‘Crackle’ and ‘Okay’ aren’t the names of the settings. It just means that the control alters the bias, which causes the control to make a cracking noise when it’s turned. For (bass) players who may think there’s something wrong with the potentiometer they add the word ‘Okay’. In other words, “it’s okay to hear some crackle, there’s nothing wrong with your expensive pedal, it’s supposed to make this noise when you turn the knob”. 😊
The Rattler sounds really good. I'd probably go with MXR for those parallel dry/wet knobs that let you crank distortion to taste without sacrificing attack. It's got more of a bi-amped feel than a standard blend knob offers.
*The MXR appears to be a close copy of the Darkglass Microtubes X (minus the mid & mix dials).* *Sounded a bit fuzzy-mid range compared to the X, but I'm sure it costs much less.*
Nowadays i seriously always hope for a video with you guys (beeing a guitarist...) when checking for new videos from Andertons. Simply because the sheer enthusiasm and joy (And stellar playing of course to add!) you both show when trying stuff out. Please continue! :)
My bass player has a Masterbuilt Amplification Stone Groove. Just a Volume and Gain knob. The secret sauce is the 12ax7a tube poking thru the top, 😇 It does not claim to give you that Ampeg SVT dirt with that extra punch, but it does.
I've went through several brands of bass OD and distortion pedals and everyone of them I either returned or sold before discovering the Boss bass driver BB-1X. It's one of Boss's hidden gems and is quite often overlooked.
The filthier and gnarlier the better. Even though I have used dozens of different fuzz pedals over the years, I always go back to one of my HM-2 pedals, as they have all the grind and have powerful tone controls so I retain plenty of low end and sizzle.
Greeat video - thiese pair of presenters are far better than the older stuff with Nathan - better explained and more bass-oriented. The guy does actually play the linstrument as a bass player would.
Thanks; I've been hoping for a while that Cici and Lee would do some multi-pedal tests. I have to admit, I already own a Darkglass Alpha-Omicron (bought from your good selves about 2 years ago) and really like it, mainly for the huge range of distortion levels and tones on offer, most of them usable. As a result, most of my interest was in non-DG pedals to see if they offer something different but interesting. In that context, I think the only one i didn't enjoy much was the Catalinbread, but the one which seemed to offer enjoyable tones of a type that I struggle to get with the Alpha-Omicron was the Rattler. Curse you for making me want another toy. ;) It's probably worth noting that a different amp will give different responses with these pedals (and a change of bass also has an effect, which I'm glad they demonstrated). It looked like Cici was enjoying the MM.
I expected the ZVEX and the Catalinbread to be somewhat similar but they are way more different then I thought. The Darkglass sounds nice to me but having the controls on the back is a big no no. I'd chose the ZVEX it sounded really nice!
EHX Hot Wax yould've been nice, surprisingly can do the Darkglass thing aswell. The Crackle Okay refers to it's behaviour while adjusting the gain... it crackles :D
The Wetter Bass channel did a massive four-episode overdrive shootout earlier this year, worth checking out. My main takeaway from that series was that if you're looking for a low-gain overdrive sound, they're all the same... My personal favourite at the moment is the Earthquaker Blumes.
honestly many loves for all these competitor but really, rattler all the way (not that I have three different paint versions or something and it's really bias my judgement)
Thanks for this! This just confirms to me that I don't really like Darkglass pedals. The Zvex, Catalinbread and Jam were my favourites for different things. Can you do bass fuzzes next? 😬
Fuzzrocious Lil Fella is a really great pedal to have if you want to swap between Guitar and Bass often - though I'd maybe give a hair of advantage to guitar for lack of proper blend, but it just has a really really good overdrive tone. The archtypal bass distortion is probably the ODB-3 which isn't very overdrivey at all - if you're looking for something that can kinda get some of that territory but works more like an actual overdrive I'd recommend it. I'm still searching for the ideal bass dirt for me though. I feel like I have one flavour of OD and fuzz covered, but I feel like I need a second OD and distortion
Always had a Big Muff on my bass back in the 90's, back before they had a specific bass version. Loved the big fuzzy warm tone. Still have one now, although it's a modern reissue. I'd love to try my Pignose Detonator on my Fender P, but I need to get the Pignose fixed as it isn't working
I’m not sure if you missed a trick with the Darkglass pedal… you only seemed to adjust the inner dial and didn’t move the outer dial. Maybe there was a reason for this (I’m no bass player), but I have one of their fuzz pedals for guitar and both dials contribute to the effect
They might have adjusted the level to where it doesn't clip. So adjusting it would just mess with levels, and you'll hear distortion made from the clipping.
