• 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.

What pedal can do SUBTLE overdrive?

#61
I liked using the MarkBass Bass Tube Marker for subtle overdrive at a reasonable price. It has a distinct and harmonic sound to the drive section that holds bottom end very well, It can be used for the subtle grit or whacked right up to heavy distortion. Its currently on my secondary pedal board as I recently purchased the amazing Owen Electronics Bass Bomb Driver which kills off all other overdrive competition by a long way.
 
#62
johnk_10 said:
IME, the B3K has a weird scoop in the mids that I prefer not to have. I would have had to dial it out on my amp, but that would've changed my bypassed tone too much. and it never sounded anything like any of the eight V4's that I've owned.
Click to expand...

I think, for the tones I like there is a lower-mid scoop going on with ultra present highs and high mids so that makes sense. I wind up dialing some 250hz out to get the clear grind I like with my GK800RB.
I get that you can make the B3K fizzy, but with right setup I hear grind, unlike the Boss ODB-3 which really sounds fizzy to me.:)
 
#63
I am just like the OP - can't stand distortion on a bass guitar. And, I too went through a small search to find the one that helped in a rock band. (Xotic, Sparkledrive and some others). I gave up all together because as mentioned somewhere above when I got it set low enough that I did not mind it was all but gone in a mix. I have since just started to set my Streamliner to get a little breakup on the front end, boost some highs etc and found a perfectly useable tone. I will also use a VT on the front end of my REDDI when going direct and it does a fine job of doing what I needed. It is, however, very exasperating to find the right sound with because of how all the controls interact with each other, but once there does a very good job (make notes of your settings). Good luck on your search.
 
#64
Like most of us, I've also been on this search for a long long ( and expensive!) time.

The pork loin, in particular, did not cut through the mix no matter how it was set, internally as well. I was keen to try it since everyone seemed to rave about it, but just didn't work for me at all.
Most of the others I've tried have the same problem.
At the moment I'm using an older dod bass overdrive, hardwire cm2, ashdown lomenzo, ehx glove or darkglass vintage for differing setups in different bands. All cut through well, and give just a little 'hair' to the sound
 
#65
My favorite light overdrive to date is from the Verellen Meatsmoke. The 'clean' channel is great for getting some tube break-up as you dig in. Depending on the setting, and assuming you have good control of dynamics in your fingers, you can easily go from super clean to tube sparkle to mild overdrive. The tone naturally has a nice low mid focus and slightly woolly bottom end that sounds great for rock. The highs are very clear, but not harsh. (Eq controls highs very well.) Switch to the boost channel and go from mild overdrive to all-out raunchy fuzz. The eq is fantastic too, very effective and flexible. I have box full of overdrives that just seem pointless since I started using the Meatsmoke.
 
#69
Happynoj said:
Try the Digitech Bad Monkey. Its super cheap, does a nice subtle drive, has a two band EQ and is green. What more could you want?!
Click to expand...

+1, I haven't found a pedal for a subtle overdrive that comes close to the Bad Monkey, and its dirt cheap. Probably the most under priced pedal on the market.
 
#70
mmbongo said:
No, it's pretty common which is probably why there are companies dedicated to selling mods to fix it :)
Click to expand...

I did the Badder Monkey mod on mine, I took it apart and changed out the input and output caps, I don't recall the value, I really didn't notice a huge difference after the mod. It was a great sounding pedal before, and a slightly better sounding pedal after. It wasn't enough of an improvement that I would pay money for someone else to do it for me.
 
#71
Here is another suggestion nobody ever mention; it use to get some love here a few years back before the market got flooded with too many bass pedals. It remains unique and demands some tweaking to get good tone but what a pedal!

Electro Harmonix Germanium OD
$74 at full retail and often a lot less.
 
