best overdrive/distortion pedal for a Orange Bass Terror 500w?

[barricades]

I am currently running through an Orange Bass Terror head into a 4x10 cab.

I play in a post metal band with a grungey edge to our sound, and I am wanting to add an overdrive/distortion pedal to my sound.

I have tried some guitar pedals but I can not get a decent sound from them, I have tried a Boss Heavy Metal pedal, a Marshall Jackhammer, Boss Metal Zone, Digitech Death Metal pedal.... but I can not get a decent overdrive sound.

I usually have the gain on the amp turned about 3/4's up to get a nice clean slightly overdriven sound.

Maybe I have tried the wrong pedals?

Any advice would be great.

[Happy Jack]

[url="http://www.sfxsound.co.uk/mainpage.asp?page=micro_fuzz"]http://www.sfxsound.co.uk/mainpage.asp?page=micro_fuzz[/url]

[Adrenochrome]

If you've got the OBT, wouldn't you be better using a clean boost to get more distortion out of the pre-amp tubes?

[Noisyjon]

My recommendation is the MXR M-80 bass DI+, It does a great bass distortion sound.
One word of advice though - It sounds pretty crap on it's own but in the band mix it sounds/mixes in absolutely lovely!

Good luck,
Jon

[Lozz196]

I had a DHA VT1 for a while, and it really has a great overdrive sound. Not full-on distortion mind, but warms and thickens the sound up nicely, to that "just breaking up" stage. There`s one for sale on here at present, £56.

[paul_5]

all the pedals you've mentioned in the OP are super crazy, way-over-the-top units. I'm guessing that you don't want to sound like a jam jar full of wasps through a high pass filter?

as Loz has already suggested, the VT1 is a great choice, particularly in front of a valve amp. Other units that are great for bass that don't rob too much of the lows are things like the MXR M80 (the blend control is your best friend here) or quite a lot of people swear by the Boss ODB3 and the James Lomenzo Hyperdrive by Ashdown. I'd have kept mine if I had room for it on the board.

Bass Big Muffs are always welcome too.

Ideally do you have a particular band / sound in mind, or maybe some links to youpube videos?

[barricades]

cool thanks for the suggestions so far. I will check out all the pedals that have been recommended.

I have a russian big muff pedal but it needs repaired. :-( anyone know anyone local to leeds that repairs pedals?

[EskimoBassist]

If it's a fuzz sound that you're after that sounds good in a band mix (and adds plenty lows) the Bass Big Muff is a good choice. Yes there are many better muff clones out there, but for the price they go for, I don't think they can be beaten.

The MXR M-80 is a great pedal, for me it's always on as a Pre-Amp and I switch the distortion on when I want a little extra grit. Sounds very good in a band mix, less so on its' own.

+1 to Paul5: please give us some clips of bass sounds that you would like to emulate, it's always easier for us when we have something to work from!

[Alfie]

I use a Fulltone Bassdrive in a loop with a Boss LS-2. With this set-up I can get mild overdrive and heavy crunch without losing the massive bass terror sound. It also has a clean boost setting for when I want just the OTB's natural overdrive.

However your sound is probably quite different to mine as I find 3/4 gain on the OTB to be overkill.

[barricades]

I am looking to get the same sort of sound as these guys:

Cult Of Luna
[url="http://youtu.be/S2LFbiNY2_s"]http://youtu.be/S2LFbiNY2_s[/url]

Isis
[url="http://youtu.be/y6Ux2W4CkBk"]http://youtu.be/y6Ux2W4CkBk[/url]

[ern500evo]

I've got an Ashdown James Lomenzo Hyperdrive and it's a pretty good pedal, especially for the money, you can pick them up second hand for silly money. It's a sturdy unit too, heard some reports of faulty switch but never had that with mine, it's an easy fix anyway. Other end of the cost scale, the Darkglass B3K is the best distortion/overdrive pedal i've ever heard but they're not cheap. We did a gig with another band recently and their bass player had one, it sounded fantastic. I only use overdrive for a couple of songs so couldn't really justify the cost, but if i used overdrive a lot i would've gone home and ordered one from Bass direct that same night, i was that impressed with it.

[munkonthehill]

Hey buddy,

I run the OBT head through the SP212 cab so know what kinda sound you have.

I bought this pedal from here a while back when I had a Markbass combo as I wanted to dirty up the sound.
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/119897-dha-vt1-di-drive/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/119897-dha-vt1-di-drive/[/url] The pedal is a OD, distortion, DI, bass boost pedal with a lovely tube to warm up the sound with a few diode selections to vary what you want from the unit. AMAZING bang for your buck and a great bit of luck buying this on a whim.

