Bass Fuzz Recommendations?

[tee boy]

Lads,

The title pretty much sums it up, Im after picking up some pedals to run bass guitars through. Im thinking along the lines of that NIN fuzz sound that seems to be quite popular right now. But Im open to all suggestions... any thing that sounds cool!

As always, cheers fellas

TB

[AdamJay]

this is so wierd...
i was talking to 'richmondjames' in PM's about guitar pedals and he recommended the Voodoo Lab SuperFuzz. I got one on eBay for $90 and it just arrrived this morning.
My guitar wasn't handy so i tested it out through my Rhodes and also through a Fender Deluxe Jazz Bass. I started playing some NIN lines on the Bass. (thats the wierd part).

its got a real good sound. the 'resonance' knob makes it great for bass as it brings out some of the low harmonics. Pretty flexible fuzz. I recommend it if you want to fuzz up anything, be it bass, guitar, a vocal, or electric piano.

if you'd like, i can PM you some samples of it on bass.

[hopeless_opus]

The black Russian made Big Muff is cheap and a great bass fuzz.

I also like the Prescription Yardbox as well.

[tINY]

If the Russian Big Muff is anything like the original - I'd definitely try it out. There is just something furry about that box....




-tINY

[Trancetones]

I believe the Big Muff was used on the bass on the track "Kate" by Ben Folds Five. That should give you a good idea of the sound. Good track too.

[max cooper]

I find that the best way to get that kind of nasty-ass industrial growl is with sample rate and bit rate reduction. There's a cool plugin made by Audio Damage that does that, plus fuzz and distortion. It's called Master Destrukto.

It's at least worth checking it out. I use it on bass and on snare drums all the time.

[jamieboss1]

Hey,
Check out the Lion pedal made by John Schumann. It's really versatile and perfect for bass.
Jamie

[tee boy]

Originally Posted by AdamJay

this is so wierd...
i was talking to 'richmondjames' in PM's about guitar pedals and he recommended the Voodoo Lab SuperFuzz. I got one on eBay for $90 and it just arrrived this morning.
My guitar wasn't handy so i tested it out through my Rhodes and also through a Fender Deluxe Jazz Bass. I started playing some NIN lines on the Bass. (thats the wierd part).

its got a real good sound. the 'resonance' knob makes it great for bass as it brings out some of the low harmonics. Pretty flexible fuzz. I recommend it if you want to fuzz up anything, be it bass, guitar, a vocal, or electric piano.

if you'd like, i can PM you some samples of it on bass.

Hey Adam,

Just got your pm and mp3, thanks alot, appreciate you taking the time to do that for me.

Wow, the Voodoo certain has some balls doesnt it! Or that more the DI? Eitherway, sounds pretty cool for the right track. I shall have to see if I can borrow one of those and have a play.

TB

[tee boy]

Originally Posted by hopeless_opus

The black Russian made Big Muff is cheap and a great bass fuzz.

I also like the Prescription Yardbox as well.

Yeah, actually I tried a Muff today, but the US version. I do love this pedal, even though it is a little noisy. On the bass it sounded a bit TOO fuzzy though! I shall probably have to experiment a bit further to get a sound I like.

TB

[tee boy]

Originally Posted by max cooper

I find that the best way to get that kind of nasty-ass industrial growl is with sample rate and bit rate reduction. There's a cool plugin made by Audio Damage that does that, plus fuzz and distortion. It's called Master Destrukto.

It's at least worth checking it out. I use it on bass and on snare drums all the time.

Haha, funnily enough this is one of my favorite plugs! Im constantly using that thing on drums, but I havent tried it yet on bass (ofcourse, I will do now). Another cool plug that I use alot is Steinberg's Quadrafuzz, and also Trash. These are great for those industrial sounds.

Thanks for the suggestions all, keep em coming.

Anyone tried the Zvex pedals one bass? I hear the Mammoth is popular?

TB

[Anonymatt]

Originally Posted by jamieboss1

Hey,
Check out the Lion pedal made by John Schumann. It's really versatile and perfect for bass.
Jamie

Dog, bad news. I walked over to Main Drag Music the other day to try a Lion. The fella at the shop said that Shumann was taking leave of the effects business indefinitely. "Maybe one year, maybe two." Didn't get any of the details, but the tone of his voice seemed to indicate that he wasn't off on a long honeymoon or anything. They had no more Schumann Electronics stock left to sell. Total bummer.

[jamieboss1]

wow, bad news. his stuff is very cool. are you in the neighborhood?
Jamie

[Tubthumper]

Throbak Electronics have a Solasound Tonebender MkII clone, the Stonebender. Very authentic replica, and it’s quiter than the originals. Paul McCartney used an original for the fuzz bass on “Think for Yourself”.

I bought one for my Tele, it sounds great on that and the bass also. Jon's honest and helpful too.

