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Looking for pedal to add dirt alongside vt.


Guinness21
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Hi guys,

Me and my vt bass are very happy together. [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]BUT, I like to add some grit sometimes, so I'm looking for an overdrive or possibly fuzz pedal that would pair well with the VT. An overdrive pedal that I would use every now and then, when the VT Bass would stay "on" all the time, since it's my amp simulation.[/font][/color]

[font="verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"][size="2"][color="#141414"]What do you think? Was considering the b7k - b3k too fizzy for me - but everyone on talkbass seems to use it like a slightly dirty pre, and that's not what I'm after. Was looking at the vmt, and the ashdown nm2 as well because of the active input and being able to set 2 distortion sounds. The reason I say possibly fuzz is that, I probably am looking for an od pedal but I am considering one fuzz pedal. The black arts toneworks pharaoh really caught me off guard, can hit some great distortion sounds,[/color][/size][/font]

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVMe_BRrkVI"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVMe_BRrkVI[/url]

This is used with an active bass alongside a vt and I think it sounds good.

So what do you think? Anyone have any experience of these pedals? Are there any pedals I haven't and should be considering? Any advice would be much appreciated :)

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Good question. I play a passive so it's not an issue I have to worry about. There are quite a few COG ownners here, so maybe someone else can answer that one...... Good luck with your quest :)

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I play a Stingray, and a Jazz. They sound ridiculously good through my COG Knightfall 66, in fact I have the low gain channel always on. I also sold my Catalinbread SFT after I got this, if that's any indication?

I had a B3K and sold it. Liked it initially, but after a while I found it too fizzy and artificial. Not tried the VMT, it's popular but I personally don't like the sound of any of the demos I've heard at all. Also, I understand it's not particularly high-gain, may be slightly overpriced too(!?)...

If you want a nice, gnarly distortion, that also does lovely aggressive low gain, you can't go wrong with a RAT-clone. Tom (COG) effects does an awesome one called the TK-421 which is a custom order at the minute I believe, or there's the Idiotbox Blower Box which is also insanely good! These both keep your low end, don't buy an original RAT unless you have some sort of clean blend or you will lose all of your bottom end!

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I have just ordered a VT Bass DI and hoping it's going to play well with my current boxes, a Fuzzrocious Rat Tail and a Bluebeard fuzz. I have high hopes for the VT/Rat combo as mentioned above. There's a cheap Rat Tail in 'Effects for sale' at the moment (not mine,) it's a popular Rat clone for us low end lovers :)

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[quote name='plunkrock' timestamp='1401370975' post='2462899']
There's a cheap Rat Tail in 'Effects for sale' at the moment (not mine,) it's a popular Rat clone for us low end lovers :)
[/quote]

Not sure how I could neglect to mention the Rat Tail! :blink: Awesome RAT clone, great demo [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_6Rd0dFH2A"]here[/url]!

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[quote name='bakerster135' timestamp='1401370625' post='2462894']
I play a Stingray, and a Jazz. They sound ridiculously good through my COG Knightfall 66, in fact I have the low gain channel always on. I also sold my Catalinbread SFT after I got this, if that's any indication?[/quote]

People really plug cog effects round here don't they? The trouble is I wouldn't be able to try out a knightfall before buying one - at least bass direct are a darkglass dealer.

I do agree with you about the b3k, far too fizzy sounding for my liking. That's why I was looking at the b7k as a designated dirt pedal, well either that or the vmt. I've heard good things about the sft, but I think with my standard tone including a vt bass pedal, that would be a bit too much.

By the way, does anybody have any experience with the ashdown nm2? It's interesting because you can set two different overdrive sounds, which would work for what i'm after.

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Still keen to try a COG, I designed a pedal with Tom but was hit with bills and then uprooted around the globe for a few month.

A friend of mine plays stringray and a modded jazz with a B3K and I LOVE it, grindy and growly and snarly as anything. Barks like mad. All depends what kind of sound you're going for, the Ashdown and the Darkglass are quite different animals. I love the B3K/B7K as they are rather marshall-esque in tone, and can get a bass equivalent of a boutique metal guitar amp ish sound which I love too!

Best bass distortion tone I think I've ever had is when I was able to play bass through a Diezel VH4 with a borrowed Laney Nexus Tube rig as the clean side.
Still counting on the lottery haha!

