Best Bass Overdrive/Distortion Pedal

[Okieactor]

Hey all,

Is there a bass OD/Distortion you really like for under $100?

Also, would you just recommend getting the MXR DI box, which has distortion, because a DI might be much more usable in the long run? Or is it a good pedal, a pedal worth having, even if it didn't have the DI function?

(link removed)

 

[Tim Armstrong]

I've never found any need for a distortion pedal for bass, as I've found it pays to actually have some note definition! Seriously, dial in an appropriate tone and you'll probably find that adding distortion just makes the bass part harder to hear.

Tim

 

[AirBagTester]

I've always just used guitar pedals for bass when it comes to distortion. I'm sure there's a good reason to have a distortion pedal just for bass, but regular guitar pedals seem to work fine for me. Seems like I don't want too much fuzz in there anyway, so why not just stick a cheap dirt pedal in there for just a small boost?

I don't use too many effects when I'm playing bass though.

 

[losergeek]

My wife uses the EHX Bass Big muff in our three piece punk band, which is really nice because it keeps things full when I play leads. She finds it's too flabby for her other band with 2 guitarists though. She's actually going to try a friend's Boss OD3 (guitar version, not bass) tomorrow because she's noticed a couple people using them recently and liked their tone. I occasionally use my Tech 21 double drive for bass, but that's more for convenience since I use the same board for guitar and bass.

 

[Immo]

I've never found any need for a distortion pedal for bass, as I've found it pays to actually have some note definition! Seriously, dial in an appropriate tone and you'll probably find that adding distortion just makes the bass part harder to hear.

I cannot agree. I mean, of course, in typical genres, the clear bass is the best one, but you mustn't say that the bass distortion is a bad thing in general
Examples: that's probably not your cup of tea, Tim, but in doom metal, properly overdriven (usually by tube amp's high gain setting) bass is half of the success. And for something more acceptable - listen to the intro to RHCP's "Around The World". Of course, not the most clear sound, but it fits well into the song.

As for the OP's question: I frequently experiment with the doom metal sounds (like an early Black Sabbath) and I use the gain knob in my Sunn SB160 to overdrive the bass. I also have Polish love Overdrive and Polish Hate Fuzz, but now I don't use them too much cause I have no power unit for them (no battery slot). Yet they gave the clear sound and it worked fine.

 

[fidopunk]

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/bass-place/230706-bass-dirt-pedals.html

 

[Gunny]

Keeping an open mind, I went to Youtube to check out bass OD pedals. Sorry, Immo, but I'm in Tim's camp. Distortion and overdrive have never been a bas sound that I liked and I haven't changed my opinion. For guitar, oh yes!
I concur that for certain styles of music, it fits. Just not my cup of tea.

 

[Paul in Colorado]

My replacement in "Tuatha" uses the EH Bass Muff. He uses it for special effects. He uses a Dunlop bass Wah and a couple of other pedals, too. He has great tone overall. The pedals are effects, they aren't on all the time.

 

[Immo]

Keeping an open mind, I went to Youtube to check out bass OD pedals. Sorry, Immo, but I'm in Tim's camp. Distortion and overdrive have never been a bas sound that I liked and I haven't changed my opinion. For guitar, oh yes!
I concur that for certain styles of music, it fits. Just not my cup of tea.

That's no problem, if everyone had the same taste in everything, life would be horribly boring, nay?
Just for the record: I DON'T like totally disfigured bass sound. I love the slightly overdriven, crunchy sound my amp provides combined with the TeleBass with mudbucker.

Oh, and I forgot to mention just one thing more: distortion does not have to be used on it's own! Slight distortion combined with envelope filter provides a great twist to the funk (note that EHX BassBalls has the distortion switch!), while combined with synthesiser brings a whole new batch of interesting sounds.

 

[losergeek]

Perfect example of when bass fuzz was key - Ben Folds Five. In their albums the bass fuzz gives a lot of the rock and roll dynamics that they don't get from the piano and really kicks the song in. When Ben went solo he dropped the fuzz from most of the records and they just didn't do it for me until his last solo album (Way to Normal) where he brought it back on a lot of tunes. It's the thing I like best about the five and I'm glad they are back and releasing an album next week.

 

[cellrebral]

Wooly Mammoth is pretty sweet for bass but is much more expensive than $100. Perhaps you could get someone to clone it for you, it isn't that intricate a build. I use my Swollen Pickle for bass and with some adjustment to the internal trim knobs, you can get some real useable Bass fuzz going. I also have tried my real cheap Ibanez Tone-lok FZ-7 and it worked pretty good with my bass.

 

[losergeek]

Perfect example of when bass fuzz was key - Ben Folds Five. In their albums the bass fuzz gives a lot of the rock and roll dynamics that they don't get from the piano and really kicks the song in. When Ben went solo he dropped the fuzz from most of the records and they just didn't do it for me until his last solo album (Way to Normal) where he brought it back on a lot of tunes. It's the thing I like best about the five and I'm glad they are back and releasing an album next week.

And now I'm listening to the new Ben Folds Five album and it just reinforces my opinion - this would not be the same album without the big fat fuzzy bass parts.

 

[SamClemons]

another vote for none.

 

[robert spencer]

I actually dont` know what bass distortion is but i am guessing it is like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TfoWg0PFec

Am i even close? If so I like it but not all the time. Just for special effects now & then.
Take care. Bob

 

[rip_topaz]

If you can find one, the Marshall JH1 works great for bass. The EQ section is great.

 

[dlb1001]

I have the MXR 80...not a bad pedal. It is fun to fool around with the distortion but finding the right settings for a band setting is a little tricky. Too much of the effect and it just makes the overall sound muddy.
Since I primarily play in a blues band, I don't use too much, unless we are doing some Link Wray numbers (Rumble and Ace of Spades).

 

[Martinp]

I used to work in a R&R trio in the late 70's-early 80's, and I used a gibson ripper, split the signal, and one side, clean, into an SVT stack, the other, through a Big Muff, into a Twin Reverb (with EVs). It was brutal to carry, but the sound was truly outstanding, lots of lows from the SVT, and the crunch from the Twin.

 

[aunchaki]

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/hao-rust-ride-bass-overdrive-pedal

HAO Rust Ride. Unfortunately, it's $200. Sorry.

 

[rip_topaz]

Darkglass B3K.

/thread.

 

[BobHolland]

Get a big amp to get a clean sound. Then an OD pedal to make it distorted. Why not just get an amp that distorts all the time. When I started playing bass in the early '60's we dreamed of clean bass sounds but the bass amps were not that good. So distorted we usually got when we had to turn up to be heard. I'll go with clean & not fuzz/distortion.
Of course I'm old & just out of touch with today's music.