Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

[kleinenenten]

Anybody have any opinion on Dunwich ODB vs. SS/BS Mini? Looking for more lower gain options, and digging the ODB. I used to hear about the Mini all the time, but seems like it's not talked about these days. Looks like it may check all my boxes, though.

 

[Novarocker]

Anybody have any opinion on Dunwich ODB vs. SS/BS Mini? Looking for more lower gain options, and digging the ODB. I used to hear about the Mini all the time, but seems like it's not talked about these days. Looks like it may check all my boxes, though.

Never used either, but in the coming and going thread a lot of em love it, but cant decide what settings to use it on. Guess it sounds great all over but creates too much indecisiveness?

 

[jcarlin]

Yeah man well hopefully you get that bass soon. Like you said they are probably just struggling with some of the production outsourcing. Hopefully they can get that figured out soon too.

 

[cornfarmer]

Not really doom, but I've been on a heavy Stereolab kick the last few days (ok the last few decades).

Top 90s hipster's band, they had some cool stuff. Being able to deal with that many old kranky synths and make it work is highly comendable. Their stuff done with John McIntire & friends was some of their best work. Some band in ATL called Seely worshiped at their altar for sure.

So I stumbled on this thing called Rockin' 1000 that they do in EU and S. America. A ton of rando musicians show up to play some hits in an arena...I kinda want to do it. I bet it would be a total beaurocratic/red-tape hassle to make it happen here in the USA, and then you have 999 other egos to deal with lol. Still kinda looks fun to me even though I really wouldn't want to play Enter Sandman, like ever.

 

[kleinenenten]

Got the Blower Box Deluxe today. Here are my thoughts so far after about an hour with it.

First off - this is all at 18v. I found the pedal to be much better at 18v than 9v, with a more natural tone overall and more dynamic response and punch.

1. This thing is nasty! It can be tamed a bit more than the original, but still shines as a high gain monster. Absolutely nails the Voivod tone like the original as well, but I think better since it can retain natural lows with the new controls.
2. The Pass control is quite handy - I use it to fine-tune the high end and mid response overall.
3. Dual volumes take a bit of tweaking to get just right - I find that I need the DIST channel to be slightly higher than the DIR channel to keep the dirt in the mix. Set the dirt at the level you like, then bring up the direct tone to maintain lows as needed. This can get a good mix of clean and distorted tones. I recommend doing this while playing along to something. It's easy to get an amazing solo tone that can get lost in the mix.
4. It's got a lot of bite in the hi mids. My other Rats can be more low mid focused and sit in the mix with the occasional poke through the mix - but not the Blower Box Deluxe. It just wants to cut through the mix.
5. Similar to the previous point, it doesn't quite saturate as naturally as some others. It's hard to describe - the entire signal is saturated, but it's almost like the distortion doesn't change frequency with the note. I'm not complaining - it sounds great - but it's just different than my Volt Thrower and Tremond (which are my benchmark Rats I was comparing to). I also don't think it's going for natural, so there's that!

Overall, it's a great Rat, especially if you're wanting something high gain. I got it to sound fairly similar to my B3K and MBD-2, but a bit more grainy. As of now, I still have a preference for my Volt Thrower for its massive lows while retaining the bite of a Rat, but this may end up being #2 and replacing my Tremond. Regardless, I'm going to have to spend some time comparing all of my Rats soon - the Volt Thrower, Tremond, Bass Mountain, Iron Pig, and Blower Box Deluxe. My only niggling complaint is that it has top jacks - but a side power jack. I'll never understand that combo! But if that's all that it is, I can certainly forgive that for great tone!

 

[Kaa]

Top 90s hipster's band, they had some cool stuff. Being able to deal with that many old kranky synths and make it work is highly comendable. Their stuff done with John McIntire & friends was some of their best work. Some band in ATL called Seely worshiped at their altar for sure.

So I stumbled on this thing called Rockin' 1000 that they do in EU and S. America. A ton of rando musicians show up to play some hits in an arena...I kinda want to do it. I bet it would be a total beaurocratic/red-tape hassle to make it happen here in the USA, and then you have 999 other egos to deal with lol. Still kinda looks fun to me even though I really wouldn't want to play Enter Sandman, like ever.

the first time they did something was "Learning To Fly" by the Foo Fighters. I've watched that video on YT scores of times, simply because it gives me hope for humanity. Seeing all those youngsters (and a few oldsters) jam for no other reason than to coerce Dave Grohl and the band to play their hometown is really upliftng for this hard core cynic.

 

[br1qbat]

Yeah man well hopefully you get that bass soon. Like you said they are probably just struggling with some of the production outsourcing. Hopefully they can get that figured out soon too.

