Gotta go with the Tech 21 DP-3X, the dUg Pinnick signature pedal: crossover/multi-band distortion with dirty highs, clean/compressed lows.
I love crossover distortion because it simulates the dual-amp-rig system pioneered by John Entwistle and adopted by Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, Billy Sheehan, dUg, and many others. With Entwistle and Squire, it was a guitar amp run dirty for mids and highs, along with a bass amp run (mostly) clean for lows. End result is lots of aggressive clang on the higher frequencies, but without any fuzzy/farty lows and low mids. Definitely not for everyone!
I've owned other crossover dirt pedals, but the DP-3X is easily my favorite because of the compression on the low band which results in a bigger, more cohesive sound. The high band is already compressed because of the distortion; the low band compression keeps the lows from being too bouncy in comparison.
Those of us who love the pedal know that we can roll back the passive tone control on our basses: this tames the high-end clang making it more appropriate for non-metal tunes, but keeps a lot of warmth and harmonic richness in the mids. That said, while the DP-3X is not a one-trick pony, it does have a strong flavor: because of the fixed filter points, the DP-3X is mid scooped. That works GREAT for me because I prefer mid-forward basses (P-style, MM-style), but I can also get it to work with my dual-pickup basses.
The Darkglass X series is somewhat similar to the DP-3X but with the additional versatility of variable crossover (filter) points which makes it less relevant to this thread. But I also love the relative simplicity of the DP-3X -- sometimes I go OCD setting the filters on the X7!
I love crossover distortion because it simulates the dual-amp-rig system pioneered by John Entwistle and adopted by Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, Billy Sheehan, dUg, and many others. With Entwistle and Squire, it was a guitar amp run dirty for mids and highs, along with a bass amp run (mostly) clean for lows. End result is lots of aggressive clang on the higher frequencies, but without any fuzzy/farty lows and low mids. Definitely not for everyone!
I've owned other crossover dirt pedals, but the DP-3X is easily my favorite because of the compression on the low band which results in a bigger, more cohesive sound. The high band is already compressed because of the distortion; the low band compression keeps the lows from being too bouncy in comparison.
Those of us who love the pedal know that we can roll back the passive tone control on our basses: this tames the high-end clang making it more appropriate for non-metal tunes, but keeps a lot of warmth and harmonic richness in the mids. That said, while the DP-3X is not a one-trick pony, it does have a strong flavor: because of the fixed filter points, the DP-3X is mid scooped. That works GREAT for me because I prefer mid-forward basses (P-style, MM-style), but I can also get it to work with my dual-pickup basses.
The Darkglass X series is somewhat similar to the DP-3X but with the additional versatility of variable crossover (filter) points which makes it less relevant to this thread. But I also love the relative simplicity of the DP-3X -- sometimes I go OCD setting the filters on the X7!
