Overdrive pedal for a thick rhythm sound.

[spleenharvester]

I have a Blackstar HT-1 (soon to be a HT-20R MkII) with a Fender Blacktop stratocaster, Slash APH-2B in the bridge and soon to be Seth Lover in the neck.

I really love the sound of the APH-2B through my Sansamp Classic, but it seems to struggle with neck pickups sound very muddy. I'm told this might be because it's a preamp rather than a pure OD pedal.

So I'd like a pedal that plays a bit more nicely with the neck pickup too. I previously had a Boss SD-1 and it was a bit too thin/trebly sounding for my liking. I like the sound of the Mesa V Twin and the EHX Soul Food, with the former most commonly recommended for a thick rhythm tone - but bit worried it might have the same issue as the Sansamp being a preamp pedal?

Which would you go for? Or are there any other pedals worth considering?

 

[Securb]

What kind of music are you playing? It would be helpful to know how much gain you are expecting out of a pedal. That being said, it sounds like you need something with some type of onboard EQ.

 

[spleenharvester]

What kind of music are you playing? It would be helpful to know how much gain you are expecting out of a pedal. That being said, it sounds like you need something with some type of onboard EQ.

Mostly Nirvana and Drive-By Truckers, though I don't think either of them really capture the kind of thick sound I'm primarily aiming for. The rhythm guitar you can hear in the background of this song @ 1:14 is somewhat closer to what I'm after:

Somewhat unrelated, one of the reasons I bought the Seth Lover is with the hopes of getting this sort of sound out of it (which I'm pretty sure was a Telecaster + Seth Lover through an SD-1 - so I'll probably end up re-buying that pedal to try out anyway):

 

[Securb]

Take a look at the MXR Custom Badass Modified Overdrive. It has a tone control and a control to cut or boost the 100Hz frequencies. There is also a BUMP switch to boost your lows and mids.

 

[spleenharvester]

Take a look at the MXR Custom Badass Modified Overdrive. It has a tone control and a control to cut or boost the 100Hz frequencies. There is also a BUMP switch to boost your lows and mids.

Thanks, that sounds awesome. I've ordered a Soul Food, but that one definitely looks like another to add to the list.

 

[devastone]

The SD-1 is awesome, what were your settings?

Try the TC Electronic Mojo Mojo, great OD pedal and it has separate bass and treble controls.

 

[NegativeEase]

Take a look at the MXR Custom Badass Modified Overdrive. It has a tone control and a control to cut or boost the 100Hz frequencies. There is also a BUMP switch to boost your lows and mids.

Yessir, that would be one of my top choices. -The custom version has a little more sculpting ability -man it sounds great with heavy verb

another suggestion, add a MXR M234 Analog Chorus -Basically just like classic Bucket brigade chorus Boss Chorus -but the MXR has Low pass and High Pass Chorus control -in this was you can roll Chorus on the low end just to where it is barely audible, and it will make a rhythm tone huge without sounding like chorus.

Chorus without hearing it as Chorus is one of the best ways to big tone.

 

[Mikelamury]

If you want a thick rythm tone try the Mesa gold mine that I just reviewed it has a good amount of saturation that definitely stands out as thick.

 

[Mincer]

I'd think any OD with extensive EQ controls (more than just a single tone knob) might be what you want to look for. The SD 805 has active tone controls, but also look for something with some kind of parametric control, too.

 

[chadd]

If you're dialing in a thick/warm tone with your bridge pickup, pretty much every neck pickup is going to sound "muddy". Not knocking you, that's how I set up my amps for years and it rendered neck pickups pretty much unusable for anything other than single note stuff or lead lines.

 

[NegativeEase]

If you're dialing in a thick/warm tone with your bridge pickup, pretty much every neck pickup is going to sound "muddy". Not knocking you, that's how I set up my amps for years and it rendered neck pickups pretty much unusable for anything other than single note stuff or lead lines.

I'd agree, It's gets real "Wolfy"

 

[JOLLY]

Chorus without hearing it as Chorus is one of the best ways to big tone.

I'm all about that. I've been doing it for for about 23 years now. It also seems to warm it up a tad as well......at least to my ears.

 

[Aceman]

I'm hearing that you need ANY OD (although perhaps one less mid-boost) with cranked level and low gain for general tightening.

Green Rhino perhaps?

 

[misterwhizzy]

I'm hearing that you need ANY OD (although perhaps one less mid-boost) with cranked level and low gain for general tightening.

Green Rhino perhaps?

Love my Green Rhino. I think that's a great suggestion.

 

[Flores_68]

"I really love the sound of the APH-2B through my Sansamp Classic, but it seems to struggle with neck pickups sound very muddy"

My quest for a clear neck pickup ended when I put a SD Jazz on my Les Paul; it's unbelievable. I have a Seth Lover on the bridge and I'm pleased with the outcome. Regarding the overdrive, you could try the Fulltone OCD: you can't go wrong with it. If you want thicker od, you can try the ehx hot tubes, which is the most underrated pedal on this planet. If you want to go towards the distorion territory, you can also consider the Catalinbread Katzenkonig. I use mine at 0 gain and it does wonders for me.

 

[H13]

I reckon you're after something with a big chewy midrange. I think a Fulltone OCD is gonna be a winner for you here

But you should also probably consider something klon-esque as well. So for giggles, consider something like this Archer:

 

[spleenharvester]

Many thanks for your input everyone, great list of pedals that I'll no doubt end up collecting all of! I've since replaced the neck pickup of this guitar with a Seth Lover actually and it does sound a lot less muddy - the clean tone on my HT1 is great but it does struggle through the Sansamp still.

Sadly my Soul Food turned up today and it seems to be faulty :-(

 

[uOpt]

I'm rather thinking that a treble booster into the existing preamp might do the trick. It is what Blackmore would do with the neck pickup.

 

[ErikH]

I think the thickest rhythm tone I've ever had has been with the Pedal Monsters Klone. The gain isn't even dialed up high. Fantastic overdrive with sick dynamics. I'm glad I found this one.

 

[spleenharvester]

I managed to repair the Soul Food and I quite like it. It's not particularly thick but it gets a nice sound out of the Seth Lover in the neck. Going to use my Sansamp with the Slash bridge pickup for a melt-your-face-off rhythm tone (already love it) and the Soul Food with the neck pickup for a softer overdrive.

I will continue to update this thread as I collect more pedals :beerchug: