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Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

#60,081
Today was a study in opposites in bass world. I started by learning Electric Funeral by Sabbath - but the right way this time and not how I have been playing it for years! Stupid guitarist teaching me the guitar version... Anyway, after I got that down, I went to the other extreme and learned Suicide Nation by At The Gates. Don't quite have it all smooth yet, but pretty close (and I doubt I'll ever get the quick string-skipping part, but no one would likely notice!). Happy to be putting that low B to use for a bit. I think next will be some Hypocrisy for more low B and some more Kreator to get my downtuned 5 string some more action.

Other than that, I kept messing with my dirt pedals - the Cat Tail makes a solid low-gain option which I never thought of until someone in another thread gave me the idea. Similar tones to my ODB, which really makes me want to send the Cat Tail and Grey Stache off for clean blend mods more than I did before.

Anyway, hope all is well in doom-land for everyone else. Been a pretty good couple of weeks here for me, and hoping to keep riding it out for a while longer. Loving learning songs as my practice routine. Don't think I've been this motivated in years!
 
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#60,082
kleinenenten said:
What do you all suggest for "barely there" dirt. I'm digging deeper into my Pork Loin/ODB hole lately, and the more I play them, the more I realize I'm going for one of those "transparent" dirt tones so many people are on about all the time... (Have I gotten old? Is this what happens?) Regardless, in the mix, I'm finding that both pedals just sound like my bass is nearly clean, but slightly crisper in the highs and more alive in the mix, if that makes sense. What others can do that? My B7KU clone does something similar, but definitely imparts a good deal of its own tone - I don't want that. And a fellow TB'er is shipping me some pedals to borrow to try out (LOVE THIS PLACE!) for these tones, so we'll see what I think of those. They will be the Li'l Fella (OCD clone to complement the ODB) and the MBD-1 (I have debated getting the ODB-2 recently). So if anybody has suggestions on those for low gain, I'm all ears!

Keep dooming, all!
Click to expand...

I can't recall the stand-alone version, but Gremlin machine shop Megalithic gain structures. Has a dod 250 with a bass boost or "restore" switch. It doesn't seem to boost beyond bypass low levels, but for me seems to match my lows when clean. I know 250s can cut lows but this one was fantastic, which is awesome because I love the 250 sound. So clear, but can begin to get throaty in the best ways when cranked. I do like having at least one boost/gain stage like you say, to liven up the sound.

The other benefit IMO to that specific pedal is it pairs it with a black Russian muff that surprises me immensly.

cusar5 said:
You will enjoy the LF + MBD combination! In my experience the LF is more "transparent" and mid-forward, whereas the MBD has a bit of a mid scoop, but massive low end. Stacking them together is the best of both worlds.



Barbershop is another wonderful overdrive. Like the LF, I think it's better for bass when run at 18v. I personally preferred the voicing of the LF since it's a bit "crunchier," but the Barbershop would be a great choice for a lot of people.
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This further reinforces something I stumbled on years ago. Pushing EQ and using counter voiced stages ends up with a much better sound than just turning up the volume. Does it seem the same? Kinda, but I think the tone structure ends up with peaks in certain spots that just sound damn good, while still having a full spectrum. I could 'technically' achieve the same with boosting volume, using cuts to my EQ, and keeping the strongest freqs near the origin. But it just sounds different when EQ is pushed further and being boosted. I fully believe it changes the profile of the tone.

TL;DR In a nutshell, I first heard this when someone mentioned that tubescreamers sound fantastic with fender guitar amps because they are more naturally mid scooped, and (can't recall which) but x pedals typically sound better with Marshalls because Marshall's are more typically mid forward and the pedal is more naturally scooped. That way the spectrum is filled out, but still has some of the unique voicing peaks that make the amp unique tonally.
 
#60,083
kleinenenten said:
Would have loved to have taken you up on that, but I have just returned! Also, I had no transportation (family trip, I didn't drive...) I'm familiar with Mt. Union, as well. The "castle" always seems like a fun place to go, though if memory serves it's some sort of Admin building now? Been going to Alliance to visit family my entire life, but have definitely not gone as often as I used to once I hit college and all that. Grandma's not getting any younger, and my little kiddo should get to see her before it's no longer an option. Anyway, I know some of the basics of the town, but never got too deep since I was always with family. And my uncle (who I stayed with) still has metered internet (and terrible cell reception), or I would have at least PM'ed you. As it stands, I haven't been on TB since Monday. Perhaps another time, maybe when I drive up myself.
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Any time you feel like it! You can always crash at my place if you want for an evening (or if we have tooo many beers).
 