And give us a great breakdown/scoop on it. I remember when those were announced, such a cool retro design and triple tbird pups - drool.

 

[Novarocker]

What @br1qbat said. I'm a sucker for oddball, offset, whatever isn't the norm. I'm not crazy about pointy guitars, but that one is sick.

Thanks for the report @kleinenenten, I immediately shot Matt a message about 18v operation on my heavy weapon. Love the dungeon master side, can't express that enough, and blending it in parallel with the Blower Box is something to behold. Reminds me of blending channels on Sunn amps. Deep and thick and wooly, but able to get outstanding clarity. I think Matt nails it on his pedals with use of parallel instead of a blend or series for the multi dirt boxes.

I really dig the Blower Box, but with one of my basses anything below low G gets almost way too loose almost flabby like. I've still gotta vet out its not the cab or amp, but it handles the lows from the other side no problem. Could just be the clipping of it at 9v. Hell could even be how hot the pickup is.

By the way, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm trying way hard to hold back on blowing a bunch of cash on stuff with all these sales this year. No particular reason, just seems like there's just too much to be good.

 

[Novarocker]

Ya know, I'm kind of dying to know, too. A bit after they were supposed to be shipped, I emailed them asking about it, and was assured they'd be shipped by the end of September. The explanation was that their production was pushed back due to supply chain issues. It seemed a reasonable explanation at the time, but I haven't heard anything since. I'd thought about it recently, and one of my guitarists had asked about it a week or so ago, and you brought it up. So I sent them an email, we'll see what the answer is.

I mean, I know outsourcing your production is a crapshoot. If someone comes up with a bigger order, but a time dependent payoff, the smaller folks are going to get pushed to the back burner (and who knows, it could be caused by something else entirely). Sucks to be you, and you've got to explain it to your customers. Fortunately, as long as they're willing to deliver on the bass at sometime in the future (hey, I *like* pleasant surprises), I'm not going to starve without the cash. Frankly, I just want to touch the funky thing. So, I'll wait, but I am wondering.

Not really doom, but I've been on a heavy Stereolab kick the last few days (ok the last few decades). I've they're not stoner, I'll eat both of our hats and footwear after they've been prepared properly. I can't really think of anyone to foist them on, so I'll glurge some at you guys.





Seriously, if anyone in my band suggests doing a cover, I'm going to try hard for "Motoroller Scalatron".

And well, Les Yper-Sound because the drums rule (they rule on the whole record). Plus, awesome name. Plus awesome everything else. If I get a chance to be reincarnated after I die, I'm going to be greedy and ask to be reincarnated as this version of Stereolab.

Thanks for this I've been on a kick of all sorts of stuff. Lots of Alan Parsons project, Tractors, Santana, Coltrane, and more.

 

[kleinenenten]

Blower Box Deluxe Update - again all at 18v:

I spent time comparing ALL of my Rats today. The BBD definitely holds its own with its own unique flavor. It's definitely grainier than most, and I'm not a fan of that solo - but it completely disappears in the mix and just sounds aggressive. It's certainly the easiest "Rat" to get a nasty and cutting tone from - it comes naturally, even at 18v. This pedal is incredibly present in the mix with no effort. But it doesn't have the "heft" that some of the other "Rats" do.

Overall, I'd say this is tied for #2 with my Tremond. It really comes down to what I'm looking for. If I want aggressive, tight tones, this has it in spades. It's hard to make this as thick as my Tremond or Bass Mountain, though. But it clanks easier than they do, and there's no shortage of great, punchy bass. So if you want something for faster riffs that will pop out of the mix, this will do nicely. If you're wanting a thicker, doomier, tone, get a Tremond or Bass Mountain. They can both be punchier or more in your face, but are the inverse of the BBD - it takes some effort to get less thick distortion from them. Or if you want everything available (with some tweaking to get there!), get a Volt Thrower. I can get each of their distortion tones to get pretty darn close to each other, but the way they handle the lows is really the biggest difference between each of these pedals.

So my current Rat ranking is, in order, Volt Thrower, Tremond/Blower Box Deluxe (tied for #2 based on tonal need), and Bass Mountain. After that would be my Iron Pig, and then the Cat Tail (stock).

 

[Zanshin_]

@kleinenenten thank you for your BBD review and rat run down. I love rats too

Have you had time with a Electrofoods Nepenthes?

Of the Rats in the JHS Packrat the Landgraff spoke to me the most. It worked well with bass and just crushed. I was just just looking at Reverb and the Landgraff originals are crazy expensive

 

[scabpicker]

Yeah man well hopefully you get that bass soon. Like you said they are probably just struggling with some of the production outsourcing. Hopefully they can get that figured out soon too.

And give us a great breakdown/scoop on it. I remember when those were announced, such a cool retro design and triple tbird pups - drool.

