Best Bass overdrive/distortion

Seen a Boss Heavy Metal used with good results. You can scoop the mids pretty dramatically w/ those.

For a not-so-fizzy, sorta 'natural' sound, the best I've heard is the Fulltone Bass-Drive. They sell it for $199, so that's in your price range, too.

hahahahhahha Tesla, good one D

Anyone heard this tube distortion pedal? It seems like it may be a cool unit, and I was talking to a friend who plays standup with a pickup and says he loves it, it just growls. I thought it may be interesting to see what other people say about it, b/c I have never heard it or how it works with a conventional electric setup.

[johnS]

Anybody heard anything about this box? Dagosto, it claims to keep the low end happening.

http://www.zvex.com/mammoth.html

Originally Posted by blnkbnkr

Seen a Boss Heavy Metal used with good results. You can scoop the mids pretty dramatically w/ those.

For a not-so-fizzy, sorta 'natural' sound, the best I've heard is the Fulltone Bass-Drive. They sell it for $199, so that's in your price range, too.

The Boss MT-2 (Metal Zone) also sounds pretty gnarly on a bass, you can scoop the mids all to hell as well.

[GearJunkie]

Originally Posted by johnS

Anybody heard anything about this box? Dagosto, it claims to keep the low end happening.

http://www.zvex.com/mammoth.html

I played one in a shop in chicago. I like it except for the fact that you can't get a real subtle tone out of it. even when you turn the gain WAY down, it still sounds like a distortion and not an overdrive. granted, if you're looking for bass distortion, this thing's crazy.

I just bought the HAO Rust Ride and am sending it back. SERIOUS signal drop when you engage it and it sounds surprisingly tinny.

[dagosto]

Originally Posted by johnS

Anybody heard anything about this box? Dagosto, it claims to keep the low end happening.http://www.zvex.com/mammoth.html

Thanks John. I'll have to try one of those out myself.

[DistrictOfMisery]

i can't believe nobody's suggested this, but try the MXR M-181 Bass Blowtorch. way more settings than most, and definitely versatile. it also retains the low end pretty well.

[Thaxt]

I've sucessfully modified the DOD Distortion 250 + circuit for bass...you just put in larger input (.22uf) & output (10uf) caps. Then, make the tone determining cap (off pin 2 on the opamp) around .47 - 4.7uf. This is a good bass range.

.22uf to .44uf gets a tighter, but strong bass sound. 4.7ufs get a lower end

You can find this circuit on www.buildyourownclone.com or generalguitargadgets.com. The 741 op-amp they suggest doesn't seem to do much of anything, tho (IMO) - for good bass (or gtr) OD tone, try using a TL071 or LM351 opamp. They have the gain one needs for this.

It's really the type & config of the clipping diodes that do the wonders here, give you a real bass OD tone. I prefer to use FETs - like 2N5457s, both going to ground in a reverse configuration. IN4001's also give a good bass OD, but, they can get a really fuzzy when you crank the gain. (Unless that's what you want - it can sound really massive, btw, & semi-compressed)

Using FETs as clipping diodes seems to give the best tube-type, self-compressed bass OD. If you put a 10K pot between them, going from the output line, you can regulate their clipping OD more/less.

diystompboxes.com has a great "simple mods" section on how to get many different diode clipping sounds....many cool (& easy) tweaks available. That's where I first got the FET's as clippers idea.

They really seem to be # 1 for keeping that bass low end intact in a clipping circuit.