Heavy distortion

[Boneless]

Hi everyone, this is my first topic

I have a problem with distortions: I can't ever seem to achieve what I really want

I need some heavy distortion (or quite heavy anyway). Modern, not vintage sounding (so Muffs are out of the question, probably).
My biggest concern is that it must sound good (thick, aggressive, etc.) both with fingers and with a pick (many distortions, such as the one in the MXR M-80, only sound great with a pick).

I have a BOSS ODB-3 at the moment, and I don't like the way it sounds, it may be thick, but it is very scooped and it doesn't cut through the mix.
I am getting a Ibanez PD-7 now, which seems to sound better than the ODB-3 (despite costing not even half as much! ), but is kinda "dry", it isn't bad actually, but I know I can do better, what would you suggest?

I was looking at the MXR Blowtorch, which looks exactly what I'm looking for, having EQ control for the mids as well, but I don't know if it sounds aggressive as well or just "thick", if you get what I mean.
Is there something else I should look at? Not too expensive, maybe (not more than, let's say, €150, which is about £120, but still, I could consider more expensive stuff, if it's really worth it).

Sorry for my weird English, I think I did a good job, but I'm still Italian

[lemmywinks]

The Blowtorch and the M80 are both big-sounding distortions. Passed my Blowtorch on to get an M80 but haven't found one yet! They are both fuzz-like, but more polite and offer more definition

I've also just got the Owen Bass Gremlin (Manchester-made pedal) which is exactly what i was after, a snip too at £60.

If you want something extremely hi-gain have a listen to the danelectro black licourice/black paisley pedals. They're a bit noisy but offer massive amounts of low end distortion as well as an octave switch! I got the black licourice off ebay for £12 delivered so it pays to keep an eye out

I didn't like boss pedals either, never found one i could use with bass

[Boneless]

The problem isn't really low-end... I have a mid-treble high kind of sound, not many lows. What I'm actually interested in is:

- note attack (erm... maybe I'm calling it wrong ) and punch
- mid frequencies (I don't mean I am not bothered with low-end loss, but I need my distortion to have both full lows and strong mids )
- character (many distortion pedals may let you cut through the mix, but don't sound "distortion-y" enough, they only add like a hint of aggressiveness when heard in the mix)

I was also thinking of getting a RAT (don't know which one though... RAT, RAT2, Turbo RAT... I don't really understand the differences ), and blend it with the dry signal to preserve lows, but I'd obviously prefer a bass-dedicated pedal

[dangerboy]

[quote name='Boneless' post='363596' date='Dec 26 2008, 12:20 PM']I was also thinking of getting a RAT (don't know which one though... RAT, RAT2, Turbo RAT... I don't really understand the differences ), and blend it with the dry signal to preserve lows, but I'd obviously prefer a bass-dedicated pedal [/quote]

It does sound to me like you need a RAT. I have a fairly similar tone to you from the sound of it, and find that one works great. RAT 2 is more grindy, Turbo RAT more like a guitar solo sound. I have my Turbo RAT rigged to do both sounds, and definitely use the RAT 2 one more. Preserves lows just fine.

Have a listen to the bass sound of SCUL HAZZARDs (www.myspace.com/sculhazzards). Tiffany keeps her RAT on all the time.

[Silent Fly]

[quote name='Boneless' post='363553' date='Dec 26 2008, 11:10 AM']Hi everyone, this is my first topic

I have a problem with distortions: I can't ever seem to achieve what I really want

[...]
I was looking at the MXR Blowtorch, which looks exactly what I'm looking for, having EQ control for the mids as well, but I don't know if it sounds aggressive as well or just "thick", if you get what I mean.
Is there something else I should look at? Not too expensive, maybe (not more than, let's say, €150, which is about £120, but still, I could consider more expensive stuff, if it's really worth it).
[...][/quote]

As has been said, the Blowtorch is more a fuzz than a distortion pedal. You can probably get some interesting distorted sounds but I wouldn’t call it distortion. I while ago I tried the MXR M-80. It is a nice unit but I wasn’t convinced by the distortion. A little bit too much on the fuzz side for me.

