Behringer BOD400 Bass Overdrive

[bea]

Well, my DIY tube overdrive still sucks (it is currently a hum generator). But for the Bass VI i need a very slight distortion. So i tried the cheapy: Behringer BOD400.

They promise true tube distortion. Mhmm.
The sound is a bit scratchy. Moreover there is no sign of compression. And the distortion is pretty strong. Something i would attribute to a diode limiter to distort the signal.
Taming the beast: distortion almost at minimum, reducing the scratchieness with the treble pot of the pedals. And then putting an EBS Multicomp in tubesim mode in front of it. Luckily the distorted signal can be mixed to the clean signal - and as long as the clean part dominates, the sound remains punchy in the lows but screams like a guitar in the high register.

I tested it through the Mywatt, which like any Hiwatt is very sensitive to the overall sound quality of any pedal. Well, the clean sound is a tad harsh, but remains very present, and no clarity is lost. Which is quite good, especially for such a cheap pedal.

 

[Thatbastarddon]

I hope you find a good solution for your desired bass overdrive tone quest. The wet/dry mix feature is a huge plus, in my experience, for distorted bass tone that will hold up in a mix…or solo. Thanks for sharing your findings!

 

[bea]

Well, it is usable, and a step further. We actually found oout that we'd prefer that sound on all but one of the songs for the Bass VI.

The next attempt will be a low voltage tube overdrive - just that standard circuitry floating through the net und several names. As soon as it works i'll have to find out if i need a wet/dry mixer with the tube as well.