barbarianbrute
New member
i've heard a lot of great things about the ds-1 and from it too. played one the other day and it was awesome through a peavey classic 50. i think this is going to go perfectly with my el diablo combo.
Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
- Thread starter barbarianbrute
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Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
To my ears, DS-1s interface really well with some amps, not so well with others. When they interface well, they work great!!
You gonna leave the DS-1 stock or get it modded by Keeley or whatnot?
BTW kinda off topic but most players I've talked to encounter DS-1s kind of early on in their playing and then either stick with them or move on. Judging from your clips you sound like you've got some experience under your belt in the playing dept. Are you just kinda coming on to DS1's late in the game or did you just get good real fast?
I'm just curious as to how long you've been playing and such, thats all.
To my ears, DS-1s interface really well with some amps, not so well with others. When they interface well, they work great!!
You gonna leave the DS-1 stock or get it modded by Keeley or whatnot?
BTW kinda off topic but most players I've talked to encounter DS-1s kind of early on in their playing and then either stick with them or move on. Judging from your clips you sound like you've got some experience under your belt in the playing dept. Are you just kinda coming on to DS1's late in the game or did you just get good real fast?
I'm just curious as to how long you've been playing and such, thats all.
barbarianbrute
New member
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
honestly i've only been playing seriously for about 1 year. before that i owned cheap mexican strats and strummed a few chords every now and then. i've always been a hell of a guitar lover though, and yes i'm coming in late in the game - very late. but i was checking out some pedals the other day and became fond of the mega distortion and the ds-1. i elected for the ds-1 because i got a brand new one for $29.99. if i don't really like it, i'll pay the $30 difference and get teh mega distortion which i like too.
i got it stock because i have the option of getting it modded, but going on the advice i got here in the forum i'm going to use it to drive my amp. i think the ds-1 is going to sound good on my el-diablo because it has the kind of marshall meets mesa tone. we'll see... i'll post some clips if i can ever figure out how to record a decent song.
honestly i've only been playing seriously for about 1 year. before that i owned cheap mexican strats and strummed a few chords every now and then. i've always been a hell of a guitar lover though, and yes i'm coming in late in the game - very late. but i was checking out some pedals the other day and became fond of the mega distortion and the ds-1. i elected for the ds-1 because i got a brand new one for $29.99. if i don't really like it, i'll pay the $30 difference and get teh mega distortion which i like too.
i got it stock because i have the option of getting it modded, but going on the advice i got here in the forum i'm going to use it to drive my amp. i think the ds-1 is going to sound good on my el-diablo because it has the kind of marshall meets mesa tone. we'll see... i'll post some clips if i can ever figure out how to record a decent song.
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Gamera
New member
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
Do you own an OD pedal?
If you really can't make the El Diablo work all by itself (especially with the 6L6 tubes it can get insane gain) and want to use its clean channel, an overdrive will push that sound more naturally and retain most of what you like about it. A distortion pedal will distort it. There's a good chance it'll overly color that channel and you'll be right back into the buzzy boat that you've found yourself in with the Marshall.
Do you own an OD pedal?
If you really can't make the El Diablo work all by itself (especially with the 6L6 tubes it can get insane gain) and want to use its clean channel, an overdrive will push that sound more naturally and retain most of what you like about it. A distortion pedal will distort it. There's a good chance it'll overly color that channel and you'll be right back into the buzzy boat that you've found yourself in with the Marshall.
barbarianbrute
New member
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
i like the el diablo by itself, but i got the ds-1 just to give me another tonal option with it. something to drive it just over the edge. i like the distortion it has and i like hte metal zone too. if they don't work, oh well. it won't be the first time anyone tried a pedal that didn't quite work out.
i like the el diablo by itself, but i got the ds-1 just to give me another tonal option with it. something to drive it just over the edge. i like the distortion it has and i like hte metal zone too. if they don't work, oh well. it won't be the first time anyone tried a pedal that didn't quite work out.
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
The thing with stacking pedals on top of an amp gain that I think BB is going for here (correct me if I'm wrong) is that extra signal/gain saturation that lends itself to getting better harmonics, more sustain, a little more compression, and a lsightly different feel that benefits lead playing or just plain old cool tones and textures. Am I right?
