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Synthy Bass Distortion

#21
DosiYanarchy said:
cheers, yeah ive seen a vid about the BMS, and it looks freaking sweet, when im rich ill get one, but thats probably not gonna happen for a while, i also worry that the sliders might break pretty easily, also how precise is the tracking and is it polyphonic? as in can it handle chords and double-stops?
thanks
Dosi
Click to expand...
The BMS is not polyphonic (you're going to have to mute notes to get the next one to sound properly) and does have tracking issues, primarily on the E string which can be highlighted or minimized depending on the settings you're running it on.

That said, I like the BMS (it's at the shop getting modded to true bypass currently) and am one of those who was disappointed in my purchase of a Blowtorch. Never found a tone out of it that cut in a band mix. Always sounded like a fizzy mess mixed underneath my "real" tone.
 
#22
Thanks Unrepresented, its sorta what i feared, i reckon that if i was to get a synth, it'd have to handle whatever i can throw at it (i dont even know if that can be done), which is why i wanted a synth-like distortion, some recommended the BlowTorch, but you're obviously one of the many that didnt get what u were hoping out of it, although i woulda hoped with the variable mid-shift that cutting thru a band mix would be the its best feature.
Also i have a few people mentioning smooth-clipping, but surely im after a hard clipping to get that aggressive synth sound (squarewave? saw tooth wave?)
for smooth sounds i should have an English Muff'n by monday, and ive got the sansamp BDDI(i know many hate it) for my gritty/dirty/trebley main tone.
thanks
Dosi
 
#23
MysticBoo said:
Oh, and for the Blowtorch...

It's my favorite fuzz, period. I sold my Little Big Muff and kept the Blowtorch! Granted, I love both, but the Blowtorch has a mid-heavy crunch and edge that the Big Muff doesn't have, plus it can sound synthy depending on how you set it up. Not everyone likes it, but I think it sounds awesome through my GK rig.

Check here for my sample: www.soundclick.com/mysticboo

The sample that's there isn't intended to show the synth-like side, BTW - only its aggressive side. :bassist:

I wrote a review a while back as well.
Click to expand...



Hey Mystic - I listened to most of your sound clips and loved your Blowtorch demo, but what REALLY caught my attention was your EHX Pulsar.. the one first one with the LBM and the Pulsar sounded really cool, and now I want one (the Pulsar). Is it considered a Phaser or what??
 
#24
The Pulsar? No, that's clean tremolo. But yeah, it does sound cool after distortion :)

I wish I'd done more clips of that with a faster rate, as well as some of the square-wave trem stuff it can do.

I wish I'd kept it, but until I can find a solid use for tremolo in my board, it'll just have to wait.
 
#26
DosiYanarchy said:
Thanks Unrepresented, its sorta what i feared, i reckon that if i was to get a synth, it'd have to handle whatever i can throw at it (i dont even know if that can be done), which is why i wanted a synth-like distortion, some recommended the BlowTorch, but you're obviously one of the many that didnt get what u were hoping out of it, although i woulda hoped with the variable mid-shift that cutting thru a band mix would be the its best feature.
Also i have a few people mentioning smooth-clipping, but surely im after a hard clipping to get that aggressive synth sound (squarewave? saw tooth wave?)
for smooth sounds i should have an English Muff'n by monday, and ive got the sansamp BDDI(i know many hate it) for my gritty/dirty/trebley main tone.
thanks
Dosi
Click to expand...

I don't know what Unrepresented's experience was, but I personally find my Blowtorch cuts through a complex rock mix like gang-busters. Everytime we've played a show I've had someone come up to me and comment on what a cool bass sound I had and how well it cut through the mix.
 
#27
When i first heard about the blowtorch i was like "sweet, this think will literally blow peoples heads off" and ive read mixed reviews here and on Musicians Friend, so im just going to go try one when i get the cash (as ive mentioned before, a few music shops can get a bit funny if u have no intention of buying- i tried out a Chunk Systems Brown Dog at a reputable bass guitar retailer in Denmark street, london, and honestly they seemed like if was some sort of effort for them, i think the real effort was the £290 pricetag [about $600], what a joke) , but first im gonna see how much distortion i can get out of my English Muff'n when it comes on monday, i know i cant get synth tones out of it, but if it works well with my q-tron, then i might be all sorted.
 
#28
::Saint:: said:
Ahhh.. a tremolo.. interesting, I wouldn't have ever thought I'd like a trem pedal but that thing sounds awesome with fuzz .. and you say it does a Square Wave trem?? Man I REALLY want one now...
Click to expand...

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=333853

It's my old review of it. :smug:

::Saint:: said:
I don't know what Unrepresented's experience was, but I personally find my Blowtorch cuts through a complex rock mix like gang-busters. Everytime we've played a show I've had someone come up to me and comment on what a cool bass sound I had and how well it cut through the mix.
Click to expand...

+1 - it cuts through the mix like it's butter. I get both my original tone at its original volume, and a mid-heavy fuzz that will not be covered up by guitar distortion. :)
 
#29
sweet, im definately gonna try it at some point then, coz cutting thru 2 metal-influenced guitarists isnt easy, in fact the only think i truly like about the Metal Muff is its Mid-eq, its really strong and 'pops' your tone out front in the mix, its just a shame that its fundamental bass frequencies arents voiced well for bass guitar, well that and i dont rate the distortion that high for what i want.
 
#31
There's no hiss at all in regular or Torch mode - it's dead silent when you're not playing, which always surprises me about this pedal.

I only use it in Torch mode nowadays! :D

The regular mode works great with the 250Hz and 750Hz settings, but IMO, it's too buzzy and not very good (IMO) on the 2KHz setting. It really needs that gain boost the Torch switch provides in order to sound really good.

I currently use the 2KHz setting with the Torch switch on and the mids boosted to 3:00. It's my favorite sound out of this pedal.

I am bothered by the placement of the switch, but it's okay with me; when I turn it off, I'm usually changing all the other settings, so it's a bit pointless for me to be able to stomp on it on-the-fly.
 
#33
I think they could have put the torch button on top with the main stomp-switch, personally, as it is a little bit awkward to hit live, but I've used mine live on several occassions while switch torch mode on and off without any real trouble. I've got my set so that the torch button is facing me, so I just hit it with the toe of my shoe. I used to have my pedal chain reversed and I could situate the torch button on the side of the pedal, which was a little bit easier.

As for the sound of torch mode - it definately is not hissy. It amps up the fuzz-factor quite a lot though, and puts a harder edge on the distortion, which I quite like. I use torch mode for the majority of my sounds, but I take it off depending on which other effects and EQ settings I am using.
 
#35
I've gotten some good synthy tones out of it, yeah. I find I rarely use the full gain and blend setting (I typically keep the gain between about 65-75% and the blend at 50/50, which gives me a warmer, more synthy sound. You can, however, crank it up full bore (and keep in mind, the mid control has the most dramatic effect on the amount and sound of the distortion, because the distortion is focused on that range) and get a really highly focused sheen of fuzz.

I could post a sound clip or two if you like.. it is a song I have been working on and is pretty bare-bones at the moment. Written entirely on bass, and I am singing on it as well, which is a little scary as I've come to the realization that I am not lead singer material.

Alright I'll just bite the bullet and post it - Invalid Link Removed

There are two clips, one is an earlier version with some guitar thrown in, and the other is an extended "full-version" with a couple of other bass parts. I'm basically using two different settings on the blowtorch, the most prominent is a fuller, high-gain/blend distorton and the other, during the chorus parts is a more dialed back distortion.

I didn't have the exact same settings on both recordings, however, and I find that the version with guitar has a little less low-end but sounds more synthy.

Anyways, try to ignore my horrible vocal technique and fairly rough-shod quality of the recording - it's basically bass and vocals, with fake drums courtesy of my Zoom B2.1u pedal, which is also in the loop, used only as a pre-amp/EQ.
 
#36
WOW!! i love that tone!!! im gna get one, im a little worried that it might make my english Muff'n obsolete, and i havent even got it yet!!! dont stress about you vocals by the way, i cant sing for ****, and i still do it anyway, in fact your a far better singer than me, check out Link Removed - im the lead singer on illuminated sea, but our singer opens it up. i tell u for nothing that trying to sing and play is a bitch, and the prechorus/link on that song does my head in but ive nailed it now (i couldnt do it live properly even when we recorded it)
thank you so much to all of you, looks like my quest is at an end, can someone justify to me now the fact that ive already ordered the muff'n? obviously im not gna use it as a faux-synth, but the Blowtorch seems like it can do loads well.
cheers
Dosi
 
#37
Hey man - really like the sound of your band! And your voice sounds really good on that tune as well - great edgy tone!

Glad you liked the sound of my Blowtorch in those tracks - I can get quite a few different sounds out of it, but overall it is a very crunchy sound. I re-recorded that song tonight, along with another new one. I really hope I can get a band together pretty soon to actually make these songs sound proper..

Edit: I added you guys as myspace friends and man I just love your sound -- I think you could go very far indeed!
 
#38
sweet man, im glad u liked us, i just wish we shared your optimism about us, the problem we have is that we're either too heavy for most people or not heavy enough, and we're not part of a 'scene' so our fanbase is serverely lacking. im bidding on a Blowtorch right now on ebay, those mp3s sealed it for me, even tho im cutting into money i dont really have, im quite lucky to have found the auction tho, everyone else wants extortionate prices, i should know within 2 hours whether ive won :)
thanks
Dosi
 
#40
thanks ian, ive heard alot about the XXL (tho no actual sound clips) apparently its amazing, but im convinced that the Blowtorch is where im at for a synthy fuzz, altho i got my EHX English Muff'n today and playing fingerstyle gently with the gain right up it borders on almost synthy, so i slapped in my Mini Q-tron and i was dead impressed, shame that theres too much of a volume boost with the MiniQ.
thanks
theo
 

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