• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

The affect of effects when playing live

dirtychinchilla

dirtychinchilla

Dec 23, 2007
659
670
London, UK
#1
I play in a three-piece grunge band. It's loud. The drummer claims to have dynamics, but we all know it's a lie.

Anyway, my rig is pretty simple - Sire MM 5-string jazz bass, peavey head, a TC electronics compressor, and bass soul food. Both are always on. I've found that bass doesn't play well with my Sansamp so I've dropped it out.

I listen to a lot of Rage Against the Machine, and obviously Tim Commerford's bass tone is very desirable. I've been wanting to get somewhere close to it, and in some ways I have but I'm still not playing with much drive and any grit, fuzz etc.

I bought a cheap distortion pedal (Joyo Ultimate Drive) and used it a little bit last night. But the reality is that I can't hear the distortion at all as soon as we start playing. It feels to me like there's no point in having or using it.

Anyone else had this experience? Has anything made a difference? It could simply be the volume we play at, but it was all very off putting.

Also, any tips on increasing attack without resorting to a pick?
 
Last edited:
#2
There are a lot of things at play in getting a good tone and it all starts with the basics - bass into amp and speakers, if you ain't got that happening first - effects are never going to make that better. You have to have enough bass amp to stand above the dynamic drummer and grunge guitar then your effects will be heard and will make a difference.
When designing your distortion sounds keep in mind what sounds good in practice will never pass muster when the full band is playing. You're gonna have to turn up the treble and the volume to cut through the guitar and cymbals and on it's own it will be nasty or harsh but in the band context it will cut.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AndyLES
#4
I do know what you mean, when a guitar goes full on doom with fuzz/distortion, bass distortion can easily get lost in it.

I use 2 amps, one is always cleanish for the full bass and mids, and one is for kicking in the fuzz & distortion. When the guitarist is doing almost anything except for full tilt fuzz or distortion, my bass sounds great. But when he kicks his dirt in, all you can really hear is my cleanish sound. I’ve learned to live with it. I typically turn my dirt off when he kicks his in, then I get 2 bass tones that can be heard and sound good, and there’s no reason to war over it.

I would agree with the above. It would seem that the Sansamp (depending on which one) enhancing the midrange and just enough gainy grind, along with dialing in your amp with it, would give you the aggressive tones and midrange that you’re looking for, and likely losing with what you’re using now.

When (if) the guitar is not full tilt distortion, you can kick over to the distortion pedal instead, and it will sound good, less competition.

Personal opinion from experience.
 
#5
I’d actually try a different dirt pedal. IME, the Joyo sounds good at lower gain, but very “squishy” overall. If you need something to cut through loud guitar fuzz and crashing drums, a Wren and Cuff Pickle Pie B will absolutely do the job! It just has such a huge and cutting fuzz sound overall, but can also be used as an overdrive (it has a fabulous, natural clean blend as well).
 
  • Like
Reactions: AndyLES
#7
Get a distortion pedal that can allow you to blend the dirt, then crank the gain and midrange. (Personally, I didn't like the bass soul food; lost quite a bit of low end and distortion was too smooth).

Then run that INTO the compressor.
 
#8
dirtychinchilla said:
I've found that bass doesn't play well with my Sansamp so I've dropped it out.
Click to expand...

Do you mean your specific bass? My Sansamp BDDI has made every bass I've ever plugged into it sound like audible gold.

bassbrad said:
When designing your distortion sounds keep in mind what sounds good in practice will never pass muster when the full band is playing. You're gonna have to turn up the treble and the volume to cut through the guitar and cymbals and on it's own it will be nasty or harsh but in the band context it will cut.
Click to expand...

This is incredibly true. Not only will you have to AT LEAST turn up mids/highs on the pedal, but the pedal(s) needs to have the headroom available AND sound good if the volume is cranked too, which it sounds to me like the Joyo is lacking.

King Weapon said:
If you need something to cut through loud guitar fuzz and crashing drums, a Wren and Cuff Pickle Pie B will absolutely do the job! It just has such a huge and cutting fuzz sound overall, but can also be used as an overdrive (it has a fabulous, natural clean blend as well).
Click to expand...

Can confirm. This has been my main fuzz since mid-August. Sounds great at home and with a band. This pedal and my Darkglass B3K & VMT all have the necessary headroom too, more than I'll probably ever need. And all 3 of them have a blend knob, which is clutch. They make my Rick sound like even more of a monster than it already is :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: King Weapon
#10
I'm in a similar situation. Loud 3 piece stoner rock band. Drummer hits hard, guitarist is taking up most of the mids. I keep two dirt pedals on, both of them are on low gain settings, but when combined they become pretty rad. I have my Gasoline Overdrive in the lean mode, which emphasizes distortion on the high mids and treble (or so it sounds like to me), as an always on. Then when I need to kick in and melt faces I kick on my Damnation Audio MBD-1, which has a nice clean blend, massive lows, prominent low mids, and organic highs. I also tend to goose the volume a bit to stand out.

If I were you, I'd say you should keep your compressor off and get an MBD-1 or MBD-2. From there you need to find your space in the sonic spectrum and that's different with every band. It took me a bit to find my space with my current band, but in general I have a good starting point no matter where we play because I know where the guitard is gonna be sitting.
 
#12
I play with a pick so uh, yeah. :D

One thing I've noticed on bass is that I really do prefer a clean signal. I'm not opposed to distortion, but my amp cuts better clean. When I do use distortion, I've found the DOD Carcosa or Boneshaker to be the ticket. Other pedals either cut the low end or overtake the sound while not letting it punch through the mix.

Overall, I think it's just about finding what works with your rig and your style. I'm a big Geezer Butler fan, but I don't have Geezer's rig or his talent. I've got my rig and my talent. So I need to work with what I have. I'd rather cop a vibe and play well (within my limits) than get the tone 100% but sound like Geezer running with a pie in his pants.
 
#13
One thing to note is that bedroom and band tone / levels are vastly different and find your sonic space...
I run my cog mini 66 Always on as an overdrive which cuts with the low mids but any distortion or fuzz I only do in certain spots... having a blend always help but not always... my old Ibanez PD7 used to kill when I turned that on hah. I remember using an old octave up fuzz though and every time I stepped on it was like a mute switch. Unfortunately only trial and error can sometimes just find that works well in your band mix as everyone is different.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back