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Stacking OD

Stacking OD Order

  • bass into always on OD into in/out OD

    Votes: 9 30.0%

  • bass into in/out OD into always on OD

    Votes: 13 43.3%

  • carrots

    Votes: 8 26.7%
  • Total voters
    30
smogg

smogg

Mar 27, 2007
5,365
6,189
NPR, Florida
Disclosures
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
#1
First off YES I did a search. Found some interesting threads about stacking specific pedals. My question is of a more general nature though.
Q: In "general" would the stacking order for ODs be, out of bass into always on OD (light OD) into second (punch in as needed heavier) OD? Or would the punch in/out OD be the first in the chain? Again in "general" not necessarily specific pedals.
 
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#3
Depends on what sound you want, and no one will be able to tell you unless you can describe exactly what kind of sound you want to achieve as well as which OD pedals you are using.

The easiest way to achieve exactly what you want would be experimenting and answering your own question, it wouldn't exactly be the hardest as you would have to experiment between just 2 different signal chains and then additional tweaks on the two OD's.
 
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#6
Fuzz pedals can be very reactive to their input. If you put it first in order, it may sound different than if you put it third in line. Overdrives, in general, are less reactive and can go anywhere without much change.

Overdrives after fuzzes can offer a nice EQ option which can shape the fuzz in ways that are better than it's stock sound. The same can apply for stacking overdrives.

Moreover, an EQ pedal will do the same post OD or fuzz.

These are generally true guidelines, but like someone else said there are no hard or fast rules. Swap things around and tweak them to get the sound you want and run with it.
 
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#7
I'm going to rezz this thread.
I watched a Catalinbread video today about "Foundation" pedals and using drive before them to get more drive out of that pedal. I had heard about doing this with tube heads, and using a pedal to push the over driven head, but the idea of using one pedal to push another is a little novel to me.
What sort of success stories do TBers have stacking drive pedals on bass?
 
#8
I use a Wampler Tumnus as my always on OD and I run a COG Knightfall 66 after it when I want heavier OD. It works great for me. I have been considering adding something like the Southampton 5th Gear or TC Electronics Spark (leaning more heavily towards the 5th Gear) as a clean boost into the Tumnus to simply increase the Tumnus gain. I’m sure I’ll love it, I just haven’t tried it yet.
 
#9
I’m finding I like pedals with blends going into pedals without.

One routing I do is with a Duncan Studio Bass comp going into something like a Volt Thrower. The Duncan lets me control how hard the dry signal hits the VT. I also like the sound of some compressed signal hitting the VT, which focuses in on the mids and tightens up the lows. I don’t care for tons of low end clipping, so this helps with that.

I’ve recently picked up a Reiner Gasoline. I’ve found it goes nicely into a darker/warmer box like the Dunwich ODB or DA120. It has a blend, which allows me to control how much dry signal passes through. The Gasoline adds a nice lively edge to the signal. I’ve not found a solo Gasoline setting I’m 100% on, but I really like it stacked, and I miss it when it’s off.

I find with just a blend, a pedal can sound like the dirt layers on top of the clean signal. Running the blended pedal into another dirt pedal helps make things sound more cohesive.
 
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#10
Well, there's no right/wrong answer - it's what sound you're chasing really.

I prefer my flavour dirt (fuzz, rat etc.) first, then OD last in the dirt section, so I leave my always-on OD last. I can set my fuzz really dirty this way, and retain a lot of girth this way, so it's my preference to have my always on last in the dirt section. I've found it's easier to keep things at unity volume this way too.
 
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#11
socialleper said:
I'm going to rezz this thread.
I watched a Catalinbread video today about "Foundation" pedals and using drive before them to get more drive out of that pedal. I had heard about doing this with tube heads, and using a pedal to push the over driven head, but the idea of using one pedal to push another is a little novel to me.
What sort of success stories do TBers have stacking drive pedals on bass?
Click to expand...

Huge fan of stacking drives. My chain right now is OD into fuzz. My OD is usually set kind of low-mid gain. My fuzz is set relatively low gain too, but with a generous amount of "clean" signal blended in. I say clean because it's actually the overdriven sound being blended. The low gain fuzz being hit by an already driven signal creates a great, useable fuzz tone and is also a workaround for running dirt in parallel, which opens up so many possibilities. This can all be pushed by a boost that I have before the OD to up the gain of the entire signal path.
 
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#12
socialleper said:
I'm going to rezz this thread.
I watched a Catalinbread video today about "Foundation" pedals and using drive before them to get more drive out of that pedal. I had heard about doing this with tube heads, and using a pedal to push the over driven head, but the idea of using one pedal to push another is a little novel to me.
What sort of success stories do TBers have stacking drive pedals on bass?
Click to expand...
Check out the record in my sig, any time you'll hear overdriven bass it's the sound of stacked pedals.

Bass -> DIY Fuzz Face -> LM-2 (split into two chains)
(1) DIY Rat Clone -> Ehx Big Muff Pi
(2) Ibanez Rat clone (cleanish setting)
-> mix both to taste and feed into an overdriven Traynor YBA-200.

I found that the combination of fuzz face and Muff worked especially well. Bottom end loss is a problem, though (that's why I've triple tracked my bass with semi-clean bass for the lows, two other tracks for left and right drive).
 
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#13
Interesting ideas. I would have though that pushing drive into fuzz would make an absolute mess, but maybe I will have to give it a try. One of the things I hate about most fuzz pedals is the lack of articulation. Maybe if I put a TS in front of it, that will give me some of that back.
 
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