I'll second the Saturn VI. With the caveat that it has a HP frequency around 50 Hz, so well controlled sub-bass IMO. The VT Bass is hard to beat though, and more flexible with EQ of course.
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recommend me an overdrive..
- Thread starter groooooove
- Start date
that's a really, really cool pedal. wish i had a better demo on bass... sounds very musical though.
DarkGlass Vintage Microtubes. Has a blend knob and has great sounding mid OD.
JeezyMcNuggles
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- Feb 23, 2018
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I totally get why people love pedals with a wide range of dirt level. That can make it a really useful pedal. However, I use only low to maybe mid gain OD, so I kind of like a low gain OD pedal that doesn't get THAT dirty so I have finer control within the range that I'll actually use.
Within the parameters you set, I own and can recommend:
- One Control Hooker's Green Bass Machine. I like the OD flavor, it doesn't get too dirty, and the Treble knob helps balance between a warmer and darker tone and a having a sharper grit and more articulation.
- EHX Bass Soul Food - This one has generally been despised by most TBers, but I've always liked mine. I suspect that some who hate it bought it because it's relatively inexpensive without knowing what it's designed for, then blamed it for not being a high enough gain pedal.
- Ampeg Scrambler - I think I'm in the minority but I find it similar to the Bass Soul Food, but with more gain range. FWIW, I strongly prefer its tone with gain below about 2:00 than above 2:00. I think it's too harsh beyond that point.
- Spaceman Saturn VI - This is a little beyond your $150 limit but I love this one. It's the only one of the pedals I mentioned that's on my board now and it's battling my [sfx] Micro Red Dragon as my favorite low gain OD. I use it as my always on tone with the boost at around 1:00, drive at about 10:00, and the tone set to taste, usually 11:00 to 1:00. Even with my Stingray and L-2500, the dirt level is fairly mild at those settings but it’s enough to add a pleasing warmth.
- [sfx] Micro Red Dragon - I'm only mentioning it here because I referenced it above. They've been discontinued for quite a while and don't pop up for sale very often. I got mine for $95 but I was extremely lucky to get it for that price. The last one i saw was $250 and the seller eventually pulled the ad for it.
- Any Blueberry variant that you find under $150. There are many of them and they seem to have their own subtle tweaks to differentiate them. I have a One Control Blackberry, a Bearfoot FX Blueberry, and a One Control Queen Bee and that's in preference order. The Body (mids) control on the Blackberry is what makes that one my favorite version so far. I think the Body knob could help you get that mid range punch you said you were looking for, but listen to demos for this pedal to see what you think. IIRC, the center frequency for the Body might be a little low for you, around 250 Hz. Gonna be tough to find a Blueberry under $150, but you can easily find a Queen Bee in your price range and you might be able to find a used Blackberry for $150. However, I bought a brand new Blackberry from Primo FX a couple of weeks ago for only $159 (regularly $219)
- TC Electronic MojoMojo - Very versatile, I love it on bass with the gain under about noon, but it has more gain than I need. So it's on a guitar board right now. VERY reasonably priced - $50-ish - and effective bass and treble controls.
Here are a couple I never tried (but would like to) but should fit your criteria:
- TC Electronic Spark Booster
- SolidGoldFX Beta
EDITED: Clarified a few things.
Within the parameters you set, I own and can recommend:
- One Control Hooker's Green Bass Machine. I like the OD flavor, it doesn't get too dirty, and the Treble knob helps balance between a warmer and darker tone and a having a sharper grit and more articulation.
- EHX Bass Soul Food - This one has generally been despised by most TBers, but I've always liked mine. I suspect that some who hate it bought it because it's relatively inexpensive without knowing what it's designed for, then blamed it for not being a high enough gain pedal.
- Ampeg Scrambler - I think I'm in the minority but I find it similar to the Bass Soul Food, but with more gain range. FWIW, I strongly prefer its tone with gain below about 2:00 than above 2:00. I think it's too harsh beyond that point.