[arpodthegreat]

like most of the people on this board, i have not tried most of the gear that people are asking about (high end tube mics, preamps, compressors, converters, etc...) but i have tried a ton of distortion stomp boxes and own quite a few. if you want an analog stomp box, you should get the z. vex woolly mammoth it's kind of expensive but just as massive sounding as the animal it's named after. it's also got a kind of noise gate so that you can crank the gain and still have it totally quite and feedback free between notes. also try the EH big muff. for less distortion i recomend the fulltone bass drive (the blue pedal with two buttons) for something in between i really like the menatone dirty blonde. finally, the EH bass micro synth will get you some cool industrial sounds. you don't have to use the sweep so much if you just want fuzz but the sub harmonic is really cool. but if you really want the NIN thing you might need to go to some kind of modeling stuff. that's something i know less of. try and use a synth hooked up to your bass or something.
like i said though if you want some big fuzz and just want bass --> stompbox --> amp go for the z. vex or muff if you have less dough

[benelli]

danny lohner, who played bass in NIN for a decade, is one of my best friends.

working with him for years in the studio, it's always kinda going like this::

the Depth Charge by Prescription electronics, almost always, into a sansamp bass driver.

sometimes the woolly mammoth by zvex.

for fiddle a ding dong sometimes the piercing moose by way huge.

but definitely, definitely, definitely, the Depth Charge. It's orange, and fun.

best,

[AdamJay]

Originally Posted by tee boy

Hey Adam,

Just got your pm and mp3, thanks alot, appreciate you taking the time to do that for me.

Wow, the Voodoo certain has some balls doesnt it! Or that more the DI?

actually i'd say most of the balls came from that particular bass guitar.

[numchukskillls]

Pro Co Rat sounds pretty huge on bass. Not too expensive and easy to find.

[max cooper]

Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that I also like the D-Fi stuff by Digidesign for "nastying up" the bass.

The Recti-Fi and the Lo-Fi in particular have some good, weird sounds in 'em.

And don't forget using a Marshall half-stack. As long as you don't turn it up to brain damage, you'll be fine. For some reason, the combination of a Marshall half stack and a Danelectro bass comes to mind.

I think it could be because the short scale makes the strings nice and floppy.

[siegfried]

Boss MT-2 MetalZone.

Or you can try Soda Meiser... Killer bass sounds...

[pan]

Chuck Zwicky's Wooly Mammoth by Z-Vex again! - insane fuzz, growling and still bass-heavy.

If you are shopping for a FAT bass mangler, it's the No1!!!

Chuck, you're a good guy!!!


n

[AdamJay]

Originally Posted by benelli

sometimes the woolly mammoth by zvex.

i just checked the demo video on that pedal at zvex's site.
that is a killer bass fuzz! i especially like the gate feature.
if i had a few spare grand lying around i'd buy every pedal they make, very VERY creative pedals from that company.
I wonder how "Machine" + "Wooly Mammoth" would sound on a jazz bass?

[Switchcraft]

Big muff
\
or sans amp Bass DI
/
or clipping the input of a fatso for the doors 9-5 sound.

[Bob Ross]

I've got an old Electro-Harmonix Talking pedal which is my main go-to for bass fuzz. I almost never use it for its alleged "talking" sound (it's basically a really idiosyncratic wah-wah pedal with a really high-Q filter), but it's got this "Harmonics" pot on the side which, when maxxed fully CW gives basses a totally unique hairy fuzz-from-hell without sacrificing much low end. And then you can rock the pedal slowly for filter sweeps & stuff. Mega-cool.

In a pinch, SansAmp GT2 is pretty good too.

[jetpackbassist]

check out the tech 21 bass driver DI or para driver DI (the para driver gives you a dedicated "mid" knob).

both'll give you a nice, warm tube overdrive type sound... might not be fuzzy enough for you, though. but you can get that tone on the NIN "there is no you there is only me" tune with them.

besides that, +1 on the big muff. thumbsup

[3rd world order]

Originally Posted by AdamJay

I wonder how "Machine" ... would sound on a jazz bass?

usually way too over the top... the machine is a crazy box (i'm proud owner of #013) which either is magic or crash and burn nonsense...

fun on drums tho

[KrisNY]

Originally Posted by numchukskillls

Pro Co Rat sounds pretty huge on bass. Not too expensive and easy to find.

I was going to suggest this. I never quite liked the Rat on guitar because it doesn't provide a ton of color, but for bass it really growls.

I've never tried the SuperFuzz, but I have Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive and Tremolo and completely swear by them. They make incredible pedals.

[andymixer]

I know a great one but I'm not telling ee.

[joeq]

I still prefer the sound of a small overdriven tube amp. There's something about the sound of the speaker not being quite able to keep up.

Originally Posted by Tubthumper

Paul McCartney used an original for the fuzz bass on “Think for Yourself”.
.

I remember when album credits used to read:

Bill Smith: Bass, Fuzz Bass

yeah I'm a bass player, but I double on Fuzz Bass

[brendondp]

Our bass player uses:

1 x Fulltone 69 pedal; and

1 x Hot Cake

Sounds fantastic.

Cheers,

bdp

[JDN]

Pro Co Rat for sure, and I've got serious 90's Industrial Creds, Shit, Look at my Al Jourensen Fairlight Avatar. Sans Amp always does it for me too.