If you look for a nice set of distorted sounds I recommend you the Digitech Bad Monkey. It is an overdrive but with the gain pushed to high levels it generates very nice distorted sounds that do not lose focus and solidity. It is a guitar pedal but it can be modified for bass guitar. Drop me a message if you are interested in one.

Some people are pretty happy with the Boss MT-2. It is something you may want to consider. I have one that I don’t need anymore and that I would be happy to sell.

Distortion is a very much a matter of personal preference. It might be useful if you could post youtube videos or any other reference with the sound you are looking for.

Edited December 28, 2008 by Silent Fly

[ahpook]

have you thought of the xotic bass bb preamp ?

edit: forgot to add image

Edited December 28, 2008 by ahpook

[umph]

tonebender ;>

[Boneless]

[quote]If you look for a nice set of distorted sounds I recommend you the Digitech Bad Monkey.[/quote]

Already got it, I use it for creamy overdrive, but it's too dark and warm for what I want in terms of distortion.

I was thinking about Tonebenders, there was an eBay seller making "Bassbenders", supposedly a modified Tonebender circuit, have you got any samples of Tonebenders and the like?

About preamps, I already have a Hartke VXL Bass Attack (which I greatly prefer over Sansamps, much clearer and brighter, although not as warm - more modern, I'd say, I recommend it if you think Sansamps are a bit too "boxy"), and I don't really want to spend the money for a bass preamp since I don't really need the added features (I'd only consider the M-80, but only 'cause it isn't that expensive on the 2nd hand market, but anyway, it doesn't seem to be what I'm looking for).

Anyway, I'd like to point out that I probably am actually looking at something many of you would describe as "fuzz", I personally call it "fuzzy distortion", as in modern distortion, not vintage-warm, but more aggressive. I don't have really any Youtube videos to show you... I heard the Scul Hazzards... yeah, something like that, but more trebly (but it's probably a rec thing, the songs seem to have a kinda dark sound overall). Anyway, that's the kind of sound I'm looking for

[nash]

blackstar ht-dist. with a 3band eq on it. brilliant thick od

[Protium]

Take a look at an original Marshall Guvnor.

[King Tut]

I use a Guvnor Plus - cheap from crack convertors. Does it for me!

[Pookus]

[attachment=17808:178.jpg]

You could look at this


Also Marshall's Guv'nor works well.

[Boneless]

I tried a Guv'nor, hated it. It sounded harsh and squawky.
Colorsound Bass Fuzzes are... I'd say "enticing" but too expensive for me

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='Boneless' post='365385' date='Dec 29 2008, 11:46 AM']I tried a Guv'nor, hated it. It sounded harsh and squawky.
Colorsound Bass Fuzzes are... I'd say "enticing" but too expensive for me [/quote]

Was that the new silver Guvnor? The old black ones are beasts, can mod for more bass and still have the awesome drive too.

[King Tut]

[font="Century Gothic"]Here's a desk recording of my old MIJ Jazz through a [b]Behriger compressor[/b] and a [b]Marshall Guvnor Plus[/b] - so at least you can hear what one sounds like.

Col[/font]

[Jarhead]

I have an Ashdown Hyperdrive pedal, great sounding distortion tones, also very versatile, if you know what you are doing with it. Mine didn't have a manual so I was lost for a while, until I decided to stop panicking and figure out what the names of each knob meant. Works great for me. Unfortunately I broke the switch so I have decided to just have the mix know quite low until I need to get dirty for some songs, where I just turn it all the way up.
Zach

[Boneless]

I tried the silver one, I thought (by what I read around in the forums) that both versions sounded the same... well, anyway I heard the tone of the pedal in the sample, and although it's not bad, it's not what I'm looking for, it still "overdrivey", and I'm looking for something more modern
The Ashdown Hyperdrive, I heard some samples (direct in the mixer input, so not miked), and it sounded good, could be what I'm looking for (some of the harshness will probably be tamed by the speaker, plus adding warmth).

