Distortion/general fx help wanted please.

[karmapavementplan]

Hey, looking into getting a new pedal for myself, but not entirely sure what I'm after. I have a sometimes temperamental Behringer fx100 but sometimes it severely compromises the sound of my bass even when it's not actually turned on. I'm in two minds whether or not to keep it though, as it can be pretty useful. I'm looking into getting possibly a distortion or muff pedal to add a bit of a rough edge to my sound but to be honest I haven't got a clue what I'm actually talking about or looking for when it comes to FX, so any help would be appreciated.

I'm not completely off the idea of getting any other pedals either that aren't distortion - so if anyone has any suggestions of pretty useful fx to have, I'd also appreciate that.

Thanks.

EDIT: sorry, forgot to add, my budget is about 30 to 40 GBP - hoping for something that's good, but I can pick up cheap and used on ebay. - Been watching on ebay a bunch of electro harmonix - Big Muff PI, Double Muff and Little Big Muff - and experience - worth the money (they're on about £20 atm with a day or two left.)

[edgebass5]

Frankly for that low of a price point you'll have to go used to get anything decent. To continue being frank it sounds like you're pretty unsure about effects in general, so why not save up a bit more and buy a used multi-effects unit? The quality won't likely be as high as a series of individual units, but will give you a larger sampling of effects to mess around with while you decide what you like and what you don't.

[karmapavementplan]

Well I tried some distortion pedals, and I already have a multi fx pedal, just looking for something to give me a bit of a harder edge when playing, which is why I've been looking into distortion, because the other fx I have are more subtle.

[edgebass5]

A harder edge... Are you sure you want full-blown distortion and not just an OD? Furthermore, are you sure this isn't something you can already achieve by EQ'ing in some high-mids, presumably around 1-2khz?

[:amaze:]

i got a big muff russian PI for 40 shipped (used from an mxer) and a danelectro FAB overdrive pedal (new) for 20$. the muff is much more intense, but the FAB sure gives it more of an edge.




:amaze:

[karmapavementplan]

A harder edge... Are you sure you want full-blown distortion and not just an OD? Furthermore, are you sure this isn't something you can already achieve by EQ'ing in some high-mids, presumably around 1-2khz?

Some overdrive would be pretty welcome. In fact, being the complete moron I am, I actually meant overdrive... ****... I look pretty stupid now.

[fatbandit]

Big Muffs aren't subtle. If you just want a bit of grit, don't buy one.

I'm still on the grit quest tbh. Best I've had so far is using an Aguilar Agro with the saturation knob on 0. Very Glassjaw. Totally out of your price range though... Maybe try an ODB-3? Cheap, and can be made to sound alright if you set them up properly.

[edgebass5]

The Agro is freakin' sweet for that "right on the edge of breakup" tone. Dig in hard and it gets a bit nasty. Lay back and it just sounds clean and fat.

Some people will disagree with me, but I really like the OD tone of the Tech 21 Sansamp BDDI, PBDDI, RBI and especially the RPM. I've also heard that the new Bass-VT pedal is Tech 21's best offering yet.

Basically I've always gotten the best OD and grit from preamps rather than distortion units, so take that into consideration.

[fatbandit]

Yeah, I found that the AGRO wasn't doing anything in the cleans at all. I was running it straight into a poweramp and it was so brutally powerful. On the lowest saturation elvel, it was like a fully broken up SVT... Possibly even more driven than that. Loved it. Not mine unfortunately. Waiting on the Aguilar Tone Hammer. If the AGS in that does ANYTHING like the AGRO, I'll be very happy to add it to my pedalboard.

Not tried the Sansamp range, I've heard they suck a lot of mids (though the newer ones have more control over it)? Like the AGRO though, they're going to be beyond the budget in this case :/

I'd still say the ODB-3 would be a quick fix for some OD, but I don't think its perfect by any means for grit.

[edgebass5]

I've heard they suck a lot of mids

They suck a lot of mids if you don't know how to use an EQ :lol:
The BDDI has a two band EQ where the bass and treble controls are boost/cut. With that type of control you can have as much mid content as you want, people just don't realize it. The RBI has a dedicated mid control, but unfortunately it's set too high at 1khz. The RPM has a dedicated semi-parametric mid control which is specifically why I like it so much. :thumb: