There are as many opinions as there are bassists, basses and genres.
Here’s my attempt to answer this question previously…
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/recommend-me-my-perfect-overdrive.1605037/page-3#post-27430960
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Here’s my attempt to answer this question previously…
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/recommend-me-my-perfect-overdrive.1605037/page-3#post-27430960
Earthquaker Blumes. I gigged mine last night and it was fantastic.
My holy grail has been the Way Huge Pork & Pickle Bass Overdrive & Fuzz. Very tweakabke, but worked right out of the box for me. It’s been on my board the longest out of any other dirt box I’ve tried.
A big part of this search however will be trying things to fine the ONE that works best with your setup.
A big part of this search however will be trying things to fine the ONE that works best with your setup.
The only overdrive pedal I ever used on a bass (other than my GT1-B) was a guitar pedal back in the 80s. It can no longer be obtained. I was able to dial in a sound which sounded like a clean bass and distorted guitar, playing some chords.
Obviously, it wasn't working for all songs.
I can't give you a specific link, but there's a "pedal nerd" on Youtube (Josh something) who does VERY deep dives into all kinds of old and new pedals and explains that there's only (?I think it's?) three different kinds of distortion circuits.
He's a guitar player and I don't know how much (if anything) he builds for basses, but if you're looking for an education in pedals, I would think he would be the guy (although @agedhorse might have a thing or two to say on the subject as well).
Obviously, it wasn't working for all songs.
I can't give you a specific link, but there's a "pedal nerd" on Youtube (Josh something) who does VERY deep dives into all kinds of old and new pedals and explains that there's only (?I think it's?) three different kinds of distortion circuits.
He's a guitar player and I don't know how much (if anything) he builds for basses, but if you're looking for an education in pedals, I would think he would be the guy (although @agedhorse might have a thing or two to say on the subject as well).
Yes. Kind of good, kind of off base. I put this review on Reverb
First off, this sounds great with some settings, and does well in bringing in plenty of low end despite the overdrive. But a bit odd, chiefly because it tends to distort low notes more than high, which is the opposite of overdrives using clean blend or crossover……….. Everything at 12:00 surprisingly just gives a huge volume boost. Better to start with volume at 12:00, everything else off/fully counterclockwise. This is about like the bypassed sound. Then add drive to get overdrive/distortion, bringing the volume down to maybe 9:00. The bass tone starts to drop out, so add back in with depth (bass boost knob). Depth adds more overdrive, too. Too much depth causes a bad fuzz especially on low notes. Finally, if desired, add in body, which is a more subtle low mids boost. Full drive, moderate depth and no body is a nice bright classic overdrive, while depth and body up maybe half way or more is a good dark, puffy, bassy overdrive……….. It’s sensitive to input, and lowering the volume knob on my passive bass takes out the distortion. A hotter output passive bass (EB-0, Starfire), and I expect a high output active bass, distorts sooner than my Jazz Bass, without having to add in the depth (bass boost).
I stopped looking after putting a CAL Grizzly on my pedal board. My only complaint about it is that the controls are pretty sensitive, which can be complicated in live situations.
Yes that’s a big problem with standard overdrive as for a guitar. The bass end should be more clean than the top, otherwise it gets like a bass fuzz or “farty.” The other problem is losing your low end when popping it on, vs the bypassed sound, which happens with the OD on the Fender Rumble.
A good bi-amp/clean blend type pedal gets around this. DG Vintage Microtubes is great this way. I found depending on what you put through it (flats, rounds, Jazz, EB0) it really sounds like the old recordings nicely. (Glenn Cornick, Jack Bruce, Jack Casady, John Entwistle). Just defaults to the right sound without very much tweaking. My grail. The more complicated versions could be interesting - deluxe, ultra.
Tech21 YYZ is also great, and much more adjustable. The “tight” button kills some of the bass going into the drive side so you don’t get the farty bass fuzz thing going if you don’t want it. It tends to default to the SansAmp scoop sound but you can pretty much dial that out with the eq settings. Not just Geddy sound.
4 on the Floor also looks good and demos sound good I think. I like the idea of the filters controlling what’s going in and out of the drive side.