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[quote name='Guinness21' timestamp='1401359126' post='2462740']
Hi guys,

Me and my vt bass are very happy together. [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]BUT, I like to add some grit sometimes, so I'm looking for an overdrive or possibly fuzz pedal that would pair well with the VT. An overdrive pedal that I would use every now and then, when the VT Bass would stay "on" all the time, since it's my amp simulation.[/font][/color]

[font=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=2][color=#141414]What do you think? Was considering the b7k - b3k too fizzy for me - but everyone on talkbass seems to use it like a slightly dirty pre, and that's not what I'm after. Was looking at the vmt, and the ashdown nm2 as well because of the active input and being able to set 2 distortion sounds. The reason I say possibly fuzz is that, I probably am looking for an od pedal but I am considering one fuzz pedal. The black arts toneworks pharaoh really caught me off guard, can hit some great distortion sounds,[/color][/size][/font]

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVMe_BRrkVI"]https://www.youtube....h?v=EVMe_BRrkVI[/url]

This is used with an active bass alongside a vt and I think it sounds good.

So what do you think? Anyone have any experience of these pedals? Are there any pedals I haven't and should be considering? Any advice would be much appreciated :)
[/quote]


how about a second VT?

I use two in my RATM band because they sound great at low and higher gains. I tried various others, but in the end I decided to get another VT.
I had a B3K and the VMT... I just did not get along with them.
The COG Darklighter might be interesting too. I have ordered one with a bunch of custom mods (loop, blend etc, but the sound will be the standard Darklighter) and I intend to replace my "dirty" VT with it when it arrives.

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Some very flattering comments on here, thanks very much :)

Now I might be a bit biased, but the Knightfall 66 is every bit as good as those above have mentioned. I'm in the final stages of development with the production unit, and I hope to have that on sale at the back end of the summer/early autumn. This could quite easily be late autumn judging by delays in getting new products out historically, and I have thus far been particularly anal with the 66... In the mean time, I am still offering the prototype/mk1 Poulton custom version on request.

Thanks again for the kind words!! :)

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Say hypothetically I went for the knightfall 66, how would you suggest I use it? As a designated overdrive pedal to kick it up a notch from my standard tone, which includes a tech 21 vt bass? OR, would you use it in place of the tech 21 vt bass for warmth and suggest I look at another overdrive pedal?

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[quote name='Guinness21' timestamp='1402018316' post='2469309']
Say hypothetically I went for the knightfall 66, how would you suggest I use it? As a designated overdrive pedal to kick it up a notch from my standard tone, which includes a tech 21 vt bass? OR, would you use it in place of the tech 21 vt bass for warmth and suggest I look at another overdrive pedal?
[/quote]

Personally I love the Knightfall and hate the VT, but it all comes down to personal taste really.

If the VT really does what you want it to for your base tone and you are sure you only want one level of OD above that, then I'd say you only need a standard KNightfall, not the two channel 66.
If you are not hugely satisfied with the VT as your base tone, or would simply like more options then the 66 would be an excellent choice. Then you can just experiment and see what you like best. You certainly would have a load of options like that. The 66 also offers the blend which the std KNightfall does not have.
I run one Knightfall as my base tone and then switch to another on higher gain settings via a loop pedal (so only one stomp) for higher gain sounds. It works for me, and I have tried (what seems like) a million pedals and configurations looking for my sound.

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[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1402034116' post='2469324']
I run one Knightfall as my base tone and then switch to another on higher gain [/quote]

I swear by mine for an always on slight-overdrive sound. It's dynamic in the same way as the SFT I used to have, clean when playing soft, but a really nice, natural, tube-like grit when you dig in. Doesn't colour the tone at all either, very different to the VT/SFT "Ampeg Mids" sound and character I find, which would probably make it quite useful as an addition to your palette of tones!

The Knightfall also sounds great high-gain too, which is where the 66's dual channels and clipping options really help.

Edited by bakerster135
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My basic tone is clean and I use my 66 for a light overdrive and a heavier distortion. If you wanted an always on sound and a second higher gain drive it'll do that with ease. It's a super pedal.

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I got my VT Bass DI the other day, not had a huge amount of time to play with it but reckon I'll be running VT and Rat Tail pretty much all the time, kicking in the second distortion setting on the Rat to take it up a notch and the Bluebeard for melting faces.

Not the most subtle tone though ;)

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