Should I stay Or Should I Go?

[JPS]

My covers band have just started covering Should I Stay Or Should I Go? To get the overdriven sound I've been using an old Boss guitar OD as a stop gap, however, I'd like to get a dedicated bass pedal so that my bottom end (as it were) doesn't disappear completely!

I'm not looking to spend big bucks as I'll only be using it on one or two songs, but want something that does a solid job and is useable. Any recommendations welcome therefore.

Cheers

JPS

[Raggy]

Same thing here. I ended up with the Lomenzo Hyperdrive pedal. Worked for me.

[JPS]

Ah right. Is there a massive difference between that and the standard Ashdown overdrive pedal?

Thanks

JPS.

[Raggy]

Not sure, have a look on the Ashdown site, there is a full spec on there of both pedals.

[url="http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/section.asp?section=pedal"]http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/section.asp?section=pedal[/url]

[harmonicfish]

If you can, your best bet is to get into a guitar/bass shop and audition a few different pedals. OD's especially seem to be very subjective.

(Although I realise this may be easier said than done, a lot of shops just seem to ignore the existence of bass effects.)

Having said that, I'll subject you to my views anyway ...

I was recommended the Boss ODB3 and the Ibanez PD7 by one of my bass playing friends, but I was very disappointed when I demoed them. Both left my output sounding way too thin for my liking. Plus points, the Boss is built like a brick and the Ibanez is pretty cheap.

Lomenzo Hyperdrive: Versatile for a single pedal, can get a lot of useable tones. I find I can get a nice clean boost out of it too. Lets you blend in your dry signal, so good for retaining that bottom end. If you whack the blend to max you'll only get the middle driven frequencies though, so not quite so good for all out distortion (but then it doesn't sound like that's what you're after anyway). Mine broke, but I am sooo tempted to get another.

Digitech XBD bass drive: Opposite to the hyperdrive. Good for distortion verging on fuzz (although I prefer a Big Muff for this), not so good for light overdrive. The 'morph' control seems to go straight from no-effect to noise with nothing in between. Probably not very good for Clash covers. Eats batteries, so make sure you have some other power source.

[cheddatom]

IMHO The ODB-3 has so much low end on tap with the low control, there's no way you can get a thin sound out of it. I think some people just want to be able to leave the EQ controls flat so they "can hear the true sound of my bass, man".

[harmonicfish]

[quote name='cheddatom' post='533798' date='Jul 6 2009, 02:15 PM']IMHO The ODB-3 has so much low end on tap with the low control, there's no way you can get a thin sound out of it. I think some people just want to be able to leave the EQ controls flat so they "can hear the true sound of my bass, man".[/quote]

Hence I say it's subjective
Maybe if I'd had longer to play with it I would have found sounds I liked (I was admittedly in quite a rush that day).

[cheddatom]

Sorry, yeh it wasn't a dig at you, I just find it amusing when someone wants a pedal that doesn't colour their sound much. The ODB-3 is a great pedal IMO, I don't know why it gets such a hard time.

[dannybuoy]

Digitech Bad Monkey! You can get em for £25 new if you look around, and cop an old skool bass grunt nicely.

[JPS]

Thanks guys for all the advice and suggestions. I quite like the look of the Lomenzo pedal.

[M4L666]

You get a really good crunchy/raspy drive sound with a tubescreamer IMO. If you got a bass clone or a modded one (or a modded clone for that matter ) that would probably do the trick.

[nick]

Another recommendation for the Bad Monkey - think Tubescreamer with a more versatile EQ section.

Should get you in the ballpark of the bass tone on 'Should I stay...'

[Mr. Foxen]

I have a Bad Monkey you can have for £25+post.

[steve]

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='533833' date='Jul 6 2009, 02:52 PM']Digitech Bad Monkey! You can get em for £25 new if you look around, and cop an old skool bass grunt nicely.[/quote]

+1

[simon1964]

+1 for the Lomenzo hyperdrive. Very versatile, and will give you everything from a bit of grit to full on fuzz.

Its much more versatile than the Standard Ashdown overdrive. You chose the frequency which is distorted with the frequency and blend controls - so you can distort the highs or mids, but leave the bottom end untouched. Excellent bit of kit.