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Overdrive suggestions


adamg67
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So, I've got a nice clean sound, sort of old fashioned, roundwounds on an Ibanez BTB with a little mid boost, into a Sansamp RBI but with the presence completely off and just a little bit of drive, so you can't hear it but it warms it up a bit.

We've got some songs that sound better with some overdrive, and some that sound better clean, so I've been trading OD pedals looking for something that works. So far I've kept (for now):

One Control Hooker's Green Bassmachine - supposed to sound a lot like a BJF Blueberry, it was also designed by BJF. I love this for just a little bit of dirt without changing the sound, I can keep the punch I like but get a slightly bigger dirtier tone without mud. I'm gigging this now and I think for that touch of dirt sound it will be hard for anything to beat it.

Darkglass Vintage Microtubes - this changes the tone a bit more but does have blend, for me this is better for a slightly more full on overdrive, but I have to be careful or I feel like I've lost the punch. Might be a keeper for a heavier sound.

Fairfield Barbershop - this has a slightly rougher sound that I like, it's just a touch nastier, again for more of a full on overdrive. It's different to the VM, another sound again to play with for now.

I've tried and sold a COG Knightfall, that was too much of a distortion rather than an overdrive, which I knew when I bought it really but all I lost was the postage to its new home.

I've got a Digitech Hardwire CM-2 and I really rate it, but don't use it because the Hooker's Green is just very slightly better, and also a lot smaller.

So, finally, to the question: what should I try next that will give me something a bit different to those, still in the general area of transparent-ish bass overdrive? I was wondering about an Idiotbox Blower Box, that's supposed to do OD as well as distortion.

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I really like the Xotic Bass BB Preamp for this (ignore the 'preamp' tag, it's just an o/d pedal with a 2 band EQ. no blend, but low gain and o/d pedals shouldn't need one IMO). it's all personal preference of course :)

edit - I used to have a blower box, was a high gain monster, but had a versatile EQ on it, may be capable of decent low gain, but seems silly to buy something like that to mostly use as a low gain pedal!

Edited by GazWills
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[quote name='GazWills' timestamp='1438348220' post='2833785']
I really like the Xotic Bass BB Preamp for this ... [/quote]

Hmm, you're not the first person to suggest one of these, I might just have to try one, and there happens to be one for sale on here at the mo... must be fate :) GAS strikes again.

[quote name='GazWills' timestamp='1438348220' post='2833785']... seems silly to buy something like that to mostly use as a low gain pedal!
[/quote]

You might be right, I already made that mistake once with the Knightfall. I like the sound, but I know I can't use it in the band I'm in, and for messing about at home I've got Amplitube anyway. I'm glad you said that.

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I play in a band that limits the sort of dirt I can use, too much just overwhelms the sound and doesn't fit, so I've been hunting for low to medium gain OD pedals, mainly for a tubey style low gain OD for some songs, and then just at that OD-distortion boundary for some places when I use a pick and want to punch through.

For low gain I've been using the SGFX Beta, I think it covers the same sort of territory as the Blueberry. It has a lot of bass baked in and I love it!

The SSBS Mini gets a similar sound at lower gain and then heads into more of a fuzz at high gains.

Recently acquired an Aguilar Agro. To me this stretches from a low gain into a medium OD territory, and so far I really like it. I don't notice any major bottom end roll off, and when I use it I want to punch through in the mix anyway.

Started using a SGFX Imperial at the lowest gain setting too - theres some videos on their website of it.

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Guest bassman7755

[quote name='adamg67' timestamp='1438346348' post='2833752']
So, I've got a nice clean sound, sort of old fashioned, roundwounds on an Ibanez BTB with a little mid boost, into a Sansamp RBI but with the presence completely off and just a little bit of drive, so you can't hear it but it warms it up a bit.
...

So, finally, to the question: what should I try next that will give me something a bit different to those, still in the general area of transparent-ish bass overdrive? I was wondering about an Idiotbox Blower Box, that's supposed to do OD as well as distortion.
[/quote]

I presume you've tried just cranking the gain on the RBI ... in what way is this not working for you (since on paper its designed to do exactly what you want) ?.

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Guest FretNoMore

Bearfoot Blueberry ... not exactly transparent, but really tasty low end growl.
Not to be confused with the Mad Professor Blueberry which is different.

smallsound/bigsound Mini ... more transparent but rougher character and more gain if you want it.

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[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1438444471' post='2834584']
I presume you've tried just cranking the gain on the RBI ... in what way is this not working for you (since on paper its designed to do exactly what you want) ?.
[/quote]

It is quite nice, but I have a "clean" sound and a dirtier sound, so I'm using the RBI with low drive (and no presence) for the clean(ish) version. I know I could turn the RBI on and off with a footswitch but I much prefer the RBI on with low drive to the RBI off. So the RBI is my "always on" sound and I'm looking for pedals to dirty that up a bit for our heavier songs.

It seems to work really well like that with low gain ODs like the Hooker's Green, it's not just a more suitable sound, it fills the space up a bit more and sort of gives a fuller sound for the guitar to sit on top of.

I'll probably end up with 3 tones, clean, slightly dirty and dirty, maybe even a 4th for nasty dirty (the Barbershop does that well), so I'll probably use 2 or 3 drive pedals live, one at a time.

