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What's wrong with me and overdrives?

Kijuer

Kijuer

Jan 23, 2018
1,088
3,495
Trescore Cremasco, Italy
www.oslaviaband.com
#1
I'll cut to the chase. I struggle to dial an even slightly overdrive sound out of any pedal. They all seem to have a weak drive. Everything I have ever used. The gain/drive knob must be turned at 2-3 o'clock to get a barely noticeable effect. This is not right. It's not how they're supposed to work, right?
Look at how I had to set my EBS multidrive. I get a very subtle effect. I couldn't even hear any drive at all trough the PA.

IMG_20220220_114327.jpg


Darkglass Vintage Deluxe
Darkglass Alpha Omega Ultra
Fender Pugilist
EBS Multidrive
TC Electronic Mojo Mojo
Markbass Mini Dist

are just a few. But it happens with every pedal.
I can't understand why.

My clean signal sounds absolutely right, clean, strong and punchy. Nothing wrong with it. Modulations work absolutely fine. The only issue I have is with drive pedals.

FYI the chain is: P.bass - Shure GLXD16 (wireless) - EQ pedal - od/dist - mod (eq200) - di box

Fuzz pedals work well. OD/dist don't. I am totally baffled.
 
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#3
I think I saw you post about this on FB earlier. Anyways, there is something going on BEFORE your signal hits the pedal. Look into increasing the output on your wireless system or consider the issue may be in the EQ pedal. What are your settings for it? Also for the sake of 'good science' have you tried a cable instead of the wireless signal?
 
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#4
SunnBass said:
I think I saw you post about this on FB earlier. Anyways, there is something going on BEFORE your signal hits the pedal. Look into increasing the output on your wireless system or consider the issue may be in the EQ pedal. What are your settings for it? Also for the sake of 'good science' have you tried a cable instead of the wireless signal?
Click to expand...

I used to use a Boss EQ-200 and ironically my main EQ settings was everything flat :-D
Now I have put a simple Markbass Mini boost which is always bypassed unless I need some mid scoop for slapping purposes.
Yes I tried cables too of course. Same result.
It's as if my signal through drive pedals "loses" gain when I engage them. As I said, the clean tone is absolutely spot on.
 
#5
el murdoque said:
Increase the output on either the Shure or the EQ pedal.

A Fuzz is like a chainsaw. It shreds whatever you feed it. The other effects don't care about the input signal strength.


An overdrive is more like a healthy push into clipping territory.
If the incoming signal is too weak, the healthy push won't get you past the threshold.
Click to expand...

I shall try boosting my signal.and see if that's enough. I have plenty of dB available on my Shure unit as it currently it's set at +/- 0 dB.
 
#7
Kijuer said:
I used to use a Boss EQ-200 and ironically my main EQ settings was everything flat :-D
Now I have put a simple Markbass Mini boost which is always bypassed unless I need some mid scoop for slapping purposes.
Yes I tried cables too of course. Same result.
It's as if my signal through drive pedals "loses" gain when I engage them. As I said, the clean tone is absolutely spot on.
Click to expand...
Eliminate all extra variables.
Bass > dist/od/fuzz pedal > amp... try that and report back.
 
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#8
OD pedals can be touch sensitive. I tend to play with a light touch and as a result turn up a drive control to compensate. They also can be effected by pickup output. Some of my basses push a drive pedal more than others.

Depending on how much gain and dirt you’re looking for a distortion or fuzz pedal may be more to your liking.

Edit: just read your original post again. I see distortion and fuzz are already in the chain.
 
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#11
The way you pluck the strings greatly influences how the pedal will react. With overdrive / distortion especially, I feel that a strong attack, with some fret buzz, will give you the extra punch at the beginning of each note, and emphasize the character of the drive ; the rest of the note (the tail) is less significant. I don't really have the right words I guess :roflmao: pluck hard, almost perpendicular to the string, let it zing and bloom. This might be what you're missing.
This is less of a prerequisite with fuzz, where you're essentially getting a "block" of sound ; the heavy compression makes the impact much less significant.
 
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#12
XLunacy said:
The way you pluck the strings greatly influences how the pedal will react. With overdrive / distortion especially, I feel that a strong attack, with some fret buzz, will give you the extra punch at the beginning of each note, and emphasize the character of the drive ; the rest of the note (the tail) is less significant. I don't really have the right words I guess :roflmao: pluck hard, almost perpendicular to the string, let it zing and bloom. This might be what you're missing.
This is less of a prerequisite with fuzz, where you're essentially getting a "block" of sound ; the heavy compression makes the impact much less significant.
Click to expand...

I agree 100% with that. That's why ODs with a pick always sound so great.
 
#14
You’re not crazy. I probably have over 20 OD now because I have a problem. Many ODs seem clear on a bass when they’d be quite dirty on a guitar. Even bass specific ODs aren’t a sure thing. If you’re looking for more dirt try a Rat type that’s bass modified or bass specific since you already know fuzz.
My experience that K and D type ODs are pretty light on bass and a BB type like Wampler Pantheon will give you more dirt across the range.
Or take a look at Demon by Fuzzrocious or for tube drive a Particle Accelerator by Sushi if you can find a used one.
 
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#17
One thing I have noticed specifically about bass overdrives. It definitely takes more input signal to really drive them. If your going Bass>OD>Amp and still not getting the drive you want. You might try boosting it with something like a clean boost or even stacking overdrives.
When I use my Sansamp BDDI, I have to drive it harder with my jazz bass than I do my Precision. My active basses also seem to workout well for gain tones. EQ also plays a part as well. adding/cutting mids will drastically change your OD.

I had a hard time finding a bass overdrive pedal I really liked. I always go back to a sansamp. or if I want a hi gain bass tone, I like stacking a fuzz and the Sansamp. Nowadays I typically use the OD channel on my Fender Bassmans, it works really well for me.
 
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#19
IME dirt on bass distorts the lows at low gains, which is a much more subtle form of drive than hearing the clipping above 1k hz. This can be exacerbated by using flatwounds or having your tone rolled back, which removes a lot of the high end you might be looking to get crunching. My guess is if you cranked a high freq on the eq heading to your drive pedal you'd get more of the sound you expect.

I hope this helps you sort your issue; if not, I wish you good luck in your tone quest.
 
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