Looking for a new distortion.
- Thread starter grungeman55
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beaubrummels
Well-known member
Re: Looking for a new distortion.
I currently use
Carl Martin PlexiTone (sounds like a 70s Marshall)
Marshall Guv'nor (sounds like a JCM800, has a "deep" knob which adds cabinet tone)
I have used
Fulltone OCD (can sound like a Marshall reasonably)
I have heard, but not owned/used personally
Wampler Plexi-Drive
Wampler Plextortion
...any of the above sound like a real Marshall of one model or another, and don't sound like a cheap fuzzbox at all.
Another that I'm aware of but have not heard personally is the Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret, which I understand is supposed to be one of the more faithful Marshall-in-a-box pedals. I haven't heard it yet, but it's on my radar to find and try.
Most all of the above have a good usable range of distortion and some EQ on them that allows dialing in different styles/tones of distortion. You said your music is "Punk, Grunge, Alternative Hard Rock, and a style a couple steps shy of metal" and for all those, pretty much a humbucker into a Marshall is the recipe - which is why I'm suggesting Marshall-in-a-box pedals.
I currently use
Carl Martin PlexiTone (sounds like a 70s Marshall)
Marshall Guv'nor (sounds like a JCM800, has a "deep" knob which adds cabinet tone)
I have used
Fulltone OCD (can sound like a Marshall reasonably)
I have heard, but not owned/used personally
Wampler Plexi-Drive
Wampler Plextortion
...any of the above sound like a real Marshall of one model or another, and don't sound like a cheap fuzzbox at all.
Another that I'm aware of but have not heard personally is the Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret, which I understand is supposed to be one of the more faithful Marshall-in-a-box pedals. I haven't heard it yet, but it's on my radar to find and try.
Most all of the above have a good usable range of distortion and some EQ on them that allows dialing in different styles/tones of distortion. You said your music is "Punk, Grunge, Alternative Hard Rock, and a style a couple steps shy of metal" and for all those, pretty much a humbucker into a Marshall is the recipe - which is why I'm suggesting Marshall-in-a-box pedals.
Edgecrusher
Well-known member
LLL
New member
Re: Looking for a new distortion.
Yes but applies to any good amp; for the best natural tone, the amp should be doing the... "dirty" work. Pun intended.
Those od/dist boxes can sound pretty good, but there's always something missing it seems when you rely on the stomp entirely for your clipping. Even the pro guys in the 80's who used dirt boxes (like BOSS DS-1) would typically crank their amp and turn the distortion completely off on the stomp but use the level knob only to boost their amps into crunch territory.
As far as dough and Plexis, here's a yarn:
Back in the early 2000's, I didn't have the $$$ to buy a fresh new Plexi. I bought a used 90's JTM45 reissue for $5-600 from a dude off the Plexi Palace forum (back when it was alive and before the ***clownery; that's a whole different story). Stock it sounded like crap (the earlier Marshall reissues' circuit were far off from the originals), but I learned amp building and modding and with some extra parts (and Lord Valve's JTM45 guide) turned it into an authentic JTM45 with PTP board etc. 10 years later I modded it again into more of a Superlead circuit for more gain (I blame Eddie).
So, you don't need tons of moolah; you can buy a used one and mod it any way you want it. Just like a used car. And for much less than a brand spankin' new one (ripoffs IMO - especially Marshall). I'd estimate I have maybe a grand total into my Marshall including NOS tubage. A new 2245 is much more than that... a new Superlead is way beyond that.
And cranking it: Attenuator... or, much better, slaving. You can even use an EHX .22 or .44 Caliber stompbox-sized poweramp as a second amp for slaving. Barring that, you can get a long speaker cable and mic cable and stash your mic'd cab in the bathroom, throw a pillow under the door and wail away without too much SPLs.
Yes but applies to any good amp; for the best natural tone, the amp should be doing the... "dirty" work. Pun intended.
Those od/dist boxes can sound pretty good, but there's always something missing it seems when you rely on the stomp entirely for your clipping. Even the pro guys in the 80's who used dirt boxes (like BOSS DS-1) would typically crank their amp and turn the distortion completely off on the stomp but use the level knob only to boost their amps into crunch territory.
As far as dough and Plexis, here's a yarn:
Back in the early 2000's, I didn't have the $$$ to buy a fresh new Plexi. I bought a used 90's JTM45 reissue for $5-600 from a dude off the Plexi Palace forum (back when it was alive and before the ***clownery; that's a whole different story). Stock it sounded like crap (the earlier Marshall reissues' circuit were far off from the originals), but I learned amp building and modding and with some extra parts (and Lord Valve's JTM45 guide) turned it into an authentic JTM45 with PTP board etc. 10 years later I modded it again into more of a Superlead circuit for more gain (I blame Eddie).
So, you don't need tons of moolah; you can buy a used one and mod it any way you want it. Just like a used car. And for much less than a brand spankin' new one (ripoffs IMO - especially Marshall). I'd estimate I have maybe a grand total into my Marshall including NOS tubage. A new 2245 is much more than that... a new Superlead is way beyond that.
