Bias FX 2 Standard distortion pedals disappointing
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Am I the only one thinking that the distortion pedals that come with the standard version are totally lame? They sound like playing a 90’s multi effect pedal directly through a mixer, cheesy cheap sound. And yes, I do have some very decent guitars to test with.
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@wummba hate to agree with you but some or even most of the distortion pedals are...uh...less than stellar. Only an opinion and many may find gold in the assortment.
Crazy because the general overdrive capabilities of the BIAS products is up there with the better or even best.
I use Bias Amp and drive it with a third party compressor upstream rather than relying on a bunch of internal death metal square wave generators with different eq settings.
Achieves tones and control I can't find elsewhere within my budget. I just forget the included distortion stomps and go with a compressor driven amp..
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@brahma Just a bit of history about fuzz boxes that some may already know. Hendrix used the fuzz face. So we all feel secure that we are cranking out Hendrix tones by dialing in the local clone in Bias. In reality, Jimi had some geek doing modifications on the design and had about 20 fuzz faces that are not available to the consumer. Fuzz Face unfortunately does not equal Hendrix. Why beyond technical skill, we can't always get the sounds Jimi did. I look at the round smiley face on the commercial clone but can't get the sound because that's not what the master used.
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@brahma well, I might just be expecting too much. Back in the days we used to record directly via a Tech21 SansAmp and even today that mofo sounds awesome. I thought about getting the Positive Grid Distortion pedal. It uses the Bias FX engine? In that case I'd rather put that thought to sleep.
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@brahma oh and regarding the Fuzz boxes, years ago I was able to take a detailed tour of Slash' live rig. Hardly anything from amps via cabinets to fx had been left anywhere near the original state. One has to see that to believe.
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You are not expecting too much. I got the Pro edition and the pedal distortion package. Not the greatest and sadly never use any of them. This opposed to one of the best natural overdrives if you press the amps with a controlled compression and noise gate.
My other complaint is with the integrity of the compressor choices. I own hardware stomps of some of them. Complete OCD comp freak here and have to say that the BIAS comps have nothing in common with the quality and performance of the hardware they are supposed to emulate. Easy to put a graphic over the top of some common formula but lacking substance.
John
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@brahma interestingly, recording through the Spark Amp (!) gives some very interesting results.