SoildGoldFX Beta sounds good in demos too, the new version Beta V has more eq adjustment, not just a darker sound available. Old tube amp overdrive type sound.
My favorite is the Reiner Gasoline OD. Has a lot of top end on tap but that’s easily controlled with the octane knob. Otherwise it’s very well balanced and touch sensitive. Sits in the mix like nothing else.
I have not tried enough, and I will never be settled probably. But here's what I use:
Barbershop Clone: (w/ a tone knob instead of the switch) for light OD.
Boss ODB-3: (modified) for mild OD/Dist.
MXR Bass Dist: for med/high gain Dist.
Wooly Mammoth Clone: (w/ input impedence knob) for craziness.
Barbershop Clone: (w/ a tone knob instead of the switch) for light OD.
Boss ODB-3: (modified) for mild OD/Dist.
MXR Bass Dist: for med/high gain Dist.
Wooly Mammoth Clone: (w/ input impedence knob) for craziness.
These are pretty expensive, but this is what I’m currently using for overdrive.
which clone is this? the switch is my less favored part of that otherwise perfect pedal.
I briefly owned one, and while this is a fantastic pedal, I wouldn’t advise anyone to get them as an “overdrive”. Yes you can overdrive it, but it’s first and foremost a preamp, an amp simulation, and a DI. I don’t classify it as an overdrive pedal per se….
I just added a passive tone knob. It has enough gain so a simple passive tone knob worked just fine.
I'm currently using a Source Audio Ultra Wave. It's overkill for how I'm using it but I'll get to the crazy stuff in due time. So far I've programmed an asymmetric clipping overdrive, a full on distortion, and an octave fuzz, all with a healthy clean blend.
Jazz bass
Flats
Roll tone off
Solidgoldfx Beta V excellent
Wounded Paw Battering Ram excellent
So just to follow up on this thread. I also tried the Origin Effects DCX and the One Control Blackberry and after all that for me the TC MojoMojo is still the winner for me. More thoughts:
One Control Blackberry - I also liked this pedal a lot too. Also thickens up the sound and doesn't go quite as fuzzy so have a little more room to play around but ultimately I thought the MojoMojo sounded a bit more natural sounding. At the end of the day, I liked it a lot but it was $230 compared to $70 for the MojoMojo so it didn't differentiate itself enough to justify cost.
Origin Effects DCX - I like the EQ section - can really sweeten your sound and even add some nice subtle overdrive - similar to the TC MojoMojo. I wasn't so crazy about the overdrive sound - to my ears it sounded kind of synthetic. That being said this pedal can do a lot and I'm sure if I were to spend more time with it I could get a lot more out of it that I like but once again this pedal was $319 compared to $70 and it just didn't do enough for me to justify the cost (in fact, I would probably end up tweaking with it too much, I tend to prefer simple pedals).
Lastly, I have been able to raise drive and get less fartiness on E string with MojoMojo by slightly lowering my volume on the neck pickup. I find this gives me a bit more range on the pedal to add thickness without going grindy too fast.
Anyway after all that I think I had the Holy Grail all along right in front of me!
Thanks everyone for your comments - appreciated.
One Control Blackberry - I also liked this pedal a lot too. Also thickens up the sound and doesn't go quite as fuzzy so have a little more room to play around but ultimately I thought the MojoMojo sounded a bit more natural sounding. At the end of the day, I liked it a lot but it was $230 compared to $70 for the MojoMojo so it didn't differentiate itself enough to justify cost.
Origin Effects DCX - I like the EQ section - can really sweeten your sound and even add some nice subtle overdrive - similar to the TC MojoMojo. I wasn't so crazy about the overdrive sound - to my ears it sounded kind of synthetic. That being said this pedal can do a lot and I'm sure if I were to spend more time with it I could get a lot more out of it that I like but once again this pedal was $319 compared to $70 and it just didn't do enough for me to justify the cost (in fact, I would probably end up tweaking with it too much, I tend to prefer simple pedals).
Lastly, I have been able to raise drive and get less fartiness on E string with MojoMojo by slightly lowering my volume on the neck pickup. I find this gives me a bit more range on the pedal to add thickness without going grindy too fast.
