Anyone know the bass distortion?

[ambulancevoice]

hi hi hi there

anyone know the bass distortion used on Blur's Song 2?
on the film clip, the less then a second glimpse of the pedal sorta looks like some sort of dod pedal, but i dont know....

[anchovie]

According to this article Alex James favours a Marshall Shredmaster.

[ambulancevoice]

thanks

[slacker]

In his autobiography "A bit of a Blur" he says it was a home made distortion pedal.

[Rodgre]

Well jeez.... in the video it's a Rat!

(That's meant to be a joke)

It is one of the most righteous distorted bass tones, that's for sure. Right up there with "Blowin' Cool" by Swervedriver.

Roger

[Processaurus]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=C0Xl0ZEKJzo

I forgot how gnar it sounds.  When he goes up to the higher register it's so electric.  They put in some time in at the studio getting it that heavy.

Shredmaster is interesting, supposedly that's a secret ingredient for the Rage Against the Machine bass sound.

[aloupos]

Thats funny .. in the video it is a rat.  I'll try my shredmaster at rehearsal today

[slacker]

In the video the rat is being used on the guitar, or at least it's Coxon that stamps on it.

[Rodgre]

Sliding slightly off topic, I always loved Graham Coxon's guitar tones on Blur records. Especially on 13. There are so many great textures on that record, from clean and trashy to warbly and demented. I liken him to Johnny Marr's work with The Smiths, except way more extreme. Marr has incredible taste and texture, while Coxon can break through a track like a bratty adolescent tantrum. Great examples of runaway feedback delay and the Boss VB-2 vibrato. He also made great use of two Rats in series.

Roger

[chris84]

Dunno, but I made myself a Distortion+ 2 years ago, and I've only used it once, as my mate who plays bass in the Ghosties has pinched it. Sounds bloody fantastic!

[ambulancevoice]

yeah, the guitarist is using the rat
you can see the pedal that the bass player stomps on when the first chorus stops (i think) for a second

[Meanderthal]

Dunno, but I made myself a Distortion+ 2 years ago, and I've only used it once, as my mate who plays bass in the Ghosties has pinched it. Sounds bloody fantastic!

Yep, that's about as close to the NIB sound as I've ever gotten. Gotta love it!

[anchovie]

yeah, the guitarist is using the rat
you can see the pedal that the bass player stomps on when the first chorus stops (i think) for a second

Pausing the vid at the right point to give a good profile view, it looks like a Shredmaster to me - sloped enclosure, small area with steeper slope just before the top, recessed knobs. If his autobiography says it was a DIY pedal, then I'm sure that's the case and it was decided not to risk such a one-off on the road. I'd imagine they pulled a small selection of gear out of their live setup rather than the studio to film the video.

[ambulancevoice]

yeah
ive never actually seen a picture of a shred master so i couldnt tell
ill have to compare for myself

[ambulancevoice]

yeah i looked at the vid and some pictures and i agree, it looks like a shredmaster