Bass Overdrive/Effects?

Ask questions and get answers about how to make music in any particular way. Hardware or songwriting or whatever.
Post Reply
User avatar
Henrietta
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 364
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 2:45 pm
Instruments: Guitar, Bass, Vox, Kazoo
Recording Method: None
Submitting as: Quimby, Nouveau Pauvre
Pronouns: she/her
Location: Colorado

Bass Overdrive/Effects?

Post by Henrietta »

Does anyone have experience with bass effects? I'm looking to effects for two purposes: #1. I'm in a 3-piece garage band and I'd really like to fatten+gritty up my bass tone & fill up as much space as I can. For that, my first thought is a bass friendly tube overdrive tone.... Between the guitar & drums there's plenty of mids/trebles going on, so I'm guessing the mids of a crunchy distortion tone on bass, it would only wash out and get lost anyways? This is the project: http://www.myspace.com/hennessymorning.

...but at the same time, I'd also like to recreate the bass tone I got on my Nur Ein entry Sleep Tight which was done with digital Cubase effects (distortion + rotary). Maybe with the right set up I could recreate my Nur Ein project live, at an open mic or something, as a solo performer. http://www.newzeromusic.com/neiv/nouveaupavre_st.mp3

I just picked up a bassier, SVT-esque drive pedal to fit with the band, but now I'm not sure that was the best decision... maybe I should have gone with the crunchier middier box which sounds better for solo playing? Maybe since it's just a trio, I want more mids? Or should I just order a super versatile digital all-in-one like a Line6 Pod, which already includes the Rotory effect, instead of trying to find this perfect combination of analog stomp boxes?

Thanks for any help! I don't have the best ear for live sound.
User avatar
ken
Hot for Teacher
Posts: 3869
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 6:10 pm
Instruments: Guitar, bass, drums, keys
Recording Method: MOTU 828x, Cubase 10
Submitting as: Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff
Pronouns: he/him
Location: oakland, ca
Contact:

Re: Bass Overdrive/Effects?

Post by ken »

The problem with distorted bass is that most guitar distortion pedals cut out the lows which make a bass sound full. What you really want is a way to blend in a distortion with your clear low end.

I have the Pigtronix Disnortion pedal which rules as a fuzz pedal, but one of the nice parts about it is that it also has a drive channel that you can run cleaner (in parallel) so that the low end of the bass comes through.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/prod ... sku=156511

Just a thought.

Ken
Ken's Super Duper Band 'n Stuff - Berkeley Social Scene - Tiny Robots - Seamus Collective - Semolina Pilchards - Cutie Pies - Explino! - Bravo Bros. - 2 from 14 - and more!

i would just like to remind everyone that Ken eats kittens - blue lang
User avatar
Billy's Little Trip
Odie
Posts: 12090
Joined: Mon Nov 13, 2006 2:56 pm
Instruments: Guitar, Bass, Vocals, Drums, Skin Flute
Recording Method: analog to digital via Presonus FireBox, Cubase and a porn machine
Submitting as: Billy's Little Trip, Billy and the Psychotics
Location: Cali fucking ornia

Re: Bass Overdrive/Effects?

Post by Billy's Little Trip »

Like I said, I think line 6 has the best bass shaping/tone/EQs I've heard. Even if you don't go with a POD XT model, their smaller Bass POD is a really great unit and my bass player used it for years before he bought the XT Live. It really helps to find a bass sound that you like from a recording artist, then look up their setup.
IE: Tim Butler from the Psychedelic Furs has a great and simple sound and he uses the Bass POD.
User avatar
Henrietta
Push Comes to Shove
Posts: 364
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 2:45 pm
Instruments: Guitar, Bass, Vox, Kazoo
Recording Method: None
Submitting as: Quimby, Nouveau Pauvre
Pronouns: she/her
Location: Colorado

Re: Bass Overdrive/Effects?

Post by Henrietta »

ken wrote:The problem with distorted bass is that most guitar distortion pedals cut out the lows which make a bass sound full. What you really want is a way to blend in a distortion with your clear low end.
Thanks! I hadn't thought of that! :) Maybe running a clean channel alongside the distortion is just what I need to do. I'd been thinking I'd be faced with a 'good mids vs. good lows' kind of choice. The EBS MultiDrive actually has the opposite problem from most... it preserves the low end great, but tends to dampens the highs (and doesn't have a tone control!). I also tried out a Fulltone BassDrive which sounded great and also has a pretty good reputation for keeping lows according to reviews, although it's still pretty midrangy... the distortion tone I got wasn't warm and thumpy like the EBS. But then the EBS wasn't clear and distinct like the Fulltone.

And BLT: Yeah, I definitely need to try one out! I hadn't considered one at first since there's more toys on it than I'll ever need, but the ability to dial up the kinds of effects I get in Cubase & save them as presets sounds awesome.
User avatar
Paco Del Stinko
Hot for Teacher
Posts: 3542
Joined: Fri Apr 07, 2006 11:20 am
Instruments: Basic rock, at a basic level.
Recording Method: Roland 2480
Submitting as: Paco del Stinko
Location: Massachusetts. God save the Commonwealth!

Re: Bass Overdrive/Effects?

Post by Paco Del Stinko »

You could also throw it over the top with a Zvex Wooly Mammoth. Fuzz, not OD, but does a decent job of keeping the lows intact. Not a subtle pedal, though. I use one in songs here and there, usually in synch with heavier, wall of guitar sections.
Bringin' the stink since 2006.
frankie big face
Ice Cream Man
Posts: 1941
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 12:26 pm
Instruments: Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Saxophone, Flute, Keyboard, Violin, Other Stuff
Recording Method: Logic, UAD Apollo Twin, aging iMac
Submitting as: frankie big face
Location: Lancaster, PA
Contact:

Re: Bass Overdrive/Effects?

Post by frankie big face »

ken wrote:The problem with distorted bass is that most guitar distortion pedals cut out the lows which make a bass sound full. What you really want is a way to blend in a distortion with your clear low end.
This is probably not your solution, but back when I was playing a lot, I would run my stereo Rickenbacker 4001 this exact way, sending the bass pickup to an Ampeg bass amp and the treble pickup through a Roland JC-77 with some distortion. Worked great for songs like Sabotage by the Beastie Boys. It was also very loud.
Hoblit
Hot for Teacher
Posts: 3669
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 12:48 pm
Pronouns: Dude or GURRRLLLL!
Location: Charlotte, NC ... A big city on its first day at the new job.
Contact:

Re: Bass Overdrive/Effects?

Post by Hoblit »

This is not a cheap plug for my band or anything, but when I was still *playing bass* for The Funeral Dazies, I played with a slight over drive. (Our influences include at least two bands with distorted bass, The Misfits & Type O Negative respectively)

I got the following sound from using the 'blues overdrive' on my Line 6 POD. It keeps the low end's integrity while giving it a little punch. I didn't use the stereo effect LIVE but it was still pretty haunting.

http://www.thefuneraldazies.com/music.htm (hit the play button)

The intro is a pretty good illustration as it features bass only for two bars. The rest of the recordings (and I won't quiz you on it later) are a good illustration on how the bass sounds while blended with other instruments.

Line 6 makes a bass effects version too, but I'm running that through the original 'gutiar effects' Line 6 unit. You can usually find these devices on Ebay at fair prices.

In my other band, our bass player plays through a regular old metal distortion pedal with the threshold set to high so as not to make it feedback and not SO distorted. It works well for that band as my guitar playing is minimal and his sound bursts forth while our lead guitarist is blaring out a solo.

Just my little bit.
User avatar
jeff robertson
Panama
Posts: 809
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2005 6:29 pm
Instruments: guitar, bass, programming
Recording Method: Reaper, Audacity
Submitting as: FLVXXVM FLORVM, Jeff Robertson and the Neo-Candylanders
Pronouns: he/him
Location: Illinoiss

Re: Bass Overdrive/Effects?

Post by jeff robertson »

I've never actually tried playing my bass through my Metal Zone, but considering what a booming bottom-heavy guitar sound it is capable of producing I can't imagine that you'd have to worry about it cutting the lows on your bass.
Post Reply