# Pedal preferences for "doomy" bass



## desmondtencents (May 1, 2015)

So maybe this should be in the "gear" section (mods, feel free to move if you see fit) but I figured I'd get more responses from folks focused primarily on bass.
I'm starting to get back into playing bass a bit more. I'm really into trying to write some stuff along the lines of Baroness, Kylesa, Mastodon, etc.....
I'm just curious as to what some of your preferences might be as far as using dirt pedals to achieve a good doom, sludge, stoner type of bass tone. OD's, fuzz, distortion?
I've got a LTD D-4 bass that I like quite a bit. Plays nice and the pickups are pretty good to my ears. I've also got a Carvin rig consisting of a BX-500 head and two cabs, one 2x10 and a 1x15.
So, opinions on dirt pedals for doomy bass tones, GO!


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## cGoEcYk (May 1, 2015)

Maybe pick up a cheap Muff to start and use as a reference point and then there are endless boutique fancy options after that. Note: A lot of these fuzz pedals have input sensitivity. My exploration of the more boutique realm has been met with struggle because my bass has such a hot output (18v active electronics) and usually drives things well beyond the sweet spot. If you have a low/medium output bass, you should be fine.

If you are serious about d00m you'll probably want a full stack or two! Two will usually get the job done (one clean, one dirty). I've seen guys on stage struggling with just and SVT CL and 8x10.

Right now I am enjoying my Muff when I drive/shape it a bit with a Sansamp VT in front with a little extra mids to get more grainy "saw" out of it (that is the kind of sound I like).


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## fps (May 1, 2015)

Bass big muff! An oldie but a goodie, lots of tones, heavy stuff \m/


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## desmondtencents (May 1, 2015)

Thanks for the replies so far guys.
I remember really liking a muff with bass waaay back in the day. I don't currently own one so maybe I'll pick up the bass version.
I've got a standard 9v active setup and it's not too hot of an output.
I know a bunch of fuzz pedals for "guitar" work really well on bass too, I just don't want to spend a ton of money trying them out.
I'm gonna try out my Black Forest Overdrive and Pharoah Fuzz from Black Arts Toneworks and see how they handle the bass.
Time to sort through the evilbay listings for a bass muff.......
Any other suggestions?
Oh, and I don't plan on doing the doom bass thing in a band/live context so I think my setup should work. I'd probably have to sell a kidney to affort all the amps/cabs to "properly" doom on the bass


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## TemjinStrife (May 1, 2015)

-Aguilar Tone Hammer pedal (fat, deep, roaring overdrive)
-Tech 21 VT Bass (everything from clangy aggressive punch to fat fuzzy thump)
-Idiotbox Blower Box (touch-sensitive growl to full on hammering grind)


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## giantchris (May 5, 2015)

Of the ones people listed I like the Pharoah fuzz the best and for the pricepoint it's fantastic. Right now I use a Tech 21 Red Ripper or a MIJ Boss HM2 for my distortion in my sludge/doom band. 

Some other good ones are the Way Huge Swollen Pickle, Boss FZ2 for some E-Wizardry, ZVex Wooly Mammoth or ZVex Basstortion, I've seen people using a ZVex Mastortion on bass too and it sounded pretty good, everyone has a boner over the new Darkglass stuff as well, the EBS Multidrive isn't bad either, some people like the Sanford Bluebeard as well (Troy Sanders used one). Also the Mountain electronics Megalith was used on the Shrinebuilder album on bass and guitar sounds great. 

Personally I don't like the standard Big Muff or Bass Big Muff all that much the Muff clones are better then the muff itself. I also am curious what the new Boss Bass Driver sounds like the BB-1X as it has a blend and it's using that new Boss distortion where it saturates different frequencies at different levels of distortion kinda like a bandpass distortion. I'd consider stacking Fuzz and OD if I were you gives you a ridiculous sound and fits the Doom vibe perfectly.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (May 5, 2015)

I'm a fan of the Fender Sub-Lime. It sounds a bit darker than other fuzzes I've heard, which I think sounds better for doom bass.


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## House74 (May 5, 2015)

TemjinStrife said:


> -Idiotbox Blower Box (touch-sensitive growl to full on hammering grind)


 
Just got one of these, so I thought I would chime in. YES YES YES! This thing sounds so mean, it's a fantastic choice


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## TemjinStrife (May 5, 2015)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> I'm a fan of the Fender Sub-Lime. It sounds a bit darker than other fuzzes I've heard, which I think sounds better for doom bass.



The problem with the Sub-Lime (I have one, and it's a great-sounding pedal) is that it is a) enormous, b) hard to adjust with side- and bottom-mounted tone and drive controls, and c) it tends to get lost in a big heavy mix.


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## TheEmptyCell (May 5, 2015)

Don't waste your money on any variety of the Bass Muff unless it's real cheap. It just sucks.


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## Mwoit (May 6, 2015)

I used to have a Big Muff but it sucked massive ass.

I use a Darkglass Duality and it is a beast. Unfortunately, it does cost a pretty penny.


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## hairychris (May 6, 2015)

First of all split your signal so that you can feed some of your clean signal through to keep some of the original bottom-end and some of the clarity. I use a Boss LS-2.

Some dirt ideas:

SansAmp is a good one. I have a Bass Driver DI and it's gnarly, although it likes my solid-stale Ampeg more than the Ashdown that I use most of the time.

Rats are the ..... I run a cheap Rat clone (with original op-amp) and it's dirty. More drive than fuzz.

