Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

[kleinenenten]

Finally had some time to play again after a few weeks off. Needed it. And it was just in time for my new (to me) BAT Priestess! I'm loving this thing. It does everything I want, and is dead simple to dial in. Spent maybe two minutes figuring out diodes, then just tweaked a few knobs, and in about 15 minutes I had the absolute best fuzz tone I've ever used. Not crushing or out there, but just heavy and infinitely usable. Plenty of bass, lots of harmonics, and both the distortion and the treble are heard in the mix.

I was skeptical about grabbing this as I absolutely love my CMCs, but this beats my favorite CMCs and the Pharaoh Supreme. They're all (the Tall Font, Bubble Font, and Priestess) pretty close tonally, though. If I had to compare, the Priestess is in between the bassiness of the Tall Font and the Bubble Font. Gain-wise, it's closer to the Bubble Font, but not farther from either. The Tall Font has less gain. The real difference was in how it handled the original signal - the Priestess seems to keep the original tone under the fuzz better. It seems to be more full-range and warmer, without any sort of scoop going on. I could get the Bubble Font very close, but it never quite had the exact character - I could get the warmth, but sacrificed a bit of the gain/treble, or I could get the gain/treble, but sacrifice a bit of warmth. Not much either way, and you'd probably not notice in a mix. Since the Priestess is currently on my main rig, I tried to replicate its tone on my second rig too. For that, the Tall Font seemed to fit better. I upped the gain to noon for a bit more distortion and treble, reduced tone slightly to about 1:00 for some warmth, and it's close enough for what I need.

The Pharaoh got close to the Priestess, but I couldn't quite get the distortion right. Probably because it's naturally lower gain - by the time I got the gain right, I had to change everything else. I'll likely try the Pharaoh and Swollen Pickle on my smaller rig again and see what I can do, but there's no time at the moment.

I also found the Priestess to LOVE everything that boosted it. I used my ODB, MBD-2, Volt Thrower, and Heavier Metal pedals and they each added their own unique tones to the Priestess. Heavier Metal (HM-2) into the Priestess was amazing, and I can see why so many people enjoy fuzz with the HM-2 tone stack. But it performed everything perfectly and supported every mix I played, all while having the distortion intact and using the same settings. It was able to hang in everything from old Metallica, early Sabbath, Kreator, Sodom - everything I usually play, and there are certainly different mixes and tones in there. It works well with my MXR Bass Envelope Filter, too! Really, the only thing that would improve this pedal is if it came in a smaller footprint.

For reference, here are my settings:
Volume: Unity (Noonish)
Tone: 1:00ish
Fuzz: Noon
Mids: Max
Clip 1: Off
Clip 2: On

That's it! Got to keep playing with this thing to see how I like it in a few weeks, but I'm absolutely stoked so far. This makes me want to try the LSTR as well, as that's another BAT design that has great reviews.

 

[kleinenenten]

As completely expected, I'm this close to getting a similar tone from the Swollen Pickle and the Pharaoh Supreme. I did a bit of digging on the Priestess's specs and found that Toggle 1 controls the 2nd stage diodes - so I set the Pre on the Pharaoh pretty low to mostly "remove" the diodes. Toggle 2 is set "on", which is silicon diodes, so I set the Pharaoh to SIL diodes, and I'm getting much closer now. The Pickle is currently set for clip at 3:00 (mostly SIL blend, I believe, though they don't specify beyond varying between "smooth" and "open" sustain), with filter at noon, crunch at 1:30, and sustain at 3:00. Scoop is always maxed (least scoop). The kid's in bed now, so I can't test at volume, but hopefully tomorrow we'll see how close these tones get.

I also re-learned the latest Kreator song I learned a few months ago. Apparently barely getting a song down, then promptly being unable to play consistently for a few months and not playing that song results in not remembering that song... Anyway, I was close, figured out the little parts I had forgotten, and it's all good again. Gotta figure out which song to learn next.

 

[Michedelic]

This is all I've been able to find on it. I had never heard of them until I met this guitar player.

Invalid Link Removed

He's kind of a mad engineer with the rigs he builds. I just bring what are shockingly small 2x12 cabs.

Ah yes, Tel-Ray oilcan reverb, on display in this song….

A big part of guitarist Vincent Bell’s sound(he did the Twin Peaks theme)…


I knew about the individual units, and the ones they did for Fender, but didn’t know any had been integrated with an actual amp. Found this:

The Tel-Rey company morphed into Morley, but the current version has little connection.

 

[scabpicker]

Totally not doom or bass related, but I'm celebrating finally being able to control my video mixer over MIDI with a sequencer. I figure you guys might like the visuals I got, if nothing else.