Just because an amp may be high-gain doesn't mean it's the kind of gain you're after.
The thing with stacking pedals on top of an amp gain that I think BB is going for here (correct me if I'm wrong) is that extra signal/gain saturation that lends itself to getting better harmonics, more sustain, a little more compression, and a lsightly different feel that benefits lead playing or just plain old cool tones and textures. Am I right?
Just because an amp may be high-gain doesn't mean it's the kind of gain you're after.
barbarianbrute
New member
brit84
Active member
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
the sd1 will overdrive it alright, but the metal zone will make is simply sound like a metal zone pedal playing through a loud amp.
Gamera:
Cant remember if i asked you before, but how are the 6l6 tubes? I have the diablo 100 and was thinking of doing this. What did ou have them biased to?
the sd1 will overdrive it alright, but the metal zone will make is simply sound like a metal zone pedal playing through a loud amp.
Gamera:
Cant remember if i asked you before, but how are the 6l6 tubes? I have the diablo 100 and was thinking of doing this. What did ou have them biased to?
JB_From_Hell
Jomo's Nimions
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
I'm always happiest with a balance of gain from the amp and a pedal (or two).
I'm always happiest with a balance of gain from the amp and a pedal (or two).
Gamera
New member
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
Correctomundo. Although in a previous post he claimed he wanted to drive the clean channel and disregard the gain channel. If that's the case I don't predict good results. I may be wrong though as my crystal ball is a little outta whack today.
Correctomundo. Although in a previous post he claimed he wanted to drive the clean channel and disregard the gain channel. If that's the case I don't predict good results. I may be wrong though as my crystal ball is a little outta whack today.
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
Matching amps to distortion pedals for the tone you want and then tweaking the amount of gain and tone you're getting from each is a science and an art. It takes some time to get it consistently right and even then there's still surprises and exceptions. I think I've got it down OK at this point.
Matching amps to distortion pedals for the tone you want and then tweaking the amount of gain and tone you're getting from each is a science and an art. It takes some time to get it consistently right and even then there's still surprises and exceptions. I think I've got it down OK at this point.
barbarianbrute
New member
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
my bad, i didn't mean a metal zone i meant a MEGA DISTORTION. big mistake on my part. i have a metal zone already... :smack:
my bad, i didn't mean a metal zone i meant a MEGA DISTORTION. big mistake on my part. i have a metal zone already... :smack:
Gamera
New member
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
They're biased to whatever the manual recommends, I don't recall offhand. If you don't have a manual though you can download one from their site. It covers the tube switching pretty well.
How do I like 'em? I like 'em. I haven't heard it stock though so I don't really know how it compares. I've read that there's considerably more gain on tap with the 6L6's. Interestingly enough I think I've encountered the same issue as BB with trying to wrestle artificial harmonics from it. For whatever it's worth I can get 'em easier with my V, not so much with my Fat Strat. I can pretty much remedy it with an EQ pedal (Boss GE-7) but it adds noise. And honestly I've barely touched on the whole global attack settings thing so I'm not convinced yet that it's the amp and not me. I emailed a different ? to Genz Benz about switching power modes and I did mention the harmonics thing as well. Hopefully they'll respond with some suggestions. Maybe a different brand of tube or something may help.
They're biased to whatever the manual recommends, I don't recall offhand. If you don't have a manual though you can download one from their site. It covers the tube switching pretty well.
How do I like 'em? I like 'em. I haven't heard it stock though so I don't really know how it compares. I've read that there's considerably more gain on tap with the 6L6's. Interestingly enough I think I've encountered the same issue as BB with trying to wrestle artificial harmonics from it. For whatever it's worth I can get 'em easier with my V, not so much with my Fat Strat. I can pretty much remedy it with an EQ pedal (Boss GE-7) but it adds noise. And honestly I've barely touched on the whole global attack settings thing so I'm not convinced yet that it's the amp and not me. I emailed a different ? to Genz Benz about switching power modes and I did mention the harmonics thing as well. Hopefully they'll respond with some suggestions. Maybe a different brand of tube or something may help.
brit84
Active member
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
Close enough man. IMO there should be no need for a distortion pedal with this amp but an overdrive to add a little could help. Distortion pedals sound fine with ss ro practice amps but I prefer to let the amp do its thing as far as distortion goes.