I hear bass distortion and immediately think NIB or Anesthesia. The only issue I heard is that it can go from a subtle amount of distortion to absolute mud. It seems like a very small sweet spot.
Why not do a comparison video on humbucker vs single pickup on bass. And what are the pros and cons of each. Some say all you need is a single coil, but never mention why a humbucker equipped bass might be a better option for metal bands.
I use the vintage setting on a mooer black secret and it sounds just like cliff burton era metallica, I double stack some more on my boss me-25 (also has a wah which you need for metallica stuff too and a lot of older music has the wah on halfway) with a touch of overdrive from my jhs bonsai and chorus (octave pedal set on same octave) for heavier metal/hardcore. Cool video, I had been inter3sted in buying a rat pack for a long time but even my trained ears have a hard time differentiating between the different distortions, I don't know if I could guess them out of a blind line up
EHX's Ripped Speaker would be amazing. But there's a pedal I just learned about today that may be the nastiest distortion/fuzz I have ever heard- Minotaur Sonic Terrors "Swamp Lord".
There is one nastier. Bananana Effects made a bass fuzz/distortion called The Bomb. It is just about as evil as you can go while still remaining controllable and expressive.
Less jocks,less extreme settings will be more interesting for me. And let’s us hear the dry sound off the amp/bass for reference, that’s will be great too.
If the MXR had two switches, on/off & the silicone/LED (?) modes imo that would be the best, I'd want that extra control at my feet rather than having to bend down to switch over.
The Cat King from Fuzzrocious shares the same designer, and while it lacks a silicon/LED footswitch, you get two gain settings you can switch between, plus a momentary all hell breaks loose button.
*For the price, TC Electronic has the best (in my humble opinion).* *Sub 'n Up goes up to two octaves and down one & the Sub 'n Up mini goes up & down one octave.*
These are less distortion, and more just overdrive. If you want proper, saturated bass distortion with definition, try the DOD Grunge. It's a guitar pedal, but it's the best bass distortion I've ever heard.
I have the SFT for guitar and love it! The two modes are great tonal option. I set it at right it starts to break up for OD then slam it with an Ibanez SD-9 and gives me that Swervedriver grind with mid bump. Switch to stoner mode and it gets good clean heavy Soundgarden vibe.
Iv owned the bk1, the basstortion, and the sft. Really all 3 can do so much more, than was demonstrated by just "twiddling " knobs , without thought to gaining a useful tone...sorry..
For those cash strapped viewers, the Joyo Double Thruster is a fantastic Darkglass style drive with blend control for about 40 quid, absolute bargain.
I second this, in fact any Joyo “bass” pedal I recommend
Thank you! Even in Australia it's pretty cheap, would be silly not to check it out.
Just bought one. It’s fantastic. Not just good ‘for the money’, it’s genuinely great. 👍
Also the Joyo Taichi has great bass response and clarity, sound like clean pass character without a blend knob. Awesome tube like dynamics at low gain
Went with the Zoom b3. Can hit dark glass, SVT and a few other pedal styles. Plus a tuner 😬
‘Crackle’ and ‘Okay’ aren’t the names of the settings. It just means that the control alters the bias, which causes the control to make a cracking noise when it’s turned. For (bass) players who may think there’s something wrong with the potentiometer they add the word ‘Okay’. In other words, “it’s okay to hear some crackle, there’s nothing wrong with your expensive pedal, it’s supposed to make this noise when you turn the knob”. 😊
Not playong bass much these days but Lee anf Cici are such an engaging duo. Love watching these vids.
