I'm pretty happy where I'm at:
Tuner, octave, drive, filter, preamp 1, preamp 2, comp, chorus.
Tuner, octave, drive, filter, preamp 1, preamp 2, comp, chorus.
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I see a "peak pedal" as something a bit different...
Much like you, when I comes to dirt (for bass or guitar) I am bored with it entirely - fuzz, distortion, over drive - there is sooo much of it out there and I really don't care to "chase" an ideal tone. That got tiring for me really quick and sooner than later it all just started sounding the same. Disclaimer here: I completely and totally LOVE listening to another musician blast out their dirt tone, and I can hear all of the neuances of each distortion / fuzz / OD design. I just am so bored trying to use the excuse of "I'm bored with this box" as a means to justify purchasing another. I even started modding and building to try to chase that perfect breakup sound, and I learned a lot about how these thugs work and quickly realized that there are a few key ingredients to getting a sound you want out of just about any pedal. It's the same way they are engineered - EQ & volume & impedance at the input / what the clipping structure is / what the output EQ & volume are + any special tricks like feedback loops or parallel stages. I modded a RAT that demonstrates much of how this all fits together, combined with a passive / active bass and a post EQ many of the possible tones are available. What I discovered is that I just want something that is expressive and simple to dial in. After the 5 knob, 90+ clipping option RAT pedal, I just decided a one knob Fifth Gear is perfect, cascading into a pre on the edge of breakup. There are lots of dirt pedals I love, but I'm going to stick to listening to them.
Now that's dirt, and much like you, OP, I use it to play in the box, or to spice other effects up. Having 8 dirt boxes made me bored.
When it comes to other effects I would call a "peak pedal" the one that I cannot beat for some specific reason, usually based on personal preference. The Moog Low Pass filter (AND Iron Ether Xerograph Deluxe) is one of these to me. It's just a filter pedal. LOL, it's soooooo much more when combined in between that first dirt and last pre. Musical expression at its best. Inspiration & creativity are now a flowing stream of possibility. The only bounds now are the ones I place on my expectations of the box I'm trying to fit in. But when I open the box just a little, it sticks.
The Iron Ether Subterranea, another one, however I'm not opposed to trying other similar sounds. The Moog 104Z delay is something that I doubt anything will ever replace, or fully mimic, but the TimeLine tries (hoping the Echo System makes its way to me soon). EHX HOG, I wish it was a HOG2 because MIDI, but whatever, it's an amazing box full of potential.
I guess my message to you is twofold:
1) if you are bored in your pocket, and want a pedal to spice it up, start trying things that are out of your comfort zone - like a filter or a digital octave box.
2) Pedal combinations are key - for me it has never been about having a Fulltone OCD. It has been about having a specific guitar / bass into the OCD into a ParaEQ, into a Tube amp. Or, a RAT into an OCD into a filter into an amp. Or the Fifth Gear into the EHX HOG into a filter, synth and delay / reverb. When you get bored, you need to start combining, finding the sweet spots that make two pedals just scream as loud or as soft as you hear it fitting into your box.
Start breaking down those ideals and put yourself at risk of discovering something new and unique that may make that old song new again to both you and your listeners.
Much like you, when I comes to dirt (for bass or guitar) I am bored with it entirely - fuzz, distortion, over drive - there is sooo much of it out there and I really don't care to "chase" an ideal tone. That got tiring for me really quick and sooner than later it all just started sounding the same. Disclaimer here: I completely and totally LOVE listening to another musician blast out their dirt tone, and I can hear all of the neuances of each distortion / fuzz / OD design. I just am so bored trying to use the excuse of "I'm bored with this box" as a means to justify purchasing another. I even started modding and building to try to chase that perfect breakup sound, and I learned a lot about how these thugs work and quickly realized that there are a few key ingredients to getting a sound you want out of just about any pedal. It's the same way they are engineered - EQ & volume & impedance at the input / what the clipping structure is / what the output EQ & volume are + any special tricks like feedback loops or parallel stages. I modded a RAT that demonstrates much of how this all fits together, combined with a passive / active bass and a post EQ many of the possible tones are available. What I discovered is that I just want something that is expressive and simple to dial in. After the 5 knob, 90+ clipping option RAT pedal, I just decided a one knob Fifth Gear is perfect, cascading into a pre on the edge of breakup. There are lots of dirt pedals I love, but I'm going to stick to listening to them.
Now that's dirt, and much like you, OP, I use it to play in the box, or to spice other effects up. Having 8 dirt boxes made me bored.
When it comes to other effects I would call a "peak pedal" the one that I cannot beat for some specific reason, usually based on personal preference. The Moog Low Pass filter (AND Iron Ether Xerograph Deluxe) is one of these to me. It's just a filter pedal. LOL, it's soooooo much more when combined in between that first dirt and last pre. Musical expression at its best. Inspiration & creativity are now a flowing stream of possibility. The only bounds now are the ones I place on my expectations of the box I'm trying to fit in. But when I open the box just a little, it sticks.
The Iron Ether Subterranea, another one, however I'm not opposed to trying other similar sounds. The Moog 104Z delay is something that I doubt anything will ever replace, or fully mimic, but the TimeLine tries (hoping the Echo System makes its way to me soon). EHX HOG, I wish it was a HOG2 because MIDI, but whatever, it's an amazing box full of potential.
I guess my message to you is twofold:
1) if you are bored in your pocket, and want a pedal to spice it up, start trying things that are out of your comfort zone - like a filter or a digital octave box.
2) Pedal combinations are key - for me it has never been about having a Fulltone OCD. It has been about having a specific guitar / bass into the OCD into a ParaEQ, into a Tube amp. Or, a RAT into an OCD into a filter into an amp. Or the Fifth Gear into the EHX HOG into a filter, synth and delay / reverb. When you get bored, you need to start combining, finding the sweet spots that make two pedals just scream as loud or as soft as you hear it fitting into your box.
Start breaking down those ideals and put yourself at risk of discovering something new and unique that may make that old song new again to both you and your listeners.
You're using the wrong overdrives, then.
True. It's about the same as when someone says "compression kills dynamics": they either have the wrong compressor, or are using it wrong.
Well ... while I mostly agree I think it can also depend on the music and/or your bass and amp; some like it clean, or already have growl enough without adding an overdrive pedal.
(I spent the first few years striving for a squeeky clean sound, but taste and understanding of my sound in a mix has changed over time and after a deep dive down the rabbit hole I now have 20+ dirt pedals. Many songs still call for a mostly clean sound though).
No, I'm not. I have 30 years experience doing live sound and playing in bands. I've heard everything there is to hear. Overdrive on bass sounds terrible to me. You are welcome to your opinion of what it sounds like to you.
If you don't like OD, that's fine - I'm not arguing that. I take exception with your belief that all overdrive pedals kill fundamental. This is not a matter of opinion - your initial statement is simply empirically untrue. Some pedals do, some don't. It depends on model, application, and the user.
Agreed
Sure when listening through headphones you can tell there is a minute loss of fundamental for my low B string being overdriven but it's so miniscule it didn't stop it sounding bigger and better than non OD in a live situation with crowd and sound man complimenting me on my overdriven sound
