hey guyz, i need a good OD or Dist pedal mainly for live use, but it might get tapped in the studio aswell....i'm thinkin' about an MXR M-80 http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...se_pid/151110/ it seems pretty damn versital

i'm using a 5 string EB Stingray, through an Ampeg SVT3Pro, to a 6x10" ampeg cab...i like mid range crunch an dig the upper mid bite...whatcha think?

I have no experience with it myself, but I have heard nothing but good things about the zvex wooly mammoth pedal.
You can check out the video on the site and see what you think.

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

-dave

Its a little pricey but Mesa Boogie has a tube driver that sounds really good to my ears. I coant remember waht it is called though. I looks a lot like the Buddah Bass distortion pedal.

I use a Sans Amp GT2 guitar for my over drive, it sucks a little of the lows out but I just make those up on the amp.


Twonky

My favourite is the Fulltone Bassdrive (fulltone.com).
I have one that's a custom unit..
in fact I think I sort of started the idea, when I contacted Mike Fuller there and asked him to modify a Fulldrive 2 (guitar overdrive) to be more bass friendly but to leave me a switch to go between guitar and bass modes.

Soon after that he started selling the BassDrive version.

It's a very cool distortion with total bypass when you don't want it.

next best, but also a cool pedal in its own right is the SansAmp Bass Driver DI... its upside is that it's also a good DI box that allows you to add some distortion and tone shaping to the DI signal.
in point of fact, I PERSONALLY only use it as a DI so that, even though I prefer them to use the mic'ed sound of my amp, the FOH sound guy who feels he MUST have a DI (even if it's as a back-up) has a signal that I know I can shape and make sound like my sound.
Lots of people use the effected output into the amp as well to get some distortion... but I don't prefer it for that.
It has both parallel (UNeffected) and effect out 1/4" outputs so you can choose what goes to the amp, while the effected signal goes out the XLR out.
There's a rack version as well, the RBI, which I don't find sounds QUITE as good, for some reason.

both are good choices.
By what you describe, I'd suggest the Fulltone for you.

The 2 wwittman listed are definitely good and preserve your dynamics in a nice way. To me bass dynamics are so important and anything that crushes them is unusable (I sold my woolley mammoth after using it for 1 day - and I LOVE zvex pedals).

If you can swing it, the Stephenson Stage Hog is the best ever for this, in a pedal form, because really, its just a tiny stompbox sized amp.

But I would say its all about using a nice big tube amp for this purpose. Any 50 watt plus tube amp can work, just crank it up and let her rip through a big cabinet.

I'll second....or third, the Bassdrive from Fulltone. Fulltone makes great pedals in general and the Bassdrive is just freakin' awesome. I was hanging around guitar stores in LA with a friend of mine looking for a great bass distortion. LA has a superlative selection of pedals at its many fine music stores, so we tried a huge array of stuff. The Bassdrive just has it...meaty, nasty distortion without anything annoying accompanying it. It can also be used as a simple boost pedal...in fact, my friend uses it as a boost on his upright in a Salsa band! It can also do Chris Squire/Geddy Lee SVT type distortions and would just kick ass in a metal band. I highly recommend it!!

Mike

Hi!

Some pedals I've checked out and liked. I work at a store, so I get to try out all kinds of stuff.. sadly most of it low end...

Boss SD-1. Very cheap, eats some low end. Your basic average od.

Hughes & Kettner Warp. Über metal! Good bottom (with Sub on) and a lot of distortion.

Anything by SansAmp seems to work thumbsup . They're versatile, but cost a bit..

Aah... but what do I know, I like metal

Cheers,
Jussi

hmmm i'll look into those....one feature i really like is the ability to blend the original signal with the effected.

thanks all!

wyd

I highly recommend the Budda Phatbass. We use it with an Ampeg B-15 Portaflex miced up with an AKG D25 and it's just phenomenal. Even with that signal chain, the pedal really adds a lot to the tone.

MXR BassDI+

although I end up running my LINN DRUM through it most of the time.

The GK Diesel Dawg is awesome. New Product... Great sound. thumbsup

what kind of music are you playing? personally i dont really like the sound of distorted bass. i play a 6 string dean with emg's through an swr, i just like the sound of bass.

I play a ric 4003 and a Nash P through a SVT VR and an 8x10. In general I use a demeter compression and a fulltone bass drive when I want a good even not degrated bass dist. You have obviously spent some money on your rig. I think it is important to preserve your tone if that is what you are going for. But if you want synth like over the top FUZZ/GRIND nothing in my opinion beats the Wooly Mamoth by Zvex.
(That is if you have 300.00 smackers to drop on a one trick pony) I literally use it for one song. It is soooo grindy and fat there is no need for compression and, it will sustain for days.
I really like the EBS tube drive also but, playing through a SVT makes it slightly redundant.
Stay away from:
-EHX bass dist
-MXR blow torch (might as well be made by ZOOM)

I was in a session once with an engineer that had a lot of different bass pedals and there was this Hughes And Kettner pedal that absolutely did what all the others were trying to; fat, corpulent, thick, you name it and it didn't get lost or intrude in the track. It seems it was named the dirty dawg, but I might be wrong, because I cant find anything about that query online.... It seems it was tube-based as well.

I wish I remembered because I'd actually forgot about it til I saw this topic and would love to find one.

Actually that's what I was trying to remember. Guess I should have read over the thread more thoroughly! ha

ill throw this one out there. Its truly insane on the bass.....

The Sweet