distortion pedals

[ttaurisb]

I use a lot of overdrive on my amp (a Fender Bassman), but occasionally, I'd like to use a thicker distortion. my problem is, I can't find any pedal that really makes a difference. I've tried a few Ratt pedals and even with their volumes set to the highest possible level (and with the filter and distortion knobs twiddled to various different settings) I can't get the distortion to get any louder than the amp's regular output.

suggestions?

[Milkmansound]

I love my tubescreamers - I modified them to the TS-808 specs, and they rule. Also, a guy I met recently built something called a Marshall Hot Box - this simple tube distortion/preamp - and man, that thing had some serious sack. The Tubescreamers do not distort the low frequencies - wheras this Hot Box did, and it made a huge difference. I don't actually have a point here, but perhaps keep expirimenting until something grabs you... Oh BTW, the 2 extra gain stages in the Hot Box will make anything louder... Wish I had a link or something to share.

[ttaurisb]

thanks, I'll keep that in mind for when I have money (man it's almost impossible to find decent, non-factory labor, work).

[E-cue]

The Z Vex Fuzz Factory and Wooley Mamoth pedals as among my favs.

Distortion can be very subjective, so you'll kind need to check some units out yourself to see what you like. Also try the Ibenez Tube Screamer, Z Vex SHO, MJM Blues Devil (a better version of the screamer IMHO) , Hot Cake, Big Muff, Klon Centaur, Marshall Guv'nor (very unpredictable), The Barber Burn Unit, Blackstone Appliance (great on blackfaces), Metal Zone (for Metallica), Nady Overdrive (great with a Strat / BF combo), Menatone Blue Collar... I was at a studio that had a big shot session that had just wrapped up and there was a god aweful amount of just about every pedal you could think of. I took the liberty of playing around with as many as I could. The ones I listed here were the ones I scribbled in my notebook as really good ones.

Also, you sure you don't need something like a load box like a THD Hotplate?

[@?,*???&?]

Silver face bassman? Or is a 50's Tweed? If it's the 50's Tweed variety or even a re-issue, then just turn it up. That amp rocks if you jump channels. Yeee-gaww.

Two amazing distortion pedals are the 'ReezaFRATzitz' by Emma and also the 'Rust booster' by HAO. Check them out at:

http://www.f-p-e.com/

[Sayer]

i would get another amp... I know it costs a lot of money that none of us seem to have... BUT here are my reasons.


I have used tons of distortion pedals and i like just about all of them for different things but i think you might be expecting the pedal to do something it cannot do which is to give you a completely different sound. As someone who has owned two bassman's i think they have a great sound but maybe not that versatile. I understand your dillema because i too had a really hard time finding the pedal i wanted. I ended up settling for a turbo ratt even though it wasn't what i was looking for. Finally i realized that i was expecting the pedal to do too much of the work load that i should have expected from the amp. True, you can jump it but you probly have already done that and not been that excited. Also, jumped amps are a hassle because you run the risk of burning all sorts of shit up mainly your tubes...

If you have to get a pedal get a z vex, that guy is a total genius i talk to him once in a while... But the dillema here is that they can cost anywhere from 150 to 400 depending on what you like and for money like that you might as well start amp shopping.. besides then youd have two amps on your equipment list (if that matters)

[covert]

I use a lot of overdrive on my amp (a Fender Bassman), but occasionally, I'd like to use a thicker distortion. my problem is, I can't find any pedal that really makes a difference. I've tried a few Ratt pedals and even with their volumes set to the highest possible level (and with the filter and distortion knobs twiddled to various different settings) I can't get the distortion to get any louder than the amp's regular output.

suggestions?

More distorted and louder are often incompatible goals. Pretty much all distortion pedal sounds come from clipping which is related, but not identical to, severe limiting. The loss of dynamics often equates to less apparent volume. The amps maximum output will not increase, in general. If you need louder, get a louder amp.

[pantone247]

these things have buckets of gain, it's a pretty familiar standard 'mudhoney' tone, but so much kick to it.

The other thing is to try back off the drive on your amp, it could be 'choking' (to use a term I've just invented) the gain boost and distortion you want your pedals to give you.

