PedaloFred Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 (edited) Hey guys! I'll cut to the chase! Last month I bought my first effects pedal, a Bass Big Muff. I love it! It sounds great with my amp and bass guitar and was the exact sound I wanted. BUT! As you might have already concluded, using it when I'm playing live at a gig, it really doesn't seem to break through and it gets completely lost in the mix and doesn't seem to exist! (This is also partly down to having a VERY heavy handed drummer lol) I would really like to solve this problem and have a 50/60 quid budget, I really can't go any higher due to christmas being around the corner! I have ofcourse been told about the Boss LS-2 Line Selecter which seems to be able to solve my problem but is there another pedal a little less in price that would simply just help my clean bass line blend with my fuzz so it finally has some impact? Also, why I'm in the presence of bass gods! Is there any advice you could give to a budding bass player on how I can achieve a better sound with a heavy drummer and 2 overdriven guitars? I would really like to know what sort of EQ setting you would recommend to hit in. I like a big bass presence but I do also really like the 'twang' of the mids. I just feel the EQ spectrum of my band is very 'full to the brim' on mids. Should I prehaps ask my 2 guitarists to mix up their EQ so it evens out the playing field? EDIT: I also have a Tuner Pedal so I'd need it to be True Bypass. All replies are greatly appreciated! Edited November 29, 2012 by PedaloFred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 The LS2 is a great little pedal-you can pick them up cheap secondhand-I bought my second one last week for under £20. You don't need it to be true bypass.Don't worry about it. As far as EQ is concerned,I pretty much always keep things flat.I'll sometimes boost the mids or bass slightly but not much.What gear are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Buy a second hand LS2. You won't get better for less. And don't worry about the true bypass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TG Flatline Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 LS-2 will do that and a hundred other jobs for you, and like the other guys said, I wouldn't worry about true bypass. Big Muffs have a heavy mid scoop, if you're handy with a soldering iron you can change a single resistor to add in some more mids. [quote name='PedaloFred' timestamp='1354233003' post='1884061'] Should I prehaps ask my 2 guitarists to mix up their EQ so it evens out the playing field? [/quote] I tried that once. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultima2876 Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I run my Muff with an MXR 6-band EQ. My EQ is set as follows to help cut through: One problem is this does make my non-fuzz tone a bit 'plunky' (probably because of the treble boosts). The mid cut at 800 helps to avoid a commonly boosted guitar frequency range and might help your situation too (my band's guitarist is quite middy too - we play bluesy jams sometimes). I'm going to get a line selector or something so I can have this and my Muff in their own little switchable loop, so I can switch them at the same time - if you have an LS2 you should be able to do the same thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PedaloFred Posted December 3, 2012 Author Share Posted December 3, 2012 (edited) Thanks for all the replies guys! I've tried bidding on a few LS-2 on ebay and have failed 3 times. I can't go over 60 quid and I keep getting outbid, will just have to wait this Januraury to get one I guess. Although I have looked up MXR EQ pedal and I can get a used one for 45 quid, I think this might be my answer for now. Thanks Ultima. (*Quick question: should I put the pedal in front or behind my fuzz pedal in my chain?) Thankyou all! Edited December 3, 2012 by PedaloFred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultima2876 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 (edited) [quote name='PedaloFred' timestamp='1354544474' post='1887164'] Although I have looked up MXR EQ pedal and I can get a used one for 45 quid, I think this might be my answer for now. Thanks Ultima. (*Quick question: should I put the pedal in front or behind my fuzz pedal in my chain?) [/quote] I have mine after, though it depends on how you set your amp and how you like the sound. Advantages to both: EQ -> Muff -> Amp: -This controls the sound of the original bass signal, so it doesn't effect the sound of the fuzz very much. Do it this way if you really like the way the Big Muff sounds on its own, and want to have a play with how the bass sounds 'under' it. This is good if you don't mind tweaking your amp settings too. I personally don't get much out of this method though as I love the natural sound of my bass to bits and purely want to get more punch and presence out of the fuzz pedal. Muff -> EQ -> Amp: -This will control the sound of the bass signal and the fuzz combined; it's better for if you want to tweak the sound of the fuzz as well (ie boosting the bass here will make the fuzz itself more bassy, whereas with the previous method the fuzz will sound the same, but on top of a thicker bass sound). The disadvantage of this method is if you don't mind tweaking your amp EQ; you've already got an EQ after the Muff so it is doing the same thing over essentially. I prefer to keep my amp set a very specific way though. Later on you may want to look into getting some form of line selector/looper/whatever they call them anyway and have it set up like so: Bass -> Line selector. Line selector send -> Muff -> EQ -> Line selector return. Line selector out -> Amp. This will allow you to switch both the Muff and EQ at the same time, giving you more flexibility with the Fuzz Chain (EQ/Muff) without affecting your clean bass tone. This is what I want to get a line selector for as I'm very happy with my clean tone, and I just need a presence boost on my fuzz. However, since you want to tweak the sound of your bass to sit better in the mix anyway, you'll probably find that you want your EQ always on anyway so you may not need to bother with the loop selector either way. But yeah, I recommend trying out the EQ and see how it goes. It's definitely the right tool to get yourself sitting better in the mix in a band situation anyway! Edited December 3, 2012 by Ultima2876 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 (edited) People posting don't seem to be aware that the bass big muff already HAS a mode to blend the dry signal with the fuzzed signal ! In itself it is not as useful as it could be as you have to endure a volume boost when you switch it on, as it always gives you the full 100% dry signal plus whatever fuzz signal you blend in. BUT, there is an easy mod to add a master volume to the whole pedal which gives you complete control over the level of wet/dry blend and the overall volume out. Go to [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/112212-bass-big-muff-volume-and-feedback-mods/page__p__1850724__hl__muff__fromsearch__1#entry1850724"]http://basschat.co.u..._1#entry1850724[/url] for details. Edited December 5, 2012 by hamfist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultima2876 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Nope - fully aware of that! In fact, that's the only usable mode on the Big Muff! Normal just sounds completely empty and 'bass boost' ends up sounding too boomy. I keep it on 'dry' all the time. It does have a volume boost but that's not usually a big deal as you probably want a bit of a boost anyway. Thanks for the link to the mod though, might consider that later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 [quote name='Ultima2876' timestamp='1354636928' post='1888492'] Thanks for the link to the mod though, might consider that later! [/quote] You're welcome. I'd thoroughly recommend it. Even folks with only basic soldering skills should be able to manage it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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