Close enough man. IMO there should be no need for a distortion pedal with this amp but an overdrive to add a little could help. Distortion pedals sound fine with ss ro practice amps but I prefer to let the amp do its thing as far as distortion goes.
barbarianbrute
New member
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
the thing is that i can't get that cool metal tone without using the compression feature. once i engage the compression, legato and fast picking are much easily obtainable. without it, there is quite a bit of pick resistance. i have to crank it pretty **** loud (and this amp gets LOUD) to get a really good tone. in 30 watt mode though, there's less gain but it's easier to overdrive.
with a distortion pedal i think i'll be able to push it right to the numetal edge where i want it and still have a good tone - i hope. i guess we'll see because the ds-1 is on its way
the thing is that i can't get that cool metal tone without using the compression feature. once i engage the compression, legato and fast picking are much easily obtainable. without it, there is quite a bit of pick resistance. i have to crank it pretty **** loud (and this amp gets LOUD) to get a really good tone. in 30 watt mode though, there's less gain but it's easier to overdrive.
with a distortion pedal i think i'll be able to push it right to the numetal edge where i want it and still have a good tone - i hope. i guess we'll see because the ds-1 is on its way
brit84
Active member
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
remember this amp is so hilariously sensitive to your setup, im sure itll be great with the overdrive too. Although this has less buttons and knobs than your jvm, its very very tweakable, the contour changes the whole characteristic of the eq. Try this, when using the compressor, add a little more to the attack and adjust the contor and tones one click at a time.
remember this amp is so hilariously sensitive to your setup, im sure itll be great with the overdrive too. Although this has less buttons and knobs than your jvm, its very very tweakable, the contour changes the whole characteristic of the eq. Try this, when using the compressor, add a little more to the attack and adjust the contor and tones one click at a time.
Gamera
New member
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
This shouldn't be the case. The power mode you're running in will have no effect on the amount of gain on tap. In 30 watt mode you should in theory be able to reach higher gain at a lower volume. And you'll probably notice the 30-watt mode is considerably darker sounding which may contribute to any difficulties you're having. I say "in theory" though because even in 30-watt mode the amp can be insanely loud. In many ways I think you're running into the same issue you're having with the Marshall. It needs to be cranked to get the most out of it. Don't be fooled by the fact that it's 40 watts less than the Marshall, it's still the same deal.
Play around with the tube contour a little. Lower number should be flabbier kinda saggy. Higher numbers tighten things up which is probably where you want to be. Once you settle in with a contour adjust EQ accordingly.
This shouldn't be the case. The power mode you're running in will have no effect on the amount of gain on tap. In 30 watt mode you should in theory be able to reach higher gain at a lower volume. And you'll probably notice the 30-watt mode is considerably darker sounding which may contribute to any difficulties you're having. I say "in theory" though because even in 30-watt mode the amp can be insanely loud. In many ways I think you're running into the same issue you're having with the Marshall. It needs to be cranked to get the most out of it. Don't be fooled by the fact that it's 40 watts less than the Marshall, it's still the same deal.
Play around with the tube contour a little. Lower number should be flabbier kinda saggy. Higher numbers tighten things up which is probably where you want to be. Once you settle in with a contour adjust EQ accordingly.
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Gamera
New member
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
Care to share any settings you're using and describe what sort of sound you're getting?
Mine's currently set-up for a pretty crunchy gain which is great for rhythm stuff:
Preamp gain = 6
Preamp vol = 2.5
Tube contour = 5
Bass = 9
Mids = 0
Treble = 3
Global attack level = 5
Master vol = 4-5
Care to share any settings you're using and describe what sort of sound you're getting?
Mine's currently set-up for a pretty crunchy gain which is great for rhythm stuff:
Preamp gain = 6
Preamp vol = 2.5
Tube contour = 5
Bass = 9
Mids = 0
Treble = 3
Global attack level = 5
Master vol = 4-5
Iron Horse
New member
Re: Just Bought A DS-1 To Drive My El Diablo
Should this be 10 ?
If not - Well, read my signature.. (although I'm not familiar with the amp)
Should this be 10 ?
If not - Well, read my signature.. (although I'm not familiar with the amp)
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