Anyway, I rehearsed with the Ibanez PD-7, even though I didn't have the chance to try it out extensively, it seems like a VERY good buy, especially for 45€ (which will be... erm... about 35 quid, yep, the pound's gone down lately ), a bit harsh maybe on the mids (it seemed to have SOMETHING of a Big Muff on the mids, to my ears. But the two pedals are nothing alike, bear this in mind, completely different planet), but it retains the low end wonderfully, of course, by adjusting the Bass control (I must say, quite heavy on the low mids, when boosting the bass, it may be something you don't like, but I'm OK with it). The Treble control is not very effective, though, or so it seems (but I have to try it out further). Plus the harshness on the mids helps it cut through the mix.
It may be not the best pedal you can buy, but for the price, it's really good, far better than the ODB-3, which I found useless (although kind of "bigger", for some things it may be spot on, such as big heavy low notes), which was low-bassy, but lacked any hint of punch I will stick to it for a while, but I know myself, I will probably end up frantically searching for an even "better" drive

Edited December 29, 2008 by Boneless

[King Tut]

Don't forget it's quite flexible with lots of eq options

[thisnameistaken]

If you want a "modern"-sounding distortion then the Bass Blowtorch will probably do you right. And yeah that tweakable midrange is a godsend sometimes, as is the blend control. It's a clever pedal, they really thought it out, and it's typically MXR, it behaves nicely.

My only complaint about it is that - for me - it was too tidy. Even with full-on fuzz it sounds neat 'n' tidy somehow. I'm used to Muffs and Superfuzzes and pedals that put out nutsy harmonics with stupid gain, and the Blowtorch doesn't do that. But then the thing that always bothered me about "classic" fuzzes was the hiss that needed gating, and you don't really get that with the Blowtorch.

Currently I'm settled on a Woolly Mammoth and a Robot Factory Pulse Synth (not strictly a distortion pedal but I use it as one with some settings) which are both sharply gated between notes. If you like the vintage insanity of a Muff-type fuzz but it's just the noise that turns you off, there are lots of gated fuzz options (Woolly Mammoth, Brown Dog, Hairy Balls, Flying Tomato, etc.) to try.

One other funny thing about the Blowtorch: Stick a chorus after it and it sounds like a thick '80s synth pad. Not something I ever found useful but it was interesting.

[Pookus]

For an overdriven sound I use an MXR M80 with the "valve" knob turned up a bit with a bit of "sub" on my ABM900 head. Has anyone mentioned amp settings as a way of getting the sound you want? You could try turning up the input gain a bit. The mind boggles.

[Boneless]

I have a Little Mark, which doesn't really saturate... I already have the gain up high, and I'm pushing the mids.
My sound though is modeled with a Hartke VXL Bass Attack preamp at the end of the effects chain, so I have a "beefy" sound anyway.

[Boneless]

Ah, just a question:has anyone ever tried out the GK Diesel Dawg?
It sounds just like the thing I'm looking for: modern, aggressive, a bit fuzzy.

[fretmeister]

Marshall Jackhammer - very good. My second fave.

EHX METAL Muff - very good on bass. Can be set up sludgy... then kick in the treble boost for Sheehan like cut through. Currently my fave bass drive.

[The Cooler King]

I've been running my Bass recently through a T-Rex Mudhoney and it sounded pretty dirty, worth checking one out. The gain on uit can get pretty wild (pseudo fuzzy) and also cleans up very nicely too. The tone control was also pretty responsive on a bass too which I liked.

[Kirky]

+1 on the Tonebender - you can get a kitset for reasonable £ at byoc. What about a Crowther Hotcake? I use Hotcake and tonebender (an old 70s one) and get a great range of sounds.