#72
Barbershop. The VT is tricky to dial in with a very sensitive EQ. But it can sound great. The barbershop is super simple and really just sounds like a cranked tube amp. Get one of the clones in the smaller enclosure floating around, or an original, or one of the new ones set to come out soon that might have an additional feature you'd like. I think an extra high cut? In any case, I love mine and it does exactly what you are looking for.
 
#75
chief redcok said:
Just get an envelope filter
Click to expand...

...this...totally...:p

re the B3K...
The B3K is mid scooped and compressed, no doubt about it.
I like that though, and use it specifically for that purpose and tone.
Usually to tame fuzz and high gain distortion.
Or just to sound awesome, really.

If you want less mid scoop and/or more tone control:

Wampler Euphoria
Fairfield Barbershop
Earthquaker Devices Monarch

Alternatively to effects pedals, you could dial up the input gain on your amp.
That would get you the 'cleanest' subtle drive you're likely to get compared to adding another variable into the mix.
 
#77
This is an old thread but since I started it, I'll close the loop and post what I eventually ended up with. It's this guy: BOSS - BB-1X | Bass Driver

It's highly controllable and can be VERY subtle. As others have pointed out "subtle" overdrive is typically lost completely in a live band mix, so I have to dial in more grit than sounds good to me solo and then it's usually workable.

I still hate distortion though :)

The older I get, the more I love the purity and simplicity of running a great bass into a great amp and having nothing get in the way. All the sounds I really love are there just by changing the pickup blend and how I touch the strings.

So I finished my utterly awesome pedal board, the trio broke up, and it's back in the garage!
 
#78
Sparkdog said:
Hey all you pedal-philes, I need your expertise!

I've read a million threads and listened to a million clips but still haven't found what I'm looking for (apologies to U2)

I am a guy that hates distortion on bass, I mean really hates it. But I now play with a trio that is doing more and more hard rock and an overdriven gritty tone is really called for. To that end I have been shopping for a pedal to cover it. I have a Sansamp VT Bass on order and from what I have read on TB it sounds like that should do a convincing SVT tone, right?

I have also demo'd a bunch of overdrive pedals, including:

Fulltone Mosfet Bass Drive
EBS Billy Sheehan
Pigtronix Fat Bass
Electro-Harmonix Bass Big Muff Pi
MXR Bass Fuzz Deluxe
Aguilar Aggro
Xotic Bass Boost
Boss ODB-3

My complaint with all these pedals is that I really could not dial in a subtle overdrive that would still cut through the mix. It's basically clean, or fuzzed out and muddy (to me anyway)

To my surprise, the Boss actually came closest to giving me a crunchy overdrive that didn't overwhelm the solid underlying bass tone, so I bought it. It works, but I'm still not completely happy with it.

I've learned that there MUST be EQ on the pedal or I can't get what I want from it. The Darkglass BK-7 sounds like it would be great for me, but I just can't justify the price for a pedal I use so sparingly.

I'm hoping the VT Bass is the ticket, but are there any others I should check out?

Just so you know what I'm using, my setup is a Lakland DJ4 with Dimarzio Model J pickups, Roto 66 strings, running into a Gallien Krueger MB212 combo. I play with a pick for most of the material, but lots of finger style too.
Click to expand...

For subtle overdrive I actually prefer the older sans amps like the bddi, bass driver deluxe and programmable, I've using the RBI which is based on the bddi and has additional features for a while now for my rock/metal originals band and have it on all the time.
 
#79
dannybuoy said:
I've been quite impressed with the Earthquaker Devices Speaker Cranker lately for this. It might not be quite what you were looking for, and only has one knob (gain), but set all the way down it gives a nice subtle drive with no low end loss and a slight upper mid / treble boost. I was using a Phat Phuk B into my VT, but the Speaker Cranker replaced it, and it's cheap too!
Click to expand...

+1 for the speaker cranker. Set with knob at zero it adds a touch of volume, but also a hefty amount of girth to the sound as well. Love the Speaker Cranker for what it does. Sounds great too with knob at 10, but is too much above unity volume to be practical in my setup.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back