Author Topic: Alembic basses and fuzz/distortion? (Read 361 times)

hieronymous · « **on:** February 04, 2005, 07:08:35 PM »

Hi everybody, my first question post! Basically, it's this - do any of you use distortion or fuzz as an effect, and do you find that your Alembic bass lends itself to this?

There was a recent thread on effects in general, and I did a search and found some stuff, but I didn't see this particular question directly addressed. I use distortion pretty often, but personally find that I prefer it with passive pickups. I didn't really like how my Spoiler/Exploiter sounded with distortion compared to my Ric 4001 w/ stock pickups. I've also got a Tune 8-string and find it a little too crispity-crunchity for my tastes.

I could go on for hours, but I'm going to leave it at that. Thanks in advance for your replies!

ox_junior · « **Reply #1 on:** February 07, 2005, 06:59:19 PM »

I use a simple pedal called a Fulltone Bass Driver with my Spyder and my Spoiler/Exploiter and it sounds great. Breaks up as much or as little as you want it to and doesn't lose any low-end. I leave it on all the time with a low amount of distortion and it breaks up just enough to sound gritty. It also has a boost function for extra whomp when you need it that juices the overtones on an active bass.

Highly recommended!

Mike

spose · « **Reply #2 on:** February 08, 2005, 02:51:08 AM »

I use a very different kind of distortion box that works with wave forms and has an envelope filter type quality as well. The Crowther Audio Prunes and Custard. It sounds great with my Series bass. I use it along with a EBS octave divider and Q-Tron envelope filter..wild wild stuff! very synthy.

senmen · « **Reply #3 on:** February 08, 2005, 11:00:11 AM »

HI,
I use the Boss ME-50B pedal board and this also offers a sound like Mike described. You can boost the highs while leaving the lows clean.
So if you don?t want to do bi-amping this is a great and cheap solution to get your JE sound.

Many greetings
Oliver (Spyderman)

hieronymous · « **Reply #4 on:** February 09, 2005, 07:29:25 PM »

Thanks for the responses everybody! I was beginning to think that nobody around here used distortion...

I actually own several distortion devices. At this point, I think I appreciate the Fulltone Bass-Drive the most. It really doesn't put out much in the treble range, but I think that helps avoid the crispity-crunchity problem.

mgirouard3 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 09, 2005, 09:33:30 PM »

Has anyone tried the Budda Fatbass? I can't seem to find many reviews on line.

hieronymous · « **Reply #6 on:** February 10, 2005, 03:28:43 AM »

I've got the Phatbass actually. I really like it, though it's got maybe a touch more midrange than I want - I always think of it as kind of orange sounding. It's also very big, and uses a wallwart. However, you've inspired me to pull it out of storage when I go back to the US next week.

Not to toot my own horn (well, ok, why not!), but if you want to hear it in action, I'm using it on Theme from Hieronymous - 4001 Rickenbacker into old Boss T-Wah into the Budda, Eden amp and Epiphani 2X10 cab - at the following link:

download.com/hieronymous

Scroll down to the bottom, it's the last one listed (but first one I posted)

mgirouard3 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 10, 2005, 11:27:04 AM »

For some reason I could only download 2 seconds of it. I'll try again later. Do you think I could get a John Paul Jones Heartbreaker distortion with that particular pedal? Also does it come with 12AX7's or 12AT7's. I have read on several sites that sell them that they come with either or.

hieronymous · « **Reply #8 on:** February 10, 2005, 11:04:44 PM »

mgirouard3, I have a feeling that the Heartbreaker sound is a little more fuzz-like than the Budda Phatbass. I haven't listened to that track in a long time though. The Phatbass is capable of high gain settings, but the character of the distortion I think is different than the sound John Paul Jones got on that track. I wonder if a ZVex Woolly Mammoth would be better?

I'm not sure which tubes it uses - at one point I think I had put two 12AX7s in it and had gain/volume problems - I don't remember the exact details, but I think I put at least one 12AT7 in to fix it, but don't quote me on that! I can tell you more in a week or two when I get the pedal out of storage... Their website is really self-contradictory - first it says dual 12AX7 all tube distortion, but then it says Utilizing 2 12AT7 preamp tubes?!!

palomorado · « **Reply #9 on:** February 13, 2005, 08:39:42 AM »

i use a few distortions with my Alembic:

Radial Tonebone Classic
ZVex Machine
Schumann PLL

they all work great. the only pedal that didn't seem to gel with the Alembic was the ZVex Wooly Mammoth but he does say it was not meant to work with active electronics.

mgirouard3 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 13, 2005, 11:57:23 AM »

Any idea on what to use to get that JPJ Heartbreaker distortion?

beelee · « **Reply #11 on:** February 13, 2005, 12:32:01 PM »

Hi Mgirouard3,
I remember reading in one of the many bass magazines that JPJ actually played his bass through a Leslie on Heartbreaker, not sure what he used for the overdrive/distortion tho...you can hear the Leslie spinning after Page's guitar solo when the bass comes back in, its a very slow tremolo/vibrato effect, I had always wondered what was going on there, after I read that it all made sense, if you listen to the Ocean you can hear a telephone ringing in the bridge just before the Naa Naa vocal part, just another odd thing LZ did.

I use a Tube Works Blue Tube pedal ( which is actually made for bass/ keyboards) or a ART SGX Nitro for overdrive/distortion, although I don't use OD/Dist that much and I'm not always playing my Alembic...........both units work well with the different basses I use.
B.

mgirouard3 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 13, 2005, 06:53:29 PM »

Cool, I'll take a listen tomorrow. I love the effects and stuff LZ added to thier tracks. One of the stranger ones I heard that I'm not too sure was intentional was on When the Leeve (sp?) Breaks, it sounds like the bass drumm pedal has a squeak. I just purchased a Tube Works Blue Tube pedal on e-bay due to the fact that the tube the guy put in it is worth more than the pedal itself. I'll let you know how it works out. Thanks for the info.
Max

adriaan · « **Reply #13 on:** February 14, 2005, 01:52:50 AM »

I always thought the squeaking bass drum pedal made its debut on James Brown's Sex Machine. No one noticed until the advent of the CD.

hieronymous · « **Reply #14 on:** February 14, 2005, 04:05:47 AM »

There's pretty bad bass drum pedal squeak on Superbad too. In fact, there's two versions - a studio version, and a live version, which is the studio version with crowd noise overdubbed. My theory has always been that they did that to cover up the pedal squeak...

mgirouard3/Max, good luck with the pedal! It's important to know what kind of sound you want, but I also think it's important to experiment and find your own sounds. It's arguable that even with the same gear different sounds will emerge...