What stompbox for bass grit?

[Ermz]

Hey guys,

Which OD pedal should I buy to get some good bass grit? I want to reamp through the pedal just to dirty things up and get a nice midrange going. I'm sick of using ITB saturation - it just sounds nasty.

References include the latest Paramore where it really growls on some of those runs, or the latest Alice in chains where there is just a nice low-mid growl to augment the guitars.

FWIW I'm not a big fan of the Sansamp thing.

Cheers.

 

[Rockchops]

I use a maxon od808 for bass, it gets real growly, but I would like to try a proco rat, anyway, both are much better than ITB saturation

 

[Ermz]

Agreed, I've got a custom TS that I reamp it through sometimes, but I was looking something with a bit more fidelity and growl. The TS is a bit gentle what with its mid hump and smooth character.

 

[Ben Johnson]

I REALLY like using this

....which I just noticed you're not a fan of, unless you were referring to the bddi.

 

[mintcheerios]

When you say you're not a fan of the Sansamp thing, are you referring to the Bass Driver DI or Sansamp products in general? I've heard some good things about the Sansamp VT Bass for grit. I've always wanted to try one actually.

 

[lolzgreg]

The samples for the Bass VT sound fantastic. There's not much you can do to it outside of the pedal to get it to sound that way, either.

 

[Ermz]

Mostly referring to the BDDI guys. Checked some youtube clips of the Bass VT and it seems okay. As usual none of them know how to dial a tone for shit, but that's kind of expected and accounted for. I mostly want something that's going to go from light saturation/growl to full out metal CLUNG CLUNG oil tanker dragging across concrete (though I concede I'll probably have to involve a rectifier in that somehow).

The PSA-1 is slight overkill, isn't it?

Also, the VT Bass is just a normal stompbox, correct? So it would need a DI and preamp to get up to spec for recording?

 

[Ben Johnson]

Not really.

It's a nice tool to have around. I've used it for processing dirty vocals with pretty good results, and it's nice when the need arises for a raunchy Rammstein or Peter Tagtgren style guitar sound.

I have a BDDI and a VT pedal too, but I always end up going to the PSA-1 for bass OD.

 

[Ermz]

The PSA-1 is capable of bass grit like 'Organic Hallucinosis' right? I heard they used the unit on guitar, so chances are it doubled back on bass duties too.

Does it usually need a cab or amp simulation of sorts to 'voice' correctly, or is it fine in and of itself?

 

[Ermz]

Just as a reference, here is the best I've managed to produce using AD's 'Kombinat' distortion plug-in in the past: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/285689/Forum/Compressor Shoot-out/bass-6.mp3

I need something that will eat that grit alive.

 

[lolzgreg]

This sounds pretty awesome.

What about the bass sound for those awesome mixes you posted here. You said that was a BC-Rich direct, right? That was rockin'!

Honestly, from what I've learned, grit is all about the bass and new strings (aside from the player, of course). Old strings make a bass sound shite really quick (I'm talking two to three days here).

I got some real AWESOME bass tones with just a sansamp and a spector bass. I'll post 'em some day soon.

 

[Ermz]

Yeah that's the bass from that record, Greg. Pulled from something resembling the final mix, without mastering. totally agree about the new strings. it all starts there.

 

[Ben Johnson]

That clip actually sounds kind of clean by my standards. Still sounds pretty damn good.

Pulled up "Revelation Of Existence" on youtube...the bass definitely has the PSA-1 sound going on.

IIRC, I usually have a LP'd track into SVX and a HP through the PSA-1. Can't remember if I used an IR on the dirt track or not (not on production computer at the moment).

I have a Spector bass too (didn't I recommend the Euro to you over the Peavey Cirrus a while back, Greg?)

It's the same bass that's used on your beloved Randy Staub productions, Ermz. It's really great for nasty bass sounds too.

 

[brianhood]

i did this bass with a maxon OD808 into a sansamp RBI on almost full gain. This is what i think of when i hear someone mention distorted bass.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/536384/Creator Destroyer/Final Mix/distorted bass sample.mp3

it's sort of hard to hear, but you get the idea

 

[gabriel g.]

I think the Bass is the most important thing to get a great tone.
I love the Rise Against, comeback kid bass tone.

Emrz check out my mixpod on my myspace page. I uploaded a song of my band Badge of Apathy - guadrian angels.

I did the bass only with podfarm.
Our bass player has the tech 21 VT bass pedal but podfarm sounded better.

I splitted the bass into 3 different chains (1. DI , 2. Ampeg with a lot of gain 3. some console emulation to get this piono string sound)

cheers

 

[Fragle]

i've had very good results with the sansamp psa-1. i love that thing, great for bass in the studio, and also stellar in my live rig for guitars.
i've heard great things about the hartke bass attack, too. i'll soon get one for my live bass rig, but i'll obviously test it in the studio too. it's not that expensive either, and seems to be a good alternative to the BDDI.

ermz, what's your favorite plugin-wise?

 

[Ermz]

So the general consensus is that the Sansamp PSA-1 or VT Bass are the way to go? I'm definitely certain that I want something OTB for the bass tones. POD is a bit of a last resort, though I do have PODFarm.

Ben, yeah I used a Spector for my last project and it growls like crazy. Almost more high-end than low in there... perfect for getting grit. EMGs seem to rock everywhere.

Fragle, my favourite plug-in for grit at the moment is Audio Damage Kombinat in multi-mode with the 'Sat' setting. It usually lets me enhance the attack and growl of the bass without that audible shitty, cheap ITB distortion sound.

 

[drew_drummer]

Dude.. give an EHX Double Muff a try; sounds really awesome on bass!!

 

[lolzgreg]

That clip actually sounds kind of clean by my standards. Still sounds pretty damn good.

Pulled up "Revelation Of Existence" on youtube...the bass definitely has the PSA-1 sound going on.

IIRC, I usually have a LP'd track into SVX and a HP through the PSA-1. Can't remember if I used an IR on the dirt track or not (not on production computer at the moment).

I have a Spector bass too (didn't I recommend the Euro to you over the Peavey Cirrus a while back, Greg?)

It's the same bass that's used on your beloved Randy Staub productions, Ermz. It's really great for nasty bass sounds too.

I do think so. My friend has a Spector Legend. One of the best basses I've ever played. Solid walnut methinks.

-Greg

 

[Ermz]

Would you guys say the bass at 2:39 of Decapitated's 'Three Dimensional Defect' sounds like Sansamp? This is basically my holy grail of bass tones for metal music. Not over-distorted, not too clean, just filthy enough for you to hear those strings like some grinding industrial machinery.

I've been collecting an array of suggestions lately and it's hard to choose. It basically boils down to:

1) Sansamp BDDI (never liked it in the past, but I was rarely the one dialing it)
2) Sansamp VT Bass (heard some stuff about too many low mids, not sure, clips sound better than BDDI so far)
3) Sansamp PSA-1 (a bit expensive for just bass use, and I'm not sure if i'd ever use it for anything else)
4) Haartke Bass Attack (from that thread that was posted recently.. seems adept at bringing the filth, which is what i desire).