Pedal help, please

[agentzero12]

This is a 2 part post. I'd like some opinions. I just recently downsized my rig. I had a bugera 6260 (save the trash talk, it served its purpose well) and I decided I was tired of lugging around a half stack and having to keep my volume below 3. So now I'm using a Marshall 2x12 (one Celestion v30, one eminence 75) and an orange tiny terror. Which means I'm using distortion pedals for the first time in a long time.

I plan to get a MXR super badass soon, but for now I have a VS Route 66, MXR distortion III, and a Proco The Rat.

Question 1:
What order do you guys prefer your pedals in. I figured I'd go lowest to highest in terms of gain, but I am also looking to be able to boost for leads. May have to get a dedicated compressor for that though.

Question 2: the Rat and dist 3 are having to push the volume pretty high. The rat is the worst. I need to get more headroom vs clean from them. My main guitar in that band is an explorer with a jb9. I've heard people say to lower the pup. I haven't tried it yet but I'm also open to mods. I did a mod to my cry baby to get more volume and if its easy, I'd like to do the same on the dist 3 and the rat.

Thanks for the help, guys.

 

[agentzero12]

Re: Pedal help, please

So after looking at what goes into rat mods, its more than I want to get into. I don't mind having the volume cranked on it. Some tips for balancing it out would be nice though.

 

[hydro]

Re: Pedal help, please

Unity gain on a dist. III (at least mine) is around 2 o'clock or so; it's hair trigger sensitive. I'm surprised it is not giving you enough boost.

I used my dist. III at the end of my pedal chain and a tube screamer at the beginning, with other fx in between. Have you tried the dist. III at the end of your chain closest to the amp?

 

[hydro]

Re: Pedal help, please

I should clarify; I mean "level" left knob at 2 o'clock. After that, it gets *loud*.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Pedal help, please

I'm confused about your whole use of the term headroom. To me that's "available power that won't clip or distort"

I don't want headroom with a Distortion pedal - I want dirt!

If I want progressive levels of dirt, I go OD > Distortion Amp

If I want Distortion + lead boost I go Distortion > OD > amp

If I want both, I go OD > Distortion > Compressor for Boost > Amp

In any event, the clean headroom thing is in the amp. It has enough to clean up or not. Or are you trying to manipulate the pedals with the volume on the guitar and that's the problem? If so, some pedals clean up well, some don't. Often they don't because, well, their purpose is dirt. The RAt for example does not exist to make any kind of clean sound at all really...

 

[Sanford]

Re: Pedal help, please

I used a Route 66 for a while. Generally, I'd set the compression to where it just started to sustain well and the level to where it boosted the volume a little. The overdrive side would get changed depending on my mood. I tried it in different places along the signal path, but for boosting I'd have it near the end. I noticed that if I set the compression too high it would make the other effects sound a bit bland unless I ran it before them, which caused my eventual removal of the pedal.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Pedal help, please

one of my jamming buddies uses
dist>od>compressor

when he turns on the distortion it sounds good

but it squishes the tone dramatically

I think aces suggestion would probably help

 

[agentzero12]

Re: Pedal help, please

I see the misuse of "headroom". I just mean available output. I've got the rat wide open and its just above unity. The distortion III is just above unity at around 3 which is fine, but if I tried to use it as a boost, there isn't quite enough there. Like I said, I'm gonna get a super badass eventually which has crazy volume on tap but until then I am working with what I have.

I haven't tried putting it after other effects but ill try that. I generally always kept distortion early in my chain.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Pedal help, please

If you've got unity, then all's ok. I've got several pedals at about unity, but if you put two on then there is a volume boost

 

[hydro]

Re: Pedal help, please

It almost sounds like you need a 2 channel deal where one channel is louder, or a solo switch (My Mesa dual recto has that, basically like a second master volume level). Are you trying to kick up through the mix on solos?

 

[agentzero12]

Re: Pedal help, please

Yeah. Just trying to get my solos louder. And a two channel amp with solo would be perfect but I'm not in a place to buy a new amp. In downsizing, I already have the tiny terror so I'm working with pedals. The boost isn't my main problem, no real 'problem' at all I guess, just curious about leveling out. I want my cleans to be softer when I turn off distortion. It's not a huge problem though.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Pedal help, please

Just a matter of level tweaking until you get it right. No one answer. Lots of ways to do it.

 

[hydro]

Re: Pedal help, please

Yeah I think Ace is right. I will say I've had pretty good luck with the MXR distortion III at the end of my chain, so far as providing volume boost along with distortion.