GuitarBilly74
Roadie
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- 518
My main distortion tone has always been from amps. For leads, I usally use a combination of amp distortion and a pedal boost.
Distortion- from the amp or pedals?
- Thread starter DrewJD82
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newpedals
Roadie
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- 303
I am one of the least experienced people on this forum. I don't know if this information will be useful to you.
My friend has setup her rig similar to your situation. She plugs her G&L strat into a Vox AC15, set completely clean. Her most often used pedal is MXR Super Badass Distortion. She also has a TC spark booster which she sets differently based on the song she would be playing. It has clean boost/ dirty boost modes.
I had borrowed this booster from her for a gig when I forgot my pedalboard at home. I found the onboard EQ controls to be very useful.
She also has some digital amp modelling pedal which she let me try some time back. It was good but the "edge of break up" sound felt a bit different. It was not bad, just different. Probably I did not set it right in a hurry.
My friend has setup her rig similar to your situation. She plugs her G&L strat into a Vox AC15, set completely clean. Her most often used pedal is MXR Super Badass Distortion. She also has a TC spark booster which she sets differently based on the song she would be playing. It has clean boost/ dirty boost modes.
I had borrowed this booster from her for a gig when I forgot my pedalboard at home. I found the onboard EQ controls to be very useful.
She also has some digital amp modelling pedal which she let me try some time back. It was good but the "edge of break up" sound felt a bit different. It was not bad, just different. Probably I did not set it right in a hurry.
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laxu
Rock Star
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- 6,156
Is it? Most 2-4 channel amps have anything from a decent to excellent Fender Blackface -based clean channel that can be used as a pedal platform.
To me the biggest issue with channel switchers is that past 2 channels, there's often at least one channel that is not as good as the rest.
metropolis_4
Rock Star
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- 3,191
Getting distortion/overdrive from pedals definitely has a different feel to it than getting it from amps. It has a more defined initial attack and tends to have more clarity in a way… it’s sort of “cleaner”.
I’m a fan of it. I spent many many years using a single channel amp and getting all my shades of dirt from pedals so it feels and sounds very natural to me.
I actually struggled for a while with not liking amp overdrive/distortion because I was so used to pedals!
I’m a fan of it. I spent many many years using a single channel amp and getting all my shades of dirt from pedals so it feels and sounds very natural to me.
I actually struggled for a while with not liking amp overdrive/distortion because I was so used to pedals!
Sascha Franck
Rock Star
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Hm, not so sure about that, not exactly my personal experience, but maybe. But then, it's basically a lot about the speakers anyway.
Jarick
Rock Star
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Having tried a bunch of them, it's very hit or miss.
With the right amp and right pedal, especially for high gain, it can sound great! I think the pedals that are essentially preamps in a box with good EQ controls that are made to run into an amp are really good. I also like a classic OD pedal into a clean amp, like an 808 into a Fender.
Beyond that, anything that's like a boost or overdrive really needs to have the right base amp tone. Lots of boost pedals can sound good into a slightly crunchy Marshall, that seems kind of forgiving.
What I haven't had any luck with are "traditional" distortion pedals into a clean amp. Like some of the worst tone I've ever heard was a Rat into a clean Fender. Or a DS-1 into anything at any setting. They always sound like a can of bees, or have horrible swishy saggy distortion. Like really bad pitch bend on a drum tuned too low.
With the right amp and right pedal, especially for high gain, it can sound great! I think the pedals that are essentially preamps in a box with good EQ controls that are made to run into an amp are really good. I also like a classic OD pedal into a clean amp, like an 808 into a Fender.
Beyond that, anything that's like a boost or overdrive really needs to have the right base amp tone. Lots of boost pedals can sound good into a slightly crunchy Marshall, that seems kind of forgiving.
What I haven't had any luck with are "traditional" distortion pedals into a clean amp. Like some of the worst tone I've ever heard was a Rat into a clean Fender. Or a DS-1 into anything at any setting. They always sound like a can of bees, or have horrible swishy saggy distortion. Like really bad pitch bend on a drum tuned too low.
I have always preferred my distortion to come from the amp, via the actual gain stages, or (if its a tiny amp) cranking it to 11.
Many moons ago I used a Ibanez Smash Box, which was a lot of fun, and then the 80s plastic housing MXR Distortion +, which was ok.
Once I upgraded to a 5150, I never needed a distortion pedal again.
This query's answer is more dependent upon the player's overall style.
Example of my tone with 5150 LBX ii.
Many moons ago I used a Ibanez Smash Box, which was a lot of fun, and then the 80s plastic housing MXR Distortion +, which was ok.
Once I upgraded to a 5150, I never needed a distortion pedal again.