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#60,084
Nekomata said:
BlUacp8.jpg

And noise outfit Knife Massage, same night, same venue.
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Naked Grandpa for the win!!
 
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#60,085
kleinenenten said:
What do you all suggest for "barely there" dirt. I'm digging deeper into my Pork Loin/ODB hole lately, and the more I play them, the more I realize I'm going for one of those "transparent" dirt tones so many people are on about all the time... (Have I gotten old? Is this what happens?) Regardless, in the mix, I'm finding that both pedals just sound like my bass is nearly clean, but slightly crisper in the highs and more alive in the mix, if that makes sense. What others can do that? My B7KU clone does something similar, but definitely imparts a good deal of its own tone - I don't want that. And a fellow TB'er is shipping me some pedals to borrow to try out (LOVE THIS PLACE!) for these tones, so we'll see what I think of those. They will be the Li'l Fella (OCD clone to complement the ODB) and the MBD-1 (I have debated getting the ODB-2 recently). So if anybody has suggestions on those for low gain, I'm all ears!

Keep dooming, all!
Click to expand...
Nope. More ear hair, less head hair, and everything f***ing hurts.
 
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#60,087
kleinenenten said:
What are the differences? My biggest concern was that it was too gainy for my uses on bass. My guitar tastes range into more gain, so it works well for me. But the Pharaoh Supreme is still my #1 fuzz on guitar too - just have the gain knobs pretty high! The '71 is an incredibly close #2, though, and is MUCH easier to dial in. I could easily have it on my main guitar board.
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Its about 15yrs old so I honestly forget the actual differences. Its certainly gainy, nothing uncontrollable, I usually keep it around 66% and use it more as a fuzz, 3rd stage. I thought it compared well to the pharaoh but sounded less “fizzy” (slightly). And I enjoy how the low end compresses in the ea. It doesn’t sound much like the new supercollider.
 
#60,088
arbitrary said:
Its about 15yrs old so I honestly forget the actual differences. Its certainly gainy, nothing uncontrollable, I usually keep it around 66% and use it more as a fuzz, 3rd stage. I thought it compared well to the pharaoh but sounded less “fizzy” (slightly). And I enjoy how the low end compresses in the ea. It doesn’t sound much like the new supercollider.
Click to expand...

Yes - what you are describing is pretty much the exact opposite of what I recall in my own Pharaoh vs. Supercollider battle a few (8ish?) years ago. Just reverse the roles! I found the Supercollider too fizzy, and far too gainy. I feel like I only had the gain at 10:30 max, and it was just too much. Don't remember the low end compression necessarily, but I do enjoy the openness of my Pharaoh. I recently got a smaller Supercollider, and very briefly tried it again on bass, but found the same issues as before. It was mostly intended for my guitar board, since I LOVE the '71 version on guitar (but I'm not even sure those are made anymore...), and while I DID enjoy the standard Supercollider more on guitar than bass, I still preferred both the '71 version and Pharaoh Supreme to it a great deal. In fact, the best tone I got out of it was almost identical to my Fat Metal pedal, but the Fat Metal was a better version of it, so I kept that and passed the Supercollider on. I didn't need another gainy fuzz!

But now I may do a Muff/fuzz shootout on guitar like I did with bass a few months ago. Now that I have two Russians, a Grey Stache, Carcosa, as well as my current guitar go-to's (Pharaoh Supreme and Supercollider '71), I think I could cover a good deal of range with them. I may also need to get another Swollen Pickle for my guitar uses, as it has definitely earned a permanent place in my stable - if not a permanent place on my bass board in general. I feel like I could do a guitar deep-dive on the Swollen Pickle and find out what I love about it on that front too.

