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Why distortion/OD/Fuzz

#3
I like using distortion on bass because it gives me a more heavier sound. it also adds more boost to my bass sound. there are many different kinds of overdrive, distortion, and fuzz sounds. and many people have different preferences of what kind of distortion sounds that they like. I personally prefer a warm heavy distortion sound. and there are a couple of distortion pedals and distortion channels on multi-effects processors that can deliver me such a sound. I currently own a zoom b2.1u and a korg ax5b and these multi-effects processors has a great variety of effects, amp, and cab models. also I like to combine distortion with chorus. it gives me a grungy but heavy sound. I use these effects when I record music and when I perform live.
 
#7
I've never used distortion, only as a nasty effect (example @ ~3:30). These days I run my rig such that I get a little breakup from the preamp, my Sansamp in the FX loop, and my power section. I dig the slight dirtiness but I never bust out my dirt pedals.

Can any of you guys who are crazy about distortion/od/fuzz post some clips or examples where you feel like you are using it to an awesome effect in a band setting?
 
#8
It brings warmth to your tone, or it brings an edge to your tone, depending on what pedal you're using. With a bass guitar and an amp, you have a huge option of things to do, but that selection is limited. With distortions, you open up your versatility into new things. For example, I just got a ZVex Mastotron, and it is so amazing, because I can now do things that I couldn't do before. When I get an envelope filter, I'll basically have a synth station. So, in less words, we like dirt because it's fun, and lets us do more stuff.
 
#9
Overdrive is absolutely magic in a mix when recording even. Overdriving your sound tends to put a hump into your midrange by nature. If you listen to isolated bass tracks from some of your favorite albums, you'll see that tones that are perceived to be "clean tones" in the mix are not clean at all. Overdriving helps a bass to sit in the mix better.

I taught this trick to a guitarist/producer friend of mine and when I spoke to him some time later, he said "it's funny but you were right, I haven't used a clean bass tone since...even in Country and Blues."

Just my $.02
 
#10
Because they add more harmonic complexity to a note in a way that is generally pleasing. Also there is no "best" one for everyone. A lot of other effects (filters come to mind immediately) are a matter of taste too, but dirt seems to have a bigger variety. I'd say this is because dirt isn't too hard to make compared to most other effects.
 
#11
I like it because it helps add some fatness to higher notes on the neck. Higher notes always sound thin to me with a clean sound. Sometimes you might want that, but you can add a little OD that goes by basically unnoticed but makes the higher notes pop out more and have some low end whomp to them. I also like it because it sounds gnarly. I may play in a 50's-60's oldies band, but a lot of those songs were recorded with some pretty gnarly tube overdrive, and the ones that weren't seemed to have at least a little, so it works well for me to have a couple different levels of overdrive available from slight to medium.
 

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