Strong, yet clear bass distortion

Boneless

Boneless

Jan 2, 2007
891
1,053
6,176
Monopoli (Bari), Italy
#1
I have an Ibanez PD7, it does the job, it can get pretty distorted and yet it retains a certain clarity (you can hear the string attack and decay, it's not overly smashed like in most fuzzboxes, which I do like by the way but they serve a different purpose) but it's a bit too "modern" sounding (scooped, cold) for the band I'm in. Think Song 2 by Blur. I'm not looking for an overdrive (I have an Xotic Bass BB Preamp and it works well for dirt but it's not distorted enough for full-on distortion), I've had the ODB-3 but I hated it, RATs don't do it for me (mushy sounding on bass). Any suggestions? Nothing too expensive possibly.
 
#2
Probably expensive but the mbd1 comes to mind... has a distortion that still retains the sound of the input with clarity yet grinds well (ie original instrument or overdrive if stacked before hand) either that or get the aftershock and I’m sure there is something in the engines you can tweak / use clean blend to get the song 2 type sound. I liked my pd7 but needed clean blend so when I took that off the board now use cog mini 66 for my overdrive to mimic the pd7 low mid boom and found the mbd1 just better than the pd7 distortion.
 
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#4
I'm not interested in TS-style overdrives (the Xotic is one of them, I don't need another one). They're good for low-medium drive, but not for strong distortion in my opinion. Maybe the VTBass could be useful (although it's more suited to overdrive in my opinion), looking for alternatives. A few years ago there was this craze for the Bogdan Love pedal, IIRC it was nothing really special in my opinion but it was probably closer to my idea of drive. (Edit: no it isn't. It gets farty soon).
 
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#6
I know you said you don't like RATs, but some more boutique-ish RAT-based pedals tuned for bass sound way better. Check out the Idiotbox Bass Blower Box or a Dunwich Volt Thrower.

Also, the Fulltone OCD is technically an overdrive, but it's not anything like a tube screamer or the more "soft/smooth" sounding ODs that are commonly used on bass. Check out the Abominable Electronics Oppressive Cult Destroyer - a more bass-friendly OCD copy with additional features.
 
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#9
I know the guy isn't very popular around here, but I really dig my JHS mod Bass Soul Food. One switch is a bass boost. The other sends the signal through either stock diodes or a pair of Schottky diodes for a bit more old school sound. Then there's the blend. I know the blend can be a bit of a crutch to "fix" what's "wrong" with some pedals (mainly lack of low end). But in this case I blend in about 25% clean to give it a bit more depth and clarity. The drive signal is most prevalent by far but the little bit of clean really takes the overall tone to a "whole nuther level".

It's a pretty cheap pedal that's versatile and get the job done.

They don't make them any more so you might have to poke around to find a used one. By I give it a big thumbs up.
JHS-Soul-food-Mod-top.jpg
 
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#10
Boneless said:
I have an Ibanez PD7, it does the job, it can get pretty distorted and yet it retains a certain clarity (you can hear the string attack and decay, it's not overly smashed like in most fuzzboxes, which I do like by the way but they serve a different purpose) but it's a bit too "modern" sounding (scooped, cold) for the band I'm in. Think Song 2 by Blur. I'm not looking for an overdrive (I have an Xotic Bass BB Preamp and it works well for dirt but it's not distorted enough for full-on distortion), I've had the ODB-3 but I hated it, RATs don't do it for me (mushy sounding on bass). Any suggestions? Nothing too expensive possibly.
Click to expand...

If you have something that you like, why do you want something else?

What about adding an EQ after what you have?
 
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#13
A couple of things come to mind:
  1. Cut the bottom from the dirty signal
  2. Add some clean bottom
  3. Pay attention to how the overdrive effects dynamics. (Keep the punch.)
With that in mind, I highly recommend the FEA Labs Photon II. This pedal really allows you to sculpt these elements. It is one of the most dynamic overdrive/fuzzes I have ever played through.
 
#14
Perhaps you could look around for a Pearce BC1 with the Billy Sheehan mod. I've not found a tighter bass distortion anywhere. The Ampeg version is close, though, as well.

I've also long liked the Sunn Beta Bass, with one channel driven and one clean. If you are intent on a stomp box, there are also a few people around who make copies of the Beta Bass in a stomp box. The guy in Russia seems to be the most popular.

And I completely agree that the Boss ODB-3 is awful.
 
#16
Alien8 said:
If you have something that you like, why do you want something else?

What about adding an EQ after what you have?
Click to expand...
I don't really "like" the PD7 (it's a bit too "metal" sounding, if it makes any sense), for heavy distortion duties it does the job but I'm only using it because that's what I have. I'd like something which is capable of fat distortion which retains attack (something the PD7 somewhat does) but less hyped (it's mushy on the bass side and on the treble side it's too much of a buzzsaw). I'd also prefer to steer away from boutique pedals, because for one, I'm based in Europe and lots of these boutique makers aren't readily available here, and I don't really want to spend a lot for an effect I don't use really that much. I don't really like clean + wet blends either as they sound a bit fake to me (I have a blender anyway).
 
#18
I've heard the Dunwich and the Abominable Electronics whatever and they're too "heavy" sounding, they seem like they're more suited to dropped-down metal bands in my opinion (deeeeeeeep throaty or full-on fuzzy sounds). I play indie rock, keep in mind.
 
#19
Scooped and killing your attack is sort of where distortion lives. It is compression of a sort, after all.
It really matters how much saturation you want. Some drive pedals might be able to get you there. A Fuzzorious Demon cranked up, an Aguilar Agro, or maybe a Darkglass Alpha\Omega.
 
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