spud19870 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Hello, I am after a new distortion pedal to replace my MXR Blowtorch (it finally died after being on life support for 2 years!) I have looked at the Xotic BB Bass Preamp/Distortion and the Aguilar Argo Pedal. Both sound pretty good. Any other suggestions or experiences with these pedals would be great! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudewheresmybass Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 (edited) What kind of music do you play mate? The blowtorch applies the fuzz/ drive to a specific mid range frequency. Perhaps the ashdown lomenzo hyperdrive might fit the bill- it also applies the effect to a specific chosen frequency Edited October 30, 2013 by dudewheresmybass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud19870 Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 I play in a hard rock band and sometimes in a punk band (when I say sometimes I mean once a year.) Music for my current band is on www.soundcloud.com/latenightenvy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime_BASS Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Xotic bb always. I love this pedal, I have two, used stacked. Will do high gain and low gain very well, on low gain it doesn't colour too much either which I like. I like it so much I'm having Sibob build me a copy.so then I'll have 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbandit599 Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 +1 for the Lomenzo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Fuzzrocious Demon or Demon King http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMqU0Wgbfak or COG Effects Darklighter/Knightfall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv0oqDxP6_I THe first is already mine. The second will be my next dirt pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 (edited) The Lomenzo is a surprisingly good piece of kit. I've had the Aguilar tone hammer and there was a noticeable dip in volume with the drive circuit engaged (sounded good though). These days (and for a couple of years now) I've used a Dave Hall VT1 EQ pretty much exclusively - it'll do everything from a little bit of fur around the notes through 'proper mucky', right up to 'dirty protest'. Not strictly distortion, as it's an overdrive pedal, but a really versatile unit. http://www.davehallamps.co.uk/page29.html Edited October 31, 2013 by paul_5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terocious Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 I dig my Aguilar Agro very much! Won't leave the house without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud19870 Posted November 1, 2013 Author Share Posted November 1, 2013 That Demon King sound massive! What a pedal! It is between that and the BB Xotic pedal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 I use the BB emulation on my Zoom B3 as find that this seems to colour the tone much less than other drives, so it`s the same sound, just driven a bit (only have a little to add some hair to the sound) though it will drive a lot. So if I were looking for an actual all-out drive pedal, this is the one I would buy. Another great range of pedals is the Dave Hall Amps (DHA). They are amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 There's a Demon King AND a Demon (smaller version) for sale over in the 'effects for sale' forum at the mo Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 The James Lomenzo Drive is a surprisingly good pedal for the price for rock/metal. I would recommend the VT-Bass (version 2), it covers a very wide range of tones with a powerful EQ section. I like it so much, I have two, for low gain and higher gain sounds. The Xotic BB is very cool for low gain fat gnarrly sounds, but I found it a bit limited. The Darkglass Vintage is a little too dark, but it is smooth. I sold mine to get the second VT-Bass just last week... I think it's overpriced for what it does. The Darkglass BK3 is a very interesting pedal. If I were in a metal band, I would have probably kept mine. The James Lomenzo is a decent substitute if the Darkglass seems too expensive. The Aguilar Agro... I haven't made up my mind about that one yet. I find it takes too much bottom end from my tone and I cannot really restore it. It also gets far too fizzy with the saturation past half way... But you can get a couple of really really good tones out of it if you tweak it enough. Still, not too happy about the bottom end loss. If you want to leave it on all the time for a song, it's ok, as you can compensate in other ways, but to switch on and off I found it hard to get it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 I liked the Cog better than the Demon King but I do like the look and sound of the Lomenzo hyperdrive Hope Santa brings me one lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 I really like the Wampler Sovereign on bass. Doesn't seem to suck any lows and it has a great gritty sound to it. Just a shame that you have to get it from the USA - it's an exclusive for 2 shops over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerster135 Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 I'd say get a COG 66. Two selectable dirt channels in one pedal, all the clipping options you could ever need, optimised for bass and with a clean blend, fantastic value for money and from a brilliant uk maker. What else could you ask for!?... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiMarco Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Darkglass B3K. Kills any other dirtbox period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Anything by COG or Fuzzrocious. Specifically the Knightfall 66 by COG & Demon or Rat Tail by Fuzzrocious Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Dyer Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 (edited) Been through four overdrive/distortion pedals in the last year or so, finally settled on the Rodenberg 809B Drive (thanks Ryan, if you're reading this you were mad to sell it!) Three selections of distortion from the 808 and 809 switches and super fat distortion from the 909 switch, turn up the drive and beautiful sustained distortion leaps out of the cabs. Tone control lets you dial in any bottom end that's lacking, easy to set up. Gigged it for the first time last night, sounded awesome in the mix. Prior to this I was using the Source Audio Soundblox Distortion Pro, which has more settings than you could possibly need imo, and most sound a little on the artificial side if that makes any sense. But a great feature the pedal has is the ability to save sounds as presets! Two banks, A and B, with three preset buttons to each. If you're prepared to spend some time setting this pedal up it will do the job, I just didn't like the sounds. Before the Soundblox I was using a Microtubes B7K by Darkglass. Never really got on with this pedal, nothing wrong with it, well made, bags of tone control with the 4 band EQ and all the distortion you could wish for but, it was always on the edge of being out of control, a metal pedal basically. I always felt I was spending my time trying to reign the damn thing in rather than get a sound out it. And finally (sorry for the long post/review, it's Sunday, it's pissing down outside, and I have a hangover to work off,) I still use a Farndurk BGX2 for subtle, warm overdrive tones on bluesy type songs. Simple to set up, it has one volume and one tone control and a three way toggle switch to engage different levels of drive. It is also a thing of beauty, hence the pic. I think the overriding issue I have with distortion/overdrive pedals is there is no one-box solution. If, like me, you're in a covers band, the set up you have for bands like RATM or Muse are not going to work for adding a little warm tube sound to a ZZ Top track. Does this make any sense? Anyway, for now it's the Rodenberg… but that might change. Edited November 3, 2013 by Mark Dyer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinness21 Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Wow that thing looks incredible! Where on earth did you get it?! I know you said you just didn't get on with the b7k - but was it metal or nothing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 I love my B3K, goes right before my sansamp. I have the gain at about 4 o clock, blend at 10 o clock, attack switch on, and the grunt setting to 'thin'. That way you get a great filthy attack but really nice clear warm low end. I thought the darkglass would replace my lomenzo but the truth is that it's also an incredible pedal, and different enough to justify keeping it. When I need to be really offensive I use all three! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy64 Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 They are stupid money but I have to agree on the Darkglass recommendations. Also, you can never go far wrong with a RAT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratman Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 (edited) [quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1383351111' post='2263624'] There's a Demon King AND a Demon (smaller version) for sale over in the 'effects for sale' forum at the mo [/quote] +1 to that. I just got a used Demon (with 2nd gain) here a few weeks ago and I love it! [quote name='Mark Dyer' timestamp='1383479993' post='2264807'] It is also a thing of beauty, hence the pic. [/quote] Damn, that's a nice looking pedal. Edited December 15, 2013 by ratman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinness21 Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 The b3k and lomenzo are on my gas list! What are they like in comparison? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime_BASS Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 personally never liked the darkglass stuff, but i havent heard much the vintage. They seem very metallic in sound and I'm sure there is some kind of mid scoop going on too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 love the sound of the darkglass, the nolly bass cam vid the sound is killer! but i just cant warrant the money, although i have just grabbed a harmonic booster from darkglass. i use a mesa flux drive and love it! andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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