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Anyone run an active bass with fuzz pedals and get good results. I have an active Washburn 5 string bass and my fuzz pedals dont like it at all. I'm sure it has to do with a high impedance output. I dont want to mod it because I get awesome clean tones out of it. Just wondering if there is some inexpensive solution to this problem. Thanks. Have a good one.

KaosCill8r wrote:Anyone run an active bass with fuzz pedals and get good results. I have an active Washburn 5 string bass and my fuzz pedals dont like it at all. I'm sure it has to do with a high impedance output. I dont want to mod it because I get awesome clean tones out of it. Just wondering if there is some inexpensive solution to this problem. Thanks. Have a good one.

One of my basses is active, a G&L L-2500. I find that I really only have problems with fuzz-face-type pedals that need a really high input impedence. It just means that I stay away from that type of pedal. I use a Tone Machine all the time and it has no problems with the active.

My friend has the same G&L and we've tried it through the large number of fuzzes that both of us have owned over the years, and there have been very very few it didn't work with, what pedals you got? Could just be a settings thing, like dialling back the fuzz or tone or something?

bigchiefbc wrote:

KaosCill8r wrote:Anyone run an active bass with fuzz pedals and get good results. I have an active Washburn 5 string bass and my fuzz pedals dont like it at all. I'm sure it has to do with a high impedance output. I dont want to mod it because I get awesome clean tones out of it. Just wondering if there is some inexpensive solution to this problem. Thanks. Have a good one.

One of my basses is active, a G&L L-2500. I find that I really only have problems with fuzz-face-type pedals that need a really high input impedence. It just means that I stay away from that type of pedal.

This. One fix is to run a clean boost in front of your pedals Anoother is to get someone to built a impedance transformer… I remember guys using something like that a while ago on YB… don't remember details though.

Most of my fuzz pedals work just fine with active bass, too. Some work a little different - no wonder - but rad as hell all the same.

Some old school analog overdrives and fuzz face just don't get it. So if You like Your bass, I'd recommend You to try out some different style fuzz pedals and work it from there.

take out the active controls and put the fuzz in it :P

Thanks for your great responses so far.
Yeah it was mainly the vintage style clones on my board. Ge Fuzz Face, Harmonic Percolator ect. The Woolly Mammoth clone I just built also didn't get nice results either. Same with my Meathead clone on standard and dark settings. I'll try a few more different ones. Its just when the few I tried didn't work I thought it wasn't possible and gave up on the idea.
Was checking out the Radial Engineering Dragster. Anyone used one or know if this would work for bringing up the input impedance to my board?

KaosCill8r wrote:Thanks for your great responses so far.
Yeah it was mainly the vintage style clones on my board. Ge Fuzz Face, Harmonic Percolator ect. The Woolly Mammoth clone I just built also didn't get nice results either. Same with my Meathead clone on standard and dark settings. I'll try a few more different ones. Its just when the few I tried didn't work I thought it wasn't possible and gave up on the idea.
Was checking out the Radial Engineering Dragster. Anyone used one or know if this would work for bringing up the input impedance to my board?

Yeah, the Wooly Mammoth and the Meathead are both based on the fuzz face, so they all have the same impedence problem.

I have a 5 string carvin that is active/passive with popping out one of the tone knobs. You could possibly have it re-wired to do something like this. fwiw I prefer my (muffy) bass fuzzes in passive mode - I let the pedal do the gain for me instead of the active electronics

UnicornTrap wrote:I have a 5 string carvin that is active/passive with popping out one of the tone knobs. You could possibly have it re-wired to do something like this. fwiw I prefer my (muffy) bass fuzzes in passive mode - I let the pedal do the gain for me instead of the active electronics

That actually sounds like a good idea. I'll do a bit of a google search for schematics and see if its possible with mine. Thanks UnicornTrap

bigchiefbc wrote:

KaosCill8r wrote:Thanks for your great responses so far.
Yeah it was mainly the vintage style clones on my board. Ge Fuzz Face, Harmonic Percolator ect. The Woolly Mammoth clone I just built also didn't get nice results either. Same with my Meathead clone on standard and dark settings. I'll try a few more different ones. Its just when the few I tried didn't work I thought it wasn't possible and gave up on the idea.
Was checking out the Radial Engineering Dragster. Anyone used one or know if this would work for bringing up the input impedance to my board?

Yeah, the Wooly Mammoth and the Meathead are both based on the fuzz face, so they all have the same impedence problem.

The Mastotron is a modded Mammoth. Lift the Imp control from it--it sometimes helps with actives.

tafm sounded awesome as hell

I know that Brassmaster circuits work okay with Stingrays.

ryan summit wrote:tafm sounded awesome as hell

TAFM works great with all my active basses. My Sterling, pushed by a Phat Phuk B, can sound beastly running through it.

I play a active 6 string, brassmaster works great. I also run a muff, rat, HM-2... with no problems