- Spaceman Saturn VI - This is a little beyond your $150 limit but I love this one. It's the only one of the pedals I mentioned that's on my board now and it's battling my [sfx] Micro Red Dragon as my favorite low gain OD. I use it as my always on tone with the boost at around 1:00, drive at about 10:00, and the tone set to taste, usually 11:00 to 1:00. Even with my Stingray and L-2500, the dirt level is fairly mild at those settings but it’s enough to add a pleasing warmth.
- [sfx] Micro Red Dragon - I'm only mentioning it here because I referenced it above. They've been discontinued for quite a while and don't pop up for sale very often. I got mine for $95 but I was extremely lucky to get it for that price. The last one i saw was $250 and the seller eventually pulled the ad for it.
- Any Blueberry variant that you find under $150. There are many of them and they seem to have their own subtle tweaks to differentiate them. I have a One Control Blackberry, a Bearfoot FX Blueberry, and a One Control Queen Bee and that's in preference order. The Body (mids) control on the Blackberry is what makes that one my favorite version so far. I think the Body knob could help you get that mid range punch you said you were looking for, but listen to demos for this pedal to see what you think. IIRC, the center frequency for the Body might be a little low for you, around 250 Hz. Gonna be tough to find a Blueberry under $150, but you can easily find a Queen Bee in your price range and you might be able to find a used Blackberry for $150. However, I bought a brand new Blackberry from Primo FX a couple of weeks ago for only $159 (regularly $219)
- TC Electronic MojoMojo - Very versatile, I love it on bass with the gain under about noon, but it has more gain than I need. So it's on a guitar board right now. VERY reasonably priced - $50-ish - and effective bass and treble controls.
Here are a couple I never tried (but would like to) but should fit your criteria:
- TC Electronic Spark Booster
- SolidGoldFX Beta
EDITED: Clarified a few things.
Last edited:
I echo the EHX recommendations, especially the Hot Wax. For me. it's easy to get an appropriate amount of dirt for any application.
I like the idiotbox blower box at lower gain settings. I really prefer the midrange character of rat style drives. They have this unique crunchy compression thing going on.
I've got one of these on the way.
They finally got'em back in stock at Sweetwater.
At $70, I figured why not.
I've got a trunk full of OD pedals and the best one I found is a SansAmp YYZ. It is designed to produce the Geddy Lee sound with a jazz bass. It can however, give you anything from Studio Tube to heavy metal. You can also place the distortion in the top end or the bottom end to varying degrees. Very flexible
The Damnation Audio MBD-2 is what you seek... thick and juicy, before you even turn up the CLEAN, or DEPTH knob... but when you do... hang on.
Can do barely dirty, to melt off your eyelids..
A Mid switch to boost, or dip
.. you're welcome
Ahhhh crap. I finally have three nice ODs that I really liked on my board and tuned just perfectly for our song list. I really don't wanna start futzing with another one right now. But for $70, I guess I'll soon find out if I'm just an other weak gear hound or if I'm truly the ....
Check out the Bearfoot Queen Beest, a BBOD with treble and mid controls. I have its precursor, the Queen Bee, which has the treble but not the mid control, and it ended a similar search for me. Before finding the Queen Bee my go-to was Fulltone OCD for mild/medium grit into an original VT Bass for simulated “pushed tube amp” vibe + some low end makeup. The QB gets me in that ballpark with a far smaller footprint.
The Damnation Audio MBD-2 is what you seek... thick and juicy, before you even turn up the CLEAN, or DEPTH knob... but when you do... hang on.
Can do barely dirty, to melt off your eyelids..
A Mid switch to boost, or dip
It's a little above the listed price range, but it is excellent and quite sonically malleable. I personally like it best for harmonically-rich grind and light hair, which is where I think it excels, though it remains usable and useful throughout the full range of gain.
I will add that, at this moment, I actually just use the bass power amp model in my Darkglass Element for this purpose (harmonics and a little hair).
TC Electronics MojoMojo; so cheap that you actually gets payed when buying it..
