Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

[B00B-screamer]

So I was looking at getting a new amp since I’m a pedal junkie and was reading what makes a good pedal amp I decided on peavey classic 20 due to price and high headroom, relatively low compression and nice cleans.

A few questions are will this be a decent pedal platform? For the price and what I’ve read it will be but I’m no expert nor can I afford something like a lone star my only other alternative would be a Marshall dsl 20hr or Laney irt 60.

My second question is what pedals would be good for stacking gain to end up with near metal tones while having as much versatility on the in between gain ranges. I have a chase bliss brothers but I hear just an ep booster, blues driver and third higher gain like ocd will work. I’ve looked up tight metal from amp tweaked, eqd palisades, jhs angry Charlie but they seem to try to be an all in one gain pedal

Lastly, everyone says I need to run a boost into low/medium/high gain pedals which I know I need a low/medium/high gain set of pedals but nearly all of them have built in boost would a separate boost pedal be any different then just clicking on the boost built into one of my existing pedals?

For staking I was thinking an archer ikon into an ocd into the brothers or starting with brothers since it’s dual features or maybe a tumnus, oxblood, or Timmy? I’ve got analysis paralysis. Sometimes it’s hard for me to classify something as low/med/hi gain

 

[PierceOkken]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

For staters, I have no experience with peavey, the only time I have tried experimenting with pedal platforms was with a Hot Rod Deluxe.

A good pedal should really be able to do all three. I have found the best way to get a searing, punchy gain tone from pedals is this:

Take a overdrive pedal with this as its settings: Level/volume/output: All the way up Gain: None Tone: Pretty far right, but adjust to taste. (For me I us a DOD Preamp 250)

From this go into a distortion (or another overdrive) with a pretty high gain setting. This is the pedal you should adjust to find the sweet spot.

That is the format I use usaully.

 

[devastone]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

These are getting blown out super cheap and would make a great amp for pedals - https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Artist15--blackstar-artist-15-15-watt-1x12-inch-combo-amp

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

Not too familiar with Peavey amps–have played some but not with pedals.

Have had great experiences with the Fender Hot Rod Series amps. Really love the Blues Jr, Hot Rod Deville, Hot Rod Deluxe and Blues Deluxe. They really take pedals well and have a great clean base tone.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

I wouldn't say a 20W amp has a lot of headroom, personally.

 

[Adieu]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

You want a clean tube amp? Get something marketed for bass, maybe?

 

[B00B-screamer]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

Well it’s for recording and bedroom playing so it’s not like I would get decent tones with a 50 watt. Pretty important it has adjustable wattage that doesn’t affect the tone and peavey is supposed to be pretty transparent. Sure I’d like a nice Dr z or earthquaker sound projector but I don’t have even a thousand dollars for one.

 

[Cynical]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

If you're looking for a pedal platform, go solid state. Tube offers no advantages in this area, only drawbacks.

 

[B00B-screamer]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

If you're looking for a pedal platform, go solid state. Tube offers no advantages in this area, only drawbacks.

I have a Yamaha THR100HD it’s versatile but has no recording out and doesn’t really do anything awesomely just acceptably plus I’ve ran some pedals thru it that sounded horrible I’d like to avoid the analog to digital conversion as much as possible and it’s a lot easier to find good sounding analog pedals than digital most of the time.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

If you're looking for a pedal platform, go solid state. Tube offers no advantages in this area, only drawbacks.

This is false. Most pedals are designed to work with tube amps.

 

[B00B-screamer]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

After looking at the blackstar artist and artisan I may have switched my mind. I’ve never played one nor known anyone that has but it’s stated to be a pedal amp. Still hesitant that the back panel features like fix loop and all are at the bottom of the amp which makes zero sense.

I don’t know if it’s the videos but the peavey did sound better on both channels though

 

[Jacew]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

Blackstars make great pedal platforms. They have a lot of headroom, go on light crunch only when almost dimed on clean. More than you expect from lower watt range.

