Holt-85 Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 I'm looking to get a fuzz/distortion pedal just to add a bit of "grit" for some heavier parts, add/or parts where the guitar drops out and it's just bass and drums. The one pedal I've got my eye on is the Electro Harmonix Nano Big Muff Pi. Just wondering if anyone has experience of these, and/or any alternatives that are for similar money. Budget is £70-£80. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totorbass Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Maybe you should give a try to the green russian. Just a bit more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 (edited) You will get a load of replies and I would suggest you try before you buy if you can. My experience is- EHX big bass muff - nice sounds but could not get the subtle sound I wanted Mojomojo- did not work at all for me, but a couple of people on here love them dark matter - way too aggressive for what I wanted Boss Bass driver- great sound but expensive and probably over your budget Soul Food- great sound from warm fuzz to full breakup and can be had cheap Blackstar valve drive- not bass specific and a bit fizzy Edited June 16, 2018 by T-Bay Typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holt-85 Posted June 16, 2018 Author Share Posted June 16, 2018 Will check these out on YouTube for reviews, cheers man. Ideally I can find one second hand. The £££ isn't really that much of an issue, but, Because in a half hour set I may use it for 7-8 minutes I see no real reason to splash the cash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 I have a Big Muff Pi with master volume mod you can have for £40, if it helps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holt-85 Posted June 16, 2018 Author Share Posted June 16, 2018 Daft question. but what does the volume mod do ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 It gives you a separate master volume as the pedal volume knob is the gain control. Better explained here... http://www.musicgarage.fi/mods-repairs/bass-big-muff-volume-mod/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totorbass Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, T-Bay said: You will get a load of replies and I would suggest you try before you buy if you can. My experience is- EHX big bass muff - nice sounds but could not get the subtle sound I wanted Mojomojo- did not work at all for me, but a couple of people on here love them dark matter - way too aggressive for what I wanted Boss Bass driver- great sound but expensive and probably over your budget Soul Food- great sound from warm fuzz to full breakup and can be had cheap Blackstar valve drive- not bass specific and a bit fizzy A lot of these are overdrives and not fuzzes or distortions as asked by Holt. I was just giving an advice in the Muff family. The green Russian is very good for bass, it's for example a basis for the earthbound supercollider, amongst a lot of orher ones. To get some natural grit the AGRO (OD/Distortion) is the best I met so far. Edited June 16, 2018 by totorbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 26 minutes ago, totorbass said: A lot of these are overdrives and not fuzzes or distortions as asked by Holt. I was just giving an advice in the Muff family. The green Russian is very good for bass, it's for example a basis for the earthbound supercollider, amongst a lot of orher ones. To get some natural grit the AGRO (OD/Distortion) is the best I met so far. A couple maybe, but not a lot by any stretch and as the description was’a bit of grit’ then an overdrive could deliver that could it not? And your AGRO is arguably more OD than distortion anyway. And there are hundreds (thousands?) of options out there so just because one option has been suggested doesn’t mean the thread is done and dusted. As with many things, the wider range of experience you draw on the more likely you are to find something that fits your needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 1 hour ago, BreadBin said: It gives you a separate master volume as the pedal volume knob is the gain control. Better explained here... http://www.musicgarage.fi/mods-repairs/bass-big-muff-volume-mod/ Or here! 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totorbass Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 (edited) T-bay :Did you own an AGRO? I've tried or owned OD's like the Soul food, valvedrive, runoffgroove B15 clone, sft, and the Aguilar goes way further in the distortion territory, though it is not a Dr Scientist Elements. Anyways I did not want to have the last word, only to follow the line Holt drawed with his first question, as this kind of questions can get you totally lost in the answers very quickly. . Edited June 16, 2018 by totorbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 10 minutes ago, totorbass said: T-bay :Did you own an AGRO? I've tried or owned OD's like the Soul food, valvedrive, runoffgroove B15 clone, sft, and the Aguilar goes way further in the distortion territory, though it is not a Dr Scientist Elements. Anyways I did not want to have the last word, only to follow the line Holt drawed with his first question, as this kind of questions can get you totally lost in the answers very quickly. . I haven’t owned one but tried one at PMT and was disappointed with the sound - it seemed to drop the minds too much, and certainly went nowhere close in distortion terms to the mojomojo which is sold as an overdrive, for me the overly aggressive nature of the mojomojo was the reason I sold it on. But as mentioned above some people on here @Alkrow for one, love them for the OD/ mild distortion. ‘A bit of grit’ doesn’t sound to me like the OP wants a full on distortion at max gain anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Ebs fuzzmo great pedal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walliebal Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 I have a Big Muff and I like it. I also have an EBS FuzzMo which I like very much. This pedal has a very useful blend like the EHX soul food. It is still available at musicstore.de for 59 euro's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quatschmacher Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 I’d suggest getting a Source Audio Aftershock and trying out all the various models in there. You may end up loving the pedal and keeping it. Or you may come away with a much clearer idea of what kind of distortion pedal you’re after. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cattytown Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 On 18/06/2018 at 13:36, Walliebal said: This pedal has a very useful blend like the EHX soul food I must admit I rather like blending some of the clean signal in - even with heavy levels of drive it keeps some definition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 It depends what sounds your after, I had an EHX Bass Blogger which does OD or fuzz depending on where you have the switch. If you like the sound really spiky and dirty this could do the job. The one I had however made a great big "clunk" noise when pressing the pedal which could be heard through the amp, not good. Also for me I like a "soft" fuzz sound, this was a bit too harsh. I later had the Mooer Thunderball which is a bass blogger clone, smaller footprint, not quite as good a sound and it caused noise on my board. So there's two to avoid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 @Holt-85 Any examples of what sound you wish to create? A band or track you're aiming for? A bit of grit from a fuzz pedal sounds like an you're starting from the wrong place but as ever sound example might better define what you're aiming for. My current board has a Bass soul food to give some mids boost and drive within a given song and allow's me to poke out in the mix with a bit of drive on the sound but I have a Darkglass AO for the heavier stuff although it is capable of less heavy tones. Some fuzz pedals might actually remove some mids and you can lose definition. Like any pedal both have their detractors and no one is right or wrong but they work for me in the context I need them to. Mixing a couple of lower gain pedal might be a more effective way of achieving the sound you're after - a cheap used Boss ODB with it clean blend and a 'touch of gain' combined with something a bit more aggressive like a Phat Phuk B was my old trick for getting an edgier tone to fill out some space. A Lomenzo drive from Ashdown might give you the mids push and overall aggression to hit the spot? Too many pedals and twice as many opinions right The guys on this forum are more knowledgeable then me and giving them a starting point in terms of a band/track will reap rewards! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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