Distortion or Fuzz to duplicate old KC/ELP bass tone...

[Dman]

Hey there people!

This is my first post to this forum and the info I've gathered so far has been incredibly helpful (thanks to my GTRist for the link)!

Now the fun begins- I'm looking to either buy or (preferably!) build a fuzz/distortion that will give me a sound similar to Greg Lake's bass fuzz on the first King Crimson album OR the intro Emerson Lake and Palmer's "The Barbarian", from their debut album.

Any takers on what the heck he used and/or where/what schematics could provide that sound?

The only pedal I've heard thus far that even remotely has THE sound is the Whooly Mamouth by ZVEX.

TIA

[Coriolis]

Hello and welcome!

I always thought that it sounded a lot like a Big Muff on The Barbarian, but was that even in production back then? Not sure.

C

[Dman]

I'm not sure, so I figured that somebody here would know for certain.

My only reservation against it being a Big Muff (not sure when they were produced either!) is that the amount of bottom end the tone has seems more than any BM that I've heard (my guitarist has the russian Big Muff Pi). Whether that's a trick of the studio (EQ, etc...) remains to be known.

Thanks anyway. Still searching...

[moosapotamus]

My only reservation against it being a Big Muff (not sure when they were produced either!) is that the amount of bottom end the tone has seems more than any BM that I've heard (my guitarist has the russian Big Muff Pi). Whether that's a trick of the studio (EQ, etc...) remains to be known.

I would bet that the majority of times you hear a bass fuzz in a recording, there is some clean signal blended in to retain that bottom end. I think having that capability is critical for any bass player that is into using effects, especially fuzz/OD/disto stuff. There are lots of previous threads here on how to do that, and you can search for the method that best suits your needs. You can hear some clips of bass through a big muff and a fuzz factory, both with some clean signal blended in here...
http://www.moosapotamus.com/paraloop/paraloop.htm
... And, Torchy recently posted a stripboard layout, too.

~ Charlie

[Dman]

You are probably right about the blend- I use two channels of amplification in my rig anyway. All of my basses are stereo (al Ricky 4001/4003) and I use distortion already on the top channel (bridge pickup). I need something for the low (neck pickup) channel, and I love that tone and would love to get it!

I'll check out the link you've provided as well- I know that whatever distortion/fuzz I use, I'll need to blend some clean into it anyway...

Thanks!