Drive fussiness

[landwomble]

Hi all.
Usually I play clean, however I'm tidying my effects chain a bit and am looking for new options.
All I want is something akin to the effect I get when I play onstage at gig level with my bass facing my amp - natural sustain through volume/acoustic feedback with maybe a tiny bit of very mild tube saturation drive.
If I could find this in a pedal that also does compression then happy days.
Tech21 sansamp? Zoom B3? Something else?

Particularly looking for something where it's easy to dial in tone. I have zoom b2 but TBH don't use it a lot. The b3 looks easier to use as it apes 3 pedals with 3 "real" knobs each? Or am I going to be disappointed with digital?

Suggestions, please!

[uncle psychosis]

The B3 is good, but if you only want it for that I think you would be better served getting a dedicated drive pedal.

[cheddatom]

[quote name='landwomble' timestamp='1436132623' post='2815303']
...All I want is something akin to the effect I get when I play onstage at gig level with my bass facing my amp - natural sustain through volume/acoustic feedback...
[/quote]

This is something I've been thinking a lot about lately. How could you possibly reproduce that effect? Would you need some sort of sustainer (like fernandes) built into the bass?

[elephantgrey]

You can add sustain with the release control on your compressor, or with some drive pedals (drive pedals having an innate compression to them anyway).
I wouldnt worry about the quality of the newer zoom digital effects. I have a Ms60b on my board and now wouldnt go without it. To replace it with individual effects would not only take alot of realestate, but also require things like modding pedals to add a mids control (which the zoom has, but the original does not).

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited February 22, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[hubrad]

[quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1436192372' post='2815779']
Testicle shaking volume is all you need here!
[/quote]
But surely that is the answer to almost ANY query on here?

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited February 22, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[elephantgrey]

Side effects may include a complaining guitarist, though may it be noted that this can be cured if you double the dose.

[cheddatom]

[quote name='elephantgrey' timestamp='1436186520' post='2815681']
You can add sustain with the release control on your compressor, or with some drive pedals (drive pedals having an innate compression to them anyway)....
[/quote]

It's more than just sustain though isn't it? Some harmonic overtones maybe?

[elephantgrey]

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1436258588' post='2816407']
It's more than just sustain though isn't it? Some harmonic overtones maybe?
[/quote]
Then go into an pre/od to add some in.

Edited July 7, 2015 by elephantgrey

[cheddatom]

Maybe it's simpler than I thought, but I would imagine that the feedback loop of standing next to your amp while it's turned up loud is doing more than any overdrive pedal could accomplish.

This needs a scientific study

[elephantgrey]

Well what it does is sustain the note longer than normal by matching the frequency of the strings, and also feed the sound back through the amp circuit.
You could maybe put a compressor and an overdrive in a feedback loop (the looper pedal kind that blends the return back out to the send), but that would be hard to control, maybe better just to use them without and try and replicate the sound that way.

[cheddatom]

Yeh I've tried it with a feedback loop and with a bunch of my pedals (I must have 30 dirt pedals) but it's not doing the same thing. I guess you'd need an amp sim in a feedback loop to get closer, but is it really as simple as that? I'll try my BDI21 in a feedback loop when I get chance anyway, I've not done that before

[hubrad]

This all sounds like a fun experiment!
It strikes me that the feedback loop thing will be frequency-dependent, as only certain notes actually give you acoustic string feedback. Of course, the exact notes depend on so many factors.. distance, cab, angle, reflective/absorbent surfaces etc.

[elephantgrey]

Yeah, feedback loopers are fun, but its sometimes hard to strike the sweat-spot between unnoticeable and self-oscillating (when thats not what you want).
Maybe an Ebow+Pre/OD would be a better approximation?

[landwomble]

Hi All,
Thanks for all the responses.
Appreciate there's a definite difference between real acoustic, high volume semi-feedback giving sustain and a drive pedal - I guess what I'm after is something approximating that warmth and completely maintaining the bottom end. It's obviously not quite the same as a pedal can't actually vibrate the strings.
Whilst I could get this by turning up to 11 I'm a bit old for that these days and prefer a more ear-friendly volume for rehearsals!
A lot of the drive pedals I've played with have been very extreme and not something that I'd ever use in a real world situation - so I'd be interested in experiences using FX like the M60B and B3 for this type of overdrive.
Context is a rock and blues type band, rather than Death Metal, if you see what I mean!

Edited July 7, 2015 by landwomble

[hubrad]

That suggests a tube pre rather than an actual drive pedal.
There's a thing that valves do which is just going creamy without fizz.
What amp are you using?

[dannybuoy]

I've tried nearly every single bass overdrive on the planet, and the only one that gives me that feeling you describe of playing in front of a cranked amp is the Bearfoot Blueberry. Amazing pedal!

[LewisK1975]

For adding a bit of dirt to your sound, I really like the EBS Billy Sheehan pedal. It splits your signal into 2 after the input and you have separate volumes for the clean and overdrive sounds so it's easy to dial in as much or as little overdirve as you want. Then also has a compressor switch with 3 settings (off, medium, high). Worth a look for you I think. It also has effects loops for the clean and overdrive via insert or 'Y' cables.

I also have a sansamp paradriver (similar to the bass driver but also has a midrange control), useful for adding a bit of grit and sound shaping before the amp..

Same as everything tho, you won't know til you try them unfortunately. Nothing like your own ears to judge your sound! We are all usually our own worst critics!

Edited July 8, 2015 by LewisK1975

[dannybuoy]

I played the Billy Sheehan for 5 minutes and put it back up for sale. My advice would be to steer clear unless you want your bass to sound like a tinny guitar with no low end!