A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

[Gearjoneser]

Usually, you see pedalboards that are an equal balance of OD/Distortions and modulation or delay FX. Supposing you don't always use FX, have you ever thought of using a pedalboard with a multitude of gain devices? I'm re-evaluating what I really want to have on my pedalboard, and I had a thought about having 5 or more OD's, distortions, and fuzz pedals, just to make things interesting. It also allows you to have a lot of different flavors of gain. Your thoughts?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

a good part of the pedals on my board are for gain...I usally have 2 differend distortion (sometimes 1 distortion and a milder OD) then a booster as well as a fuzztone...

Currently I have a Rat, an Expandora, a Roger Mayer axis fuzz and a lovetone brown source (ased as a boost with a very slight amount of gain)...works great and gives my lots of options!

 

[ParameterMan]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

I've thought of it. Never done it, but it looks cool. Analogman has some comments from guys who are chaining two or more Tubescreamers and other distortion devices(all set to low gain) to get a richer sound. I think I saw Billy Gibbons using a chain of nine(!) Bixonic Expandora pedals into an Alamo Lap Dog. That would be a unique sound.

 

[some_dude]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

I've done it in the past, though never with 5 different options. The most I've gone is a Muff style fuzz, a Fuzzface style fuzz, and an TS or Rat style OD of some sort. It's kinda fun, but I find I get overwhelmed by the number of options and I begin to yearn for a simpler setup. I also find I'd rather f*ck with my guitar's volume knob than stomp on a whack of dirt boxes.

Then again, I'm still searching for the right OD for my application. I've tried a number of them, but usually grow tired of them and switch back to strait amp tone. I'm looking to mess with a Hot Cake, OCD, and Fulldrive over the next little bit.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

It's not so much that you NEED all those options, it's just that it's nice to have ones that compliment different guitars and amps.

Right now, I'm thinking of having these....T. Rex Mudhoney (fuzzy highgain), Fulltone Fulldrive II for the tubescreamerish type sound, Fulltone OCD for linear highgain, and the Klon Centaur for a rich clean boost which works great in tandem with any of the others. That way, I could plop the pedalboard down in front of any amp, and easily find a great lead tone or just a bunch of great rhythm sounds.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

Usually, you see pedalboards that are an equal balance of OD/Distortions and modulation or delay FX. Supposing you don't always use FX, have you ever thought of using a pedalboard with a multitude of gain devices? I'm re-evaluating what I really want to have on my pedalboard, and I had a thought about having 5 or more OD's, distortions, and fuzz pedals, just to make things interesting. It also allows you to have a lot of different flavors of gain. Your thoughts?

I've built and modded quite a few of the pedals that are on my own board...I'd say my own board consists of different overdrive and distortion pedals sans fuzz though...

I have a modded TS 808 and a modded TS5 that are both set for different overdrive tones,a RAT,Modded DS1,Plexitone,and even a Jackhammer....Sometimes I even throw my Vox Valvetone into the equation which is just another Tube Screamer....

The 2 pedals that get the most use though,are the Plexitone and my 808 Tube Screamer...I also keep the SFX-01 in front of these pedals for a boost if needed...

 

[neosadist]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

My thoughts? Go to a bigger music store which has a pedal board you can play with and try it out. However, realize that the more stages of gain increase you have, the less the sound will sound like a guitar.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

It works GREAT!

I usally have the 2 distortion boxes set of differently...one for buckers one for singles then a good boost that works well with both then a fuzz for, well, fuzzy tones!

 

[MartinSixStringCustoms]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

Currently using a OCD with a HBE Big D. They seem to get along well together.

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

I might grab a few or OD/Distortion pedals to balance out my tones, actually. I just don't have the cash to go out and do it, at this moment.

I really want to check out an OCD, a V-Twin, one of those bigass Ibanez Tubescreamer pedals with like 3 different modes and crap, a different kind of modded TS, and a modded DS-1 of sorts.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

Its an interesting idea if you had an amp that just needed a little juice and then using differen't overdrive/dist pedals to get a number of different tones. Although in practice I am not sure it would work.

 

[J Moose]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

I usually top out at three on any given board...depends on the amp & the gig. More then that seems like overkill...yes, I CAN have too many options!

If I'm using a non-gain amp like an old Fender or the AC30 I might have an overdrive set for more of a volume boost then "gain"; a Boss EQ with the level up & one or two slight boosts to the upper mids...and then maybe some kinda fuzz pedal. Occasionally I'll swap out one of the overdrives for a straight up dirt box like a Rat.

