The bass is alot more of a capable instrument then you would think. Some bass distortion modules suck, but there are some decent ones. For example D.O.D makes a pedal called death metal bass that sounds great. You might also want to check out other effects such as flangers, wahs, phasers etc. It makes playing alot more fun and versatile. And like the other guy said, chords and bass just dont mix. Besides the bass is already heavy enough as it is, try tuining to drop D.