overdrive pedal in front of cranked amp?

[Nick Welfare]

I am pleased with my sound both clean and ultra gain on my engl fireball, but would like to get a lead/solo sound that is smooth and dont drown in distortion. Is placing an overdrive pedal in front of the cranked amp and stomping it for lead parts a good idea? Been looking at boss sd-1, od-2, od-3, the tube screamer and the zakk wylde overdrive. Maybe some sort of booster?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: overdrive pedal in front of cranked amp?

Yeah, that's the way to do it. If you're putting something in front of a clean tone, I'd suggest going with fat clean boost type pedals or mild overdrives. If they're too distorted, it just sounds like a rat's nest on a clean tone. Higher gain pedals sound better with a more gainy amp tone, because they drive it into infinite sustain.

I'd suggest doing some real shopping, and spend more than you'd like to on an OD pedal.....something like a Fulltone OCD for $160. After all, you'll have something that you'll still like in a year. If you go the cheap route, you may get lucky, but most likely you won't be very inspired by it's sound.

 

[BigDaddy]

Re: overdrive pedal in front of cranked amp?

I think most guitar players are bass ackwards on some things.

If I read you correctly than I would say you don't need anything other than your fingers.

I am amazed at how many guitar players do not utilize their guitars at all. Any guitar has many different sounds just by using your volume and tone controls not to mention the pickup selector.

I have seen countless young(people under 40) guitar players never touch their controls. They hit stomp boxes.

A good guitar amp should have a clean sound when you turn down the volume on the guitar. That's one reason a lot of people hate master volumes on their amps.

When the singer is singing I turn down my guitar. Sometimes I'll use both pickups with the volumes set to sweet spots to get a clean sound without the muddiness. By using both pickups and turning them down you can get a better sound sometimes than a single pickup turned down.

To me the only reason to use a distortion pedal is if you need a really clean sound from your rig most of the time and only use it sparingly.

A good amp cranked should be enough. Hand, finger, picking and palm techniques should be utilized along with finding distinctive sounds from your guitar itself.

All this channel switching is bull and stomp boxes should be kept to a minimum for great guitar tone.

The great guitar players can just plug straight in and get their sounds from their hands and the guitar amp interface itself. Distortion/overdrive/boost boxes are for guitars with low outputs to boost up the single to the amp. Although some guitar players have their signature sounds achieved with the help of one of those things. They do create tones and sounds that can not be gotten by an amp alone, that's cool if that's your approach.

It's all about setting your amp for the maximum and working the guitar for volume and tonal changes. And always remember what works in your home rarely does at a gig, drummers and bass players will see to that.

 

[SeraphimTN]

Re: overdrive pedal in front of cranked amp?

Your also looking at a lot of money for something you don't know will work or not. Go for the Arion Tubulator. Same guts as the TS but at 12 bucks. I and others here own them and swear by them.

 

[ErikH]

Re: overdrive pedal in front of cranked amp?

Your also looking at a lot of money for something you don't know will work or not. Go for the Arion Tubulator. Same guts as the TS but at 12 bucks. I and others here own them and swear by them.

And you'll be swearing at it when the switch breaks. Sorry, but for $12, that's just asking for something to go wrong rather quickly.

If you can't swing the $160 for the OCD, you can't go wrong with the Boss units. They're durable, sound good, and will get the job done. I've got a SD-1 and a Wylde Overdrive. I love them both. Each are the same circuit but voiced a little differently. The Wylde OD has a little bit more drive to it.

 

[Jay 77]

Re: overdrive pedal in front of cranked amp?

I just picked up the SD-1, and I'm real happy with it. For the price, it does the job quite well.

And yes, I do use my tone & volume knobs. 10 years ago, that was a different story...

 

[75lespaul]

Re: overdrive pedal in front of cranked amp?

What are tone and volume knobs? :laugh2:

 

[Usurper666]

Re: overdrive pedal in front of cranked amp?

Barber Direct Drive: Smoother than an OCD, built like a tank and cheaper than a Fulltone as well.

www.barberelectronics.com

Cheers,

CJ