I find the best distortion sounds come from a very very clean amp, and a pedal, the muff ussually, or a DOD classic fuzz, with everything turned up all the way up. Sick buzzy biscuit tin fuzz... yay!

[auralman]

Best distortion pedal ever:

http://www.austone-electronics.com/

the Millenium Overdrive. Just awe-inspiring. Kicks pretty much anything else's ass.

[maz]

Very strange that you can't get it louder with a RAT...

Have you checked out the mod to a RAT that robert keeley does? http://www.robertkeeley.com

It's not that expensive, and with my RAT pedal, unity gain is with the volume less than 50% up.

I've rarely found a distortion pedal that is not louder than the amp with the volume cranked.

[ladewd]

Believe it or not, I get a great thick sound with my Sansamp GT2. Normally my reverberocket has a Keith Richards type sound, when I kick in the Sansamp, it thickens up the sound very nicely. Plus the Sansamp is good for quite a few other things around the studio.

CA

[kayagum]

The paradox with distortion is that louder = "cleaner". Meaning, if you want more volume, either you clean up the distortion a bit, or mix the distorted signal with the clean signal. (For all you non-guitar playing recorders out there, this is a good tip for getting a good guitar track- turn that distortion/overdrive down!)

Many distortions chop the bass, and you get a fizzier distortion with less oomph. I wouldn't be surprised if half the mods out there simply get rid of the chopped bass effect.

Here are some possibilities:

* I personally like to find bass distortion/overdrive pedals (e.g. Fulltone Bassdrive, ZVex Wooly Mammoth) and use them for regular guitars. Big Muff is the king of brutal bass fuzz as well.

* Find pedals that have clean signals mixed in (e.g. VoodooLabs Sparkledrive, SIB Varidrive seems to have a clean mix in it to my ears because I can get the VoodooLabs to sound just like it)

* Split your signal into two amps- one for distortion, one for clean oomph. (e.g. Bob Mould splitting his signal to Fender Concerts and Roland JC120 heads).

* If you're happy with your current overdrive tone, why not just get a good boost pedal? ZVex SHO, Fulltone Fatboost, MXR MicroAmp, etc.

Less is more!

[llmonty]

can you clarify what you mean between "thicker distortion" and "louder"?

if you are using your amp's distortion already, your amp is nearing max volume. My bassman doesn't really get louder after say '5' - it just breaks up more (BTW, I have a '68 head, and recently installed groove tube power reducers / el84 adapters that have given me the most ungodly distorted sound).

So which do you want? A boost pedal may be what you want if you want to drive the amp harder (if that gives you thicker distortion) - but like i said, it won't give you more volume if you amp is already being pushed hard.

another option would be if you want 'louder' - would be to increase the mid-range (tube screamers are great for that) - which will likely help you cut through more against other instruments (though this might not be what you are looking for if thicker=more bass to you). This makes a HUGE difference in perceived volume. I learned this in high school when my 300 watt amp couldn't compete and then I realized it was all Bass/Treble (classic newbie and now nu metal mistake), no mid - boosting the mid made it seem 2x as loud

[Red Rockets Glare]

Lately my favorite besides my tube screamer is the 70 dollar Vox Pathfinder amp that you all tipped me off on. That thing just smokes!

[ttaurisb]

actually, my amp isn't running at full capacity (I play it at about 4 generally), it just has a decent amount of overdrive to it (which I've found that all Fender amps seem to). That said, I really don't want a new amp. Despite a few dents on it, that Bassman is where it's at (I play bass and guitar and I like the variety of tone you can get from it).

What I really want is that if I hit distortion on a pedal that it actually does something. Using a Ratt pedal just makes it a bit fuzzier, but no louder and not much different really than what I already can get the amp to sound like. I would compare the tone of my setup to how Jeff Mueller's (of The Shipping News) guitar sounds.

Simply put, I want something that will cut through a basic overdrive, thicken the tone up some, and most importantly be louder than my "clean" tone (okay.. it occurred to me... my guitar tone is kind of like Pete Townsends.. that may be a bit more recognizable reference).

thanks for all the above recommendations. I'll try a Big Muff out tomorrow (can't be to bad, I've had great luck with Electro Harmonix anything).