Low end recovery pedals?

micguy

micguy

May 17, 2011
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#1
I've been experimenting (for a couple years) with overdrive pedals. I have a particular sound in my head, and buying and returning pedals has been an ongoing task throughout this time - what I hear in my head and what I get from pedals isn't the same thing, so most of them go back to the store. I've probably spent almost as much on shipping as I have on pedals I've kept. I've also done blending, I've tried stacking, etc.

What I've figured out is I generally like a mid pushed guitar overdrive better than the ones sold for bass, but..they tend to lose low end (yes, we all know that). Blending them helps the low end, but doesn't completely fix the issue, and the mid freq stuff also gets washed out in the blend.

My latest strategy (which seems to be working) is to go ahead and use an overdrive that loses some low end (but not a lot), and then use a klow freq boost pedal to revive the lost low end. Assuming it's not too far gone, the strategy seems to (finally) be getting close to the sound in my head. The "recovery pedal" that's working for me is an MXR micro amp+ - it has a low freq boost that boosts just the very lowest freqs, so you don't end up with a lot of low mid mud. Putting an overdrive and this in a loop, and swithing in the loop gets me a one switch overdrive that, finally!, sounds like I want it to.

Anyone else doing this? I haven't seen a a thread anywhere on this, but I can't be the only one doing this.
 
#2
micguy said:
Blending them helps the low end, but doesn't completely fix the issue
Click to expand...
Tangent: Maybe you've tried this already, but just in case... Have you tried blending with a crossover pedal? A typical blend pedal operates full range for both the affected side and the unaffected side of the blend. A crossover pedal like the Iron Ether Divaricator offers blend, but separates them with a crossover to where you could have your low end stay clean and as fat as you wanted it, whereas the overdrive, which would live in the pedal's loop, would be affected above the crossover point only. It's a neat pedal concept that unfortunately didn't work for me as well as I'd hoped, but it could be worth exploring if you haven't already.
 
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#3
silky smoove said:
Tangent: Maybe you've tried this already, but just in case... Have you tried blending with a crossover pedal?
Click to expand...

Those (Iron Ether Divaricators) have been "almost available" for a few months. Had one been available when I first looked, I might have done it that way. I did buy a Rolls crossover, and with that approach, I needed a mixer, a switcher, the overdrive, and the crossover - 4 pedals to do an overdrive. I decided to try another plan, which is what got me to where I am now. Which, granted, is 3 pedals, but one of them doesn't have any knobs - just the switch. One of the things I like about the Micro AMP+ is that, at minimum gain, it's esssentially unity - at least there's one knob I can just set fully CCW, and forget about, and it won't ever go off if I turn the knobs wrong.
 
#4
micguy said:
Those (Iron Ether Divaricators) have been "almost available" for a few months.
Click to expand...
Bummer. Taylor is a little cryptic with his builds. I always found the best way to get his products was to follow him closely on Facebook and the instant he says "such and such pedal is now available in the shop" you dive onto his store and buy one before anyone else can. I grabbed a Divaricator in the initial run, tried it for a couple days, realized it was not for me, saw that the store was out of them again and promptly sold it here on TB for the same price I paid for it new. A very cool pedal that was, again, just not for me, but might be just the ticket for your goals. Good luck whether you can find one or not. Sounds like you've been down quite a long and expensive road.
 
#5
I signed up for the wait list on Iron Ether's site, and given that the initial estimate was that they'd be available in January, I'm getting a good value in that I'm getting more waiting than expected. In the meantime, though, I may have figured out a better way. If the current strategy holds up for a few more gigs, Iron Ether won't get the sale.
 
#7
micguy said:
I've been experimenting (for a couple years) with overdrive pedals. I have a particular sound in my head, and buying and returning pedals has been an ongoing task throughout this time - what I hear in my head and what I get from pedals isn't the same thing, so most of them go back to the store. I've probably spent almost as much on shipping as I have on pedals I've kept. I've also done blending, I've tried stacking, etc.

