I was just playing the Muff with the phaser and reverb before it and it was pretty great. I think adding a chorus would be pretty wild and awesome tbh.
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Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out
- Thread starter Korladis
- Start date
well, my ampeg rb210 handle arrived today, however the chrome ends and screws weren't in the package
i guess you would say that i a dismayed, the amp is just big enough and heavy enough that it is annoying to move without
a handle
going to mess around with the rolandstudio50 website this weekend to generate some beats
thinking my project is going start sounding like Primal Scream
i guess you would say that i a dismayed, the amp is just big enough and heavy enough that it is annoying to move without
a handle
going to mess around with the rolandstudio50 website this weekend to generate some beats
thinking my project is going start sounding like Primal Scream
Figured i’d update on this. I guess the bigger they are, the harder they fall… or deader they die… or something. Almost overnight the big ol’ B turned into a 25 year old LaBella. Like hitting a bongo wrapped in a tarp with a rubber mallet. Which sucked, because A. the other strings still sounded perfectly fine, and B. I had a gig that week so no way was I getting a replacement here quickly enough. Bummer.I’m on a Rickenbacker which has juuuust enough of a shorter scale to make all strings feel that little bit looser. Gimme the cable.
All was not lost. I slapped on some TI JF’s I had on the Ricky a while back, and honestly? They slayed at the show. They’re gonna stay for a while, hopefully a very long while.
Conclusion… while the big ass B sounded at felt fantastic at first, it’s not worth it to me if I’d have to replace them that much more often. The upsides weren’t worth the tradeoff. Flats work just fine with our sound, in fact I really liked where they had me sitting in the mix. At least I can say I tried it.
Got the Chorus and Blumes in today. Decided to toss them on my board.
Been on Black Sabbath kick lately and remembered that we recorded a cover of Sabbath's "Who Are You?" last year.
Since there is no guitars in this track, only synth, we plugged my bass to three amps, put it through some wierd effecs and a lot of fuzz. asked a buddy to play us a few saxophone licks and voila.
Since there is no guitars in this track, only synth, we plugged my bass to three amps, put it through some wierd effecs and a lot of fuzz. asked a buddy to play us a few saxophone licks and voila.
Got a Calamity in the mail today. Enjoying it as a smooth Russian-style fuzz. Not sure it'll be my #1 or anything, as I seem to prefer a little more "heavy" (i.e. distortion) in my fuzz, but dang - it's a great one. Certainly a keeper, and probably my #1 "Russian Muff" now. Really makes me want to see if I can get my Russian Pickles modded for a mids knob, as they've got a little bit of aggressive sputtery magic in the distortion that I love, and the Calamity doesn't quite get there in that regard. But it's better in the mix and the mids certainly make it more usable than the Russian Pickle - and I LOVE the Russian Pickle.
Keeley Seafoam+ in bass mode into EHX Sovtek Deluxe is sounding great. That Keeley pedal is excellent for bass.
For what it's worth, I adore the Sovtek Reissue, that's my #1 favorite current production Muff for bass. I've done recordings with it but non-doom, usually into my EHX Bass Clone too
That's an excellent fuzz for the price. I had one a while ago, and it was just barely beat out by my Way Huge Russian Pickle for those tones. But either would certainly work - I was splitting hairs and I'm a sucker for top jacks.
Anybody have any experience with the BAT LSTR? Thinking of adding one to my stable, maybe on bass, probably on guitar. On the guitar side I'm looking for more gain, but still enough lows and clarity. Gonna play my Calamity on guitar and compare to some other fuzzes today.
Howdy, y'all. Nothin' new here. Heading to Kyrgystan in a few weeks for the World Nomad Games.
I would like to take this moment to mention that this month is the 30th anniversary for the release of Melvins' Stag. It's an odd album, as all Melvins records should rightfully be. It's possibly the weirdest album released by a major label in the '90s. I totally wore out the tape I dubbed off of my roommate's CD within a year.
Even though it's weird and experimental and sometimes the weirdest pop, there's plenty of good sludge on it. "Lacrimosa" is probably the sludge that sticks in my head the most. Maybe it's the title, maybe it's the desolation of the whole thing.
"The Bloat" is just Mevlins goodness all the way through.
Edited to add: And damn how old men forget. "Goggles" is wonderful complete noise sludge with a bizarre mix.
But the song that made me acquire my own copy was "Skin Horse". I'm sure I've posted it here before, but it's so weirdly pensive, triumphant and bizarre at the same time that it bears repeating. I don't think I can get that package of craziness in any other song. Plus, it may be Dale Crover's most shining moment in playing normal "rock" drums in its early climax. It's part of why I think he's the best drummer, ever. He out-rocks every other drummer. Every time I listened to that tape, I was anticipating this track coming around again.
I've seen them play at least a dozen times, I've only seen them perform this one live once, when they did the "An Evening With the Melvins" tour, where they played a one and a half hour set, took a twenty minute break, and then came out for an hour and a half more. They even reproduced the weird pitched vocal effect at the end. I was in heaven.
