# Thick chunky distortion bass tone



## Chupacabra John (Dec 7, 2011)

Hey guys, I'm looking for some relatively affordable gear to add to my current rig (ampeg svt-3 pro + sonic maximizer -> ampeg 4x10) in order to get a thicker distortion tone. I've heard running a sansamp into my normal head can provide some great things, but I'm kind of a gear n00b so I haven't a clue as to how to get the tones I want. Thanks in advance.


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## BucketheadRules (Dec 7, 2011)

The Tech 21 Sansamp is a great pedal, but it isn't really that distorted. Really fattens out and warms up the sound though.

The Boss ODB-3 is relatively cheap, and good from what I hear - it provides the bass tone on this track:



And that's my favourite bass tone EVER.


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## shanejohnson02 (Dec 7, 2011)

Any more details on how they got that sound? I suck at getting good bass tones lol. Mainly the bass / pickups used and the amp (or preamp, or direct-to-board).


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## TemjinStrife (Dec 7, 2011)

The Sansamp has PLENTY of gain. The ODB-3 sounds alright if you're running it into a cab with no tweeter, but is a fizzy mess if you do.

Honestly, the best bass distortion I've come across is the Tech 21 Oxford. It's an Orange sim, but it's got an incredible growl and punch and lets you keep a good amount of real low end. It's also got frankly stupid levels of gain available.


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## cGoEcYk (Dec 7, 2011)

Sansamp is great (a must for me, especially on Ampeg rigs) but it's not a distortion pedal.

I tried the Tech 21 Bass Distortion... it's fine, keeps 90% of the low end but didn't love the tone. 

If you have a higher budget, the Iron Ether Oxide is probably one of the finest and move versatile I've heard.

I love the bass distortion on Meshuggah - Chaosphere. He was running through a .50 Cal guitar amp (makes sense, not really deep low end on that album).


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## LordCashew (Dec 8, 2011)

I think this thing sounds pretty good. The more distorted stuff is after 1:30.



I've never played one myself though.


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## LordCashew (Dec 8, 2011)

shanejohnson02 said:


> Any more details on how they got that sound? I suck at getting good bass tones lol. Mainly the bass / pickups used and the amp (or preamp, or direct-to-board).



He played his Warwick thumb 6 through "...a combination of ODB3 and a pedal called the Black Stone, which is made in NY and is very small. That was then put through both an Ashdown ABM 500/Ashdown fridge and an Ampeg SVT-2pro/Ampeg Fridge (mind you the studio we did this in had a vintage 70's Ampeg cabinet so it sounded huge."

The quote is from Jon Stockman, their bassist. A fairly expensive signal chain, LOL.


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## broj15 (Dec 8, 2011)

rocktron gainiac. they are amazing. check it out.


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## DLG (Dec 8, 2011)

I have an EBS multi drive and I like it a lot more than the ODB-3. the gain is much more subtle and doesn't make a mess of the tone.

that Karnivool tone is marvelous, but I think that the boss pedal plays a very small part in getting it to sound that awesome.

edit: missed IronSpatula's post. there you go


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## Tyghor (Dec 8, 2011)

I've been using a Sansamp bass DI for the last three years or so and i never got tired of the tone, extremely versatile, low cost. I think it's a great place to start if you're looking for a big bang for your buck!


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## HotelEcho (Dec 9, 2011)

I use an MXR M-80 Bass DI+, I wasn't too keen on it on it's own but since I've started playing with a band I've discovered that it sounds amazing.

So another opinion, another option...


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## LordCashew (Dec 10, 2011)

HotelEcho said:


> I use an MXR M-80 Bass DI+, I wasn't too keen on it on it's own but since I've started playing with a band I've discovered that it sounds amazing.
> 
> So another opinion, another option...



I have one of those too. It's a fairly useful pedal. Unfortunately in my opinion that distortion sounds pretty bad through a full-range system, which makes me wonder why they put it on a pedal with a DI. I guess it makes the M-80 more versatile so you can do different things with it, but I for one would never use the distortion and the DI simultaneously.


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## HotelEcho (Dec 10, 2011)

LordIronSpatula said:


> I have one of those too. It's a fairly useful pedal. Unfortunately in my opinion that distortion sounds pretty bad through a full-range system, which makes me wonder why they put it on a pedal with a DI. I guess it makes the M-80 more versatile so you can do different things with it, but I for one would never use the distortion and the DI simultaneously.



Yeah, I do wish there was an option to use it as a clean out while driving an amp with the distortion.

