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Settings for Boss ODB-3?

P

PunkRocker33133

Feb 11, 2008
1,259
321
Northern VA
#1
Does anyone have some good settings for this pedal? I am running a P-Bass with a Seymour Duncan quarter pounder through it then through an Ampeg BA-115, I'm looking for a tone that's really lo-fi and sounds like an SVT cranked. Can anyone help?

Thanks in advance,
PunkRocker
 
#4
Does not sound like something I would think an ODB-3 very good at emulating. Sounds like my Ampeg V-4, actually. I would imagine that is some sort of overdriven tube amp. BUT, in the pedal department, I would think an EHX English Muff'n would get you pretty close easily.
 
#6
Straight talk: the ODB-3 is famous for NOT sounding like an overdriven tube amp. There are no settings on it that sound like an SVT. If you search on terms like "SVT" and "tube" here in the forum you'll find threads recommending other options that you may have better success with. If you're on a budget your best bet might be a Sansamp (search on "SABDDI" or "BDDI").
 
#7
PortraitOfJames said:
you might want to not sound like someone else and just find your own sound. otherwise, you'll never be a competent bassist.
Click to expand...
ouch. touchy.


to the OP, i think the only good use of an ODB3 is as a paperweight. i tried and tried and tried but could not get a good tone out of that thing.

for the overdriven SVT sound, try a Sansamp, or the Fulltone Fulldrive. i know both are a good deal more expensive than the ODB3, but they're well worth it if that's the sound you want.
 
#8
Well, the cranked SVT part is ptobably not really an option, but lo-fi is... :smug:

Seriously though, I had a P-bass with an ampeg 115 combo and a odb-3 as my only pedal for a while (probly less highs than you get with the BA115) and I think that some of the best settings I ever found with it were in the instruction manual... a couple of them were actually decent (a few were total crap though).

Lots of clean signal on the blend and a lower gain then EQ to taste (cut lows and highs if you need more mids) might get you in sort of the right ballpark for that video, but probably still not going to be great. The big problem I found was that the blend seemed to make the pedal sound like there was a second layer of not very good fuzz over your clean tone... in a bad way though, and more so at higher gain.

The low-fi thing, crank the blend, mid to high gain and eq to taste again.

Hope that wasn't all too obvious to be usefull... those were about all the sounds I ever used it for.
 
#9
The only good setting I ever found with years of using one of those horrible things is the blend all the way to OD, the gain at zero, treble at zilch, and bass more than halfway up. Kind of a decent tone.

Other than that, I did make multiple violent recordings with one (literally, I abused my P-bass with a beer bottle and an apartment wall for a few of the tunes), which later gave way to my solo bass/doom project. With different overdrive pedals of course.
 
#10
I usually start the gain around 12:00, the blend at 9:00 or 10:00, set the bass at 12:00, and the treble at 1:00, and then adjust from there.

I agree that you won't get anything that resembles an SVT sound. There are some good sounds to be had, though.
 
#12
nad said:
The only good setting I ever found with years of using one of those horrible things is the blend all the way to OD, the gain at zero, treble at zilch, and bass more than halfway up. Kind of a decent tone.

Other than that, I did make multiple violent recordings with one (literally, I abused my P-bass with a beer bottle and an apartment wall for a few of the tunes), which later gave way to my solo bass/doom project. With different overdrive pedals of course.
Click to expand...

I bought and used one for 2 gigs. Couldn't get on with it and went back to the shop.

I ended up getting a Digitech bass driver/dist. Still not amazing quality but does what I want and is relatively inexpensive. It's got a neat 'morph' feature that goes from overdrive, through distortion and into fuzz. You can pretty much find the type of drive you're after there, and scuplt it with the tone control. Have a look on the Digitech site, they've got some sound samples and I believe one of them in an SVT type.

BTW, I'm looking into upgrading to EBS pedels soon tho, more money, but you get what you pay for!
 
#14
See here's the thing- you can find "the best it will do" on your own pretty easily. Want something that doesn't sound bad soloed? You have to get a different pedal. It doesn't have to be expensive, either, we've had some "cheap but good overdrive" threads in the past.
 
#16
You may not ever get the SVT sound, but I can get a sound like the video clip you posted.

It's not the sound I usually use when I use the ODB-3 but in the morning I'll hook it up and post the settings I use.

- -
The ODB is kinda cold, and too mechanical sounding IMO.

I am looking to get a SansAmp.

Which model is best for that old SVT overdriven sound.
 
#17
speedkills said:
You may not ever get the SVT sound, but I can get a sound like the video clip you posted.

It's not the sound I usually use when I use the ODB-3 but in the morning I'll hook it up and post the settings I use.

- -
The ODB is kinda cold, and too mechanical sounding IMO.

I am looking to get a SansAmp.

Which model is best for that old SVT overdriven sound.
Click to expand...

Depends. Do want several options available at your feet at once? PBDDI. Just want a single sound in a pedal to leave on top of your amp? Standard BDDI. REALLY into mids (the standard BDDI and most variants have a mid boost at 750hz, but for some that's not enough)? Well then, the ParaDDI is for you. Etc.
 
#18
SnakeAnthony said:
Depends. Do want several options available at your feet at once? PBDDI. Just want a single sound in a pedal to leave on top of your amp? Standard BDDI. REALLY into mids (the standard BDDI and most variants have a mid boost at 750hz, but for some that's not enough)? Well then, the ParaDDI is for you. Etc.
Click to expand...
Thanks!!
I'm not looking to have stuff at my feet, I prefer to "set it and forget it", and it would sit on top of my head...

I'll look at what you've suggested. Thanks again.
 
#19
neuromancer said:
I usually start the gain around 12:00, the blend at 9:00 or 10:00, set the bass at 12:00, and the treble at 1:00, and then adjust from there...
...There are some good sounds to be had, though.
Click to expand...
Yes there are! I crack-up on all the badmouthing about the ODB - I have tried to find a better sound for the END of my high-gain distortion chain (I'm saying 'end of the distortion chain' - the Space Echo, and sometimes a flanger, goes after it).

Now what that last sentence implies is that I don't use it alone... True: I never use it alone. In fact, I can't get it to sound good alone. Yeah - it sounds pretty terrible by it self...

The minimum is at least a compressor or an Aphex Bass Xciter BEFORE it (at its INPUT). I have several distortions, have borrowed several more, and have played with dozens and dozens at stores; the ODB-3 at the end is just what I want for my high-gain sound. And there's nothing out there that sounds quite like it..

My settings are level=volume match, bass/treble=12:30/12:00, blend=9:30, gain=MAXED.

My complete high-gain chain (at the moment) is custom compressor (squish/growl/distress type), MD-2, PQ-4, CEB-3, ODB-3 - all in the loop of an NS-2. Being that I'm talking about VERY high-gain, the NS-2 is mandatory!

The compressor and delay are not critical, and the MD and PQ can be replaced with a Diesel Dawg - so for what is still a very nice high-gain sound, I can narrow it down to Dawg > CEB-3 > ODB-3 - all in the loop of an NS-2.

Doesn't sound anything like an SVT, though...

Joe
 

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