Pedal or pickups?

[westy1970]

I started this over in the pickup section but I have a MIM Fender Deluxe Active 4 string and I am playing in a Blues / Southern Rock band. My bass, compared to higher priced basses I have played, seems a little weak in the sound department and I played with the idea of changing pickups when I saw this:
http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Boss-ODB3-Bass-OverDrive-Pedal?sku=151396

I know on the guitar side an overdrive pedal can wake things up pretty fast. What are thoughts on overdrive?

 

[Mark Olson]

First of all, it'd help if you'd tell us what pickup configuration your bass has, is it a P, J, P/J, what? And what basses did you play that made yours seem lacking?

I can tell you right now, no matter how many people dogpile on suggesting all kinds of junky overdrive pedals, trying to "fix" your sound with a pedal is just putting a band aid on the situation. The sound starts (with your fingers, your strings, then) your pickups so if you're not happy with your sound overall that's the first thing to try after new strings.

I love pedals but I'd advocate not bothering with them until you get 1) a sound from your bass that you're happy with 2) a sound from your amp that you're happy with. Because without 1 and 2, you're not going to be permanently happy with the sound of any pedal. Trust me. I've wasted a lot of money figuring that out.

 

[walker rosewood]

^^ good advice.

 

[bongomania]

In addition to "what bass", we have to ask "what amp", and what size/kind of gigs are you playing. More often than not, when someone comes around with this sort of question, it turns out they're playing through a 1x10 combo amp. Sometimes it's more reasonable, like a 300W 2x10 combo, but then they're up against a guitarist who's playing with similar wattage through a 2x12. Those are the things that have to be looked at first, before any pickups or pedals or other gadget-type "fixes".

And as above, that's coming from somebody who loves pedals.

 

[westy1970]

Bass is a Fender Deluxe Jazz Bass made in Mexico stock set up with Fodera strings (string change did not make a difference) played through an ampeg B2RE head and Aguilar DS410 cab. I have played a USA Fender Jazz with EMG active pickups and the same strings, through the same amp and it was much "louder" and punchier. Since my bass already has active pickups I was in a quandary as to the difficulty of changing them at a considerable expense and difficulty or just adding a pedal to increase "volume" and "punch".

 

[westy1970]

Nevermind. I listened to some clips of overdrive pedals and it's not the sound I need. I guess back over to the pickup section. Or the new bass section.