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Tube overdriveish pedal?

#41
chaak said:
Darkglass Vintage Microtubes hands down
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The OP asked for a TRANSPARENT overdrive....not a massively mid toned / spiked overdrive. The SFT is quite coloured too, but in a SVT sort of way. If you want to layer Ampeg over Ampeg sounds then the SFT is the way to go. But in my experience to get a very transparent and dynamic Overdrive, then either a Wampler Euphoria / Ecstasy or a Barbershop OD. Everything else I've tried is coloured, voiced or emulates a specific Tube amp sound...fender / Ampeg etc...
 
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#45
AMJBASS said:
Another vote for the Barbershop. Its the best sounding overdrive pedal I have used for that on the verge of breakup into light overdrive territory. Really warms up the front end of solid state heads too.
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The Barbershop IS a great pedal, but when I went on my "transparent OD" search a couple months ago, the Blue Tube was the one that finally dethroned my Barbershop.

The transition from clean to OD just seemed smoother and more touch-sensitive.

Barbershop deserves ALL of the recommendations that it gets, but I think OP has found another great solution.
 
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#46
I own and love the Creation Audio Grizzly Bass for exactly that application. I play through a Bongo through a GK MB-500 and it gives me the contrast I need when I want transparent grunt. It's a perfect contract to the modern solid state sound put out by that combination. Depending on my set I'll keep it on the entire time. No bottom end loss. I tried a bunch of other overdriven but this one is staying.
 
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#47
The thing I've noticed about overdrive is that it sits in different places in the EQ spectrum, and everyone's idea of "good tube drive" varies greatly depending where they like the OD to be in the spectrum. The B3K is definitely more high and high-mid focused, adding a lot of attack. The SFT and Aguilar Aggro are aimed more at the lo mids for a muddy breakup. Without knowing your exact tone goal, its hard to judge.

I picked up a used Pork Loin years ago and I just can quit it. The sweep, tone, and blend options really make it a great low drive pedal. It takes a little patience, but it can do a lot.
I had a B3K, and if you are looking for something that will add to your attack, its great. I had trouble making it work in a mix and it wouldn't behave in the studio, so I sold it.
The ability to blend in a clean signal is a must for me, so I have an LS-2 and a custom built Broughton blender. With that I've used an Abominable Electronics Hellmouth, which is a refined version of the TS9 and 808 circuit with an additional gain boost and clipping section for leads. It is pretty transparent and has a lot of nice sizzle to it without getting too barky like the original TS9.
An OCD clone like the Demon or Olde Dirty Bass are also really nice with a blend, so they are transparent while doing what they need to do. They are a little harsher than a typical "tube" OD, but they are my go-to for snarling drive with a little extra junk in the trunk.
 
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#48
Creation Audio Grizzly Bass is my go-to as well. Gives me subtle, transparent, and dynamic (touch-sensitive) overdrive with my passive and active basses. Has hi-cut and mid-cut controls for versatility, but those can be bypassed by cranking 'em fully clockwise. Has two flavors of overdrive that can be used individually, or combined.

I considered the Barbershop as well, but read a few reports that it doesn't play well with hot/active basses so I skipped it.

Finally: someone else mentioned the Idiotbox Blower Box, and I agree! Yeah, this pedal has the badass skull graphic and can deliver outrageous levels of distortion, but it also sounds really cool at low volume, where the coloration is minimal. :)
 
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#49
I love my Grizzly for this. I also recently snuck a Dunwich Olde Dirty Bass past the German customs gestapo, and that's the best od I've ever played, it kicked the Barbershop right off my board immediately...good luck finding one, though -- I was the beneficiary of some amazing timing. But definitely check it out if you have the chance.
 
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#52
GMC said:
The OP asked for a TRANSPARENT overdrive....not a massively mid toned / spiked overdrive. The SFT is quite coloured too, but in a SVT sort of way. If you want to layer Ampeg over Ampeg sounds then the SFT is the way to go. But in my experience to get a very transparent and dynamic Overdrive, then either a Wampler Euphoria / Ecstasy or a Barbershop OD. Everything else I've tried is coloured, voiced or emulates a specific Tube amp sound...fender / Ampeg etc...
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None of those look like they have a blend knob. I think I'm going the DK Vintage Microtubes because of that.
 
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#53
Bassheart365 said:
None of those look like they have a blend knob. I think I'm going the DK Vintage Microtubes because of that.
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The grit / gain / distortion knob is both. Many OD pedals need a blend because the grit control isn't dynamic and can't be dialled all the way down without destroying your signal. The Barbershop is a clean boost if you dial down the grit to zero, so it doesn't need a further blend knob. The Wampler Euphoria / Ecstasy and Timmy behave the same way. The VMT needs a blend to dial back the baked in EQ...which is very strong and if you dial down the grit, weird stuff happens. It's not a great design in my opinion...and the grit structure is kind of really buzzy.
 
#54
emjazz said:
It doesn't get mentioned much here, but the Cochrane Timmy is exceptional for this.
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Yes it is, I have one too. The problem I have with the Timmy is the two tone controls are cut only and are voiced for guitar. They are pretty redundant on bass...maybe I should make an edited clone of it. But...the grit is excellent. It's really nice sounding, it's dynamic and fairly transparent. But I think the Wampler Ecstasy is a better pedal over all.
 
#55
GMC said:
Yes it is, I have one too. The problem I have with the Timmy is the two tone controls are cut only and are voiced for guitar. They are pretty redundant on bass...maybe I should make an edited clone of it. But...the grit is excellent. It's really nice sounding, it's dynamic and fairly transparent. But I think the Wampler Ecstasy is a better pedal over all.
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Agreed about the Timmy, although I personally don't need eq as it sounds great as is. Would love to see a clone with eq added though.
 
#56
emjazz said:
Agreed about the Timmy, although I personally don't need eq as it sounds great as is. Would love to see a clone with eq added though.
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I think it's complicated by the fact that one of the tone controls is pre-grit and the other is post. It's great for guitars to thin the bass before grit and crank the gain up (effectively boosting mids). But for bass, it's never that useful. Our best EQ's are always post grit.
 
#58
GMC said:
I think it's complicated by the fact that one of the tone controls is pre-grit and the other is post. It's great for guitars to thin the bass before grit and crank the gain up (effectively boosting mids). But for bass, it's never that useful. Our best EQ's are always post grit.
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For me it works great with the eq flat (not cut). Someone who likes to eq would be disappointed for sure.

I have an Idiotbox Han-Taun coming that I hope is even better for low gain purposes.
 
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#59
GMC said:
I think it's complicated by the fact that one of the tone controls is pre-grit and the other is post. It's great for guitars to thin the bass before grit and crank the gain up (effectively boosting mids). But for bass, it's never that useful. Our best EQ's are always post grit.
Click to expand...

Now that I think about it...the dirt is so pure and unique with the Timmy..would be worth using it in it's own loop with something after it to eq if need be....even rehousing it with a dedicated eq after the Timmy would be awesome.
 

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