My main "fattener" is a Bass Muff. I don't use the bass boost, and don't push it, but makes the sound a bit bigger. It gets really interesting if you drive the Bass Muff with a Tubescreamer. I can recommend that, gnarly.

I also use a completely OTT fuzz from 9 of Swords called the Twin Earth Deluxe. Completely insane glitching monster. He's a British builder who's pedals are very good value and fantastically well made.

My pedalboard has the Rat, Bass Muff and Twin Earth in a loop from the LS-2. The SansAmp is a good amp-in-a-box for backup, it would probably be on the board if I was using Ampeg all the time.


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## guy in latvia (May 6, 2015)

Definitely get a bass channel splitter, use one for a clean low end and the other for a fizzy midrange, which can be achieved with any guitar od or distortion pedal. If money isn't an issue, there is no better pedal than the darkglass b7k, which will work for any genre.


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## desmondtencents (May 11, 2015)

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!
I have a Boss LS-2 on order.
I'm thinking I'll use an EQ on the clean low-end side to filter out some of the highs and high mids. Then I'll try out some fuzzes on the other side and roll back the tone controls to cut the low end.
Sound about right?


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## hairychris (May 12, 2015)

I personally don't EQ the clean side, and don't roll off the bass on the gain/fuzz side.

However I am in the process of updating my rig so nothing is set in stone (going lightweight - bought a Barefaced Gen 2 1x15 and thinking about a GK MB800 or MB Fusion 500).


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## House74 (May 12, 2015)

hairychris said:


> I personally don't EQ the clean side, and don't roll off the bass on the gain/fuzz side.
> 
> However I am in the process of updating my rig so nothing is set in stone (going lightweight - bought a Barefaced Gen 2 1x15 and thinking about a GK MB800 or MB Fusion 500).


 
If you're looking at lightweight, definitely check out the Hartke HyDrive Cabs. They can be had for much cheaper and I was considering both that and the GK Neo cabs and they both sound great, but the HyDrive cabs can handle more load and are way easier to find cheap, especially used. Solid buy


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## All_¥our_Bass (May 12, 2015)

Metal Muff, crank the gain, treble, mids, and bass. Leave the 'treble boost' off.


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## olejason (May 12, 2015)

Blower Box and Caroline Wave Cannon are my go to for sludge


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## hairychris (May 13, 2015)

House74 said:


> If you're looking at lightweight, definitely check out the Hartke HyDrive Cabs. They can be had for much cheaper and I was considering both that and the GK Neo cabs and they both sound great, but the HyDrive cabs can handle more load and are way easier to find cheap, especially used. Solid buy



Barefaced 1x15 cost me 350GBP used, only weighs 27lb but handles 600w at 8 ohms... 

Apols to OP for off-topic. Will see how it works for Melvins-type sludgy stuff on Saturday.


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## wheresthefbomb (May 13, 2015)

Fuzzrocious makes amazing and affordable pedals with lots of options. They're good enough for Bongripper and QOTSA, they're good enough for you.


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## HollowmanPL (May 14, 2015)

B7K makes every bass sound awesome


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## Sepultorture (May 14, 2015)

HollowmanPL said:


> B7K makes every bass sound awesome



hmmm gunna have to put that statement to the test in the next month or so


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## giantchris (May 15, 2015)

Wampler is apparently making a bass distortion so that might actually be amazing since their other pedals are great.


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## Systolic (May 22, 2015)

Anything from Darkglass is fantastic...but expensive. A lot of variety in tone that can be had at the drop of a hat would be in the aforementioned VT Bass Deluxe. The ability to go from a little bit of grit to full blown distortion to heavy fuzz in about 3 seconds is phenomenally helpful. I have one I'd be willing to let go. Message me if you're interested.


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## Dabo Fett (Jun 2, 2015)

wheresthefbomb said:


> Fuzzrocious makes amazing and affordable pedals with lots of options. They're good enough for Bongripper and QOTSA, they're good enough for you.



i've always had a bass but just started playing bass in a band instead of guitar, and i've noticed that the fuzzrocious demon that i used for my guitar od is kick f'n ass on bass. still plenty of cut and definition, but great for the grimy gritty bwwwoooooaaaannngggg tones too


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## ncfiala (Jun 2, 2015)

Earthbound Audio (or Acid Age Electronics) Supercollider fuzz


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## Veldar (Jun 5, 2015)

MXR has a new bass dirt pedal out, its based off a rat so it should get you into the fuzzish territory without losing attack.


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## gpbarnett (Jun 5, 2015)

Verellen MeatSmoke, available in either preamp (pedal or rackmount) or 300 watt head. Other musicians always complement me on my tone when I use my MeatSmoke pedal.


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## TedintheShed (Jun 8, 2015)

ncfiala said:


> Earthbound Audio (or Acid Age Electronics) Supercollider fuzz



I owned this and used it to almost retire my Sovtek "Civil War" era muff. It was very close, but that pedal sounds great.

Personally I like the Muff based sounds. A good one needs no dry signal blended in to retain the low end in a band situation.


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## ncfiala (Jun 8, 2015)

TedintheShed said:


> I owned this and used it to almost retire my Sovtek "Civil War" era muff. It was very close, but that pedal sounds great.
> 
> Personally I like the Muff based sounds. A good one needs no dry signal blended in to retain the low end in a band situation.


 
There is also the Earthbound Audio Beast. They are hard to find but he is doing a run of 10 now and I managed to snag one.


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