This query's answer is more dependent upon the player's overall style.
Example of my tone with 5150 LBX ii.
JiveTurkey
Goatlord
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I'd say 85% amp, 15% pedal ratio. Prior to this band; 100%amp, 0% pedal.
metropolis_4
Rock Star
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- 3,191
This clip was all a clean Deluxe Reverb with drive pedals in front (in Fractal…)
FWIW re Distortion pedals and High Gain...no Boss HM-2's or MT-2's for me...
- Wampler Dracarys - it isn't the Lead Gain channel on my Engl Fireball, but this was what I was using into an Orange Rocker 15. Almost as good as my Dark Terror, and can snarl at low volume
- AmpTweaker BigRockPro - James Brown (of 5150 design fame) made excellent pedals and this thing can turn a Vox AC10 or any Clean channel I have into a monster
- RAT2 (JHS mod) - I've never quite bonded with it, but I don't blame Josh. Sometimes I get it to work with a Timmy.
- Boss DS-1 - I bought it with an OD-3 and SD-1 as a classice one must have (yeah, silly me...). It can Grunge at about 1 setting I found.
- Boss Angry Driver JB-2 - I'm starting to like this one with the Black Cat lead channel.
- Black Arts Toneworks Quantum Mystic - BAT Pedals and Orange amps (I usually have this into a BAT Coven) go together wonderfully if tinged with Doom or Stoner or whatever that YOB sound is. BTW, what is a Yob? I know what the Aussie slang term "yobo" means
- Black Arts Toneworks Tres Diablos Ruidosos - glorious pedal, so many tones - but ye gods is it loud!
- Small Sound/Big Sound Mini - a very versatile pedal I'll have to take off the shelf and give a whirl with the Engl
- Messages
- 16,092
Did you just step into your 40s?? 
I think it is a requirement that at a certain point you become
the middle-aged man with the Fender and a pedalboard. If
not you end up putting your guitarist's license at risk of being
revoked.
In all honesty, there's really no other way to use a Muff, or a
Fuzzface, or stack drives and unstack drives, or boost a Fuzz.
I'll always have a board into a clean-ish amp setup. It's fun and
it works and gets me places I can go far easier than other setups.
Not something I would do when I want the chugs, though. I bet
I have been through every high-gain pedal offering hoping to land
on the thing---and none of them felt or sounded "right," to me.
I think it is a requirement that at a certain point you become
the middle-aged man with the Fender and a pedalboard. If
not you end up putting your guitarist's license at risk of being
revoked.
In all honesty, there's really no other way to use a Muff, or a
Fuzzface, or stack drives and unstack drives, or boost a Fuzz.
I'll always have a board into a clean-ish amp setup. It's fun and
it works and gets me places I can go far easier than other setups.
Not something I would do when I want the chugs, though. I bet
I have been through every high-gain pedal offering hoping to land
on the thing---and none of them felt or sounded "right," to me.
BahamaDada
Roadie
- Messages
- 541
Cool topic!
For like the past 15 years, of course for my more serious band years, I relied solely on amp gain. OD pedals were just boosts like a TS (in the usual way).
This spring, bc of I can't tell, I got the urge to try and buy a pedal OD. Several pedal ODs.
Conclusion:
It's REALLY fun. So much fun to have several/different OD/DS boxes in front of a clean amp and have so many different flavors. Not many amps had that much variety. They varied in gain structure and sometimes in voice, but most of them have a distinctive voice. I mean, that's the thing you WANT. An amp with a distinctive voice- at least when it comes to most tube amps.
I tried:
- EHX OD Glove: Read it's a kinda OCD-style pedal. It was cool, but not enough edge. Returned it.
- Xotic SL Drive: Sounded "expensive", but I found for me I am not that much of a Plexi-In-A-Box guy. Sold it.
- EHX Nano Metal Muff: That stayed. Weird mixture of distortion and fuzz with a super wide 3-band EQ. Super fun to play and can do basically all from Hard Rock to nastiest grindy shit. Always with a sniff of fuzz to it.
For like the past 15 years, of course for my more serious band years, I relied solely on amp gain. OD pedals were just boosts like a TS (in the usual way).
This spring, bc of I can't tell, I got the urge to try and buy a pedal OD. Several pedal ODs.
Conclusion:
It's REALLY fun. So much fun to have several/different OD/DS boxes in front of a clean amp and have so many different flavors. Not many amps had that much variety. They varied in gain structure and sometimes in voice, but most of them have a distinctive voice. I mean, that's the thing you WANT. An amp with a distinctive voice- at least when it comes to most tube amps.
I tried:
- EHX OD Glove: Read it's a kinda OCD-style pedal. It was cool, but not enough edge. Returned it.
