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What kind of distortion do you use?

I use a digitech xbd bass overdrive/distortion pedal(a.k.a the digitech bass driver). it may not be the best bass distortion pedal, but I like this pedal for it's fizzy metallic sounds. it sounded pretty cool through the mixer output. it makes the pedal sound smooth and heavy. it also sound pretty cool when I combine it with my chorus pedal. it gives me a grungy but heavy sound. not to mention it also sounded pretty cool when combined with a tube-emulation pedal like the hartke bass attack preamp pedal. this combination delivers a smooth killer sound. other than that, I think the digitech bass driver sounded pretty cool.
 
i used to use a boss metal zone (yeah yeah i know very funny :P) until it crapped out on me. currently thinking about picking up one of those cheap $15 danelectro fab pedals or might wait til i can get the digitech death metal pedal.
 
OD: Swell Bass Drive, and the second gain switch is set for a more distorted sound.
Fuzz: Oxide (towards gated), PPB (set for darker tone, low gain)

So far my favorite real distortion comes from Ampkit. Choose the "gritty bass" preset with the Peavey Valve King head, then hit the Lead switch, and back down the gain and treble until it stops producing feedback. Tight, Bright distortion that still has some balls without being muddy.
 
I'm still on the hunt for distortion myself. I have an McSpunckle And Aardvarks coming in any day now...

I almost built a BYOC Rat, but I may just pick up a Rat Tail instead.

In the mean time, I crank the B3K up when I want full on distortion, though I like it best as an overdrive...
 
A lot of folks have suggested the RAT. I agree, it's the epitome of distortion pedals...a true classic. But it also has a bit of low end loss. So if your bass player is going to be switching in and out of the distorted tone, I would suggest getting the RAT modded with either the Reutz mod or a clean blend (or both). I also think that adding an asymmetric clipping diode can increase the versatility of the unit in terms of how it sits in the mix. It's a very subtle difference, but a noticeable difference nonetheless.
 
I use a digitech xbd bass overdrive/distortion pedal(a.k.a the digitech bass driver). it may not be the best bass distortion pedal, but I like this pedal for it's fizzy metallic sounds. it sounded pretty cool through the mixer output. it makes the pedal sound smooth and heavy. it also sound pretty cool when I combine it with my chorus pedal. it gives me a grungy but heavy sound. not to mention it also sounded pretty cool when combined with a tube-emulation pedal like the hartke bass attack preamp pedal. this combination delivers a smooth killer sound. other than that, I think the digitech bass driver sounded pretty cool.

+1! I just gave this pedal a 'what the heck' tryout one day and had to have it. Got it for 30 and haven't looked back. It can get wild, but I use it as a 'predistortion' . . . Umm, if that's even a word. The blend control works far better than the one on an odb3.