What's a good overdrive for a J-bass?

[Erlend_G]

I have great experiences with the EH Bass Big Muff!

It's a classic fuzz tone, voiced for bass; (works wonders in high volume situations), with a Blend knob,
and two outputs, dry and wet.

If you like a fuzz type distortion, it is the best I have tried for bass.

-E

[Mincer]

I have also split the signal, sending half to a guitar amp, like a Marshall (after a high pass filter EQ) and half to a traditional bass amp like an Ampeg. Massive sound, but an awful lot of gear.

[Erlend_G]

If I could, I'd play a 2x18" closed cab (refrigderator size), with a cranked tube bass amp on top

and enjoy the natural overdrive

...but that isn't possible in my current life :/.

The EHX pedal is really cool though;
...I remember I could wish for a rawer kind of fuzz though. It has that "muff" kinda sound.

[NegativeEase]

I have also split the signal, sending half to a guitar amp, like a Marshall (after a high pass filter EQ) and half to a traditional bass amp like an Ampeg. Massive sound, but an awful lot of gear.

Surprised you didn't mention it,

I'm sure BYOC has good one for cheap.

[GuitarStv]

Anyone use a nobles odr-1 in this application?

[chadd]

My amp is pretty clean sounding unless cranked, and I think I want a slightly overdriven bass sound for some songs. What's a good OD for bass? I've tried my Boss BD-2, and don't like it . . . cuts lows. The fuzz face that I have can be tweaked to sound OK, but I think it kills a little too much low end. Big muff doesn't kill bass, but seems ludicrously oversaturated for what I'm looking for. Any suggestions?

Russian Muff is my favorite for bass, the low end doesn't disappear. As you mentioned, they are pretty saturated. I use my Tech21 VT Deluxe for pushed SVT type sounds, the regular VT bass pedal is awesome if you can find one in your price range. For a cheap option, look into an OCD style pedal like the EH Glove. A couple of youtube videos show good results with those. My bass player used an EH Soul Food but there's now a bass specific version that sounds great in videos.

[CaptainWhizz]

Has anyone used the EHX Bass Battalion? It seems to have a lot of features.

https://www.ehx.com/products/battalion/

[Mincer]

Has anyone used the EHX Bass Battalion? It seems to have a lot of features.
https://www.ehx.com/products/battalion/

Actually didn't know about that- thanks for the heads up!

[CaptainWhizz]

No problem; I was looking at bass preamp/ DI pedals for my wife for gigs where she would be using a provided back line, so she could get a more consistent tone dialled in easily, but we ended up getting her a Trace Elliot Elf micro-head instead.

Also, I believe that the Dr J (Joyo) Sparrow is based on one of the Tech 21 pedals.

[Aceman]

Actually didn't know about that- thanks for the heads up!

Bass Battalion was my 3rd call

Amp SCR-DI, MXR DI+, or the Battalion are all great Bass direct tools, or into an amp even...

[NegativeEase]

Bass Battalion was my 3rd call

Amp SCR-DI, MXR DI+, or the Battalion are all great Bass direct tools, or into an amp even...

When I see that Synth Wah Bass pedal on your board and then I picture your pink Dean bass - I get a vision of pure glam glory!

[ErikH]

One of my favorite bass players, Greg Chaisson, uses an Ibanez TS-9 in front of his bass amp. Gives it that little extra punch.
When I had one, I ran the TC Electronics MojoMojo in front of my bass rig. I didn't like it much for guitar after I got more familiar with it and gave it some time on the pedalboard but with the bass setup it was really nice.

[formula73]

Digitech Bad Monkey. Thank me later.

[Aceman]

Digitech Bad Monkey. Thank me later.

I am not sure, but this might not be a bad idea.

[ErikH]

You have a Bad Monkey, don't you? Try it. The High / Low controls will be your friend. Do it!