And cranking it: Attenuator... or, much better, slaving. You can even use an EHX .22 or .44 Caliber stompbox-sized poweramp as a second amp for slaving. Barring that, you can get a long speaker cable and mic cable and stash your mic'd cab in the bathroom, throw a pillow under the door and wail away without too much SPLs.
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Edgecrusher
Well-known member
Re: Looking for a new distortion.
Attenuators sound like butt when used to tame an amp down to tv volume levels. They work good if you run your amp on 4 and want to run it on 6 but anything more and the tone suck is huge. Slaving is a bit better but you still wind up with some of the tonal qualities of the amp you use as a master. Any way you slice is a slaved set up is a watered down version of a real amp running wide open.
Suggesting that people put the amp in the bathroom with a pillow under the door is just ludicrous. Yeah that tone sure stays pure when i hear it through 4 walls... There is no degradation there... Not to mention what happens when i decide to play live? The house sound engineer is gonna love that when you drag your rig in.
I also guarantee you arent buying top shelf nos glass and spending hours a day with your amp cranked into a slave. GOOD NOS 12ax7's are pricey... Hell USED Telefunken gray plates sell for 80-100 bucks a pop. No way around it higher volume eats tubes faster through wear and heat. Most guys arent excited to spend 125 bucks every 6 (IF you can get them to live that long) months for modern glass let alone 800 to 1k for a set of Telefunken 12ax7's and Mullard double getters. And please... dont mention JAN... those are not top shelf NOS...
No sorry but TONS of peoples favorite tones have been created with stomp boxes... Nothing wrong with that. All the kool aid drinking is nauseating.
Attenuators sound like butt when used to tame an amp down to tv volume levels. They work good if you run your amp on 4 and want to run it on 6 but anything more and the tone suck is huge. Slaving is a bit better but you still wind up with some of the tonal qualities of the amp you use as a master. Any way you slice is a slaved set up is a watered down version of a real amp running wide open.
Suggesting that people put the amp in the bathroom with a pillow under the door is just ludicrous. Yeah that tone sure stays pure when i hear it through 4 walls... There is no degradation there... Not to mention what happens when i decide to play live? The house sound engineer is gonna love that when you drag your rig in.
I also guarantee you arent buying top shelf nos glass and spending hours a day with your amp cranked into a slave. GOOD NOS 12ax7's are pricey... Hell USED Telefunken gray plates sell for 80-100 bucks a pop. No way around it higher volume eats tubes faster through wear and heat. Most guys arent excited to spend 125 bucks every 6 (IF you can get them to live that long) months for modern glass let alone 800 to 1k for a set of Telefunken 12ax7's and Mullard double getters. And please... dont mention JAN... those are not top shelf NOS...
No sorry but TONS of peoples favorite tones have been created with stomp boxes... Nothing wrong with that. All the kool aid drinking is nauseating.
LLL
New member
Re: Looking for a new distortion.
Slaving, when done correctly, is as good and sometimes better than running a single amp. And it's been around (AFAIK) professionally since the 70's.
Check out my vid on slaving here (with loudness test!):
This vid ("brown sound how to") also uses the same slaving setup:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klC5Od1KIcQ&list=UUBg4SQufzo1boJkk2tZ6bFw
Not ludicrous; it works. I've done it numerous times and recorded at home. Granted it's louder than the other scenarios but it beats blowing your (and your family's... and your neighbors') eardrums out. Wattage, of course, counts too. FOH staff can be placated easily with... slaving. :naughty:
Except for power, I've had the same NOS tubes in my modded Marshall since 2003. I typically play every other day for a few hours (gotta keep those chops up); once in a blue moon I may take a week off just to refresh.
They are:
V1 - 70s Valvo-labeled Blackburn Mullard
V2 - 70s Valvo-labeled Blackburn Mullard
V3 - Mullard CV4004 (military grade 12AX7)
Rectifier - 80s Philips 5AR4 (GZ34 equiv)
For power, I use new EHX 6CA7s. I previously ran Chinese KT66s, then THD Yellowjackets (EL84 adapters w JJs).
Not a single tube has failed in 11 years, and I typically run my Marshall at 8 or 9.
To add, my '67 Fender Deluxe (my 2nd amp for slaving typically) has the original glass in it (RCA, Telefunken, Bugle Boy, Amperex).. I've had that amp since 2009 and use it as much as the Marshall. Not a single tube has failed in what, 5 years.
Never said there weren't. I think you're reading text that doesn't exist.
My statements on using an alternative? As Matt42 said, "that's personal opinion". Everybody's got one.
So you're saying that digging Marshall tone, building/modding amps, using EQs and stuff to boost as an alternative, using slaving and other creative ways to control your amp's volume, using NOS tubes, etc etc etc is... "corksniffing" and "kool aid drinking"? :scratchch
Slaving, when done correctly, is as good and sometimes better than running a single amp. And it's been around (AFAIK) professionally since the 70's.