I don't think 15, or 20w is enough for pedal amp though. I would look at higher wattage amps.

 

[dave74]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

Older USA-built Peavey or Fender sold-state with one or two 12" speakers and in the 40-100w range.
Great pedal-platform amps. (IMO that means using pedals for many or most of the gain/high-gain tones)
Cheap, and very cheap if you keep a lookout locally. $100-range

Some of those cheaper old fenders lack a mids knob on the clean channel though, which isn't acceptable IMO.
There were some USA Fender solid-states that did have a full tone-stack on the cleans, just be aware.

Use the saved cash for a used Mesa cab. Make sure the amp you get has an extension-cab output.

 

[B00B-screamer]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

Blackstars make great pedal platforms. They have a lot of headroom, go on light crunch only when almost dimed on clean. More than you expect from lower watt range.

I don't think 15, or 20w is enough for pedal amp though. I would look at higher wattage amps.

The problem is it’s for recording at low volumes so I couldn’t crank it nor get use out of more watts I have a 39 watt that I haven’t even been able to go past 1.5 on so what good will more watts do me?

 

[Jacew]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

The problem is it’s for recording at low volumes so I couldn’t crank it nor get use out of more watts I have a 39 watt that I haven’t even been able to go past 1.5 on so what good will more watts do me?

I completely missed that.

Blackstar HT5R.

It's low wattage enough you can crank it if you like, but still has plenty of headroom for home or studio use when you need it. Absuletely best bang for the buck for what you're looking for.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

The problem is it’s for recording at low volumes so I couldn’t crank it nor get use out of more watts I have a 39 watt that I haven’t even been able to go past 1.5 on so what good will more watts do me?

Would an attenuator work for you? You could pick one up relatively cheap.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

I think pedal platform is a bit of a misnomer. That implies a sterile clean amp and pedals that create distortion without extra level. I think the best results come from an amp with a great clean tone, then find the pedals that compliment it, adding their own clipping and pushing the amp as well.

I’ve used a Mesa Road King, Fender Princeton Reverb and Victory V40 Deluxe for this purpose. Here’s my rig I used a lot with my Princeton (Modulation excluded)
-Fuzz Face
-Fulldrive 2 (gain set low, boost set high)
-Wampler Pinnacle
-Catalinbread Belle Epoch (Preamp always on)

I set the Princeton to a nice tone with the right volume for my situation. Add the Belle’s Preamp to add a little level and fatness (I play Strats primarily). That’s my clean tone.
Light gain: Add the FD2 for mild breakup, rhythm tone, it pushes the amp a little bit and adds a little clipping.
Mid gain bluesy solo: Engage the boost on the FD2
Rock Rhythm: Wampler Pinnacle
Heavy Rhythm/Solo: Add FD2 (no boost)
Fuzz: Fuzz Face into FD2 (no boost)

You can see I’m using the FD2 to boost the clean, create its own OD, boost the pinnacle and shape the Fuzz Face. I arrived to this point after trying a lot of pedals with it, and sounds awesome.

Conversely, whacking random gain pedals into a sterile clean amp might work for you, but I’ve found I prefer my method.

Good luck!

(I’ll echo what it said above, Fender style but with a mid control and gain makes it really easy to setup for pedals. The Mesa and Victory are far easier to setup than thr PR because of this, I need extra mids with the PR because it’s B/T only)

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

If you are playing at low volumes, the alternative is something like a Boss Katana, Fender Mustang or Yamaha THD with no pedals.

 

[Artie]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

I gotta give a shout out to the H&K Edition Blue 60R. (Not the 60DFX.) They're out of production, but can be found used at reasonable prices. 60W with reverb, effects loop, and a Celestion 12" speaker. It's one of those amps that I'll never let go of.

hughes-kettner-edition-blu-60

 

[devastone]

Re: Pedal platform amp and gain stacking

The Blackstar Artist 15 that Sweetwater is blowing out for $450 is an amazing bang for the buck, especially for what you are looking for.