Good news everyone! I got a reply back, and they're supposed to arrive in Miami on Friday, and be shipped out next week or the first week of Dec. So, I should have it by mid December at the latest. Now, I have heard it'll be shipped soon before, so I have guarded expectations, but again I love pleasant surprises. He included some pics from his Australian distributor, it includes a pic of the Classic Creep in purple. It actually makes me question my choice of green, and I already have a purple bass.

I mean, oof, that is nice looking. I want to take it behind the junior high and get it pregnant. Plus, it's almost proof that it exists as a physical entity somewhere. Hopefully the green is half as nice.

Sadly, those ship dates mean it won't be here in time to shake it down enough to use it for my next show. When I get it, I'll be sure to post what I think of it. Of course, I like just about every guitar I've ever bought. I think I've sold two and accidentally gave away one, and I bought one of those back after the buyer had modified it and made it better. So, if I say it sucks, it probably really does suck. If I say anything else, remember that I like almost everything.

If I really like it, I'll be ordering a regular humbucker guitar from them soon afterwards. They're too neato to resist if they're really making nice, unusual guitars for those prices.

Thanks for this I've been on a kick of all sorts of stuff. Lots of Alan Parsons project, Tractors, Santana, Coltrane, and more.

Hehehe, I go on all kinds of kicks. I was on a dance music kick for a few months, I'm pretty sure my drummer wanted nothing to do with me. I was on a country blues kick for awhile a decade or so ago, and I was listening to Blind Willie Johnson at work. A co-worker who I'm pretty sure didn't think I knew what an acoustic instrument asked from across the room "Scabpicker, are you listening to folk music?" I thought for a second, and answered "Yes, I think I am." I mean, technically he was right. I was as surprised to find out as he was. I think it was sometime after that was when I could finally accept that I would never throw away or sell my dad's Kingston Trio records. I mean, they're pretty corny, but they're burned in to my brain. (Hey, it's got muted power chords).

 

[scabpicker]

Top 90s hipster's band, they had some cool stuff. Being able to deal with that many old kranky synths and make it work is highly comendable. Their stuff done with John McIntire & friends was some of their best work. Some band in ATL called Seely worshiped at their altar for sure.

Yeah, those synths could be had for a song back then, but you'd better know someone who can fix them. I love that they're almost a pop band, but they've had to deny they're Marxists, and some people still aren't convinced. But when they are most awesome is when they have the sense to let those synths run some and be their synthesizer selves. This is a pretty rough live take (be ready for some nasty filter sweeps and pops recorded directly from the board), but it's crazy and wonderful. (also, I think this clip is mis-named, but that's a different issue)

 

[Kaa]

I think it's an excellent idea for any musician to listen to all kinds of music. Even if I may not really be in to a specific genre, I can ALWAYS learn from it. Currently, I'm listening to this at work:



Not my usual thing, but, I'm digging the "palate cleansing" from my usual heavier stuff.

 

[kleinenenten]

@kleinenenten thank you for your BBD review and rat run down. I love rats too

Have you had time with a Electrofoods Nepenthes?

Of the Rats in the JHS Packrat the Landgraff spoke to me the most. It worked well with bass and just crushed. I was just just looking at Reverb and the Landgraff originals are crazy expensive

I've never played either of those, though I've heard nothing but good things about the Nepenthes. Honestly, I'm still trying to STOP buying new pedals, but the BBD really spoke to me, and with Matt's already good prices at 30% off, I couldn't say no. It was worth it! Most other boutique pedals ended up being more expensive used than what I paid new for the BBD.

Can't say I've ever heard of the Landgraff Rat. What exactly makes it different?

My big goal now (as has actually been ALL YEAR...) is to try and downsize. I've had stuff for sale locally for a while now, but no bites. And the bites I have had are incredibly flaky, offering half of what I'm asking (which is already decently lower than the typical going rate), or wanting to trade for things that aren't worth it or are not interesting to me at all. (Like a guy offering me a chorus when I say I'd like some fuzz...) I may suck it up eventually and go to the local shop and see what they'll give me. But at the same time, I don't NEED the money, and I'd rather give someone else a better deal and get a little more cash on my end as well. We'll keep seeing what happens! With the BBD out of the way, I can't really say I have any GAS for pedals right now. Might swap out one of my bass's electronics for an upgrade, but that's also been on my mind for about 2 years and I haven't done it yet, so it's clearly not urgent.

 

[Zanshin_]

I've never played either of those, though I've heard nothing but good things about the Nepenthes. Honestly, I'm still trying to STOP buying new pedals, but the BBD really spoke to me, and with Matt's already good prices at 30% off, I couldn't say no. It was worth it! Most other boutique pedals ended up being more expensive used than what I paid new for the BBD.