- Xotic SL Drive: Sounded "expensive", but I found for me I am not that much of a Plexi-In-A-Box guy. Sold it.
- EHX Nano Metal Muff: That stayed. Weird mixture of distortion and fuzz with a super wide 3-band EQ. Super fun to play and can do basically all from Hard Rock to nastiest grindy shit. Always with a sniff of fuzz to it.
- Messages
- 2,151
Both.
Whatever it takes to get me to where I need to be.
"If it sounds good, it is good."
Whatever it takes to get me to where I need to be.
"If it sounds good, it is good."
- Messages
- 2,151
Someone said RAT into a clean Fender.
This is a ProCo RAT 2 into an original '66 Fender Deluxe doing Jimmy Page (with solo); a goofball ode to the RAT pedal (because I had, for the first time ever, finally bought one and was very impressed). IIRC, I was riding the guitar volume knob between clean and dirt parts. Doubling going on too. Gets a great classic rock tone, and of course wouldn't use it for anything higher gained.
This is a ProCo RAT 2 into an original '66 Fender Deluxe doing Jimmy Page (with solo); a goofball ode to the RAT pedal (because I had, for the first time ever, finally bought one and was very impressed). IIRC, I was riding the guitar volume knob between clean and dirt parts. Doubling going on too. Gets a great classic rock tone, and of course wouldn't use it for anything higher gained.
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AutomationBias
Roadie
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- 790
I love all of this, but particularly the stereo pans. What did you use for reverb?
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- 2,151
IIRC UAD EMT140 plugin
Yeah the pans, obviously the original has them, so I tried to emulate them by automating pans L/R in Reaper during that section. Pretty easy to do.
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- 2,151
EOengineer
Shredder
- Messages
- 2,148
@DrewJD82 we come from a very similar music background and I’ve been navigated this exact path for a few years now. I’m not going to claim I have all the answers but I’m happy to share some findings.
I still have (and use) the Mesas/Marshalls, but have been using 70s Silverface Princeton/Deluxe Reverbs in certain environments that have trended less heavy and more Indie or Pop.
First of all let me just say it’s a pleasure to roll into a gig with a Deluxe Reverb. They are pretty light, especially when compared to the usual 4x12 cabs. They also compress and do cool tube amp things my 100 watters rarely get to do. You’ll get compression, some power section breakup. Honestly it’s awesome, and that bit of compression and breakup does wonders for melding your dirt pedals into the amp tone.
If you want something that feels like a big amp - I’ve tried a lot, the Bogner Ecstacy Blue is the most amp like gain pedal I’ve used period, and it seems to be tailored for a Deluxe Reverb type amp. Like seriously sounds like a second channel on the amp. I bet the Blue would work with a Bassman too.
if you aren’t looking for an amp in a box pedal, you’ll be looking at your standard TS, SD1, Klon, Timmy, whatever. I’ve gone that route too. It can be cool. You get lots of colors and options, and you likely lose some of the tight chugs you might get from an amp.
One other route is to mix amp and pedal. Get something like a Deluxe or Marshall 1987, put a PPIV master on it so you can get edge of breakup stuff happening and then boost it into other colors with your dirt pedals. I’m doing this a lot these days.
There is no wrong way to do it, it’s more about being aware of the trade offs.
I still have (and use) the Mesas/Marshalls, but have been using 70s Silverface Princeton/Deluxe Reverbs in certain environments that have trended less heavy and more Indie or Pop.
First of all let me just say it’s a pleasure to roll into a gig with a Deluxe Reverb. They are pretty light, especially when compared to the usual 4x12 cabs. They also compress and do cool tube amp things my 100 watters rarely get to do. You’ll get compression, some power section breakup. Honestly it’s awesome, and that bit of compression and breakup does wonders for melding your dirt pedals into the amp tone.
If you want something that feels like a big amp - I’ve tried a lot, the Bogner Ecstacy Blue is the most amp like gain pedal I’ve used period, and it seems to be tailored for a Deluxe Reverb type amp. Like seriously sounds like a second channel on the amp. I bet the Blue would work with a Bassman too.
if you aren’t looking for an amp in a box pedal, you’ll be looking at your standard TS, SD1, Klon, Timmy, whatever. I’ve gone that route too. It can be cool. You get lots of colors and options, and you likely lose some of the tight chugs you might get from an amp.
One other route is to mix amp and pedal. Get something like a Deluxe or Marshall 1987, put a PPIV master on it so you can get edge of breakup stuff happening and then boost it into other colors with your dirt pedals. I’m doing this a lot these days.
There is no wrong way to do it, it’s more about being aware of the trade offs.
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