Bad Monkey and other TS pedals...

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fearhk213

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I just made my first venture into TS territory when I picked up a Digitech Bad Monkey over the weekend. For the most part I'm digging the tone, but this thing is picking up some serious radio stations so it's going back to GC. I've ruled out any other potential candidates so I know it's the Bad Monkey. Though I'm not 100% happy w/its tone, it's adequate enough that I'd probably keep it if it didn't have the radio issue. Has anyone experienced this problem with this pedal? What are some boutiquey cork sniffer :gay: TS pedals I should check out?
 
alot of people think a bad monkey is a cheap TS9, to my ears the BM sounds NOTHING like a TS whatsoever. thats not to say it sounds bad tho, cause i have one myself and use it, but it just sounds and responds very different than a TS.
 
your bad monkey is picking up radio signals? that's weird, usually that's the amp's fault or the wiring in your house.

i had the bad monkey and liked it. then i tried a boss sd-1 and stuck with that. reason being the BM was smoother than the chunky sd-1 and i am going for a chunkier sound right now. i wouldn't mind a second OD like a BM right now but i just don't see myself using it.
 
The bad monkey did not really sound like a tubescreamer to me either.

I like these tubescreamer or tubescreamer like pedals:

MI Audio Blues Boy Deluxe
MI audio Blues Pro
Maxon OD-808
Maxon OD-9
Ibanez Reissue TS-808

Never had trouble with my bad monkey picking up radio signals....
 
donkers":hc89mv06 said:
your bad monkey is picking up radio signals? that's weird, usually that's the amp's fault or the wiring in your house.

i had the bad monkey and liked it. then i tried a boss sd-1 and stuck with that. reason being the BM was smoother than the chunky sd-1 and i am going for a chunkier sound right now. i wouldn't mind a second OD like a BM right now but i just don't see myself using it.
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That's what I thought too; I've never had a boost/dirt pedal do this before. The last time I had this problem was with a wah that always picked up a spanish radio station :lol: :LOL: . I tried both my amps, switched chords, and the bad monkey was the culprit.

That's cool a couple of ya'll said this is different than the traditional tubescreamer. I was going for a midboost to tighten things up for one of my axes, but their is a slight boxy, nasally mid thing going on with the bad monkey, which is the bit about the tone I wasn't completely happy with. I notice it mostly on the A, D, & G strings. I'll check into these other ones. Thanks :thumbsup:
 
If your looking for the mid boost commonly associated with Tube Screamers, then the Bad Monkey's not the best way to go IMO (I own one). Check out the Maxon OD9 Pro , H.B.E Power Screamer, MXR-CAE GT-OD, Exotic AC Booster. Check out the Fulltone OCD too if you can. A bit different from the others, but it's one of my favorite OD boxes.
 
I own the Bad Monkey and SD-1 pedals. I much prefer the Bad Monkey, I found the SD-1 feels flat, no dynamics. The Bad Monkey seems to breath more and has a wider frequency responce. I'm thinking about sending my SD-1 to Keeley and have their "Stacked" mod performed to it.
 
To me, the Maxon 808 sounds middy and muffled compared to the Plank Cranker or the Krankshaft.

Now before everyone crucifies me, there have been a number of TS and OD threads, and the only constant thing that I can make out is that it's going to depend on your amplifier and your guitar.

If you can drag your rig into a store and try different boxes, that would probably help you sort it out. If not, there is no shortage of used pedals of this type for sale. Buy a used one and if you don't like it move on.
 
I really enjoy the Bodenhamer Bloody Murder. Exceptional OD/Boost pedal and blows away the other boosts I have owned (TS-9, TS 808, Maxon OD 808).
 
the bad monkey is a budget overdrive. there is no other overdrive in its price range that sounds/works as good.
 
Copperhead":3hwm7hlb said:
To me, the Maxon 808 sounds middy and muffled compared to the Plank Cranker or the Krankshaft.

Now before everyone crucifies me, there have been a number of TS and OD threads, and the only constant thing that I can make out is that it's going to depend on your amplifier and your guitar.

If you can drag your rig into a store and try different boxes, that would probably help you sort it out. If not, there is no shortage of used pedals of this type for sale. Buy a used one and if you don't like it move on.
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The Plank cranker was designed to be a thick overdrive without the mid hump, so I am not surprised you fell that way about the OD-808. The OD-808 does have its place and works better for me with certain amps, like my SF fenders. You don't always want a thick sound......
 
blackba":29i6qx3y said:
The Plank cranker was designed to be a thick overdrive without the mid hump, so I am not surprised you fell that way about the OD-808. The OD-808 does have its place and works better for me with certain amps, like my SF fenders. You don't always want a thick sound......
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And the Krankshaft sounds tighter and edgier than the Plank Cranker, the Plank Cranker is smoother and more vintage-y, the Krankshaft is more modern, and it sounds transparent with the Revolution, it's like having a third higher gain channel. But it may not sound great on your amp. There is such a huge variance of opinion on boosts and TS pedals, I gotta believe there is no one size fits all.
 
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