Even though it's weird and experimental and sometimes the weirdest pop, there's plenty of good sludge on it. "Lacrimosa" is probably the sludge that sticks in my head the most. Maybe it's the title, maybe it's the desolation of the whole thing.
"The Bloat" is just Mevlins goodness all the way through.
Edited to add: And damn how old men forget. "Goggles" is wonderful complete noise sludge with a bizarre mix.
But the song that made me acquire my own copy was "Skin Horse". I'm sure I've posted it here before, but it's so weirdly pensive, triumphant and bizarre at the same time that it bears repeating. I don't think I can get that package of craziness in any other song. Plus, it may be Dale Crover's most shining moment in playing normal "rock" drums in its early climax. It's part of why I think he's the best drummer, ever. He out-rocks every other drummer. Every time I listened to that tape, I was anticipating this track coming around again.
I've seen them play at least a dozen times, I've only seen them perform this one live once, when they did the "An Evening With the Melvins" tour, where they played a one and a half hour set, took a twenty minute break, and then came out for an hour and a half more. They even reproduced the weird pitched vocal effect at the end. I was in heaven.
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I keep telling myself I need to listen to this band. They seem way up my alley.
100%! It's mean on bass and guitar as well. No experience with Way Huge, would like to try a Swollen Pickle for guitar someday but have heard they're a bit tedious to dial in. Guitar aside, my absolute #1 Muff for bass is my old Sovtek Tall Font Green Russian, I have the wooden box too. Most expensive pedal I have ever bought (around $400) but it was definitely worth it to me, damn near every single vintage Muff is extremely inconsistent sonically not only from circuitry changes or parts tolerance differences, but also from drift over time. The Russians, while definitely not super consistent, were one of the more consistent older production Muff types. I think the V2 Ram's Head circuit had 20 different variations alone! Anyways, I've owned this Tall Font, a V8 Black Russian, and a Bubble Font, other than an unrelated 1977 transistor Little Big Muff (V3 based). The Bubble Font I traded for a Sunn Stagemaster head and Enforcer 4x12, it was too damn smooth for me, like Gilmour, I wanted raw and angry and it just didn't do that. That is not a testament to the entire Bubble Font sound, just that specific pedal, as I said, very inconsistent. Two of those Muffs made the same day by the same person with the same circuit could sound noticeably different even between minimum and maximum settings (since the pots were never centered often it's impossible to tell by looks alone where the knob is turned to anyways). The Tall Font itself was pretty much a later Civil War circuit in a different painted enclosure. Regardless of circuit, if you find a great one, you'll know it. I still have the V8 as well, seemed to have more of the smoother lower mids like the Bubble Font I had but more aggression in the top end and upper mids, I definitely prefer it on guitar. My Tall Font is pretty scooped in comparison but super bassy and super aggressive. I will say the EQD Hoof is pretty good at helping you approximate the different versions, I found if I dialed it in right I could get very close to the Bubble Font sound and it was at that point I decided to trade it, never needed that sound anyways and it was online so I didn't really have the chance to try before I bought. Either way, worked out perfectly for me. I think the new EHX reissues are just an average of the parts they used across the whole production of each Muff variation so they'll be closer to some of the originals and sound nothing like others. My nano Green Russian reissue sounds nothing like either of the Greens I had whatsoever, it is closer to my Black Russian but it's past the point of aggressive but not harsh, it's fizzier in the top end, I don't prefer it. The Sovtek Deluxe is the reissue Green circuit but I really find that you have way way way more control with how it sounds and I tend to blend a lot of clean signal in with it when I do use it anyways. The active midrange boost is a godsend (I always use the hi q setting), I love how it has a tone wicker too. There is only one thing about it that is sort of jarring, the noise gate, while it's wonderful, it seems very very very tight for something like a Muff, seems like something I'd expect a guitarist to use with a boosted 5150 or something in comparison, regardless, does its job well.
I also love how you can use the expression input to use the midrange boost like a wah. It is sort of subtle but still cool nonetheless
The Swollen Pickle is a bear to dial in, but wonderful. It can approximate basically every Muff I've ever had. There's a video on how to adjust it for bass, but it's just a great deep dive on the ledal in general, so would likely help on guitar too. I'll see if I can dig it up.
Never played a vintage Muff, but my experience tells me to stay away from Russians on guitar. Too much low end, and I want more gain. Give me solid (but not massive) lows and plenty of grit and clarity. Basically the opposite of what I want on bass, besides clarity on both.