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Worth trying the COG Darklighter, I use it a hell of a lot in ckean tones with a touch of grit but also to compliment the distortion and fuzz tones when you really want to kick it up a gear.

Saying that the Knightfall is a belter so if you did want that sound too the dual knightfall would have been a winner.

Played one a while back and its never left my thoughts.

It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.

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Have you thought of the EBS Billy sheehan signature drive pedal?

Loads of options with that one due to both the OD and clean 'channels' having their own separate FX loops (via 'Y' cable).

Also good for saving your Low end because the clean and OD channels have independent volume knobs as opposed to a blend knob. All in all I find it something of a swiss army knife when it comes to bass OD.

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Guest FretNoMore

One thing to consider with the Sheehan pedal is that the loops are phase inverted, which makes the sound thin unless the pedal in the loop flips the phase back. Very strange, but by design according to EBS.

Edited by FretNoMore
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The Vintage Microtubes is starting to slip down the ratings for the full on overdrive slot, it has a very distinctive sound which a lot of people obviously love but which isn't doing it for me. It should be easy enough to sell on anyway. That would leave the mid gain slot open, and I still fancy a go on a Blower Box for that, there seem to be a few about but they're not cheap. I'm guessing this is because there's no UK dealer and you have to get them from the US.

The Hooker's Green is holding on to it's low gain slight dirt spot after it's first gig, and from what I have read on here it's very similar to a Blueberry so it's probably got that covered.

I'll keep my eye out for the some of those other suggestions as well, SGFX Beta, AGRO and the EHX ones should be easy enough to pick up second hand.

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So, the Xotic BB Bass Preamp turned up yesterday, and I love it. That's what I was after for more full on overdriven sound. So I seem to have settled on Hooker's Green Bassmachine for low gain, BB preamp for mid, and then maybe a couple of others for something different, the barbershop I might keep just for that and maybe something that colours the tone more like a Blower Box.

The Vintage Microtubes will be flipped, even though I can see why people like them.

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[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1439037856' post='2839553']
I really like the BB Pre, but it was always a little bit lacking in the mids for me.

Si
[/quote]

hmmm, need to replace my stolen BB - what did you settle on as a replacement then squire, the DD?

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  • 3 weeks later...

After a lot more playing, I decided not to keep the BB, it's got loads of low end but it's a bit "fizzy" for me. Glad I tried it though.

I did buy a Blower Box though and I love it, I may not even use it in the current band but I'm keeping it even if it's just for my own stuff @ home. It's not really part of the overdrive hunt though, it's a bit of a tangent and another different sound. Nice and rough and bassy when it's set up right.

Still loving the Hooker's Green and the Barbershop for low gain stuff, they're staying. Both nice and different to each other.

I've also got hold of an Aguilar AGRO to try, that's kind of nice but it seems to go quite suddenly from nearly clean to distorted, the saturation knob seems very sensitive for my setup. I'll try that with the band for a bit and see how it fits in.

The Vintage Microtubes has gone, swapped for a DOD Boneshaker on a whim as the EQ looked good - I was distinctly unimpressed by that though, I thought the distortion was a bit lame. Never mind.

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[quote name='adamg67' timestamp='1440596055' post='2852243']
After a lot more playing, I decided not to keep the BB, it's got loads of low end but it's a bit "fizzy" for me. Glad I tried it though.

I did buy a Blower Box though and I love it, I may not even use it in the current band but I'm keeping it even if it's just for my own stuff @ home. It's not really part of the overdrive hunt though, it's a bit of a tangent and another different sound. Nice and rough and bassy when it's set up right.

Still loving the Hooker's Green and the Barbershop for low gain stuff, they're staying. Both nice and different to each other.

I've also got hold of an Aguilar AGRO to try, that's kind of nice but it seems to go quite suddenly from nearly clean to distorted, the saturation knob seems very sensitive for my setup. I'll try that with the band for a bit and see how it fits in.

The Vintage Microtubes has gone, swapped for a DOD Boneshaker on a whim as the EQ looked good - I was distinctly unimpressed by that though, I thought the distortion was a bit lame. Never mind.
[/quote]

What's the Blowers midrange like? Every time I hear one I can't decide if it sounds scooped or not! Either way, VERY cool sounding pedal!

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[quote name='AttitudeCastle' timestamp='1440622556' post='2852540']
What's the Blowers midrange like? Every time I hear one I can't decide if it sounds scooped or not! Either way, VERY cool sounding pedal!
[/quote]

I know what you mean, it's an interesting sound. I've got the treble back at 9 o'clock and the bass up to 3 o'clock on mine and I don't think that sounds scooped - I don't really like scooped mids, the more I try things the more I find flat eq works best for me.

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[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1439037856' post='2839553']
I really like the BB Pre, but it was always a little bit lacking in the mids for me.

Si
[/quote]

Never had that problem, with the EQ set flat (as I always have it) it sounds like it boosts the mids to my ears, certainly makes it more prominent in the mix with it on!

Same goes for the Blower Box, the reason it sounds scooped in many demos is because the bass and treble controls are usually set to be boosted.

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