What I've figured out is I generally like a mid pushed guitar overdrive better than the ones sold for bass, but..they tend to lose low end (yes, we all know that). Blending them helps the low end, but doesn't completely fix the issue, and the mid freq stuff also gets washed out in the blend.

My latest strategy (which seems to be working) is to go ahead and use an overdrive that loses some low end (but not a lot), and then use a klow freq boost pedal to revive the lost low end. Assuming it's not too far gone, the strategy seems to (finally) be getting close to the sound in my head. The "recovery pedal" that's working for me is an MXR micro amp+ - it has a low freq boost that boosts just the very lowest freqs, so you don't end up with a lot of low mid mud. Putting an overdrive and this in a loop, and swithing in the loop gets me a one switch overdrive that, finally!, sounds like I want it to.

Anyone else doing this? I haven't seen a a thread anywhere on this, but I can't be the only one doing this.
Click to expand...

Have you tried blending parallel OD, rather than blending OD with clean. One channel would be higher gain and give you the mid-pushed sound you like. The other channel would be lower gain and use a pedal that doesn't gut the low end. Experiment with pre/post effect EQ in both channels to see how you can shape the envelope of the OD and also how you can get the two channels to blend more to your liking. I would think a post effect LPF on the low gain channel would prevent it from degrading the mids of the high gain channel.
 
#9
I'm in a Motörhead tribute band and this is how i do it: output from my wireless receiver is split into two different paths. Lo path: receiver ---> compressor set to 1:2,4 -->- simple rackmixer panned left ---> left input of stereo PA amp with built in LP filter set to 150hz ---> ported box w 15in PA woofer. High path: receiver ---> blackstar guitar dist ---> eq pedal ---> said rackmixer panned right ---> right input of said PA amp with HP filter set to 150hz ---> closed cabinet w one celestion 12in guitar speaker. The blackstar is not full range so it has to be bypassed to make the system fullrange. The compressor is used to compress lo path as much as the blackstar compresses the high path. Elsewise the lo to high mix changes with how hard i pick. I simply set a lo path level on the mixer , dial in balanced amount of high path and then set the total volume with the mixer master volume.
 
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#10
DAB said:
. The compressor is used to compress lo part as much as the blackstar compresses the high part.
Click to expand...

This is a really good point. IMHO, balancing the compression between the parallel signal paths is key to creating a really good composite sound from the blended signals.
 
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#11
You may want to experiment with one of these.

Tech21_GED_2112.jpg

Massive low-end channel on the right, tube-like goodness on the left, blendable with the level knobs, along with a knob to blend in your straight signal (on the drive channel) too.
Obviously designed to cop Geddy's sound, but there's enough flexibility built in to go your own way as well.
Mine has replaced my EBS Microbass and SansAmp VT pedals, and while it sounds great with active or passive basses, it sounds particularly brutal when used with a good Jazz Bass. :bassist:
 
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#13
I tried several things and found the best solution was to use a good quality blender, there are a lot of choices but the one that finally floated my boat was the Rocktron Tru-Loop. It really did the right stuff. I finally found drive effects that did not need blending but keep the Tru-loop for those times i may need a particular voice to blend.
 
#14
I used my big board tonight for the first time and I totally understand the need to reclaim low end. I kept cranking the bottom end as well as low mods all night long. The struggle is real.
 
#15
micguy said:
What I've figured out is I generally like a mid pushed guitar overdrive better than the ones sold for bass.....
Click to expand...
Yep, I like the ole' Tube Screamer types on bass too. There are versions out there with a solid low end.
MI Audio Tubezone is one (aim for V3 or V4) that can actually push the bass way above unity.

Otherwise, something like a Tym's Big Bottom might be what you're after - they actively split the signal for a low end pass and then combine them after the effect pedal.
 
#16
Try a Boss LS-2 to blend a clean and dirty loop. On the clean side, add an EQ to roll of the mids and highs, followed by a compressor / limiter so that the clean lows don't poke out over the (naturally compressed) distortion channel. You can also try an EQ on the dirty side, rolling off lows before the signal hits the dirt.

You can also try the EBS Billy Sheehan Deluxe or the forthcoming Tech21 Dug unit which have similar approaches in one pedal.
 
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