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A few n00b distortion pedal questions...

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  • #1

    A few n00b distortion pedal questions...

    Should I chose to get a good tube distortion pedal (EH English Muff'N, Vox Cooltron Bulldog) or a great analoge one (Jekyll and Hyde, Rat, Big Muff Pie), would it be stupid to get a SS amp with it? Would the SS poweramp rob the pedal of its tone? Also, would the already clean preset EQ make the distortion pedal not work at its full potential, or at the contrary add even more tones to it?
    I'm thinking of retiring the Laney AOR for when I get a band and getting a 15 watts SS amp (for size matters), that I'd keep on the clean channels and then use a good distortion as a second channel.
    Or I could get one of those new Vox VR series with a single valve in the poweramp section?
    Right now I'm more enclined towards a Laney LC15 all tube amp. Since it'd be for clean tones mainly I wouldn't need to bother with poweramp distortion and it won't be 'too loud', and easier to deal with than the big Laney and Peavey I have now. But if the SS amp won't destroy a tube pedal, I may as well get a Peavey Rage or Blazer (which I find very attractive especially for the money) and save up more.
    Any other advise on amps are welcome. And no modelling please... just a clean amp and high gain distortion Thanks guys.
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  • #2
    Re: A few n00b distortion pedal questions...

    I still personally think that the 15w Laney valve combo would still be a little loud for bedroom practise.

    When I'm practising at home I just use a SS 10w Marshall combo. It's not the best sounding amp in the world (I wouldn't expect it to be) but it's more than adequate for practising with

    If you want a valve amp for practising with, I know Epiphone make a 5w valve amp with either an 8 or 10 Inch speaker. I don't know how good they are myself, but they seem to get good reviews and look ok for the price

    Craig

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    • #3
      Re: A few n00b distortion pedal questions...

      Originally posted by Brow
      I still personally think that the 15w Laney valve combo would still be a little loud for bedroom practise.

      When I'm practising at home I just use a SS 10w Marshall combo. It's not the best sounding amp in the world (I wouldn't expect it to be) but it's more than adequate for practising with

      If you want a valve amp for practising with, I know Epiphone make a 5w valve amp with either an 8 or 10 Inch speaker. I don't know how good they are myself, but they seem to get good reviews and look ok for the price

      Craig
      Ah thanks! I'll try and check it out if I ever find any. Basically all I want is a good clean sound so I can put pedals on it and have the possibility to just stomp.

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      • #4
        Re: A few n00b distortion pedal questions...

        Hello Pierre,

        Sorry to be a little slow, but I don't really understand your question. If you can afford it get a valve amp, regardless of what your applications are. I suppose there are exceptions to this, I just can't think of any, especially as you're not into modelling stuff.

        If you want a small amp to practise with at home why not get a Fender Pro Junior (8w/15w through a 10' speaker)? You can pick them up for about £260 brand new from GAK. Or an Ashdown Essex Blonde for £400 if you wanted to spend a little more. That's a hand-wired 8w class A amp for under £400!

        Personally I think pedals with valvs in are a tad gimmicky. The trademark overdriven sound produced by valves in amps is generated by power amp valves. All those pedals with valves in have pre-amp valves in, you do the maths. That's my very simplistic understanding of it anyway.

        Also, if you decide to go with valves in your amp you have a much wider selection of what pedal to get.

        I'd definately reccommend going with the valve amp/solid pedal route.

        Hope this helps,
        -Benja
        Guitars:
        Epi LP (SH-11b + SH-55n)
        Danelectro U2 '56 Reissue
        Yamaha APX5LA
        Pedals:
        MXR Super Comp, HBE Power Screamer, Toadworks Death Rattle, Carl Martin Crunch Drive, Boss CE-2, Marshall Ed The Compressor, Marshall Drivemaster, Arion EQ, Bespeco Volume Pedal
        Amps:
        Fender Prosonic combo
        Marshall JTM60 combo

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        • #5
          Re: A few n00b distortion pedal questions...

          If you want a good sounding bedroom practice amp get the Crate V58. It is a small 5 watt tube amp with an 8" speaker, gain mater volume and tone knobs. In my personal opinion it beats the 5 watt epi hands down but that is just a preferance thing. You can also get a lot of gain out of it.
          Originally posted by ratherdashing
          If inviting 200 drunken strangers to your parents house is wrong, then I don't want to be right.

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          • #6
            Re: A few n00b distortion pedal questions...

            Depends on what you're looking for. If you're planning on using the pedal to be your source of overdrive, I don't think the amp is going to matter all that much. Even the best overdrive pedal will impress it's own signature on whatever tone you create your guitar and amp, usually that's not as *sweet* as a good guitar into a good amp.

            For example, as much as people seem to love Tube Screamers, my opinion is they squash your tone. I don't get any feel for dynamics or sensitivity in the pedal at all, and it compresses everything to snot- even at it's lowest settings. I personally like the sound and feel of a naturally overdriving amp, an od/distortion pedal is great for fattening or boosting my tone on a passage or solo, but just doesn't "hit" if it's being used as my main gain sound. Again, just my opinion.

