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I like the BB Preamp, but I want more gain

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  • #16
    I like the BB Preamp, but I want more gain

    How about a Bluesbreaker pedal or one of its clones stacked with the BB?

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    • #17
      Re: I like the BB Preamp, but I want more gain

      Given your constraints of volume with your amp setup etc, and the BB is not giving your enough push, perhaps the low output single coil thing is not the best way to go. It is a great sound for sure, but people like Yngwie also have the luxury of driving a big beefy marshall amp hard through quad boxes. A really great tone can be had like that because the whole sustaining, articulate, rsponsive sound is a combination of the speakers compressing, the power tubes compressing, the preamp tubes compressing and the diodes in his pedal clipping. The whole thing comes together interactively in a way that is simply not possible with a 5 watt amp at bedroom volumes. Relying simply on a pedal, no matter how good it is (and the BB is a really excellent pedal) is just never going to do it because clipping diodes being pushed hard cannot replicate the chain of amp tubes etc all interacting.
      So you might have to change your approach a little to get closer to the fat tones available to the metal gods who are not bound by restricitions such as yours.
      I reckon something like this will get you where you need to go and you can keep your BB:https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup...s-strat-bridge
      Last edited by Chickenwings; 12-10-2017, 07:50 PM.
      "Technique is really the elimination of the unneccessary ... it is a constant effort to avoid any personal impediment or obstacle to acheive the smooth flow of energy and intent"
      Yehudi Menuhin

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      • #18
        Re: I like the BB Preamp, but I want more gain

        It's a good advice for sure, and what I'm doing now is setting up a Parts-o-caster with three rails. I don't have the funds for Duncan rails, but I have a loaded pickguard by Dragonfire that gives that hot Strat-like sound. If I can find a good neck to match the body (old Jap Fender), I think I've got a good workhorse guitar for those big bad lead seances.

        Also, I received the Mooer Solo and TC Electronic Dark Matter recently, and while the Solo was a good-sounding pedal that doesn't suit my style, the Dark Matter blew me away. Even my mom approves (she's visiting, and gave thumbs up while I was shredding up a storm).

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        • #19
          Re: I like the BB Preamp, but I want more gain

          Try some sort of big muff after bb, with bb always on. I have a similar situation, zvex distortron for a "clean"/"stock" sound, and then i turn on a big muff (catalinbread manx loaghtan, which is a ramshead), and there you go. And a thing about big muffs is that they like being pushed with something, it makes them sing, more forused, basically it turnes them into more of a distortion pedal.

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          • #20
            Re: I like the BB Preamp, but I want more gain

            What about running Xotic's own EP booster in front of the BB? Just to give it a little more kick.

            I run a BB-Comp as my main overdrive pedal. You can select normal compression (stock BB unit), NO compression, or MORE of it. All three modes sound a little different and greatly affect the way the drive feels. That being said I use normal or NO comp most often and MORE rarely. I don't think you'll get what you want that way BUT it's different enough from the normal BB that you definitely should try it if you come across one.

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            • #21
              Re: I like the BB Preamp, but I want more gain

              They just came out with an Andy Timmons sig version of the BB, and I think it has a little more gain.

              Bill
              When you've had budget guitars for a number of years, you may find that your old instrument is holding you back. A quality guitar can inspire you to write great songs, improve your understanding of the Gdim chord while in the Lydian Mode, cure the heartbreak of cystic acne--and help you find true love in the process.

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              • #22
                Re: I like the BB Preamp, but I want more gain

                Originally posted by B2D View Post
                What about running Xotic's own EP booster in front of the BB? Just to give it a little more kick.
                Originally posted by Yngtchie Blacksteen View Post
                I have tried pushing the BB, used pedals such as the RC Booster, Joyo Vintage Overdrive, and lastly the EP Booster that I've currently got set up. It thickens the sound, but not in a way that gives those more saturated sounds that I'm looking for. Since I mostly use low-output singlecoils, it takes a little more gain to kick those into, well, overdrive.
                But you're right, the EP does wonderful things with the BB.

                I think the Dark Matter might be the solution. It behaves like an overdrive, but it's got more gain and more bite. I tried the Mooer Solo, but like with the Suhr Riot, it was a pedal I wanted to like, I tried to like, but ultimately it didn't feel right.

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                • #23
                  Re: I like the BB Preamp, but I want more gain

                  Ah, sorry I missed that post.

                  Given any thought to using a compressor as a booster?

                  The Strymon Sunset is a 2-stage drive pedal with a TON of options, you might look into that.

                  Empress Multidrive might be cool as well.

                  There's so many options out there...

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                  • #24
                    Re: I like the BB Preamp, but I want more gain

                    You know, I've got a Mooer Yellow Comp that mostly sits in the box, I'll see how that works for the job. It's small, so it's ideal for a cramped pedal board. Thanks.

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                    • #25
                      Re: I like the BB Preamp, but I want more gain

                      Originally posted by Yngtchie Blacksteen View Post
                      You know, I've got a Mooer Yellow Comp that mostly sits in the box, I'll see how that works for the job. It's small, so it's ideal for a cramped pedal board. Thanks.
                      Let me know what you think. I'd recommend setting the level higher than unity gain, adding a light-medium amount of compression and then EQ to taste. Mooer even does say it can be used as a gain boost that way.

                      Sometimes with single coils it's not necessarily more distortion most guitarists are after, but sustain and drive.

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