Do you ever feel let down by an amp that NEEDS a boost or OD to sound good?

Need covers a lot of ground.

Let’s put it like this, I hate when I find the amp pretty much useless without. The Guytron head comes to mind there for me.

But I love when I can make the feel stiffer. Or slow the attack depending on the pedal.

Gain is really not a consideration there since I started stacking ods 30 years ago.

But back in the rack days it bugged me that all supposed high gain stuff didn’t have enough gain for me.
But I also mellowed on my needs there
 
I've played one 90's Recto that didn't need a boost and could still do tight palm mutes without an issue, I'm pretty certain it was a Rev G (or whichever one they just started remaking), but outside of that, fully agreed. The last 3-channel I had I absolutely hated.
yeah 2ch rectos should only need a boost to chug tight if room volume is an issue. Otherwise use a v30 cab and turn the master up to where it stops getting louder, then back one hour, which is usually 1130 on orange and 930 on red (and don't use the loop master.) That's "drummer calls the cops" loud on red modern tho.

I've never had an amp that needed a boost or od to 'sound good', but I've had ones that wouldn't do what I wanted without a boost which I guess is kiiiind of a different thing?
 
yeah 2ch rectos should only need a boost to chug tight if room volume is an issue. Otherwise use a v30 cab and turn the master up to where it stops getting louder, then back one hour, which is usually 1130 on orange and 930 on red (and don't use the loop master.) That's "drummer calls the cops" loud on red modern tho.

I've never had an amp that needed a boost or od to 'sound good', but I've had ones that wouldn't do what I wanted without a boost which I guess is kiiiind of a different thing?

I think "same difference" applies there
 
Mesa Marks are really the only amp I'll happily play without feeling like I need a boost.
Generally I agree. But there are use cases for overdrives with Marks.

Just look at how Petrucci uses his. He has a JP2C as his core tone, an amp which has a gain pull knob for (marginally) extra input and an on board boost with shred mode. Then he's playing a guitar that has an onboard +20dB active boost preamp accessed by pushing the volume knob.

So while yes Marks generally don't need a boost, and I'll go a step further by saying the VII basically has the shred mode on the gain knob now, there are always use cases to experiment and have fun with those amps.
 
Generally I agree. But there are use cases for overdrives with Marks.

Just look at how Petrucci uses his. He has a JP2C as his core tone, an amp which has a gain pull knob for (marginally) extra input and an on board boost with shred mode. Then he's playing a guitar that has an onboard +20dB active boost preamp accessed by pushing the volume knob.

So while yes Marks generally don't need a boost, and I'll go a step further by saying the VII basically has the shred mode on the gain knob now, there are always use cases to experiment and have fun with those amps.

I'm actually using an SD-1 on the Mark V's IV channel (AxeFX) for the song I'm recording right now. It was a happy accident, I didn't realize it was on and recorded the chorus, the 'extra' actually worked perfectly got getting it standing out from the verse guitars.
 
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I fully control my gain staging with these amps. So no, I don’t view it as let down to be able to more freely express myself and not be tied down by the constraints of the manufacturer.
Nothing to add here. 100%!

Boosts are a wonderful thing for shaping and I'd rather have a boost for metal, than a too tight amp for anything else.
 
I'm actually using an SD-1 on the Mark V's IV channel (AxeFX) for the song I'm recording right now. It was a happy accident, I didn't realize it was on and recorded the chorus, the 'extra' actually worked perfectly got getting it standing out from the verse guitars.
I use the SD-1 with Mk IV mode with the gain at about 4-5 and it gives it a tighter response - but I’m chasing death metal tones here, not rock territory. I’ve actually been obsessed with boosting crunch mode lately
 
Generally I agree. But there are use cases for overdrives with Marks.

Just look at how Petrucci uses his. He has a JP2C as his core tone, an amp which has a gain pull knob for (marginally) extra input and an on board boost with shred mode. Then he's playing a guitar that has an onboard +20dB active boost preamp accessed by pushing the volume knob.

So while yes Marks generally don't need a boost, and I'll go a step further by saying the VII basically has the shred mode on the gain knob now, there are always use cases to experiment and have fun with those amps.
AND he has a drive pedal in his chain ⛓️💥
 
I use the SD-1 with Mk IV mode with the gain at about 4-5 and it gives it a tighter response - but I’m chasing death metal tones here, not rock territory. I’ve actually been obsessed with boosting crunch mode lately

This particular tune has a bunch of trem picking and chugging, while not death metal it’s certainly closer to that than it is rock!
 
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