Speaking of guitar pedals and versatility (and Way Huge/Jeorge Tripps), anybody ever try a Fat Sandwich? It's the only Way Huge pedal to my knowledge that is NOT designed to be bass friendly, but WOW - it can cover a LOT of ground on guitar tones. I found one a while ago, and just started really tweaking it today when I had a few minutes. Within 15 minutes it was aping some of my favorite guitar tones - tones from fancy pedals like the Metal Shaman, Tight Metal Pro, Fat Metal, and DOD Gunslinger. Once I had the internal knobs set how I liked them, it was really all down to adjusting the gain, presence, and resonance knobs. A few quick turns and I went from heavy OD/Distortion doom tones to shredding death/thrash metal, all on the same pedal, and even keeping the tone control the same. It was 95% as good as each of the pedal, and I may actually prefer the Fat Sandwich in some regards. I'm going to keep messing with it over the next few weeks and see if it's just the honeymoon, but so far, I may have to end up getting a second one for my board. Then I can run one as my "doom" tone and the other as my "death/thrash" tone. Crazy versatile box that, like many Way Huge circuits, doesn't get the credit I feel it deserves.
 
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#60,091
scabpicker said:
I went and saw Godspeed You! Black Emperor, tonight. I'd never seen them before, and it was a great show. Dueling basses, guitars, drums, etc.

Hope you all had as happy a Halloween as I have; and a happy, contemplative day of the dead.
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Little Jelly, they've been a band I've wanted to see for a long time...

In music news, I didn't do anything for Samhain last night, as the wife took the kid to his friends house SUPER early, which was a bummer... BUT. I did have some alone time at home as a result so I sat down and tracked a couple songs for the dad rock band. I'm still learning all their stuff (9 songs) and getting it to a show worthy point, so it was nice to sit down and track those out and really nail the parts down so I have a good clean reference moving forward, with any luck I'll get another one or two tracked tonight.

For the metal band... I talked my partner into helping us with some vocals, as that project maybe has some shows on the horizon as well, and we need vocals. So we've been working on getting those nailed down, we rehearsed most of our set/show worthy stuff on Sat, and while we only have 3 with vox so far, it sounded good. Though. We'll need a new PA because my partner has a very strong voice which ended up driving the (really crappy) PA super hard into the angry red light category all day.

I didn't want to buy a new PA for our rehearsal studio but it looks like it'll be happening for us sooner rather than later.
 
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#60,092
scabpicker said:
I went and saw Godspeed You! Black Emperor, tonight. I'd never seen them before, and it was a great show. Dueling basses, guitars, drums, etc.

Hope you all had as happy a Halloween as I have; and a happy, contemplative day of the dead.
Click to expand...
Did my normal thing of hanging out in my grotto (basement) watching a horror movie, noodling on my bass. So, yes, enjoyable.
 
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#60,093
rutrho said:
Little Jelly, they've been a band I've wanted to see for a long time...

In music news, I didn't do anything for Samhain last night, as the wife took the kid to his friends house SUPER early, which was a bummer... BUT. I did have some alone time at home as a result so I sat down and tracked a couple songs for the dad rock band. I'm still learning all their stuff (9 songs) and getting it to a show worthy point, so it was nice to sit down and track those out and really nail the parts down so I have a good clean reference moving forward, with any luck I'll get another one or two tracked tonight.

For the metal band... I talked my partner into helping us with some vocals, as that project maybe has some shows on the horizon as well, and we need vocals. So we've been working on getting those nailed down, we rehearsed most of our set/show worthy stuff on Sat, and while we only have 3 with vox so far, it sounded good. Though. We'll need a new PA because my partner has a very strong voice which ended up driving the (really crappy) PA super hard into the angry red light category all day.

I didn't want to buy a new PA for our rehearsal studio but it looks like it'll be happening for us sooner rather than later.
Click to expand...
Can't you just dial down his mic level into the mixer?
 
#60,095
Kaa said:
Can't you just dial down his mic level into the mixer?
Click to expand...

I mean, yeah, BUT. We're loud AF. No way to hear the vox otherwise.
Also.
Its a crappy Sampson powered PA head. LIKE REALLY CRAPPY.
Like this thing crappy: Samson Technologies
plus a couple Peavey 12" passive speakers. Its a pretty blah system.

I'm going to see if I can scare up some floor wedges to use with it in our studio, or otherwise spend 500 on a pair of cheapish powered PA cabs.
 
Last edited:
#60,100
Not to
rutrho said:
I mean, yeah, BUT. We're loud AF. No way to hear the vox otherwise.
Also.
Its a crappy Sampson powered PA head. LIKE REALLY CRAPPY.
Like this thing crappy: Samson Technologies
plus a couple Peavey 12" passive speakers. Its a pretty blah system.

I'm going to see if I can scare up some floor wedges to use with it in our studio, or otherwise spend 500 on a pair of cheapish powered PA cabs.
Click to expand...
I'll be "that guy", turn down, it's practice!
 

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