The last dozen gigs or so i have been using an xotic AC into either my twin reverb or princeton reverb II. It has been on pretty much all the time and ive been using a compressor for leads.
The AC has replaced the nobels odr-1 which is a great source of drive too into clean fender amps, but due to all its bass, by the third set when the tubes on the amp are really hot, things start to get a little loose down low. The AC addresses that and gives a big push in the mids which is an excellent place to be onstage.
However, every now and again i dig out my old MIJ sd-1.
Dammit if it didn't do it again.
Any of you guys who know me probably know ive been through a bazillion overdrives over the years.
BUt that SD-1.....
With its bass cut, its mid hump, its lack of clarity and its compression.
What a great sound!
I'm going to play my next few gigs with all the knobs at 12 o clock and just leave it on and use my tele's vol/tone knobs for everything. I feel pretty confident that it will be great.
To be honest, it is not all that different from having the gain low and using a compressor for leads, and i really like fine tuning the response from the guitar.
The lack of low end is great. Especially when you are using big fat low ended fender amps.
The mid hump puts the guitar right in the sweet spot (i run my mids on 10 on the amp too)
The lack of clarity. Well, i dont think anyone would call a 5e3 exactly hifi but it is a great warm tone.
The compression. That really seems to kick in when the guitar volume is at full, so it is a win for leads and a little extra sustain on the single notes.
I mostly play using pretty old school tones, nothing high gain etc. I get a lot of my variations from how i pick. I don't need high gain. In the blues/country band im playing in right now, hifi is really not necessary. Vintage tones is the order of the day.
I do have another really gorgeous hand wired jtm style amp that has stunning natural dirt, and i have been playing another more fender flavoured amp by the same builder, but neither of these have reverb, so im back to using my blackface tones with just the right amount of reverb and a pedal for grit.
This is not a troll thread. I am not trying to wind up out local boss hater.
I am just singing the praises of a pedal that i have used for roughly 30 years now, on and off with different axes and amps.
Here is cheers to the boss SD-1!
The AC has replaced the nobels odr-1 which is a great source of drive too into clean fender amps, but due to all its bass, by the third set when the tubes on the amp are really hot, things start to get a little loose down low. The AC addresses that and gives a big push in the mids which is an excellent place to be onstage.
However, every now and again i dig out my old MIJ sd-1.
Dammit if it didn't do it again.
Any of you guys who know me probably know ive been through a bazillion overdrives over the years.
BUt that SD-1.....
With its bass cut, its mid hump, its lack of clarity and its compression.
What a great sound!
I'm going to play my next few gigs with all the knobs at 12 o clock and just leave it on and use my tele's vol/tone knobs for everything. I feel pretty confident that it will be great.
To be honest, it is not all that different from having the gain low and using a compressor for leads, and i really like fine tuning the response from the guitar.
The lack of low end is great. Especially when you are using big fat low ended fender amps.
The mid hump puts the guitar right in the sweet spot (i run my mids on 10 on the amp too)
The lack of clarity. Well, i dont think anyone would call a 5e3 exactly hifi but it is a great warm tone.
The compression. That really seems to kick in when the guitar volume is at full, so it is a win for leads and a little extra sustain on the single notes.
I mostly play using pretty old school tones, nothing high gain etc. I get a lot of my variations from how i pick. I don't need high gain. In the blues/country band im playing in right now, hifi is really not necessary. Vintage tones is the order of the day.
I do have another really gorgeous hand wired jtm style amp that has stunning natural dirt, and i have been playing another more fender flavoured amp by the same builder, but neither of these have reverb, so im back to using my blackface tones with just the right amount of reverb and a pedal for grit.
This is not a troll thread. I am not trying to wind up out local boss hater.
I am just singing the praises of a pedal that i have used for roughly 30 years now, on and off with different axes and amps.
Here is cheers to the boss SD-1!
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