Now I have the OBT this pedal really sings. It nails the dirty sound of rock/blues genre I play, however fire up the gain and a wee bit of selection on the colouring and it nails the distortion/OD of the llikes of Ace of Spades and Clubfoot. Dave Hall has some great pedals and hes a top bloke too so may be worth checking the for sale section or dropping him a line to see what he has.

(and no, mine is not for sale hahaha).

[EskimoBassist]

Bit of research suggests that Jeff Caxide from Isis would use a Fulltone Bassdrive and an MXR M-80 for his distortion, with an Aguilar Tone Hammer for his pre-amp, amongst a whole load of other modulation pedals.

Have a look see: [url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cz9To5JXsNo/S4kOk-St9II/AAAAAAAAB8U/i275gnJxCPg/s800/ISIS_JeffCaxide_Pedalboard.jpg"]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cz9To5JXsNo/S4kOk-St9II/AAAAAAAAB8U/i275gnJxCPg/s800/ISIS_JeffCaxide_Pedalboard.jpg[/url]

[bartelby]

[quote name='EskimoBassist' timestamp='1322912264' post='1457177'] Bit of research suggests that Jeff Caxide from Isis would use a Fulltone Bassdrive and an MXR M-80 for his distortion, with an Aguilar Tone Hammer for his pre-amp, amongst a whole load of other modulation pedals. Have a look see: [url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cz9To5JXsNo/S4kOk-St9II/AAAAAAAAB8U/i275gnJxCPg/s800/ISIS_JeffCaxide_Pedalboard.jpg"]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cz9To5JXsNo/S4kOk-St9II/AAAAAAAAB8U/i275gnJxCPg/s800/ISIS_JeffCaxide_Pedalboard.jpg[/url] [/quote]

He likes a scooped tone then.

I wonder what year that was from, he ended up being a Justin Chancellor clone on Wavering Radiant.

[rOB]

[quote name='Adrenochrome' timestamp='1322841796' post='1456569']
If you've got the OBT, wouldn't you be better using a clean boost to get more distortion out of the pre-amp tubes?
[/quote]

That's what I do for an even dirtier tone on the OBT. Although I imagine at three quarters gain, your tone is plenty dirty all ready. I never have mine on more than half

[StraightSix]

If you want to get really carried away, try the Zvex Woolly Mammoth though be aware it's more of a fuzz than an overdrive/distortion and it's pricey...and MAMMOTH:

[url="http://zvex.com/mammoth.html"]http://zvex.com/mammoth.html[/url]

[barricades]

which boost pedal would people recommend?

[StraightSix]

Are you looking for a clean boost to push your amp harder or something which generates drive/distortion...?

[BigBassBob]

[quote name='barricades' timestamp='1323208593' post='1460695']
which boost pedal would people recommend?
[/quote]

Wren and Cuff Phat Phuk B.

[Mog]

TBH there nothing in those vids that couldn't be replicated with either a bass driver or a m-80. Try to stay away from guitar distortion units especially the metalzone, they're mostly crap on bass in a full band situation.

[cheddatom]

I actually really like the jackhammer. It's not on my board as the guitarist uses it, but the EQ is really flexible which makes it great for bass IMO

[dannybuoy]

What's your budget?

Cheap options: Behringer BDI21, Digitech Bad Monkey, DHA VT1

More expensive: VT Bass, Xotic BB Preamp

Mega expensive: Darkglass B3K


I wouldn't go for a boost like the Phat Phuk B with the OTB, that amp sounds a bit farty when you boost the gain into it, it's no AD200B!

[Sibob]

People are just generally gonna tell you what they like/play.....best thing to do is take your Orange to a shop and try out the pedals. Better yet, borrow some from people and gig them, sound so different on a gig!.

Me? I have a Copilot FX Orbit for weird sounds, and a Boss Mega Distortion for more conventional overdrive/distortion, both do exactly what I want them to

Si

[GazWills]

yeah, i agree - i love my p-bass through my BB preamp, but my jazz bass doesn't sound very good through it at all. on the flip side my jazz sounds great through my OSD, but i don't like how the P bass sounds through this pedal.

bottom line, try as much as you can through your bass and rig, i can't even settle on a board for my own basses!!!

[TRBboy]

I have the MXR M80 and Boss ODB-3, and between them I can get any overdrive/distortion sound I want (pretty much). In my current band, I usually just use the M80, and I set the clean channel as a clean boost.

I don't think anyone's suggested the MXR Bass Blowtorch yet? Lots of control over the sound, but lends itself better to extreme distortion rather than mellow overdrive (as far as I can remember!).