Sick! I was mostly aware of the Swollen Pickle for that super thick chainsaw thing it has going on when dialed in right, isn't it just a very very very modded V6 Muff circuit? I'm not a big fan of internal trim pots since I like tweaking things, I know they did the Dirty Donnie with everything external but the art is... mediocre to say the least haha. I'm not typically a big Muff fan on guitar but I have gotten some good results, even with the Russians. Typically I boost them for guitar, usually either a Tube Screamer or Rangemaster, once I did a song with an Ibanez Fat Cat going into the EHX Ram's Head Reissue. No boost? Usually every knob on the Muffs maxed (for the Russians) boosting some Sunn amp gain, EQ usually pretty mid boosted to compensate. Did a song once with one guitar track being my Tall Font into my Sunn Beta Lead, and the other being my Black Russian into my Sunn Stagemaster. For another song I did my EHX Op Amp Nano Muff into my Sunn Enforcer stack but the tone wasn't on 10 on that since Op Amp Muffs naturally have a pretty aggressive top end. I think those three are the only times I've recorded unboosted Muffs on guitar and they were sort of an experiment. I did let one of my bands' guitarists use my 77' LBM for guitar once and that was sort of the same schtick I normally do for unboosted Muffs on guitar, I dialed it in for him for a demo, volume maxed, no gain knob on that one since it's internally at 10, and the tone switch at the 100% high passed setting (would be the tone knob on 10). I usually sort of go for opposites with my guitar and bass tones too, always complementary, depending on the tuning I will let them gel a bit more. All of the unboosted Muff guitar songs were in C or above anyways so I sort of got away with it. Lowest I've tuned while still using a boosted Muff on guitar in a song was A. I like a lot of upper midrange on my guitars, for heavier stuff I typically like just enough gain to sustain pinch harmonics, especially when I bust out my 8, too much gain and it becomes mush. For super low tunings I usually I scoop the low end pretty aggressively, carve out a decent chunk of low mids, and let the guitar rest in the upper midrange and treble mostly. My bass is almost always way way way more distorted than my guitars, typically a clean DI blend added, a healthy amount of lows (for super super low tunings I tend to like the kick drum being above the bass frequency wise, more click and punch than boom), usually a bit of reverb gets added to my bass for the slower songs just to give a tad bit of roominess, for the 8 string songs specifically I do like having a lot of clank in the top end too just to cut through, scoop the frequencies the guitar lies in a bit more, boost where it isn't so everything stays cohesive, also helps that I'm not in the same octave, always full octave down no matter what. For 6 string guitar songs I tend to EQ much differently, the lows aren't as aggressively scooped (still scooped but less so than when I use my 8, high pass filter usually gets put a bit lower frequency wise than I do for my 8), the high mids, while still boosted, aren't as aggressively boosted as when I use my 8, low mids still a bit scooped but, again, not as much as when I use my 8, and I tend to sort of make the bass mesh more EQ wise in the sense that I won't have as tough of a time making the bass heard in normal tunings so I can sort of gel the bass with the guitars moreso in the midrange than having to almost entirely scoop out of where the guitar is to compensate. I will also say for 6 string stuff I can get away with more gain on guitar than I would be able to otherwise haha, I don't use obscene amounts either way. I will say my bass tones are pretty obscene. My sludge band I do guitar and bass for and all of the songs I've done so far have been on my 8 string, I am a HUGE fan of bass tones most would call utter crappola: Mortician, Impetigo, Repulsion, early Carcass, etc. I liken my bass tone in that band to if Mortician had clean DI blended in (although it isn't as aggressively mid scooped or as white noise-y in the top end), it's completely obscene, I have showed people my isolated bass tracks for that band and the tone was so offensive I received a very strongly worded dm from someone who was more than unappreciative
. Isolated incident, but still funny to me nonetheless. I don't typically use that tone for anything except that band. It just sort of works. The band itself is pretty much Admiral Angry worship, more akin to very very very slow Meshuggah than something bluesier like Eyehategod. My normal bass tones for my non-insane bands tend to be either Sunn amp gain or a combo of that and my Tall Font Muff, which for bass I run Volume and Sustain 10, tone 0. I started using my HM-2 for bass a fair bit too, may have to record some stuff with it. I picked up a Peavey Combo 300 recently for $50 and had to do a pretty thorough cleaning of the pots and jacks with Deoxit, also had to replace the plug end (ground pin ripped out). Good as new and sounds wonderful. About 90 pounds total, which is lighter than I expected, but still not something I want to be lugging around in my 60s, I'm a youngster, only in my 20s. The Metal dustcapped Black Widow in it is the best bass speaker I think I've ever used. So much clank and clarity, the EQ is pretty versatile, and I love the crossover. Takes drives like a champ too. I haven't had the chance to record with it yet but I hopefully will do something soon. I tried figuring out the most obscene rig I could run off of the Combo 300 so I ended up running that once. I ran an HM-2 in front, had the 300 powering my Sunn 2x15 (on top of the 15" Black Widow) full range, and I split the high end with the crossover (300 hz and above specifically) into my Sunn Enforcer's power amp and the 10x12 stack I run with it. I had an EHX Signal Pad before the fx loop return as well just to control the volume since ten 12s will always overpower three 15s. Once I got a good balance? Wonderful tone, never wish to lug all of that to a gig ever though Combo 300. 1983 Sunn SA10 power amp on top, I don't really use it with the 300 specifically. Usually I use my Beta Lead as a preamp into it and run it into a 2x15, the Beta master is absolutely brutal, goes from 0 to stage volume pretty fast, the power amp I actually use to help give me more control over the overall volume
