Mixing amp and pedal distortion

[Nightburst]

Hey guys,
I read a lot of you using a tube amp gain channel and putting a pedal in front of it to push it some more.
My question is, does it only work well with tube amps?
I've been experimenting using the gain channels of my Randall amp and pushing it with a MT-2 to get get in the Recto distortion ballpark. Of course I won't get the exact recto sound that way but I'm just looking to get a brutal distortion.
I've tried everything, all possible settings and I've managed to get some serious ass-kicking distortion but I also get noise and crackles through the sound. Also the hih gain channel mixed with the peal only ceates extreme feadback and hissing.
Any thought on this subject?

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

I found a distortion pedal with an SS amp didn't work, but an overdrive pedal worked wonders. I doesn't color the sound much, just adds a little gain and crunch. Try it with the Randall's gain channel, set to no drive and full level, or increase the drive a little if you need more gain.

 

[Ken]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

^^^Word


You don't want to add much distortion so much as you want to push the amp more.

 

[Chi3f]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

on a side note nightburst... you can't get extremely nice distortion through the mt-2 alone? i get extremely harsh distortion through mine. Hatebreed newer thrice type of sound.

 

[refused_]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

on a side note nightburst... you can't get extremely nice distortion through the mt-2 alone? i get extremely harsh distortion through mine. Hatebreed newer thrice type of sound.

if u dont mind, do u think u could post ur eq for your mt-2. i have been looking for a good setting on it for a while now. thanks.

 

[HardRockSinger]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

but I also get noise and crackles through the sound. Also the hih gain channel mixed with the peal only ceates extreme feadback and hissing.
Any thought on this subject?

for this problem, I suggest getting a noise gate and a good expensive metal distortion pedal.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

I found a distortion pedal with an SS amp didn't work, but an overdrive pedal worked wonders. I doesn't color the sound much, just adds a little gain and crunch. Try it with the Randall's gain channel, set to no drive and full level, or increase the drive a little if you need more gain.

It seems like it won't work. I wonder why though. I tried almost any setting to get the pedal to push the amp but all I get is noise throught the signal.

Chi3f, Just listen to the rythem guitar on Thrice's 'to awake and avenge the dead'. The roaring distortion is just stunning. Pure brutallity. No way I can get that kind of juicy grit out of the MT-2. It's a total different voice I'm after so hence this thread. But maybe my settings are just wrong. What settings do you use? Note that I use a JB in an RG so I'm running a rig on the bright side.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

Also another reason why I want to mix signals is because I can get awesome tones out of the MT-2 but the pedal's sound is a bit dry. The amp's hi-gain channnel is much more fluid if that makes any sense. It isn't as heavy as the MT-2 but more lush. I just want the best out of both worlds I guess. Anyone knows what I'm talking about?
Would a noise gate solve the problem or only compress the tone?

 

[Chi3f]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

level @1/4, low almost maxed, high a little below 3/4, middle @ 3/4, the middle frequency a lil under 3/4 with the distortion maxed out

i run it from the send of my ns-2 (boss Noise gate) and back to the return to kill all the crappy noise it gives out when your not playing it works great. Will not cure the noise you get when you run the ss distortion and your mt-2. it's trying to distort an already extremely distorted signal and most things don't like that. i use a dd-3 on a real short time delay to give me the fuller sound more for single notes. Makes it sound alot more like teppeis lead runs. Sounds great through my marshall fullstack, the louder of course the better.

i took a pic of my pedalboard but don't have a place to host it atm if you want to see all my settings exactly pm me your email address or aim nameor whatever and i will send you the pic

edit- i have a jb in an rg as well but my drop c guitar is another beast. I don't quite get the thrice sound with my rg sounds more like a primus tone but when i use the guitar in drop c it rumbles the earth.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

level @1/4, low almost maxed, high a little below 3/4, middle @ 3/4, the middle frequency a lil under 3/4 with the distortion maxed out

i run it from the send of my ns-2 (boss Noise gate) and back to the return to kill all the crappy noise it gives out when your not playing it works great. Will not cure the noise you get when you run the ss distortion and your mt-2. it's trying to distort an already extremely distorted signal and most things don't like that. i use a dd-3 on a real short time delay to give me the fuller sound more for single notes. Makes it sound alot more like teppeis lead runs. Sounds great through my marshall fullstack, the louder of course the better.

i took a pic of my pedalboard but don't have a place to host it atm if you want to see all my settings exactly pm me your email address or aim nameor whatever and i will send you the pic

edit- i have a jb in an rg as well but my drop c guitar is another beast. I don't quite get the thrice sound with my rg sounds more like a primus tone but when i use the guitar in drop c it rumbles the earth.

