Replacement recommendations for original fulltone bassdrive

[JES]

Hi All,

My Fulltone Bassdrive appears to be biting the dust. This is one of the original ones. I was having problems with it being intermittent, got it fixed, and now it's just plain not working--comp cut gets me silence and the regular sound is kind of fizzy. Before I put a lot more money into having someone fix it, I'd like to know what my other options are.

It's been part of my sound for most of this century. I know it's out of fashion here, but I have always liked it.

If the Mosfet one can do everything the original can do, I see it's pretty easy to get a used one here. I'm also open to other overdrives. Definitely looking for something in the "tube screamer" genre that doesn't kill the low end.

I've got fuzz covered. Here are the features I like from the fulltone:

1. True bypass.
2. The possibility for a low level of overdrive with an integrated boost in the same pedal.
3. Comp-cut option for a more open sound.

In terms of sounds I go for with it, here are a couple recordings that feature my Modulus Bassstar going into the bassdrive and then directly into the computer (via preamp, of course):

http://lo-boy.bandcamp.com/album/three -- clean for verse, I think I kicked on the boost for the louder parts (except at the end where I'm beefing it up with a granular sample of the same part).

http://lo-boy.bandcamp.com/track/werner-herzog -- regular channel for harmonics in verse, boost channel just after 3:40 for chords.

Link Removed -- boost channel at 3:18 for melody.

Thanks for suggestions.

 

[eeyorebass]

If the integrated boost is important, your best bet is probably the HBE Hematoma: http://www.homebrewelectronics.com/products/hematoma-bass-overdrive

Cool thing with the Hematoma is the boost can be used independent of the drive.

Jeremy

 

[JES]

Thanks for the reply, Jeremy.

I've been doing my homework. I've also got the pedal out to a local repair guy to see if it's a quick and cheap fix.

Didn't like the demos of the Hemotoma I heard, and there's nobody with it in town.

I think I'll have to go to two pedals if it doesn't work out (or just buy another bassdrive if one comes up used). One for an "always on / touch of hair" and another for kicking the first one into distortion.

On the menu to try after hearing demos:

MXR M89
Dark Glass Vintage Microtubes or B3K
sfx micro red dragon
mad professor blueberry bass overdrive

I'm more interested in "tube screamer" than "SVT" as my target sound. Further suggestions welcome. I'm in Montreal but will be visiting London for a week next week.

 

[BawanaRik]

I had a Blueberry and regretted selling. Way cool pedal

 

[JES]

Thanks for the replies. This is just to complete the story in case it's useful for anyone else.

I am halfway done with my search. I wanted a low-gain "always on" overdrive that could give just a bit of hair when I dig in. After reviewing lots of pedal demos online, I was able to try a number out locally. None were able to go low enough in the gain. The winner turned out to be the [sfx] micro red dragon which I was able to try in London. Absolutely amazing pedal, with greater tonal flexibility than the Fulltone. Ful review here: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f36/[sfx]-user-appreciation-society-807501/index25.html#post14638440

At higher settings it roars nicely.

I might have been interested in the Darkglass Vintage Microtubes but didn't get to try it, and it's a lot more expensive than the [SFX].

But now I've got to find ANOTHER pedal for the high gain channel. There were a few low-gain rejects that I liked quite a bit for higher gain settings:

Mad Professor Blueberry: I know it's advertised as a low gain pedal but with my Modulus Bassstar (1980s EMG P-J modded to 18v) it's too forceful even at the lowest settings for low gain duties, but it breaks up very nicely.

Roger Mayer Voodoo Bass TC: Also very nice overdrive, though a bit pricey by comparison.

Other things I'd like to try: Fairfield Barbershop, Fuzzerocious Rat King.

I've got fuzz duties covered, and I don't actually use bass fuzz that much except as a special effect.

Thanks again.

--JES

By the way, a word on the "dead" bassdrive. It was "my sound" for about 10 years. I loved the pedal. In 2010 I noticed that it was cutting in and out. Fulltone said they don't repair their pedals and sent me to a tech who seemed to know what he was doing. I got the pedal back and it was good for a couple more years until sometime in 2013 when it totally crapped out. I took it to a local tech, who told me the relevant dead chip has been gunked, Fulltone won't tell him what it is and quoted him 1.70 a MINUTE to repair the pedal (plus parts, shipping and customs, since I'm in Canada). There are schematics on the web but I'm not skilled enough to solder it myself.

 

[Flymo Wang]

i still have my original (2002 I think) bassdrive, and agree - love the sound of it, and have used it to death. I ended up getting an xotic BB preamp and a wren and cuff phat phuk b a couple of years back, which give IMO very similar tones but more options. The ability to add in some extra bass on the BB is a big plus. Thing is, I still prefer the higher gain sounds of the bassdrive. Phat phuk driving the BB is a great tone though.

I still swap these 2 pedals out for the old fulltone every now and again...

 

[gregmon79]

Have you thought about a fulltone OCD?

 

[JES]

Actually, I learned that it is a 4558 chip and my tech fixed it. Sort of. Comp cut mode, which is what I use exclusively, works perfectly. Regular mode seems more compressed, but they have replaced a capacitor with a different one or something.

So now I have the [sfx] micro red dragon, which I love, and the Fulltone, which I also love. But it will take some time to trust the pedal to gig with it. I certainly wouldn't give Fulltone my money after how they behaved.

 

[skulletwhip]

The Xotic BB Bass is similar from what I hear. No boost switch though.

 

[Gilian24]

Nate Mendel is known for his use of the fulltone bassdrive. But he have a signature pedal now. The Ashdown NM2 Dubble Drive is most likely based on the fulltone.

 

[ga_edwards]

Knowing that the Joyo Ultimate Drive is a copy of the Fulltone OCD. I wonder how their Bass Ultimate Drive stacks up against your Fulltone Bassdrive?

 

[Vlad5]

I built a BYOC Overdrive 2, and it's similar to a Fulldrive (I think it's a direct clone, actually). Just replace some capacitors and it has more bass on tap than is pushed into it. Very nice 'warm' drive. I sold it because I don't need/want a warm drive. But I liked it.

 

[winterburn69]

Just buy a second hand Fulltone Bassdrive?

 

[depalm]

This:

John K makes this Bass Drive clone with no loss of bass end freq.
Sounds much better than the original.



And many others to choose