
 
#56
I find the Digitech Bad Monkey is pretty good. I bought mine used, and it had the mid-reducing mod already installed. It has plenty of low end, more so than I need, and there's another cheap mod that can be done to give it more low end. I'm contemplating that since, although I don't really NEED more low end out of the pedal, I'm also pretty close to diming the low knob. I'd rather have more than I need, just in case I do have to turn that knob a bit more in the future.
 
#59
I have the Agro. For me it doesn't lose low end at all. Actually if you set mine up right it can add low end to my clean signal. I must admit that my standard tone isn't poarticularly bassy to begin with so everyones perception may be different in regards to their starting tone.
I love the Agro by the way for both low OD and thick distortion. I use it for the latter and use an EBS Multidrive for low OD (it's always on).
 

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