Overdrive Pedals rule!

schecterplayer

schecterplayer

New member
Well yesterday after school my dad told me that we were going to Grassroots Guitar (my favorite local guitar store) and said to try out pedals, lots of pedals. Due to the fact that I love guitar gear and because my birthday is the 17th and christmas is coming I was happy to oblige. We are good friends with the owner and within a few minutes I was situated in the back room with a Crate V1512 (same amp as I own) and more than $800 worth of boutique pedals patch chorded together. During the rather long period of time I was back there I used a HBE Power Screamer, a Smart People Factory Green Line, a TS9, an MXR Zakk Wylde overdrive, and an HBE germacide pedal. The most fun i've had playing guitar for quite a while. All of the pedals were very nice, sporting true bypass (except for the TS9) and very good tone. Since I was looking for a very transparent overdrive I eventually narrowed down the range to the Power Screamer and the Green Line because the other overdrives were too grittty and the Germacide wasn't versitile enough although it does get the most wicked solo tone I've ever used. I got some sweet tones, everything from creamy Santana esque creamy infinate sustain to nasty, ripping chords. This thread doesn;t have much point except to see what your opinions are on all of those pedals and to say that overdrives are a ton of fun. I also bought a GT Gold Series 12AX7 to replace the crappy sovtek in V1 of my V1512 which made a ton of improvement, cut the noise by at least half and got rid of the microphonics. I am currently divided between the Power Screamer with a slightly cooler tone and the Green Line with more versitility and a smoother tone. What do you guys think?
 
Re: Overdrive Pedals rule!

Nice. I wish I had time to sit with a bunch like that. My favorite overdrive right now is the MXR Wylde Overdrive. I use it primarily to goose the front end of my Marshall. Sometimes I use it through a clean or cleaner setting but that's while noodling at home. As for your decision, that's a tough one. Go with your gut. Which one makes you grin the biggest.
 
Re: Overdrive Pedals rule!

I've got a love/hate relationship with my HBE Power Screamer. Although it produces the best and coolest od tone i've had in an od pedal, I really have to work with it to make me sound good. It's not very smooth and it doesn't hide the flaws, but it's a nice little thing (especially the diode switch, which makes it very versatile). And it looks good too...
 
Re: Overdrive Pedals rule!

Sorry for highjacking the thread, but could you tell me how many preamp tubes does your amp have, I'm not aware, and did you think the GT gold series 12AX7 was one of the better choices, I'm thinking of replacing my preamp tubes from crappy sovteks as well.
 
Re: Overdrive Pedals rule!

Well pedals are nice...some of them are;)
Anyways the first rule with stuff like that....make sure that you have an amp that you like!
Pedals are not the cure if the foundation is weak!
Easy rules to follow, British sounds sounds best on...taadaa Bristish styled amps, BF Fender tones....well you guessed it Fenderlike amps:)
Mids are the ruling factore, low or high mids!
Low mids Fenderlike, High mids Marshall like.
All in general broad strokes.
I have a friend who has a BF Proreverb, but the speakers are G12H 30 watts ones, so his is a nice mix between US and British sounds!
 
Re: Overdrive Pedals rule!

Rid said:
Well pedals are nice...some of them are;)
Anyways the first rule with stuff like that....make sure that you have an amp that you like!
Pedals are not the cure if the foundation is weak!
Easy rules to follow, British sounds sounds best on...taadaa Bristish styled amps, BF Fender tones....well you guessed it Fenderlike amps:)
Mids are the ruling factore, low or high mids!
Low mids Fenderlike, High mids Marshall like.
All in general broad strokes.
I have a friend who has a BF Proreverb, but the speakers are G12H 30 watts ones, so his is a nice mix between US and British sounds!
Click to expand...
Good points, Rid. I once saw Neil Schon play back in the '90's with a band he had together called Abraxis (original Santana members minus Carlos). He played a Fender Twin and had two Marshall 4x12's hooked up to it. He ran a Boss Blues Driver up front with a wah and one other pedal I couldn't make out. He sounded killer.
 
