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Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out
- Thread starter Korladis
- Start date
Wow, while we were recording I'd heard that Gary Chester from Ed Hall was playing lead with the Melvins, which sounded like an amazing combo. It indeed is, and I had no idea they had already recorded a record.
Not entirely sure. I like that the Big Muff is ~$100 but it seems like there's a lot of choice between there and $150-$200. Probably too many choices is the problem!
I have their first 3(?) albums on my phone. I'll be getting Ilion soon. Great band.
Here's a shot of Slift bassist Rémi Fossat I took last week, I highly recommend checking out the Ilion album.
My advice: Buy 4 $25 fuzzes. But then again, I love having a lot of different fuzzes, so take that into account when listening to my advice.
I know this thread isn't death metal specific but I wanted to share.
Yesterday I went to see some bands. Vomit Forth, 200 Stab Wounds, Signs of the Swarm and Cattle Decapitation.
Two first acts shared a bass and a rig. I THINK it was a Gibson Explorer into an Orange AD of some kind into an Ampeg Fridge.
Both sounded great. Nasty and full but clear and articulate. Then Signs/Cattle came on, ran thru some IEMs and plugins (I think? Since they took down the Orange) and it was just bad...
You could feel it, yeah... But it all sounded like mud. All rumble and very little definition.
Same thing happened when I saw Slipknot - rumbly mud from the bass. Eh.
@edit
Honorable mention of 200 Stab Wounds.
Imho the best act of the show. Sorry Cattle. They got a new fan, the guys killed it
Yesterday I went to see some bands. Vomit Forth, 200 Stab Wounds, Signs of the Swarm and Cattle Decapitation.
Two first acts shared a bass and a rig. I THINK it was a Gibson Explorer into an Orange AD of some kind into an Ampeg Fridge.
Both sounded great. Nasty and full but clear and articulate. Then Signs/Cattle came on, ran thru some IEMs and plugins (I think? Since they took down the Orange) and it was just bad...
You could feel it, yeah... But it all sounded like mud. All rumble and very little definition.
Same thing happened when I saw Slipknot - rumbly mud from the bass. Eh.
@edit
Honorable mention of 200 Stab Wounds.
Imho the best act of the show. Sorry Cattle. They got a new fan, the guys killed it
No sense in spending a couple Benjamin's on something if you don't like it. Buy cheap, get a flavor you like, then either use the cheap pedal or go up-market and boojie.
I have 2, an Ibanez GSR200B (that I might turn to full passive, maybe swap pickups and such) and a Spector Legend 5 Classic.
I kinda of go back and forth between a light fuzz and a heavy, but either way I like it chunkier? Not sure how to describe, but I got interested in the Idiotbox Dungeon Master (D&D ref will always grab my attention) but after watching their bass demo of it, it's too...smooth?
Like, if you hear the bass and you can just imagine the waveform in your head as a loose string waggling, where the DM(in that demo anyway) is more like a taut string vibrating. For the low notes anyway. Grungy, Grimy, loose, etc.
I watched a video on the Big Muff deluxe which has the blend instead of the 2 outputs and that had some good sound to it.
Otherwise that's a lot of words to say: I don't really know what I like best yet or how to get it.
Well, fortunately for you there's not eleventy billion OD/Distortion/fuzz pedals out there, so you won't have to go through too many.
My first job as a mechanical designer I got I worked under a guy who left me this great piece of wisdom:
Sometimes, you just have to shoot the engineer and build the d*****d thing.
Right about to that point now. Just gotta pull the trigger and buy one.
An easy cheaper route is getting a few Amazon cheapo pedals that are >$30ish and try out some circuits and find out what works and what you wish those had. You can then get further into the rabbit hole for the circuit(s) you like.
Sooo....I took yous guys's advice.
I went on Amazon and bought 3 fuzz pedals last night.
Should be here in the next few days to play around with.
I went on Amazon and bought 3 fuzz pedals last night.
Should be here in the next few days to play around with.
Good luck, enjoy the ride! If you want more clips of a DM, let me know, I can throw something together for ya. It can do smooth, but can also get real nasty.
^^^
Fantastic advice, there's so much fuzz variation until you hear them in person with your own ears this is a great way to decide what style you like before committing. Most of us collect fuzzes/distortions/ODs anyways at least it gives you somewhere to start. I actually think I own way too many dirt pedals but I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM AND THEY ARE MINE!
Happy Easter, heathens! Check out the latest jam once you're done with church and egg hunts:
Thanks all for all the uploads and plugs. Especially the plugs, as I'd never know about em otherwise!
To lop on what everyone else has said about grabbing cheapest dirt and figuring out what circuit styles you like, check them in a mix too. Some may sound great on their own one way, then disappear in the mix, and vice versa for others. You almost never know, especially as every guitarist has different sonic profiles too. There's also plenty that on their own seem to need a volume boost to stand out l, where others you may feel like they sound the same or quieter on their own, but fit just right in the mix. Hell some even need a blend, others don't.
Rule of thumb I've always tended with are you need more mids than you'd expect, unless going for a certain tonal effect.
And to be honest, my advice might be junk, the only truth I've found to any effects is that you only know once you try it for yourself in your rig.
To lop on what everyone else has said about grabbing cheapest dirt and figuring out what circuit styles you like, check them in a mix too. Some may sound great on their own one way, then disappear in the mix, and vice versa for others. You almost never know, especially as every guitarist has different sonic profiles too. There's also plenty that on their own seem to need a volume boost to stand out l, where others you may feel like they sound the same or quieter on their own, but fit just right in the mix. Hell some even need a blend, others don't.
Rule of thumb I've always tended with are you need more mids than you'd expect, unless going for a certain tonal effect.
And to be honest, my advice might be junk, the only truth I've found to any effects is that you only know once you try it for yourself in your rig.
Oh jeebus yes. I love to joke that with a stock Univox Super-Fuzz sound, you have a choice: it dominates the mix, or the mix dominates it. There is no in between. Of course, the more modern copies with a more flexible EQ than a switch that only selects between "ALLLLL THE MIDS!!!", or "NO MIDS FOR YOU!!!" allow you more options. I love the original, but it's got only a few environments it really shines in.
Yep, it is odd how much that makes a difference. If you have an amp (or any EQ) with a sweep-able midrange control so you can control the peak point as well as the amount, even better.
I’m not sure if there was much love for the EHX Graphic Fuzz, but there’s that for tone sculpting…
…or if there’s a fuzz whose top end you like, get a blender pedal to leave the low end undisturbed.