Can't say I've ever heard of the Landgraff Rat. What exactly makes it different?

I've only experienced the Landgraff via the JHS Packrat, but given Josh's devotion to accuracy I bet it's spot on. First impression was that it's more loud than the others and the EQ more flat. But more than that, whatever magic is going on in the voicing makes me want to say that it feels more violent. The Packrat itself awesome but pedals without top jacks are banned in my house so it had to go.

I have a Volt Thrower coming in trade. I hope that with the VT, along with the Nepenthes, that my Rat hunger will be satisfied haha.

I agree about the used market, it seems to have slowed down.

 

[Deleted member 132197]

I think it's an excellent idea for any musician to listen to all kinds of music. Even if I may not really be in to a specific genre, I can ALWAYS learn from it. Currently, I'm listening to this at work:



Not my usual thing, but, I'm digging the "palate cleansing" from my usual heavier stuff.

Hard agree. Related to this, I'm now reading 'Electric Wizards. A Tapestry of Heavy Music' by JR Moores. And he also spends a chapter talking about the heaviness of funk and how it influenced the heavy music that came after. Very much recommended.

 

[kleinenenten]

More Rat stuff today. This one will be quicker.

The Blower Box Deluxe has a tighter tone and a finer-grained distortion than my other Rats. It makes my tone nice and punchy, but in the mix that's the biggest difference. The dirt itself is mostly lost. That being said, it sounds great and does something my other Rats don't do, so it stays. But I'm comfortable in saying it's #3 in my Rat stable because I typically want a chunkier distortion. The Volt Thrower, Tremond, and Bass Mountain all do that better than the BBD. But none of them make the bass as lively in the mix as the BBD does. The Volt Thrower is close, but not quite. It's also able to do faster and slower stuff on the same settings, which is a huge plus. It seems it's a trade off of thickness vs. punchiness.

Tremond is thickest (but still cuts in the mix), Bass Mountain is slightly punchier but still fairly thick, Volt Thrower can do both thick and punchy fairly well in the mix, and the BBD cuts like crazy, but isn't thick when compared to the others. At least that's what my ears tell me.

Hope everyone had a great day, and a great Thanksgiving for all the other Yanks here.

 

[Novarocker]

More Rat stuff today. This one will be quicker.

The Blower Box Deluxe has a tighter tone and a finer-grained distortion than my other Rats. It makes my tone nice and punchy, but in the mix that's the biggest difference. The dirt itself is mostly lost. That being said, it sounds great and does something my other Rats don't do, so it stays. But I'm comfortable in saying it's #3 in my Rat stable because I typically want a chunkier distortion. The Volt Thrower, Tremond, and Bass Mountain all do that better than the BBD. But none of them make the bass as lively in the mix as the BBD does. The Volt Thrower is close, but not quite. It's also able to do faster and slower stuff on the same settings, which is a huge plus. It seems it's a trade off of thickness vs. punchiness.

Tremond is thickest (but still cuts in the mix), Bass Mountain is slightly punchier but still fairly thick, Volt Thrower can do both thick and punchy fairly well in the mix, and the BBD cuts like crazy, but isn't thick when compared to the others. At least that's what my ears tell me.

Hope everyone had a great day, and a great Thanksgiving for all the other Yanks here.

Out of curiosity, have you gone to the extreme end of the low eq knob? I'll see if I got time to snag a pic, but to get that thick and full but punch still, I've got the lows close to max. A couple MM from being maxed if I remember right. For the BB I mean, and granted I have no idea if there's slight variation from the BBD to the regular or whatever is in the BB side of the Heavy weapon.

 

[kleinenenten]

Out of curiosity, have you gone to the extreme end of the low eq knob? I'll see if I got time to snag a pic, but to get that thick and full but punch still, I've got the lows close to max. A couple MM from being maxed if I remember right. For the BB I mean, and granted I have no idea if there's slight variation from the BBD to the regular or whatever is in the BB side of the Heavy weapon.

I have not. I'll try that today. My gut says it will add lows, but not "heft". That probably doesn't make sense. I guess what I'm really saying is that the lows don't get as distorted on the BBD as they do the other pedals. Which many people would prefer! But I like a little distortion on the lows to help glue it all together. Neither approach is bad, but I feel that when the lows are mostly clean it works better for faster and more articulate stuff (like the BBD) and when they're more distorted it's better for slower, doomier stuff (like the Tremond or Bass Mountain). The Volt Thrower is the closest I've found to having the ideal tone for both situations without having to change settings. I could likely get perfection for both situations from the VT by changing settings.

Anyway, I'm going to keep testing pedals and enjoying my day off. Have fun, all!