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So my son starting playing bass

His birthday is coming up and he put an SD-1 on his list. Now I love the sd-1 in all its glory, but is that really a good choice for bass?

What do you recommend? Probably looking in the $100 range...

Thanks!

meathead clone
bass big muff (rly great bass fuzz)

SD-1 might not be ideal, it sorta has a hi cut filter to it, I'm sure theres a bass mod for it. ODB-3 bass "overdrive" is actually more of a full on distortion/fuzz with clean blend, I like that pedal.

I'm going to go against tradition here.
Is your son playing in a band? going to be soon?
For a first fuzz it should be fun. Don't worry about practical band situations. Get something boomy and loud and nasty

listen to the amtweaker tight fuzz demos; you can probably get it for $120 used

No band yet...he's just starting out, but I hope he finds something. Maybe he needs a metronome haha.

Thanks for the suggestions--will check all those out!

If he's not playing in a band, SD-1 it's OK if that's what he wants. But for the price, you can still buy him a Bass Muff.

Aside from the already good suggestions about something from Idiotbox?

What kind'a muzak does he like? what are his fave bands?

All I can say is from my own experience that anything that got me even close to Metallica's Anesthesia(Pulling Teeth) really kept me plunking away
That's why sure I will aways say get a muffish thing [in every thread] but that's because that's the sound I like, what does he like?

Green Russian Big Muff reissue
Proco Rat, or any type of Rat variant like EHX Flatiron Fuzz

Why would you get a utilitarian and all around useable fuzz for a 14 year old? When I was 14 I wanted freaky and noisy fuzz. The answer should obviously be like a used great destroyer or (fat) fuzz factory

Great Destroyer is and actually has a reeeaaally good not-oscillating heavy bass fuzz sound in it somewhere. I use that a lot.

I would also recommend some kind of muff. If you can find one within your budget with a clean blend, even better.

Hotcae. My favorite dirt pedal for bass, cause opposed to rat/muff type pedals it held its own in a loud messy band and didn't make the bass dissapear in the mix...Don't know of any easily available clones though.

Otoh, if cutting trough the mix is far from his main concern, go with something fun that's boomy and bleepy and sizzly
OR, unless he'd be bumbed to get an old ugly piece of crap, get him a Dano Fabtone AND a Digitech Death Metal.

Come to think of it, a small pedal board based on the bands he's into might be what I get my son for his next birthday. With all those cheap micro pedlols and the overflowing used market, I should be able to stay within budget.

The old version of the Dr Scientist Frazz Dazzler is one of my favourite sounds on a bass, and you can pick them up pretty cheap. Maybe not 100 but with a little luck not a whole lot more.
The old version is the one with a single stomp switch.