If you could only have one of these freq band controls on an OD…

Given only one freq band control on the top of the box, which do you prefer?

  • Mids Control

    Votes: 10 58.8%

  • Bass Control

    Votes: 5 29.4%

  • Neither, they're both trimmers on the PCB

    Votes: 2 11.8%
  • Total voters
    17
jessenator

jessenator

Well-known member
…which would it be?

If only one could be mounted on the top of the board, that is, which would you rather have up top with everything else? This is an overdrive and not a true, strong distortion (but, can push to mild distortion at full bore).
  • Both controls are in the final stage of an op-amp.
    • one will be a trimmer if the other is placed up top
    • alternatively, they could both be trimmers…
  • There is already treble boost (sw) cut (pot) control on top
Topology:
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I was going to vote mids if it was the only tone control, but if you already have a treble control I would go for a bass control, but I will also caveat that it depends on what topology the tonestack is. In a FMV stack the mids control is cut-only, so that makes it an easy choice. But if it's a notch bandpass with a wide Q, an active mids control can be incredibly useful, especially when dialing in drive.
 
Mids. The guitar is a mid-range instrument—it lives and dies by the mids. I can adjust bass response at the amp to suit the room. Mids give the guitar all it's character. Having a mid control will do more make a pedal "versatile" than a bass control will.
 
If you only get two controls, tbh I would prefer the Electric Druid "Hard Bargain" approach, a tilt EQ and a mids control, you can get pretty much any combination with those two.

Depending on the tone stack, technically a bass/treble control also could work as a mid control where you lower both or raise both to effectively raise/lower mids, but that depends heavily on which tone stack you use - some combinations don't sound great even if you try to do that.

In the end, I think for playing live (and assuming the bottom end isn't completely out of control) then a combination of mids and treble might be better. But it depends on your needs and likes in the end, IMO.
 
Maybe there's another way to look at this: which knob has the biggest range or impact on the character? That's the one that should be on the outside.
 
jwin615 said:
Mids- caveat: boost only. We're not 15 anymore. Especially in an overdrive, as a true OD is meant to push the amp, should never need to cut mids with an OD
Click to expand...
alternatively, perhaps the mids control could be a fixed gain boost, and the external pot controls/dials in the desired mid frequency to be boosted -
...as per the greatest overdrive pedal of all time - the maxon ST-9
 
I voted for them to both be trimmers on the inside. We all know you're going to find the one sound you like and then set it to that... So, just have volume and no bypass since it should always be on :).
 
The thing I want most often is a HPF before the gain. In my experience, it takes care of both tightening the low end while simultaneously allowing the mids to come out more. Why add when you can subtract?
 
Generally, subtracting is quieter. Boosting anything adds noise.


I see a lot of valid points being made, each from a different perspective — in other words, there's not one (1) right way to do anything, but multiple ways to achieve different desired results. Each situation needs the right application/solution for each person's ears.


Do what works best for your circuit and your ears. Even so, if you've blown out your high-end from decades of head-banging in front of a Marshall-stack, maybe get a second opinion on whether your tone is "shrill" or not.
 
It appears that I am know here for my love of adding bass pots to ODs. And it's true. I agree with @szukalski : mids are indeed the voice of the pedal, and I have found that whenever I have a pedal with a mids pot once it's set I never change it. But I do use the bass pot depending on the guitar and the amp. I could almost say that I never change the treble too, but I do for different guitars. But the bass pot is the most used on my pedals. Except for some fuzz pedals I think the bass pot should be on every OD pedal. Not having enough or having too much low end can make an OD unusable IMO.

So I would definitely put the bass knob outside and use a trimmer for the mids. Or once I have worked out where I like the mids replace the trimmer with resistors. Mind you, that looks suspiciously like a Barber pedal where the bass control is less effective than I would like!

I have wondered for ages: what is the only tone control on so many pedals just a treble cut?
 
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