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overdrive

#23
Eric! said:
Pretty sure this gets asked at LEAST once a day in a new thread
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yeah i know but when this question pops up only 1 out of about 4 responses are useful at all most people just tell you what they have and swear its the best thing ever. so i have to read through all the responses then actually respond personally to people that i think have some serious and useful info.

and its working i have gotten some really good feedback and i am off work the rest of the day and tomorrow so i will be looking up reviews and vids most of the night.

the thing that gets me is when you get a response that you know whoever posted it didnt read anything you said and **** sure didnt read what other people have already posted about.
which i still appreciate everyones input no matter what and im thankful for this community we have here... but seriously i dont like Tech 21 **** stop suggesting it
 
#24
CaptainSir said:
Dredgetone Angler- really need to check this out i havnt really ever heard of it so could be intresting thanks

voodoo lab sparkle drive - i might check it out see if anyone does a mod on it i hear the stock ones muddy up the low range which is alright i use it more for higher stuff maybe intrested in looking into it thanks

Microtubes B3K « Darkglass Electronics i have heard of this pedal but really need to look into it thanks. i havnt heard any negative or positive reviews only people mentioning it

Barber LTD - one of those where i saw about one you tube video and wasnt really impressed but if you saying you like it then i guess its worth another look

NOC3 PureDrive - sounds awesome never heard of it i will be checking it out soon

sansamp - i am not a fan of tech 21 products at all i have had the sansamp bass driver di not a fan. a lot of people use the vt bass im not that impressed its probably just me. im not saying its not a good pedal im just saying its not for me.

mad proffessor blueberry more of a fuzz pedal im sure i could get the sound im looking for with it but would take a lot of tweeking and i already have all my heavier dirt sounds taken care of. thank
also thanks for all the input keep it coming anyone that has anything else to ad or anything else for me to check out. trust me i will be looking into all these pedals. i love to do research before i drop cash on anything

thanks
Captain
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I own a Darkglass B3k and absolutely love it. I can't comment on the other others however i've had some time with my b3k and am loving it. I wouldn't classify it as subtle or a light overdrive. Its gets pretty gritty and gets into heavy overdrive zone or even distortion area. Its a beast to be reckoned with. I currently run a polish love for my subtle overdrive tones, my gnomeratron vtf for heavy fuzz and my b3k for everything in between. All my other overdrives can't compete. I'll try and get a recording up in the future and post it on here.
 
#25
CaptainSir said:
yeah i know but when this question pops up only 1 out of about 4 responses are useful at all most people just tell you what they have and swear its the best thing ever. so i have to read through all the responses then actually respond personally to people that i think have some serious and useful info.

and its working i have gotten some really good feedback and i am off work the rest of the day and tomorrow so i will be looking up reviews and vids most of the night.

the thing that gets me is when you get a response that you know whoever posted it didnt read anything you said and **** sure didnt read what other people have already posted about.
which i still appreciate everyones input no matter what and im thankful for this community we have here... but seriously i dont like Tech 21 **** stop suggesting it
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Rusty Box.
 
#26
Hey CaptainSir, I'm on the same quest (like many I'm sure). Based on the things you've mentioned, I think you and I are after a very similar sound, so thanks for coaxing many great options and ideas out of the crew here. I'm not really a fuzz or distortion guy, just looking for that amp pushed past it's limits sound. I got it once out of a borrowed SVT I used live years ago, and never again since (even after trying another SVT and SVT-like pedals). I've tried with my Genz ShuttleMAX 12 tube channel, and while I like the sound, it's still not what I'm after. Perhaps I'm tormenting myself at this point...

So far, one of the Rusty Box samples I've heard online seems to come as close as I hear in my head to what I'm after. I nearly landed one here a week or two ago. Since I didn't (and it doesn't appear to be available yet new) I'm forced to still be looking ;). Some other things I've heard have come close, but they lose too much low end, especially on the low B (which I'm on often). I'd rather have something that blends well and/or doesn't even affect tones that low. Definitely going to check out the Darkglass, sounds promising.
 