Check out my vid on slaving here (with loudness test!):
This vid ("brown sound how to") also uses the same slaving setup:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klC5Od1KIcQ&list=UUBg4SQufzo1boJkk2tZ6bFw
Not ludicrous; it works. I've done it numerous times and recorded at home. Granted it's louder than the other scenarios but it beats blowing your (and your family's... and your neighbors') eardrums out. Wattage, of course, counts too. FOH staff can be placated easily with... slaving. :naughty:
Except for power, I've had the same NOS tubes in my modded Marshall since 2003. I typically play every other day for a few hours (gotta keep those chops up); once in a blue moon I may take a week off just to refresh.
They are:
V1 - 70s Valvo-labeled Blackburn Mullard
V2 - 70s Valvo-labeled Blackburn Mullard
V3 - Mullard CV4004 (military grade 12AX7)
Rectifier - 80s Philips 5AR4 (GZ34 equiv)
For power, I use new EHX 6CA7s. I previously ran Chinese KT66s, then THD Yellowjackets (EL84 adapters w JJs).
Not a single tube has failed in 11 years, and I typically run my Marshall at 8 or 9.
To add, my '67 Fender Deluxe (my 2nd amp for slaving typically) has the original glass in it (RCA, Telefunken, Bugle Boy, Amperex).. I've had that amp since 2009 and use it as much as the Marshall. Not a single tube has failed in what, 5 years.
Never said there weren't. I think you're reading text that doesn't exist.
My statements on using an alternative? As Matt42 said, "that's personal opinion". Everybody's got one.
So you're saying that digging Marshall tone, building/modding amps, using EQs and stuff to boost as an alternative, using slaving and other creative ways to control your amp's volume, using NOS tubes, etc etc etc is... "corksniffing" and "kool aid drinking"? :scratchch
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Edgecrusher
Well-known member
LLL
New member
Re: Looking for a new distortion.
I'm not seeing how posting my personal opinion and experience on the topic is "shoving it down everyone's throat".
Cork sniffing is when you buy cheapass lacquered balsa-wood knobs for your tube home stereo; $800 for a set of two... in the hopes that
the product description, "vastly deepens the soundstage to the point you'll want to dive right in!" rings true.
Sure, some of my suggestions are different from the norm, but some people may find that thinking "outside the box" is helpful for them.
I'm not seeing how posting my personal opinion and experience on the topic is "shoving it down everyone's throat".
Cork sniffing is when you buy cheapass lacquered balsa-wood knobs for your tube home stereo; $800 for a set of two... in the hopes that
the product description, "vastly deepens the soundstage to the point you'll want to dive right in!" rings true.
Sure, some of my suggestions are different from the norm, but some people may find that thinking "outside the box" is helpful for them.
Edgecrusher
Well-known member
Re: Looking for a new distortion.
When it MUST be a plexi, When the BEST NATURAL tone is blah blah blah... this is when it becomes cork sniffery. Offering another point of view is cool, but when you give off the attitude of "stomp boxes suck you gotta use a plexi cause it HAS to be power tube distortion" this isnt offering another point of view.
When it MUST be a plexi, When the BEST NATURAL tone is blah blah blah... this is when it becomes cork sniffery. Offering another point of view is cool, but when you give off the attitude of "stomp boxes suck you gotta use a plexi cause it HAS to be power tube distortion" this isnt offering another point of view.
voggin
Well-known member
Re: Looking for a new distortion.
I recently got the super badass. It seems to keep a lot of depth of the guitar's tone: sometimes I find fuzz can kind of "generic" your tone, if you know what I mean.
I recently got the super badass. It seems to keep a lot of depth of the guitar's tone: sometimes I find fuzz can kind of "generic" your tone, if you know what I mean.
LLL
New member
Re: Looking for a new distortion.
I can't help you, but I can suggest this: You should ask yourself why other people's opinions and experience bother you so much.
I'm not discussing this further; that's enough sidetracking.
I can't help you, but I can suggest this: You should ask yourself why other people's opinions and experience bother you so much.
I'm not discussing this further; that's enough sidetracking.
Edgecrusher
Well-known member
Rockstar216
New member
Re: Looking for a new distortion.
Not sure how high gain of a distortion you're looking for but you might want to check out the Wampler Triple wreck.
Not sure how high gain of a distortion you're looking for but you might want to check out the Wampler Triple wreck.
Demanic
PenultimateTone Member
Re: Looking for a new distortion.
Get a good low wattage tube amp. Then you can crank it without tearing holes in the walls. On a recording, it actually sounds about the same. Maybe even better.
Here's an example of what 5 watts can sound like. https://soundcloud.com/demanic-1/ibanez-rg-120-with-sh-6n-and
Get a good low wattage tube amp. Then you can crank it without tearing holes in the walls. On a recording, it actually sounds about the same. Maybe even better.
Here's an example of what 5 watts can sound like. https://soundcloud.com/demanic-1/ibanez-rg-120-with-sh-6n-and
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