            Regarding pedals using 12AX7... The only one I used was the old Chandler Tube Drive. I used that in conjunction with my first 100w NMV Marshall. It was really bright and screechy. I've heard people say they make great preamps, but I didn't like it in front of the preamp in that Marshall.
            *Recipient of the 2006 Time Magazine "Man Of The Year" Award*
            Originally posted by Slash2987
            Oh c'mon man, quit being such a liberal and actually accept someone disagrees with you.
            Originally posted by PVFan
            I'm a good sex man.
            Originally posted by Grumpy
            I am just jug the merlot.

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            • #7
              Re: A few n00b distortion pedal questions...

              Originally posted by benjaturner

              Personally I think pedals with valvs in are a tad gimmicky. The trademark overdriven sound produced by valves in amps is generated by power amp valves. All those pedals with valves in have pre-amp valves in, you do the maths. That's my very simplistic understanding of it anyway.

              Hope this helps,
              -Benja


              Yep... I was all gasing for em when I heard about them. Then I heard them and realized a good handwired analoge pedal will blow them away.


              Just a gimmic until you get something like a soldano supercharger which runs the valves at the correct plate voltages. Otherwise all thoes tubes do is take the place of some chips to warm up the tone. (And its debatable about how well they do that too)
              Carvin custom strat (P-Rails/hotrails/single - Tuned Eb) -> Pod XT - - 6505+ Halfstack

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              • #8
                Re: A few n00b distortion pedal questions...

                Well basically:
                My tube amp right now is too big (size) and too loud to feel its real 'tubeness'
                But I dig it, so I'll keep it.
                My other amp is a solid state Peavey, 40 watts. Once again the size is a problem.
                I want a small amp, both in size and volume. But I love tube sounds even when not overdriven (cleans). And I don't have the budget for a handwired amp (or else I'd go for a Cornford Harlequin or Carerra... Mhmmmmm).
                Also, Crates don't really exist here
                Basically even if it's SS: as long as it has real nice cleans and won't rape the sound of a good pedal, it's ok. It also needs to be below 200 pounds and small in size (smaller than my Laney AOR). I'll gradually add pedals to it. So far I have an SD1 so stuff like Blues and Crunch tones are taken care of, but I'd like a real nice distortion pedal to go with it. Price isn't as much a constraint (well to a certain extent, or else I'd go for a Damage Control Demonizer)

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: A few n00b distortion pedal questions...

                  Depending on what kind of sound you're looking for, I dig a lot of the old really small tube amps which you can pick up cheap, get them retubed and three pronged and have an awesome practice and recording amp. Put a box in front of them and you have metal!

                  The one's I have are a 65 Univox U45-B which is my favorite, a 65 Fender Champ and a 60 something Gretsch 6150 which is made by Valco/Supro (Gets that Zeppelin I sound to the bone using a single coil). I just scored a second U45-B on ebay for 140 american dollars. These amps sound like a super mini Marshall Plexi--I kid you not. They take to pedals really well also. I got a Carl Martin plexitone pedal and with a humbucker (the CM is not good with single coils in my opinion) the distortion is great, like a JCM 800 or heavier. Strat and a tube screamer are awesome, and when run in stereo with my Champ, you are in SRV heaven.

                  Any tube amp is going to be loud, but I can play in my bedroom upstairs or in the basement and my family just has to raise the volume on the TV a little to drown it out. When I use my Crate Blue Voodoo and Line 6 Vetta in stereo, forget it--the neighbors can't hear their TV! I live in a city so you can guess which amps get used the most, lol.

                  I hope I've helped you here. Cheers!
                  My songs....enjoy! (hopefully )

                  http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...?bandID=652921
                  or for older stuff too, but slower downloads
                  http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp...=301569&T=7414

                  Originally posted by DankStar
                  700 watts is ok for small clubs, but when you play with a loud drummer or at a medium-large sized venue, you really need 1,500-watts at least. no one should be left alive.

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                  • #10
                    Re: A few n00b distortion pedal questions...

                    Hello again Pierre,

                    Have you heard about those new Epiphone amps? Brand new for a little over £100! They're meant to be pretty good as well.

                    www.gak.com do them for £109. Gotta be worth checking out!
                    Guitars:
                    Epi LP (SH-11b + SH-55n)
                    Danelectro U2 '56 Reissue
                    Yamaha APX5LA
                    Pedals:
                    MXR Super Comp, HBE Power Screamer, Toadworks Death Rattle, Carl Martin Crunch Drive, Boss CE-2, Marshall Ed The Compressor, Marshall Drivemaster, Arion EQ, Bespeco Volume Pedal
                    Amps:
                    Fender Prosonic combo
                    Marshall JTM60 combo

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: A few n00b distortion pedal questions...

                      I checked them out on GAK, but I'm sceptical before I try one. The lack of EQ bothers me a bit. Otherwise I'd go for one, or the Vox VR15 if I can try one.
                      My local sound control only had TWO friggin' distortion pedals I could try... MXR Distortion + and Pro Co Deuce Rat. They also had the MXR Dime but I don't like it at all. Meeeh Neither of which I tried are for me. I can't believe there's so much more choice in Amsterdam than Edinburgh. Looks like I won't be able to try much interesting things before christmas.

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