#27
Overdrive, yeah. I was on a quest for overdrive for a bit, tried a few popular ones I thought would be good, finally decided I don't need or want an overdrive for my bass. So I tried some 'clean' boost pedals instead, found I didn't need or want a boost either, until I tried an EWS BMC which is a mid-sweepable boost/cut pedal. Most wont find it useful since it is ONLY a mid-sweep boost/cut, and you can get that from a ToneHammer and similar 'pre-amps'. I don't need a bass or treble control, so the BMC is on my board, and I'm super happy with it.

I mention all that as background to me parroting a suggestion about the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. It is the only overdrive/boost pedal I've tried that I actually liked. Though again, I realized after trying it and several others that what I wanted/needed was a mid-booster more than anything else. So I've given up on overdrives, at least for now. ;)

I do recommend trying out the PPB though. Matt at W&C is good about returns if you don't like it, and about answering any questions you have regarding its use. At the very least, you'll have a better idea about what you like and what you don't.

</plug> :)
 
#31
It seems I am very much in the minority here, but I use two types of overdrive, sometimes a Boss Bass Overdrive pedal, which I like the tone of personally...

Other times I just use tube overdrive from my amp.
 
#35
Laurent said:
Some of the suggestions listed in the thread are more in the realm of distortion than overdrive. I know the definition is.....fuzzy but I tend to think Tube Screamers are distortion pedals more than overdrive.

If you are looking for more than an overdrive, the Way Huge Green Rhino is terrific. It's my favorite in the Tubescreamer family. Other pedals I like in this genre are the Xotic BB Preamp (the orange one for guitar - not the black one for bass). Also the Digitech Badder Monkey. The difference between the 3 are very subtle. The rhino is fatter and more versatile tonally (that 12 db cut boost at 100 htz) is killer on bass; the BB is airy and kind of brassy, the Badder Monkey is a little dark but very organic sounding with a fizzy top. Again these are subtle differences.

To my ear the Hematoma is not dark it is just right and it's my favorite distortion/overdrive pedal. I love the independant build-in boost. The version I have has the blue knob not the puprple one. This might make a difference.

Good luck on quest!
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Just bought the Green Rhino myself, i like it especially cranked up, just wish it had the clean blend like the Pork Loin, which I have yet to try. I hated the Sans amp bass driver, the agro function on the Aquilar tone Hammer was horendous, been tempted by the VT Bass but never could pull the trigger after the Bass Driver.

The 100hz knob on the Green Rhino was made for Bass!
 
#36
I recently found MY perfect (for the moment, anyway) overdrive pedal - the Xotic Bass BB. adjustable down to zero discernible (to my ears) grit up to a nice bit of drive. Won't do World-War-3-in-a-box, but I can get my perfect amount of dirt out of it and if I want can use it to add just clean boost with variable amounts of lardaciousness or squeak.

This is all with passive basses, by the way.

Bass and treble controls, small (Boss/MXR size-ish) and runs off a normal power supply.
 
#37
You could go to a music store and play with a multi-effects modeler like the Line 6 M13. You might not want the whole thing, but it would give you a preview of many popular overdrives.

You don't get my idea without my plug:
I like the Colorsound overdrive, turned down so low you have to try hard to hear the grit. Just a 5-o'clock shadow on my tone.

go rock.
 
#39
The Rusty Box is the king of growl that I have tried, but not the most transparent if that matters to you. Others that I have liked that have been mentioned are the Barber LTD SR (never tried the normal LTD, as it is said that the SR is supposed to be more transparent- this is a great pedal if you just want your tone with a smooth layer of dirt on top), the Xotic Bass BB preamp (also pretty transparent- a little more edgy sounding drive than the LTD, has a great EQ). I also used an MI Audio Blue Boy Deluxe for years- it is in a similar tonal vein as a Tubescreamer, but with more low-end available and alot more versatility. Probably my favorite all-time Tubescreamer-esque overdrive (I only got rid of mine because it reverses the phase of the signal when on, which caused problems when I would layer loops of dirty over clean bass). If you really want growl, a Rat or Rat-derivative (like the Fuzzrocious Rat-Tail) is a great choice, though it it is usually considered more "distortion" than "overdrive" and possibly too over-the-top for what you are looking for- the Rusty Box can get into similar abrasive growly territory as a Rat IME.

I also used a Keeley TS for years when I played through tube rigs, but it lost too much bottom end for me through a solid-state rig.
 

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