That's a good point actually for the OP, the best way to get a "thick" bass distortion tone is to get the right blend of clean and dirty tones. Most bass distortions have a blend control, it's worth playing around to find the sweet spot between fat clean low end and distortion.


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## Mc_rae (Dec 10, 2011)

The EHX bass big muff is great for a really fat stoner-rock type of sound like what you'd find on the early Mastodon albums. 

I also have a Morley Pro Series II Distortion/Wah/Volume pedal that gets an awesome Cliff Burton-esque tone. Not something I'd use for a song's entirety but good for soloing or making a little extra noise when a riff could use some additional 'oomph'. Its designed for guitar but I actually like it a lot more for bass.


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## SirMyghin (Dec 10, 2011)

All I can weigh in is to say I thought the M-80 was freaking awful. The best distorted bass tones are typically from splitting the signal and only distorting the high en, ala Geddy.


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## TemjinStrife (Dec 11, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> All I can weigh in is to say I thought the M-80 was freaking awful. The best distorted bass tones are typically from splitting the signal and only distorting the high en, ala Geddy.



 as to the M-80.

That said, I've heard and played some great distorted bass tones that didn't involve signal splitting or clean blends. They generally involved driving a big-transformer all-tube power section though, like a Sunn 300T, Fender 300Pro, or Reeves 225.

That said, I still think the Tech 21 Oxford had some of the best distorted bass sounds I've heard from a pedal. I do want to try a Budda Phatbass someday though.


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## LordCashew (Dec 11, 2011)

HotelEcho said:


> Yeah, I do wish there was an option to use it as a clean out while driving an amp with the distortion.



Huh. That sounds like a potentially possible mod. Just wire the XLR out to be exclusively pre-distortion. You could use it for a clean signal to house, mic your cab for dirt, and EQ the range of each side to taste.

But FWIW, if I was going through all the trouble of setting up 2 signal chains I probably wouldn't use the M-80.


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## SirMyghin (Dec 12, 2011)

TemjinStrife said:


> as to the M-80.
> 
> That said, I've heard and played some great distorted bass tones that didn't involve signal splitting or clean blends. They generally involved driving a big-transformer all-tube power section though, like a Sunn 300T, Fender 300Pro, or Reeves 225.
> 
> That said, I still think the Tech 21 Oxford had some of the best distorted bass sounds I've heard from a pedal. I do want to try a Budda Phatbass someday though.



How many of us own tube bass amps nowadays  Those bastards make my Mark look light!


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## TemjinStrife (Dec 13, 2011)

I used to have a 300-watt tube head. Then I took an arrow to the knee.

Actually, i just moved to Manhattan. Hellooo 5 pound Aguilar!


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## AxeHappy (Dec 13, 2011)

My bassist uses a Way Huge Pork Loin and it gets a nice gritty thick distortion.


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## SirMyghin (Dec 13, 2011)

TemjinStrife said:


> I used to have a 300-watt tube head. Then I took an arrow to the knee.
> 
> Actually, i just moved to Manhattan. Hellooo 5 pound Aguilar!



Yeah we have two schools now, the ultra lights, and the heavy weights . I am looking into the ultra lights, myself. Might check out some of TCs amps if I get a chance, the demos sound nice.


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## Spinedriver (Dec 18, 2011)

Personally, I've tried numerous pedals. Boss ODB-3, Ibanez PD7 Phat Hed, Pro-Co Rat Deucetone, Sansamp Bass Driver, Fulltone Bass Driver, Ibanez TS-7 Tube Screamer, and a whole host of others. 

Finally, I settled on a Danelectro Transparent Overdrive coupled with a Tech 21 VT Bass. The OD provides plenty of grit while the VT Bass puts the low end back in that normal guitar pedals tend to take out. The VT is also good at distortion/fuzz as well but the guitar od just gives me a different kind.


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## Spinedriver (Dec 18, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> Yeah we have two schools now, the ultra lights, and the heavy weights . I am looking into the ultra lights, myself. Might check out some of TCs amps if I get a chance, the demos sound nice.



I have a MarkBass Little Mark II and it's hands down one of the best amps I've played through in it's price range. I found that the major difference between the LMII and the others is that with Ampeg, GK, etc.. they tend to have their 'own' sound. Whereas with the LMII, it has a very neutral tone. It doesn't so much give you 'their' sound so much as it just amplifies the natural tone of your bass. In that respect, if you have a cheap bass, it may not come across as well as if you had a nicer bass with decent pickups.


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## MistaMarko (Dec 27, 2011)

I've attained great results with being liberal on the mids. Most people cut them...why do that? It's the life of the tone. Try messing around with around 200-300 Hz.


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