this might offend some bassists...

[oh_the_blood]

but i just need a bass to put through a distortion pedal and a guitar amp to get a nice dirty sound but clarity would be nice.

any suggestions?

or should i just pawn shop it?

 

[Halion]

I'm a bassplayer, and I'm not offended

You just won't sound like much of a bassplayer but hey, if you can get the sound you want, do it!

Try something with some high end sizzle, nothing too wooly. Most cheap basses have to much treble if you ask me, but that might help you out fine. Just be carefull with the 20hz to 100hz range. That's something not many guitars are heavey on, and it might not be very good for a guitar amp to pump a big as 40hz basstone through a guitar speaker. Roll some off using a hi pass filter. I can't really recommend any pedals or amps, you'll just have to try some yourself. I'd try to stay away from boss pedals though. I've found their guitar pedals don't work that well with basses.

 

[ggunn]

I'm a bassplayer, and I'm not offended

Me either. One thing about guitar FX pedals is that they tend to hipass the signal so that the fundamental of the lowest octave or so of a bass will be cut way back. There are fuzz boxes made for bass that won't do that.

Distortion on bass is not unheard of. Jack Bruce, Jack Cassady, and the bass player with Grand Funk all used it in the 70's.

 

[David Katauskas]

Type-O-Negative uses a lot of distortion on their bass. Take a listen to them to see if this is what you're looking for.

 

[Klato]

Meshuggah also uses distortion on 99% of the bass. If you check out their forums, there are big discussions on the gear they use.

 

[Cndn_Gtr_Guy]

Me either. One thing about guitar FX pedals is that they tend to hipass the signal so that the fundamental of the lowest octave or so of a bass will be cut way back. There are fuzz boxes made for bass that won't do that.

So would using a bass distortion (just an example) give you a better low end with your guitar?

 

[Adam P]

Do you just want a nice overdriven bass sound, or a fuzzy distortion? If you're looking for overdrive, I'd look into a tube amp with some 10" speakers or a SansAmp Bass Driver DI, or both.

 

[Halion]

So would using a bass distortion (just an example) give you a better low end with your guitar?

Not not really. If the pedal works well, it hi passes below anything that's in the guitar's signal, so there shouldn't be a difference. However, it might hipass a little higher, causing some bass cut. A bass distortion might focus it's clipping on the lower end of the signal instead of linear, so it might sound bass heavier, but I'm not too sure about that.

 

[oh_the_blood]

probably fuzzy distortion that sounds nice and powerful.

 

[Atterion]

Check out Electro-Harmonix BassBalls. Nice envelope follower pedal with a really nice distortion circuit.

As far as bass type I would say look for a bass with J-style pickups (such as Fender jazz (Or any of the numerous clones) which offer more mid-range clarity), unless you are planning on getting a dedicated bass distortion pedal or preamp.

 

[oh_the_blood]

is bassballs a guitar pedal as well?
speaking of electro harmonix...

is the mini q tron any good? haha sorry to get off topic.

 

[Incanus]

I think the bass 'fuzz' tone could probably be done good enough with a stomp box of some kind or another.
Like Adam P said, the 'overdriven' sound would be best achieved using a tube amp and 10's. That's my favourite.

 

[Halion]

is bassballs a guitar pedal as well?
speaking of electro harmonix...

is the mini q tron any good? haha sorry to get off topic.

EHX makes pedals that can be used for either guitar or bass (or even synths). I have the mini q tron and I love it! Very nice filter that works wonders on bass. I actually have some samples if you want them.

 

[oh_the_blood]

i would love those samples!
im interested in what they sound like.

Would they sound good using an ibanez artcore, and a half stack all tube crate?

 

[Rhythmbug]

hey just thought i should say be careful playing bass through a gtr amp because if the output is too hot from the bass it will kill your gtr amp (depending how beefy your amp is?).

I know because I did it to my mates Marshall 100w head with my stingray 5, wasnt a good day I was playing at very low volume as well...

 

[ecktronic]

Why offend bassists although i aint one my self, but do own one and do play a bit. I think a bass through distortion is cool if the right effect is used. Not too sure what effects would work. Just experiment man.

 

[DogFood]

hey just thought i should say be careful playing bass through a gtr amp because if the output is too hot from the bass it will kill your gtr amp (depending how beefy your amp is?).

I know because I did it to my mates Marshall 100w head with my stingray 5, wasnt a good day I was playing at very low volume as well...

word, guitar amps are not designed to reproduce low low notes. it takes more energy to reproduce bass notes...thus a band will have a 100w guitar head and a 400w bass head, with relative volume and presence. when a guitar amp does bass duty it overworks the power section and death ensues

 

[SG1965]

i would love those samples!
im interested in what they sound like.

Would they sound good using an ibanez artcore, and a half stack all tube crate?

All tube crate? crate speakers are crap, and will rattle once you hit a string. Even their bass amps do that at medium volume. Why do you want to distort a bass anyway? Its like disqualifying yourself as a bass player, making your instrument like a guitar. Go Ampeg, or Fender, or some bass amp, you wont shake anything or move any air with a guitar amp and speakers and buy an Ibanez pedal or something. Guitar pedals generally do not work with bass, of course FX pedals have no presence in any of my setups, but theres nothing like an Ampeg.

 

[SG1965]

hey just thought i should say be careful playing bass through a gtr amp because if the output is too hot from the bass it will kill your gtr amp (depending how beefy your amp is?).


The output of a bass guitar is the same as a regular guitar, what you have coming out of the amps to the speaekers is what you have to worry about. Guitar speakers dont have the low range, and will distort/blow with a bass at even slightly medium volumes. Guitar heads with bass cabs are fine. I have done that with my Stage 100 and a Fender 410, and an ampeg115, and it worked fine. The low E on a bass string is 30HZ, so make sure the guitar amp covers somewhere close to that low. DO NOT use guitar speakers, they will blow.

 

[oh_the_blood]

i personally like my crate stuff.
im sorry you dont.

i dont want a normal bass sound though
so putting it through distortion and my guitar amp will be just fine.
thanks.