Re: Overdrive Pedals rule!

Pecan said:
Sorry for highjacking the thread, but could you tell me how many preamp tubes does your amp have, I'm not aware, and did you think the GT gold series 12AX7 was one of the better choices, I'm thinking of replacing my preamp tubes from crappy sovteks as well.
Click to expand...

which amp do you have?

what musical style?

whay do you noy like about what you have now?

V1 gives the most change. answer above and we can give you some recommadations.
 
Re: Overdrive Pedals rule!

oh yeah, ive got a g2d creamtone coming. cant waitto try it.
 
Re: Overdrive Pedals rule!

Pecan said:
Sorry for highjacking the thread, but could you tell me how many preamp tubes does your amp have, I'm not aware, and did you think the GT gold series 12AX7 was one of the better choices, I'm thinking of replacing my preamp tubes from crappy sovteks as well.
Click to expand...

It has three preamp tubes. The GT gold series is the first new tube ive put into it so I have no idea how good it is as nicer tubes go, all I know is it did affect the sound in a good way.
 
Re: Overdrive Pedals rule!

Uncle Unborn said:
I've got a love/hate relationship with my HBE Power Screamer. Although it produces the best and coolest od tone i've had in an od pedal, I really have to work with it to make me sound good. It's not very smooth and it doesn't hide the flaws, but it's a nice little thing (especially the diode switch, which makes it very versatile). And it looks good too...
Click to expand...

Yeah, it got the coolest tone of all of the ODs I tried but it wasn't as smooth and transparent as the Green Line. The large knobs and the boost switch were nice features though and the sounds were good so I'm currently divided.
 
Re: Overdrive Pedals rule!

schecterplayer said:
Yeah, it got the coolest tone of all of the ODs I tried but it wasn't as smooth and transparent as the Green Line. The large knobs and the boost switch were nice features though and the sounds were good so I'm currently divided.
Click to expand...

Then I'd say go for it (the Power Screamer). The goal is to sound cool, not to be smooth. It's not extremely transparent, but the lack of transparency isn't bothering me. The boost switch is not intent to be transparent; it will give you a little jump in volume, but also in treble and gain, which is just enough to cut through when switching to solos. In can be a little bright with single-coils in bridge positions though..
 
Re: Overdrive Pedals rule!

schecterplayer said:
I also bought a GT Gold Series 12AX7 to replace the crappy sovtek in V1 of my V1512 which made a ton of improvement, cut the noise by at least half and got rid of the microphonics.
Click to expand...

Not to rain on your parade, but if that’s a new GT “Mullard” 12AX7 then there is a 99.9% chance you will start to hear very strange sounds from your amp in the very near future. If so, don’t blame the amp, replace that GT tube first and I’ll bet you the problem will be fixed. The whole lot of those Mullard tubes is defective; I got it straight from a GT sales rep. The metal parts inside the tube are causing a chemical reaction that results in popping, hissing and otherworldly oscillating sounds. I had four go bad on me, and I know of many, many other people who have had the same problems. If you do need to replace it, check out the New Sensor Tung Sol 12AX7s, they actually work and they sound great. Personally, I wouldn’t use any GT products, overpriced and you don’t get what you pay for, unless you are paying to get screwed, in which case you’ll get your money’s worth.

Cheers,

CJ
 
Re: Overdrive Pedals rule!

Make sure you try the Fulltone Fulldrive II as well, if they have any in your area.
There's lots of good OD's, but you're doing the right thing by A/Bing a bunch on the same amp you own.

What I look for is an OD that most resembles the idea that you're turning up the volume and gain on your amp, at the same time. Also, it has to be as thick or thicker than the actual amp tone. If it thins the tone out, or doesn't have strong bass, I have no use for it.
 
Re: Overdrive Pedals rule!

LiquidSky said:
When has Neal Schon not sounded killer Lol.:bowdown:
Click to expand...
Very true...:laugh2: The guitar he played most of the night was Black Les Paul Custom. Not a Black Beauty, just a regular Custom.
 
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