Yeah, I'm like "get a recording room already!!" to record a duo album of some sort
The Rattler sounds really good. I'd probably go with MXR for those parallel dry/wet knobs that let you crank distortion to taste without sacrificing attack. It's got more of a bi-amped feel than a standard blend knob offers.
*The MXR appears to be a close copy of the Darkglass Microtubes X (minus the mid & mix dials).*
*Sounded a bit fuzzy-mid range compared to the X, but I'm sure it costs much less.*
I love Catalinbread but they are pricey, but they are amazing pedals. I'm always blown away by them.
Nowadays i seriously always hope for a video with you guys (beeing a guitarist...) when checking for new videos from Andertons. Simply because the sheer enthusiasm and joy (And stellar playing of course to add!) you both show when trying stuff out. Please continue! :)
the stingray/darkglass combo sounded so good!!
Love the bass videos! Thank you Andertons!
Darkglass b3k is the best I've found. It's not just for metal. I play in a classic rock cover band sometimes and it does tube head sounds really well.
My bass player has a Masterbuilt Amplification Stone Groove. Just a Volume and Gain knob. The secret sauce is the 12ax7a tube poking thru the top, 😇 It does not claim to give you that Ampeg SVT dirt with that extra punch, but it does.
I think the "stones" mode one the SFT would be best for me, I'd bet the more subtle approach would really sing in a full mix. Great video as always!
excellent vid guys for me the mxr just had it, loved the vid.
thank you.
Nice video. Here are my personal faves: Red Witch Zeus, ZVex Fat Fuzz Factory, Earthquaker Blumes, and Stone Deaf's Rise And Shine!
Electroharminics BigMuff Bass, it's so very good, I use it every gig, great on active pickups, makes my sound huge!
I've went through several brands of bass OD and distortion pedals and everyone of them I either returned or sold before discovering the Boss bass driver BB-1X. It's one of Boss's hidden gems and is quite often overlooked.
The filthier and gnarlier the better.
Even though I have used dozens of different fuzz pedals over the years, I always go back to one of my HM-2 pedals, as they have all the grind and have powerful tone controls so I retain plenty of low end and sizzle.
HM-2 Gang!!!
Greeat video - thiese pair of presenters are far better than the older stuff with Nathan - better explained and more bass-oriented. The guy does actually play the linstrument as a bass player would.
I have found that the JHS notaklön is great on bass as well.
Mm nice idea , entertaining too 👍
Now how about also doing a “ best budget distortion pedal for bass” ?
The Rattler sound insane !
love you guys, you are so fun
Dark glass set to low gain is 👌
Thanks; I've been hoping for a while that Cici and Lee would do some multi-pedal tests. I have to admit, I already own a Darkglass Alpha-Omicron (bought from your good selves about 2 years ago) and really like it, mainly for the huge range of distortion levels and tones on offer, most of them usable. As a result, most of my interest was in non-DG pedals to see if they offer something different but interesting. In that context, I think the only one i didn't enjoy much was the Catalinbread, but the one which seemed to offer enjoyable tones of a type that I struggle to get with the Alpha-Omicron was the Rattler. Curse you for making me want another toy. ;)
It's probably worth noting that a different amp will give different responses with these pedals (and a change of bass also has an effect, which I'm glad they demonstrated). It looked like Cici was enjoying the MM.
I expected the ZVEX and the Catalinbread to be somewhat similar but they are way more different then I thought.
The Darkglass sounds nice to me but having the controls on the back is a big no no.
I'd chose the ZVEX it sounded really nice!
EHX Hot Wax yould've been nice, surprisingly can do the Darkglass thing aswell.
The Crackle Okay refers to it's behaviour while adjusting the gain... it crackles :D
The Wetter Bass channel did a massive four-episode overdrive shootout earlier this year, worth checking out. My main takeaway from that series was that if you're looking for a low-gain overdrive sound, they're all the same... My personal favourite at the moment is the Earthquaker Blumes.
