Talk Box Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 In all of my four years of bass playing, not too much but I am going along good,I have been looking for a distortion that sounds good on bass. Only, I seem to have the same problem with all of them, they sound much too fuzzy for my tastes.I've always wanted to get a smooth sound out of my bass when distorted. Does anyone know what I could do to achieve this? I have been thinking about changing to an all tube head or buying one of those pedals that comes with the tubes in them already. Using a tube amp solved this problem for me on my guitar. As a follow up question I would like to ask what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using a tube amp for bass? I didn't even know that this existed untill a few months ago and I am very interested in the idea. (If you haven't guessed yet,I am part of the younger crowd) thank you fellow bassers, Talkbox If I was talking to the ice cream, I would be eating you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassjigga Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 You might want to try searching the forum, there has been several discussions about tube vs. solid state. The most popular setup for bass seems to be tube preamp with solid state power, whether in one head or in separate units. The tube preamp gives it a warmth and color solid state only lacks. Some people even prefer tube power, but it gets heavy and costly. No question in my mind, tube preamp is a must. Hope this helps. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 If you are looking for a distortion pedal with "smooth distortion" for your bass, I suggest you look into the Fulltone Bass Drive and the Budda Phatbass . And if you want to carry around an 80 pound amp top, look at Aguilar ,and Boogie and Ampeg all tube amps. And as the car commercials say, "bring your checkbook, wife and pink slip." (For non-Californians, a pink slip is the ownership document for you car, necessary when trading it in.) Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoot Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 Originally posted by jeremyc: If you are looking for a distortion pedal with "smooth distortion" for your bass, I suggest you look into the Fulltone Bass Drive I'm also looking for a new distortion pedal (also along the lines of "smooth distortion"), and I read that Tim from Audioslave swore by the Marshall Guv'nor back in the early Rage days. How does the Fulltone compare to the Guv'nor as far as type of distortion? The Guv'nor is cheaper, but does it have the "smoothness" also? Ah, nice marmot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 Try an EBS MultiDrive. I hated bass distortion/overdrive until Itried this one. You can choose from 3 different types - tubism, standard and flat - and there are volume and drive knobs. it also has a switch for active and passive basses. Solid as a rock and quiet. They are a bit more expensive, but I have seen them used for a resonable price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc taz Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 Originally posted by Scootdog: I'm also looking for a new distortion pedal (also along the lines of "smooth distortion"), and I read that Tim from Audioslave swore by the Marshall Guv'nor back in the early Rage days. How does the Fulltone compare to the Guv'nor as far as type of distortion? The Guv'nor is cheaper, but does it have the "smoothness" also?I think Tim ran his Guv'nor into an Ampeg SVT all tube head. That probably improved the tone of the pedal. I like to use my Boss HM-3 Hyper Metal for the smoothness when it comes to bass distortion. You should be able to find these used at a good price. Great match for the distorted Voivod tone, esp. if you can't afford several modded Marshall 100 watt Super Lead heads, and custom built cabs. sevenstring.org profile my flickr page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 I picked up one of my old issues of Bass Player mag -- August 2001 -- because I wanted to read about Juan Nelson (featured on the cover). This issue also has a mini-shootout of 6 fuzz boxes -- GK Diesel DawgFrantone Lo-Tone Classic FuzzBuddha PhatBassEBS Multi-DriveIbanez Phat-HedFulltone Bass Drive There is also mention of 3 others that had been reviewed in prior BP issues: Reverend Drivetrain, Black Cat Octave Fuzz, and Prescription Electronics Depth Charge. (However, these 3 are not at all discussed in depth.) The products weren't ranked or scored, but my interpretation of the text suggests that the Fulltone, EBS, and Buddha may be the nicest of the 6. I hope this gives you ideas of products to investigate, and you can always try to score the back issue and read it for yourself. Peace. spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoot Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 Originally posted by Sweet Willie: I hope this gives you ideas of products to investigate, and you can always try to score the back issue and read it for yourself. Peace.I do have that issue at home, but it's too late now. Bought the Fulltone off of ebay 2 days ago. Hehe. Okay, NOW I'm serious about not buying any more gear. For real! Ah, nice marmot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 Originally posted by Scootdog: I do have that issue at home, but it's too late now. Bought the Fulltone off of ebay 2 days ago. Hehe. Okay, NOW I'm serious about not buying any more gear. For real! A wise choice - I've had my Bassdrive for a few years now and have yet to find another pedal that matches up. Beautifully built (check out the wiring and top notch components), true bypass, no loss of bottom however crazy the distortion gets, excellent tone control that can add almost fuzzy highs or roll off all the top for maximum smoothness. Only downside is that the knobs are easily knocked so it's worth marking your favourite settings on it. Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoot Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 Originally posted by C.Alexander Claber: Originally posted by Scootdog: I do have that issue at home, but it's too late now. Bought the Fulltone off of ebay 2 days ago. Hehe. Okay, NOW I'm serious about not buying any more gear. For real! A wise choice - I've had my Bassdrive for a few years now and have yet to find another pedal that matches up. Beautifully built (check out the wiring and top notch components), true bypass, no loss of bottom however crazy the distortion gets, excellent tone control that can add almost fuzzy highs or roll off all the top for maximum smoothness. Only downside is that the knobs are easily knocked so it's worth marking your favourite settings on it. Alex I was unloading my gear out my front door last night to set up for the gig tonight, and lo and behold - a small white box was lying at my feet on my porch. The Fulltone had arrived. I didn't get much time to play around with it last night (we were just supposed to set up and not make much noise at the club), but the little I did hear sounded great. Totally blows away my Roger Mayer BassVoodoo or any Boss I've played thru. I'll try to avoid using it too liberally this weekend, but I'm sure I'll fail. Anyways...I'll give the full report early next week. Ah, nice marmot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoot Posted August 3, 2003 Share Posted August 3, 2003 You can add me to the list of people who swear by the Fulltone BassDrive now. Used it last night, and all my bass-playing buddies in attendance were quite jealous. It sounds totally sweet, with no loss of low end at all. Very versitile too, it goes from mild distortion to the "sand in a blender" sound with the boost activated and fully cranked. Ah, nice marmot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.