Anyway after all that I think I had the Holy Grail all along right in front of me!
Thanks everyone for your comments - appreciated.
OK - another follow up. I am now trying out the Source Audio AfterShock and it may actually replace the MojoMojo - and I think by using Neuro Editor I finally figured out what I have been looking for and wanted to share:
The default Tube setting on the AfterShock out of the box can get very close to the MojoMojo but in the end the MojoMojo with no gain still created a phatter sound. I tried tweaking the drive and clean knobs on the SourceAudio and got pretty close but not quite there. So then I went into the Neuro Editor and started playing with other settings. The EQ is pretty flat for the default Tube setting but the "Voice Control" was at 12:00 oclock. The manual states:
"Each overdrive/fuzz/distortion circuit features a VOICE control that is a gradual timbre adjustment affecting the overall character of the sound. It generally affects the midrange in subtle ways, so a high VOICE setting will generally provide a midrange boost, whereas a low VOICE setting will provide a midrange cut. Many different sounds are available using the VOICE control, which can be controlled via the Neuro App."
Upon further listening at 12:00clock the voice control was definitely boosting the mids. I lowered the control to about 9:00 o'clock and there you go - the mid boost was gone and now I can get the sound nearly identical to the MojoMojo.
I suspect mids are boosted a bit to help the overdriven tone cut through the mix and indeed the one of the downsides of the MojoMojo is that it can get a little muddy in a mix. However, I still like that base sound. Ultimately the real advantage to the AfterShock is that when I go to higher gain levels I get a more natural sounding overdrive without the low E starting to really fart out. INMHO - the MojoMojo is kind of useless passed 11:00O'Clock unless you like that type of sound. I can still get there with the AfterShock but with the clean option and drive I can get a much larger range of overdriven sound before getting into fart territory.
And this is just all of the out of the box sound - There is limitless things you can do in the Neuro Editor (like stacking drives) and you can store 3 presets. So yes the AfterShock is $200 compared to $70 for the MojoMojo but in this case I think it's worth it.
I'm going to hang on to both for a while. I certainly would still recommend the MojoMojo for a cheap, nice sounding overdrive but I love the flexibility of the AfterShock.
The default Tube setting on the AfterShock out of the box can get very close to the MojoMojo but in the end the MojoMojo with no gain still created a phatter sound. I tried tweaking the drive and clean knobs on the SourceAudio and got pretty close but not quite there. So then I went into the Neuro Editor and started playing with other settings. The EQ is pretty flat for the default Tube setting but the "Voice Control" was at 12:00 oclock. The manual states:
"Each overdrive/fuzz/distortion circuit features a VOICE control that is a gradual timbre adjustment affecting the overall character of the sound. It generally affects the midrange in subtle ways, so a high VOICE setting will generally provide a midrange boost, whereas a low VOICE setting will provide a midrange cut. Many different sounds are available using the VOICE control, which can be controlled via the Neuro App."
Upon further listening at 12:00clock the voice control was definitely boosting the mids. I lowered the control to about 9:00 o'clock and there you go - the mid boost was gone and now I can get the sound nearly identical to the MojoMojo.
I suspect mids are boosted a bit to help the overdriven tone cut through the mix and indeed the one of the downsides of the MojoMojo is that it can get a little muddy in a mix. However, I still like that base sound. Ultimately the real advantage to the AfterShock is that when I go to higher gain levels I get a more natural sounding overdrive without the low E starting to really fart out. INMHO - the MojoMojo is kind of useless passed 11:00O'Clock unless you like that type of sound. I can still get there with the AfterShock but with the clean option and drive I can get a much larger range of overdriven sound before getting into fart territory.
And this is just all of the out of the box sound - There is limitless things you can do in the Neuro Editor (like stacking drives) and you can store 3 presets. So yes the AfterShock is $200 compared to $70 for the MojoMojo but in this case I think it's worth it.
I'm going to hang on to both for a while. I certainly would still recommend the MojoMojo for a cheap, nice sounding overdrive but I love the flexibility of the AfterShock.