If I'm using a more 'modern' amp like a JCM800 or the Rivera I might keep an overdrive or the EQ on the board & have a fuzz for the bombastic stuff...maybe a Proctavia or Big Muff...I could use a really good straight up 'smooth' fuzz like a Fuzz Face for leads...

If I'm heading out without an amp & don't know what I might encounter I'll usually have 2-3 different options...at least a dirtbox & an OD of whatever flavor I dig. If it's a session like that I bring whole milk-crates full of pedals!

Well, I do that anyway!

But really, I've never had the same pedals on my board for any great length of time. I don't switch guitars & amps around a lot so the stompboxes take care of my desire for different tones. The only real constant is an Ibanez digital delay I've had since I was like 11 or 12 & maybe a wah.

 

[aleclee]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

I'm not a big fan of dirt pedals--the Rumble Mod is the only one I've owned in the past 20 years. I prefer to get my drive from the amp but that's my trip.

FWIW, I'm heading away from using pedals at all...though the movie soundtrack I'm working on is 100% Variax/POD XTL. :eek13:

 

[kmcguitars]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

At one point that's all I had on my board. CS-3 for clean boost>BSIAB II for Dist.> Daddy-O for OD> TS-9 for Dirty Boost. The BSIAB II was the 1st to get booted off. Sounds great at bedroom volume's, But squealed uncontrollably at gig volume:eek13: Replaced it with a modded DS-1. I never warmed up to the DS-1. Stock to my ears it sounded like a jar of bumble bee's
Modded it was much better, But after 2 weeks I was bored with it. Now that I have a SFX-03 the Daddy-O is history. Looks like I may have to lose the TS-9 as well?:smack:

 

[B2D]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

I might grab a few or OD/Distortion pedals to balance out my tones, actually. I just don't have the cash to go out and do it, at this moment.

I really want to check out an OCD, a V-Twin, one of those bigass Ibanez Tubescreamer pedals with like 3 different modes and crap, a different kind of modded TS, and a modded DS-1 of sorts.

When I truck up to Ventura in July, I'll bring my OCD and My Legacy head with me.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

My usual gigging amp is either a Mesa Mark III or Mark IV, so I already have two fairly high gain tones in the amp. The Mesas have tremendous tonal versatility in the Lead channel, due to the various switching options and the 5-band EQ.

But my pedalboard also has a DOD FX Preamp and a DOD FX OD and a Real Tube 901. The DOD OD is a very mild distortion, and I modded the Real Tube with a lower gain GT 12AU7 tube. It still produces good gain, but now I can use the entire sweep of the gain knob.

I'd like to have some kind of dedicated FUZZ box on the board, and a distortion that would more closely emulate the Marshall sound with its upper mid bite. I have the Mesas set for a classic and very smooth OD tone, but I sometimes miss the snarl of a good Marshall. Any suggestions?

Bill

 

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

STRUTDELUXER97
Hey John, what do you thin of smacking SD's pick up booster before your Tubescreamer? considering my quest for ultimate Power Metal tone with a touch of classic rock.
Thanks man.

 

[Rich_T]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

I run a Rat, SD-1, Big Muff, and a Park Fuzz Sound(same as the 3-knob Coloursound Tone Bender), that goes into my channel switching DSL.So I have a fair range of options there!

I place a fuzz both sides of my wah pedal, for really extreme wah effects, i use the fuzz before the wah, for more classic wah tones, i use the other fuzz.

 

[Gr8Scott]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

I've been on a pedal binge here lately. At the moment, I've got three different distortion pedals that I would consider putting on a board (I don't have a board at the moment and probably need one). SFX-03 has two gain options plus the volume knob of course. I run everything into the SFX-03. Arion Tubulator is awfully good sounding and tubescreamerish when played up the neck. Tubescreamer TS-5 modded to TS-808 specs is a tubescreamer. I need something brutal and evil for heavy metal stuff to add to the dirt mix. Demonizer seems to be the next aquisition on my list for that.

 

[ErikH]

Re: A pedalboard full of gain options. Anyone done it?

My pedalboard used to be loaded with pedals. Used to run the Super Overdrive in to the Dual Overdrive, run one or the other or both, had the Distortion on there as well. These days, it's a boost or OD set up to boost and a wah, that's it. So yeah, I've done it, but for me less is more.

For someone doing this sort of thing, I'd recommend a good distortion (like a Rat or modded DS-1), a good overdrive and some sort of fuzz.