 

[Kaa]

I thought I'd post my pedalboard for fun. Been doing a doom-style setup using the Royal Blood thing with octave up. Been super fun so far and layering the Grey Stache with the CMC Effects Sunn Preamp has been absolutely crushing. Currently at 3 songs about 25 minutes of music going to do 2 more then vocals and put it out!

View attachment 7073285

Not to be a pedant, but that's a pedal floor.

 

[Kaa]

I have absolutely nothing to post. So, take that, internet!!

 

[Ritter667]

I love this, psychedelic, somewhat folkish, doom rock, fronted by a woman:

 

[Michedelic]

I love this, psychedelic, somewhat folkish, doom rock, fronted by a woman:

Hmm, sorta like Renaissance meets Sabbath?

 

[Novarocker]

SAME

I’m strongly considering this…strong like bull

Yeah bit the bullet on it. Loved the original, but the size kept it off the board. Tried a EQD monarch and Guptech rockerverb preamp recently. I like em, but they're not quite there 100%, probably in my head though. @kleinenenten I'll post up there when I get it. I don't have the original on hand anymore, but have at least tried it.

What's the "unconventional bass setup"?

I just impulse bought a used BAT Priestess for a decent price, so that should be arriving in the next few days. More fuzz glory whenever I finally get a chance to play again for more than a minute or two. I also managed to find a solid deal on another Digitech CabDryVR, so now I'll have 3 of 4 boards with one when that arrives. Needed something to lighten the mood in my life lately (i.e. unplanned gear purchases) because... (Warning - downer portion of the post incoming.)

Been a rough few weeks here. Multiple deaths in the family, with two more possible in the near future (one very possible, the other unlikely but he's older, so you never know and it sucks regardless), my son got kicked in the head at a soccer game so we had a visit to the ER - thankfully no concussion, but it messed him up for a few days. Then add all the random annual things at work starting to pile up right when I have to miss work to meet all these family obligations... Just too much stuff lately, and not enough bass. I'm ready for things to slow down and be boring again. Boring is good. Boring is predictable. I typically enjoy boring and repetitive. It means things are generally doing okay. Let's get back to that.

Hopefully you're all doing better than I have been lately! I'm trying to get back into good habits as I've certainly slipped up these past few weeks with the extra stresses involved. Back to a workout schedule and my standard "beer only on the weekend" rules to get life back in order! Wish me luck!

That's brutal! All the best for the trying times and everyone doing the best possible with their situations. And yeah, the beer/drinks only on the weekend is a solid rule. Been doing the same for a bit lately to decent levels of success.

Don't try to talk me into one! Sounds like my beloved Swollen Pickle, where a single tiny knob adjustment can change everything. Maybe one day I'll grab one for my guitar rig. I feel like they go pretty cheap most of the time. I get the feeling it won't do much for me on bass, and I'm actively trying (emphasis on trying as I recently bought another bass fuzz...) to limit my pedal collection and get rid of stuff I don't need or don't use.

I feel ya on that, been doing the same. The hardest bit lately has been the Idiotbox Mystery pedals. I love fooling around with a bunch of em, thankfully he's done production runs of some. Then a lot of em I'm almost holding on to for like future studio or such use, but feels a shame to hold on to some that I know deserve legit use, not shelf sitting. I should just move most of em, the thing holding me back for a lot is how tough it would be to get them again if I wanted...I've only seen a few of each go up. Unfortunately, I don't know too many people locally that would be interested, making the possibility of snagging them back in the future rare.

I thought I'd post my pedalboard for fun. Been doing a doom-style setup using the Royal Blood thing with octave up. Been super fun so far and layering the Grey Stache with the CMC Effects Sunn Preamp has been absolutely crushing. Currently at 3 songs about 25 minutes of music going to do 2 more then vocals and put it out!

View attachment 7073285

Nice! How do you like the crimson drive and deathmaster? Been meaning to try both for ages?


In other news, I semi butchered the body of my next build. I don't have much in the way of planes, and I let the boards sit for way too long before glue-up. Additionally, besides them warping just a tad, I did not have foresight on the limitations of my cauls...I need to make some more. All in all, not that bad for my first lam build and it's all from thrown away pallet wood (pine). I am now looking into making a flattening jig, but also just using larger pieces in the future.

In reverse order. Working on flattening so I can put the top on. Slow going with family and life though. Overall, not bad for a first go at dimensioning wood, not to mention pallet wood.

 

[JesterR]

I love this, psychedelic, somewhat folkish, doom rock, fronted by a woman:

There is old album of one of her project. Maybe not what you expect, but one of the coolest psychedelic occult stuff:


Also she occasionally play on bass on some gigs.

