opinions on what fuzzes/distortions go well together for bass.

funkbass187 · January 29, 2008, 08:47:02 PM

i've been thinking of taking two fuzz/distortion circuits and having them boxed together with a blend control, similar to a jeckyl and hyde, but for bass. as far as fuzz is concerned leaning towards the shin-ei FY-2 companion fuzz, but i don't know what else would go well with that. any opinions would be appreciated.
thanks.

caress · January 29, 2008, 09:02:01 PM

maestro brassmaster!

it works really well with bass... especially if you tack on a tone control at the output to mellow out the fuzzzzz. i used a big muff tonestack and recovery stage and it's great...
plus, it already has a mix control.

Meanderthal · January 29, 2008, 10:19:29 PM

+1 on the Brassmaster. That thing will rip your face off on bass. Nice, practical gating too(shuts up when you stop playing). The BMP will give you that Cliff Burton sound. The D= and Harmonic Jerkulator are more of a NIB type sound.

I used a mixer to try blending distortions, as an experiment. On bass, it ALWAYS became muddy, but on guitar there were interesting combinations. But, since I play bass, I abandoned the idea. What does work well is blending a Hog's foot and a distortion. Give it a try. I put up a schematic for that a while back, too lazy to go dig up photobucket right now. Do a search on "Hog Blender", and "Hog Grinder", the schematics should still be up, if the old thread still exists.

Meanderthal · January 29, 2008, 10:23:42 PM

Here:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=48672.0

bonkdav · January 30, 2008, 01:32:01 AM

i just added a red llama to my bass rig

Processaurus · January 30, 2008, 05:34:30 AM

Big muff with a lower gain, amplike overdrive (maybe something tame like a TS?) mixed in sounds great. Or maybe a BMP mixed with the runoff groove ampeg sim?

ambulancevoice · January 30, 2008, 06:18:40 AM

bazz fuss maybe?
ultra simple, sounds good, and it has a good amount of mods

AL · January 30, 2008, 09:47:42 AM

I've had really good luck using Aron's Lava Rim for bass. And so have the two bass players who ended up getting my builds - now I've gotta make another one.

AL

jessetrbo · January 30, 2008, 10:05:38 AM

Big Muff is my choice for bass fuzz/distortion. Also, one of my fuzz face projects running at a lower voltage (6-8 volts) sounds pretty cool on bass...

Jesse

chris84 · January 30, 2008, 05:26:11 PM

I've said this a million times, but I guess its cos im so proud of my first build - an MXR dist+ is great on bass, as heard on the song "Cigarette Graveyard" by my good friends the Ghosties (you can hear it on www.myspace.com/theghosties1)

You get bonus points if you build it in an old boss box, and conceal the stomp switch under the hinged panel. wish I could find a picture of that...

moosapotamus · January 30, 2008, 05:39:41 PM

Keep in mind that a bass fuzz pedal that sounds good when playing solo can easily get totally lost in a full band mix. My fave for some time has been the fuzz circuit in the Acoustic 360 preamp. It has a very useful range of fuzz sounds and cuts through a mix really well.

~ Charlie

funkbass187 · January 30, 2008, 07:18:44 PM

Quote from: moosapotamus on January 30, 2008, 05:39:41 PM
Keep in mind that a bass fuzz pedal that sounds good when playing solo can easily get totally lost in a full band mix. My fave for some time has been the fuzz circuit in the Acoustic 360 preamp. It has a very useful range of fuzz sounds and cuts through a mix really well.

~ Charlie

would you happen to have a link to a schematic or layout for the fuzz section of that circuit?

also, for those of you who have had success with fuzzes like the red llama and the lava rim, did you keep them stock? or did you alter the values for a few components?

thanks for all of the information,
I'm definitely going to use the hog's foot, i just need to pick a fuzz.

moosapotamus · January 31, 2008, 09:56:40 AM

Quote from: funkbass187 on January 30, 2008, 07:18:44 PM
...would you happen to have a link to a schematic or layout for the fuzz section of that circuit?

Not in electronic form, but you can see it in JC's schematic of the whole preamp circuit...
http://www.lynx.bc.ca/~jc/360+schm.gif
... it's the section with the 2N1306 transistor that is isolated by the 'fuzz' switch which is located right after the input buffer. Also, see note [2] on the scheme.

~ Charlie

jessetrbo · January 31, 2008, 10:17:30 AM

Charlie's comment is apt: "Keep in mind that a bass fuzz pedal that sounds good when playing solo can easily get totally lost in a full band mix..." This is why I added an AMZ presence control to my Big Muff Pi and it seems to cut through nicely in a band context. The Accoustic 360 is a legendary amp, so building the preamp seems promising... For fuzz that can retain a nice low end and still have definition and a little bight in the top, I still love my modified BMP. Bass fuzz seems tricky to nail (and get a consensus on). It's what got me into the DIY perfboard world I live in today...

Jesse

Meanderthal · January 31, 2008, 10:47:20 AM

This is one of the things I really like about the brassmaster. Unlike a BMP, it seriously cuts right thru the mix. You WILL NOT be supressed, it's way too strong for that. Really, it's supposed to be an octave-up, but the octave up is manifesting itself as a fuzz sound.
The only think I ever heard to compare would be Tim Escobedo's Jawari. But, the brassmaster is more fun, because It has both sustain and gating going on. Oh, and it likes to get slammed with signal- a hog's foot, clean boost, overdrive, or compressor all sound good in front of it, so it's not one of those fuzzes that scream "me first, or else".

But, it's always intense. The blend works well, in a contrafuzz kind of way(another good choice), but there is really no drive control. Like the bazz fuss, it's always balls out. And, then there's that switch... but who cares, ya don't need it, good as-is.

col · January 31, 2008, 12:28:12 PM

I like the flipster a lot, the Bazz Fuss is good, Penfold's Bass Fuzz from one of his books is excellent (do a search, i posted the details here some time ago), but I'm currently using one of the Behringer cheapie bass overdrives as I can use a battery and none of my own built pedals have a battery facility. My power supply is with my guitar gear which I use in the other band.

Col

caress · January 31, 2008, 08:06:04 PM

Quote from: Meanderthal on January 31, 2008, 10:47:20 AM
But, it's always intense. The blend works well, in a contrafuzz kind of way(another good choice), but there is really no drive control. Like the bazz fuss, it's always balls out. And, then there's that switch... but who cares, ya don't need it, good as-is.

i agree about not needing the switch... i remember when i built mine that i had already drilled the case before i got the circuit working, so i had to use that switch for something! i set it up so that it does some sort of negative feedback-y thing and it's great! it brings out a bit more treble and intensity when switched in... i'll have to find the mod.

i don't agree about the drive control, though. the initial "sensitivity" pot controls how much the next transistor is getting hit so it's really like turning the volume down on your instrument... that being said, there is a great deal of range in mine with the "sensitivity" pot - pretty similar to an octavia in that the octave is more pronounced at lower input (or "sensitivity") levels. honestly though, adding a tonestack to the end of this is great for cutting a bit of the high end, making it extremely usable for bass. i used separate pots for the fuzz and dry volumes so your bass can be coming through without any change in volume but you get the added fuzz... very nice.

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opinions on what fuzzes/distortions go well together for bass.