Wow you have very different settings from mine, you can send the pictures to my mail adress in my profile. I'd love to see your rig as I am a total gear nerd. :burnout:
I can't try 'em out now because it's already too late to make some noise here (23:07 on the clock) but I'll try them out next thing in the morning.
I can get pretty close to a Thrice sound by tuning to drop C, rumble indeed! But for the moment the RG is my only guitar now and in my band we play in Eb so I just leave it like that.

Doesn't your sound fart out with the bass full open? I don't ever turn it past 2 o'clock or the '59n will be way too bassy.
If anyone cares to try (refused_ perhaps), these are my settings:

Amp:
Bass:5
Mid:8
Treble:6

MT-2:
High:11 o'clock
Low: 2 o'clock
Middle: 1 o'clock
Mid freq: full open
Distortion: 2 o'clock

Somehow I always seem to hang around these settings, wherever I play on any amp.
I wonder how a MT-2 will sound combined with a Recto? Has to be brutal!

 

[Chi3f]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

i get great response everywhere with those settings. trying to email you but it's makin me use the forums web box which makes it not let me email pics lol

 

[mmguz]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

I run an mt-2 throw the overdrive channel of a hot rod deluxe an get nice warm tones and great for leads, the mt-2 with a good amount of gain and i don´t know why but in the overdrive channel sounds like a nice distortion, not to heavy eaven the great amount of gain of the pedal, and sound really heavy in the clean cahnnel with the same setting i don´t know why.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

I run an mt-2 throw the overdrive channel of a hot rod deluxe an get nice warm tones and great for leads, the mt-2 with a good amount of gain and i don´t know why but in the overdrive channel sounds like a nice distortion, not to heavy eaven the great amount of gain of the pedal, and sound really heavy in the clean cahnnel with the same setting i don´t know why.

That's probably because it works with a tube amp and somehow it doesn't with a SS like my Randall.

Chi3f you got a pm. I get great reactions from people about my settings too, everybody I know who owns an MT-2 uses my setings, lol. You might want to try 'em out. I could use the feedback from someone who knows the pedal. But then again I did a little mod(changed one of the clipping diodes for a LED) to my pedal so the settings might sound crap in your rig.

 

[Chi3f]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

it sounds pretty good. puts out alot of mid but doesn't give me the @ss reaming punch or the clear highs i get.

 

[y2stevo]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

i dunno if you question was also about why you can't get the pedal to "push" your SS amp, but if it was, then, the reason is that because its not a Tube amp there are no tubes there to "push", all your doing is sending more high gain guitar signal through the circuit boards so all you get is just more noise, it works in a tube amp because you are in a way physically "pushing" the tubes, The pedal like on a SS aMP sends more gain to the amp but because there is more signal going through it saturates the pre-amp tube with more gain..

I think that makes sense anyway..

 

[yes-fan]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

distorion pedals dopnt work well for it imo. i think you would be better off with some overdrive pedal.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

i dunno if you question was also about why you can't get the pedal to "push" your SS amp, but if it was, then, the reason is that because its not a Tube amp there are no tubes there to "push", all your doing is sending more high gain guitar signal through the circuit boards so all you get is just more noise, it works in a tube amp because you are in a way physically "pushing" the tubes, The pedal like on a SS aMP sends more gain to the amp but because there is more signal going through it saturates the pre-amp tube with more gain..

I think that makes sense anyway..

Yes that makes sense, thanks for explaining.

Hey Chief, those settings sound pretty good, thanks for sharing! :fing2:
Nice pedalboard too!

 

[Chi3f]

Re: Mixing amp and pedal distortion

i don't have that many pedals but it gets the job done for me. Alot more then most people i know though. so maybe i do use alot of pedals