 

[JesterR]

Hmm, sorta like Renaissance meets Sabbath?

If you need some "renaissance meets sabbath":

 

[kleinenenten]

Well, bad luck strikes again. Car got totaled this morning. I'm fine, which is good because it could have been FAR worse, but man - I was just saying how I had a nice boring weekend where I got to play bass... Now on to finding a new car and figuring out the payment part of it. It'll all be fine in the end, but man - just having terrible luck lately!

In bass news, I did get the Pharaoh Supreme on my second rig even closer to the Priestess's tone on my main rig last night. Seems like MOSFET is the way to go - which were always my go-to diodes anyway. Still low gain (9:00ish), high fuzz (3:00ish). Pretty close, but a bit looser and not quite as much gain, but similar otherwise. So there's that. Too bad I likely won't be able to play much again for a bit!

 

[Michedelic]

If you need some "renaissance meets sabbath":

Cool, quite an old school sound, and I mean that in a good way.

 

[Kaa]

Well, bad luck strikes again. Car got totaled this morning. I'm fine, which is good because it could have been FAR worse, but man - I was just saying how I had a nice boring weekend where I got to play bass... Now on to finding a new car and figuring out the payment part of it. It'll all be fine in the end, but man - just having terrible luck lately!

In bass news, I did get the Pharaoh Supreme on my second rig even closer to the Priestess's tone on my main rig last night. Seems like MOSFET is the way to go - which were always my go-to diodes anyway. Still low gain (9:00ish), high fuzz (3:00ish). Pretty close, but a bit looser and not quite as much gain, but similar otherwise. So there's that. Too bad I likely won't be able to play much again for a bit!

That sucks, but, I'm glad all are alright.

 

[jollygiantchris]

Not to be a pedant, but that's a pedal floor.

Lol that is true, for recording though it works, the only board part is the bass signal chain.

Between the CMC Crimson Drive & idiotbox Deathmaster I prefer the deathmaster. The crimson drive is very nice and has a good sound but its more of a low/mid gain vintage voicing, I like it for solos or to layer with modulation. I feel like the deathmaster has more versatility and can get pretty extreme. Both are great pedals though!

 

[davedamage]

30 years of playing and I just now got my first all tube head. We'll find out tonight how it stacks up to all the old lead sleds and class D amps I've had over the years. Initially impressions: this dude thumps.

 

[Kaa]

30 years of playing and I just now got my first all tube head. We'll find out tonight how it stacks up to all the old lead sleds and class D amps I've had over the years. Initially impressions: this dude thumps.

View attachment 7077155

Niiice. I've heard good things about those.

 

[davedamage]

Niiice. I've heard good things about those.

I turned the master up to 4 and three pedals fell off the shelf...

 

[cornfarmer]

I heard the YBA 300 is more betterer than the 200 supposedly. Is it because the 300's have the tubes right side up?

Still curious about that little 100 watt tube head that came out last yearish. Still 1000% satisfied with my SS Traynors & Yorkvilles.

 

[scabpicker]

I heard the YBA 300 is more betterer than the 200 supposedly. Is it because the 300's have the tubes right side up?

Heheh, I doubt it. Electrons are affected by gravity, but I doubt it does much over the distances involved in tubes. Any differences in sound are almost assuredly due to differences in the circuits, not tube orientation.

Myself, I've been eyeing Super Bassman 800s these days. I dearly love my all-tube Super Bassman 300, but I seriously doubt that I'm ever running it hard enough to drive the power tubes enough to justify lugging them around. I'm always running it on the drive channel with the gain and the mix near dimed. The master might get a little above 3 if everyone else is running unusually loud, most of the time it's at 2.5 and I kind of wonder if I should turn down (and we're a pretty loud band). If someone else who shares our practice space uses it (Hehehe, don't even ask, you'll only bug me. It's so very unlikely you'll really abuse it more than I do.) and swtiches to the clean channel, they'll usually turn it up to 4 or so. When I show up afterward and switch it to the drive channel and forget to turn down the master before I hit a note, the rest of the band acts like they should report me for attempted murder.

So, a class D power amp with the same preamp as my current Super Bassman that weighs only 20 or so pounds sounds pretty appealing at the moment. Does anyone know a similar tube pre/class D power combo platter that might fit the same bill but instead runs less than around $900 used? Sticking individual components in a rack would be an acceptable solution, but I don't own a rack. So, think about that in your price calculations. Oh, and I want two inputs, because it does double duty as an organ or synth amp (yeah, I could buy a a/b pedal, but I don't wannnnnnnnnna). One channel with two inputs is fine, I drive them as much as I drive my bass sound.

If not, I'm probably gonna grab one.