"Crackle OK" is just there for the user to be aknowledged that the "Drive " pot crackles while being turned.
For me , i would choose dark glass , billy sheehan drive and yyz preamp
Thanks guys - another great review !
Idiotbox effects 'blower box deluxe' was for me the end of the quest for the ultimate bass distortion. I was blown away by this pedal.
Beetronics Royal Jelly absolutely rules for bass (and guitar).
Didn't expect it, but Darkglass for my money.
Just sounds right!
*I agree.*
*Like they mentioned, it does it's Darkglass thing which the others just can't compare to.*
Rumble 200 - can't beat it for a portable gigworthy combo.
Laney UK made, BCC Blackheath, easily one of the best Bass Drive/Distortion pedals out there. Fact.
Jam pedal sounds really best
honestly many loves for all these competitor but really, rattler all the way (not that I have three different paint versions or something and it's really bias my judgement)
Thanks for this! This just confirms to me that I don't really like Darkglass pedals. The Zvex, Catalinbread and Jam were my favourites for different things. Can you do bass fuzzes next? 😬
Fuzzrocious Lil Fella is a really great pedal to have if you want to swap between Guitar and Bass often - though I'd maybe give a hair of advantage to guitar for lack of proper blend, but it just has a really really good overdrive tone.
The archtypal bass distortion is probably the ODB-3 which isn't very overdrivey at all - if you're looking for something that can kinda get some of that territory but works more like an actual overdrive I'd recommend it.
I'm still searching for the ideal bass dirt for me though. I feel like I have one flavour of OD and fuzz covered, but I feel like I need a second OD and distortion
Hoping they pause and tune the Stingray before long... some great sounds and playing in this video though. Reinforces how happy I am with my MXR.
Always had a Big Muff on my bass back in the 90's, back before they had a specific bass version. Loved the big fuzzy warm tone.
Still have one now, although it's a modern reissue.
I'd love to try my Pignose Detonator on my Fender P, but I need to get the Pignose fixed as it isn't working
And, the Mooer Mini Muff can be had for about $25. The Behringer SF400 occasionally goes on sale for $14.
Darkglass may be famous for the metal scene, but they are all very well made, versatile pedals. Especially the microtubes (not shown in the video)
They are all microtubes serie. Microtube B1k, B7k, Vintage, microtube X7 etc
The Microtubes X with a low pass for bass is my favorite.
If you can find old EWS Little Brute Drive that only have on knob, it's a good distortion for bass. I found it for £29
I'll take the MXR.
0:40 Darkglass Alpha Omega is obviously missing
Oh, wow! THe Rattler reminds me of Lemmy's tone
I have the Billy Sheehan Delux drive absolutely awesome pedal lots of versatility.
The less Lee speaks the better the videos are
I mostly use Darkglass drive pedals, but my Earthquaker Devices Dunes also works well with bass
I’m not sure if you missed a trick with the Darkglass pedal… you only seemed to adjust the inner dial and didn’t move the outer dial. Maybe there was a reason for this (I’m no bass player), but I have one of their fuzz pedals for guitar and both dials contribute to the effect
It just said Level and Drive
They might have adjusted the level to where it doesn't clip. So adjusting it would just mess with levels, and you'll hear distortion made from the clipping.
I’m such a sucker for a stingray, man. Hard to beat.
I'm here for the bassists; love this combo every time ❤
I hear bass distortion and immediately think NIB or Anesthesia. The only issue I heard is that it can go from a subtle amount of distortion to absolute mud. It seems like a very small sweet spot.
ZVEX Effects sound 😎
Why not do a comparison video on humbucker vs single pickup on bass. And what are the pros and cons of each. Some say all you need is a single coil, but never mention why a humbucker equipped bass might be a better option for metal bands.
All the gain!
