Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

Dave Locher

Dave Locher

New member
I have a nice crunchy amp (1978 Randall RG100ES) that gives me a great rhythm sound. However, I also want a smooth, super creamy lead sound with massive sustain.

I have tried an EQ pedal, a couple different clean boosts, three different compressors, and two different TS-type pedals. The TS pedals come closest, but still don't give me the creamy sound I am really looking for. The comp pedals gave me the sustain, but we're either too low output (Joyo), too muffled (Pigtronix) or too bright and shrill (Super Comp). I have a Tech 21 Boost RVB pedal and it also gives me the sustain at full boost with the mix on full dry but it still does not have the smoothness I crave.
Help?

The shops where I live have very limited selection so I am stuck with buying & flipping. It's getting pretty old and I feel like I am chasing my tail.
 
Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

Keeley Katana in top boost mode.

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Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

Top boost? That will give me creamy sustain? I will check out some youtube clips. Thanks.
(BTW, you really should get Keeley to give you a buck every time you recommend that pedal. You'd be rich!
 
Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

You'd be surprised. It takes whatever guitar you are playing through and makes it louder. Doesn't change the tone. Except when it's in top boost mode. Then, it adds a bit of hair to what it's already made louder. The overall effect is not what you would expect based on the name.
I endorse it because I love what it does.

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Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

Haven't heard it.

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Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

I use the Electro Harmonix Crayon to get into the territory you are looking for. I use it into my Deluxe style amp set up to be fairly crunchy and it really pushes it into a singing, creamy lead tone with great sustain.
 
Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

The thing with the Katana is, it has a lot of headroom and you can hit the front end with a huge signal. But you can also hit it at a more moderate level and with the top boost. Which simultaneously thickens your sound and adds more sustain. Without necessarily becoming screechy.

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Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

boss od-3, it's really different from any tube screamer type overdrive, it's very wide and open, smooth and thick with a nice bottom end emphasis, i use it for ac/dc on the clean channel and for thick creamy dark high gain distortion on the lead channel of my envoy


really one of the best smooth lead tone overdrives
 
Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

Add an extra gain channel with the Palladium. This is what it was designed for.
 
Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

The Palladium sounds awesome in the clips and videos, but seems a bit over the top just to push and already crunchy amp. From the SD line I'd recommend the 805 over that given the application.

I'm really not sure how you aren't getting that with a TS though, if you can't, I'm not sure you are going to with that amp. And, those Randalls aren't exactly know for a "creamy" tone, they're definitely more of the crunchy style with some bite.

Which kinda circles around to Mincer's suggestion on the Palladium, if you aren't digging your gain channel, then the Palladium would be a great choice to run into your clean channel.
 
Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

devastone it has to do with the nature of the amp, the tubescreamer pushes the mids and high mids, with that amp it will never give it a creamy sound, no matter how you set it, that's why i suggested the od-3 as straight in a clean channel it sounds very smooth and liquid, pushing a gain channel you can turn it into a creamy sound very easily, as the overdrive pushes the low end hard without turning so easily into a massive muddy mush
 
Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

You should try a Suhr Koko Boost, either the older model or reloaded. Great for what you are looking for, especially in mid-boost mode.
 
Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

devastone said:
The Palladium sounds awesome in the clips and videos, but seems a bit over the top just to push and already crunchy amp. From the SD line I'd recommend the 805 over that given the application.

I'm really not sure how you aren't getting that with a TS though, if you can't, I'm not sure you are going to with that amp. And, those Randalls aren't exactly know for a "creamy" tone, they're definitely more of the crunchy style with some bite.

Which kinda circles around to Mincer's suggestion on the Palladium, if you aren't digging your gain channel, then the Palladium would be a great choice to run into your clean channel.
Click to expand...

The TS pedals both give me great sustain, but not thick and creamy. The problem isn't getting more gain per se, it's getting it with the right mojo to give me a full, rich sound. Between the low-cut and the mid boost I get a very cutting tone with a TS, which isn't my goal. I'm looking for smooooth, but at stage volume through my crunchy amp I can't just keep piling on lots more gain.
 
Last edited:
Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

Jeff5 said:
You should try a Suhr Koko Boost, either the older model or reloaded. Great for what you are looking for, especially in mid-boost mode.
Click to expand...

I guess I forgot to mention that I don't want to pay hundreds of dollars. $100 or less is my goal. There are some Katanas for less than $100 on eBay, and OD-3s seem to go for about $65. That is more my speed.
 
Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

Anyone ever tried an Xotic SP Compressor? Unlike the ones I tried it seems to have a lot of output and all the reviews mention how "thick" it sounds.
BTW, why is it so hard to find YouTube clips of ANY pedal that isn't a guy with a Strat playing into a clean amp?
 
Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

One more random thought: how hard would it be to go into one of my TS pedals (a BBE Green Screamer and a handmade, hand-wired one) and modify the tone circuit for more high cut? I'm thinking either a different pot value or a different capacitor?
 
Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

Yes, that is an option, lots of info on TS mods on the interwebz.

The OD-3 is great, I have one and as EDX said, it is a totally different beast from a TS/SD type OD. Very crunchy, I'm not sure if I would call it creamy, but others might. As with any of these, it depends on the basic tone of the amp you are running it into.

I haven't tried the Xotic compressor, but the thing to be aware of with compressors in high gain situations is that they can and usually do add a lot of noise.

Speakers might also be something to consider, they can drastically change the sound of an amp.
 
Re: Help me find smooth, creamy sustaining notes with a crunchy amp

have your tried rolling down the tone control on the guitar when using the ts?
 
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