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Torn Between 3 great pedals

DrewGK

DrewGK

Jul 19, 2010
60
28
CT, USA
#1
Hey guys

im trying to decide whihc pedal to ask for for christmas. Im going for kind of a fat overdrive sound here but I can't decide between these pedals.

the pedals in question are

MXR M-80
Sansamp VT character
Aguilar AGRO overdrive

now keep in mind i used to have a sansamp BDDI but i sold it becuase it just made every bass of mine sound the exact same. I really want to preserve the character of individual basses, but still get a nice dirty overdriven sound

I know a little bit about the first two but nothing about the third.

anyone have any advice on any of these?
 
#2
The MXR, definitely. They make great quality pedals; you won't be disappointed. It'd be great for gigs that have a soundboard/DI; when I accompany choirs or w/e I prefer not to bring my whole 4x10 rig so a DI box that also gives effects and EQ works nicely. It's at a great price, and adds a lot of tonal versatility with the EQ and everything; you might have to tweak it for each bass a little to find "that" sound, but... I would say go for that.
 
#3
Never tried the mxr; but Id DEFINATELY get the Agro over the vt bass if youre looking for an overdrive/ distortion pedal. The vt was good for recording, but playing out of my amp it wasnt great for an overdrive. Good for acheiving a 'poor mans svt' sound; but I sold mine and got the agro. Which im finding loses a tiny bit of low end(as do the million other pedals ive tried), but has the best aggresive/ ballzy overdrive Ive come across after buying and selling at least 15 overdrive/distortion pedals. Check the sound clips of the agro on the aguilar website. Listen to nathan thomas's demo. It will make you buy the agro!
 
#4
^ If you're just looking for a good OD/dist, then this sounds like a solid reccomendation. If you want the extra features, go for the MXR; but the OD is probably better on the Agro than the MXR (considering it's a pedal tailored to do nothing BUT OD)
 
#5
The good news is that if you purchase it new you'll have 30 or 45 days - or 1 yr if you buy from ToneFactor.com - to return it if you don't like it. Recos, while nice - really don't mean jack. It's all about how it sounds with your own rig AND if it produces the sound/tone you've got in your head. That's why playing it yourself with your bass/amp/other pedals is so important. You will find "it's amazing" and "it sux" reviews for just about EVERY piece of gear.
 
#7
DrewGK said:
now keep in mind i used to have a sansamp BDDI but i sold it becuase it just made every bass of mine sound the exact same. I really want to preserve the character of individual basses, but still get a nice dirty overdriven sound
Click to expand...

If you want a good drive then get the Aguilar. It will keep your bass sounding like your bass. The MXR is a good pre but I'm not a fan of its dirt. As iamdenial said, the VT will make your bass sound like an Ampeg.
 
#15
They do three different things.

I own the VT and the M-80. They're both excellent pedals in their own rite, but they do totally different things. The M-80 is a great natural DI and preamp. It doesn't color your tone much, and the DI sounds excellent. The distortion CAN sound ok, but it tends toward the harsh end of the spectrum. The VT nails the overdriven Ampeg tone, but it sucks as a high-gain drive device. I never turn the drive up past noon.

I have no experience with the Agro, but it's getting good reviews.

If you're just looking for a drive pedal that will retain the character of your basses, I would probably go for the Agro. If I had to pick one pedal as a general-use toolbox, it would be the M-80. If I had to pick one for my own personal pedalboard, it would be the VT.
 
#16
Don't have any experience with the MXR, but I can offer you some insight on the VT and Agro.

First of all for reference, I've had these recorded.

'62 Jazz RI played with a pick:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=1092078&songID=9562702

Jazz fingerstlye:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=1092078&songID=9580298

I recorded these comparing a slight gain, a heavy gain, and an extremely heavy gain with both pedals. Sorry for the length, but I recorded them in this order on both clips:

1. Flat Jazz
2. VT (Low gain)
3. Agro (Low gain)
4. Flat Jazz (to remember original tone)
5. VT (heavy gain)
6. Agro (heavy gain)
7. Flat Jazz (again for clean reference)
8. VT (extremely high gain)
9. Agro (extremely high gain)

For personal experience with both pedals I can agree with previous comments. The VT records really well solo, but I have had a harder time putting it in front of an amp and still achieving great results. The Agro seems to play nicer in front of an amp, but as mentioned there is some low end loss. The VT will obviously color your sound a bit (as it is an Ampeg emulator), and the Agro will a little less. The Agro does seem to sit more on the side of a distortion, rather than a drive, but obviously both are subjective depending on what you dial in.

The VT's controls are way more touchy than the Agro's (I would find myself knocking my controls in transport and having a harder time dialing back in my tone. As far as tone - the Agro is a neater OD in my opinion. It's a really precise OD. It cuts through the mix well, but I find it harder trying to sit in the mix. The VT gets sloppier with all sort of great overtones that can beef up a signal as opposed to making it slice. So I would say it varies on what you are looking for.

Both have been a good tool for recording (with a clean signal mixed in), but the Agro is the one that sits on my pedal board, where the VT doesn't anymore. And with all that being said, my Distortron is still my drive of choice over my Agro for the majority of what I play. I love the tones with the Agro, but I'm still trying to find its niche. The VT I use to experiment with these days.

Maybe some of this will help... :confused:
 

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