I use the vintage setting on a mooer black secret and it sounds just like cliff burton era metallica, I double stack some more on my boss me-25 (also has a wah which you need for metallica stuff too and a lot of older music has the wah on halfway) with a touch of overdrive from my jhs bonsai and chorus (octave pedal set on same octave) for heavier metal/hardcore. Cool video, I had been inter3sted in buying a rat pack for a long time but even my trained ears have a hard time differentiating between the different distortions, I don't know if I could guess them out of a blind line up
EHX's Ripped Speaker would be amazing. But there's a pedal I just learned about today that may be the nastiest distortion/fuzz I have ever heard- Minotaur Sonic Terrors "Swamp Lord".
There is one nastier. Bananana Effects made a bass fuzz/distortion called The Bomb. It is just about as evil as you can go while still remaining controllable and expressive.
@@King-Kazma I'll definitely give it a look.
Fuzz is life.
Gears real good 👍🤨
With the first one you sounded a bit like Tool with a touch of RATM.
Less jocks,less extreme settings will be more interesting for me. And let’s us hear the dry sound off the amp/bass for reference, that’s will be great too.
Check out the XP driver from tech 21, which lets you choose your split point where the distortion happens
Darkglass all the way
If the MXR had two switches, on/off & the silicone/LED (?) modes imo that would be the best, I'd want that extra control at my feet rather than having to bend down to switch over.
The Cat King from Fuzzrocious shares the same designer, and while it lacks a silicon/LED footswitch, you get two gain settings you can switch between, plus a momentary all hell breaks loose button.
Easily the Big Muff Pi. Cliff Burton used it to craft the greatest bass tone of all time.
Interested to see octave pedals for bass.
*For the price, TC Electronic has the best (in my humble opinion).*
*Sub 'n Up goes up to two octaves and down one & the Sub 'n Up mini goes up & down one octave.*
Surprised no Sansamp varieties were represented here
Exactly. Some of the best!
Jam for me
These are less distortion, and more just overdrive. If you want proper, saturated bass distortion with definition, try the DOD Grunge. It's a guitar pedal, but it's the best bass distortion I've ever heard.
The basses sound great! I think i'll just stick to my Big Muff Deluxe tho lol
I use an old Boss HM3. Sounds mean as eff
no demo with plectrum?
Please do pick demo
I have the SFT for guitar and love it! The two modes are great tonal option. I set it at right it starts to break up for OD then slam it with an Ibanez SD-9 and gives me that Swervedriver grind with mid bump. Switch to stoner mode and it gets good clean heavy Soundgarden vibe.
Best distortion for RATM ?
Dark Glass Alpha Omega is the best.
cici and almost everyone else on in the channel is so much more fun to watch than anderton that it hurts
Cici🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤
pedals are great but that music man
I really like the Basstortion, but I just can't get over Zvex's dumb sideways enclosures.
I’ll stick to my Boss Hyper Metal HM3.
The real question… how do they feel in the room
can i get all this awesomest in the new BOSS GX-10
Bass Pedal have a completly different soundscapses
'Something else' starts with 's'
Iv owned the bk1, the basstortion, and the sft. Really all 3 can do so much more, than was demonstrated by just "twiddling " knobs , without thought to gaining a useful tone...sorry..
*opens a cold one*
Hi
The best bass distortion pedals STOCKED BY ANDERTONS is not the same as the best bass distortion pedals.
Science does self correct, but it takes time. Two to three hundred years Isn’t uncommon.
If you’re going through through pedals twice why wouldn’t you play two different styles of riff rather than playing the same riff both times
I play guitar. Look at them eyes 👀
Get Lee and Oz together for a doom riff-fest
Is she Billie Ellish?
Is the pedal necessary?
That was hard to watch. The woman is great but the guy is ..... replace him.
I hate those pedals. 😛
Well, add a Crybaby and you’ll KNOW what to play…😂
Damnation Audio.
All I need is a good DI for my bass, and maybe a volume pedal to tune in between songs.
this is not a vid about DI and a volume pedal.
Hes tolerable when not talking.