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slight distortion ??

pfschim

pfschim

Just a Skeleton with a Jazz bass
Supporting Member
Apr 26, 2006
9,351
10,943
SF Bay Area
#1
heard a Steve Vai tune the other day .. Little Alligators, and the bass tone on the recording had a noticeable "crunch" to it, but not outright fuzz or distortion. Also, recall hearing some of Roscoe Becks playing on some of Robben Fords CD's and hearing a definite touch of this same kind of effect.

So, my question is, how is this done ? putting a bit of cruch into your sound without it sounding like a total buzz-saw, and also basically staying with a true clean and full bass tone.

I read on Roscoe's website that he uses an SWR Interstellar Overdrive, and also mentions one other overdrive pedal that may be out of production.

I am not an effects player, but this is an interesting idea to me and I'm interested in how to get this kind of tone.
 
#2
there are alot of pedals out there where you can boost the drive and although they arent distortion or overdrive pedals you get a little dirt in your sound. for example, the tech 21 sansamp bass driver DI can give you a sort of crunch sound if you boost the controls in a certain way. im sure there are tons of pedals that could do what your looking for
 
#3
Just a heads-up, no offense or snobbishness meant, but "slight distortion" as described is possibly THE most-discussed effect here. Not saying you can't ask, but that there are thousands of threads covering this topic pretty thoroughly that you might want to check out. :)
 
#4
Overdrive<Distortion<Fuzz - Different degrees of waveform mutation (refer to the sticky at the top of this forum for more details).

What you are hearing (based on your description) is some mild overdrive - possibly tube-based. There are many, many, many pedals that can provide this type of sound, and each one has it's own particular flavor.

Personally, for subtle to moderate overdrive, I currently enjoying the Barber Electronics LTD.
 
#7
Again, hard to describe sounds in words, but "crunch" is an elusive thing in the world of bass. Fuzz and overdrive are not what I perceive as "crunchy" sounds. To me, only a small number of distortions can generate "crunch" when used on bass, and some of them need to be used with a pick to do it. The XXLB or Landmine in a blend can. Another option is the BassDrive.
 
#8
"Drive" pedals,
Sansamp vt, Sansamp BDDI (programmable or not),
Boss ODB-3, Hao Rust Ride, Gallien-Krueger Diesel Dawg,
EBS MultiDrive..... just name a few "drive pedals", among a sea
of many, many others.

I can only suggest the Sansamp, it's the only one I gig on a regular basis with.

but compared to Bongo and Spanky, I know much less and would look like a noob compared to these guys with effects ;)
 
#9
bongomania said:
Just a heads-up, no offense or snobbishness meant, but "slight distortion" as described is possibly THE most-discussed effect here. Not saying you can't ask, but that there are thousands of threads covering this topic pretty thoroughly that you might want to check out. :)
Click to expand...

Bongo - no offense taken. I did search first, and many posts did come up, but there was perhaps too much info, and too many unknown terms to me on this topic, and much of it did not seem to relate to my stated objective.

I am not a traditional effects user/player. I last used a true effect pedal (other than a compressor) in 1971 .. a Big Muff. I am also pretty much in the dark about the sonic differences between fuzz, grind, distortion, dirt, crunch, overdrive, buzz .. which seem to be the terms used in the effects threads to describe these effects.

So, I thought I'd ask the question citing some examples, and see what I got from the collected experience of the effects guru's.
 
#10
pfschim said:
So, I thought I'd ask the question citing some examples, and see what I got from the collected experience of the effects guru's.
Click to expand...

This is the key really - citing examples. I've read some descriptions TBers have used to describe pedals they've bought or played and thought it was completely the opposite of my experience with it. We all have different ears, not to mention very imperfect ways of trying to convey sounds with words. If you can link to a video or sound clip of what you're looking for I think you'll get some good advice.

If you can weed through the "Dude, get a B:Assmaster, it pwns!" type posts. ;)
 
#11
i must second the Barber LTD SR. it's my favorite overdrive, and i think it'll work well for what i think you're describing. it's nice and open and keeps your bass sounding like your bass... but it adds a little fur to it all.

other than that, the Sansamp line of bass drivers is great. i use the RBI with one of my rigs, and it's great for adding a little dirt and character.
 
#13
ok, some samples of what I'm talking about.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attah...nt.php?attachmentid=103222&stc=1&d=1221761894

the Robben Ford sample is Roscoe Beck .. and the tone I hear is particularly obvious (to me anyway) when they go the IV in the progression. Its pretty subtle, but you can hear it.

the Steve Vai sample is much more direct and loud, but again, a clear bass tone with what I hear as some form of overdrive or slight distortion.
 
#17
The BurgerMeister said:
i must second the Barber LTD SR. it's my favorite overdrive, and i think it'll work well for what i think you're describing. it's nice and open and keeps your bass sounding like your bass... but it adds a little fur to it all.

other than that, the Sansamp line of bass drivers is great. i use the RBI with one of my rigs, and it's great for adding a little dirt and character.
Click to expand...


i believe in this advice. others are giving solid advice too, but my experience tells me you'll get close to this with the barber, an rbi/rpm/bddi/gt2 sansamp, or a boss odb3 can be set to sound similar as well (despite a strange reputation that is very mixed from player to player)
 

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