So my gear sounds OK, but only at gig volumes. Yay.

[Diego]

Last night I had a gig at a pub with around 150 people, I played thru a Laney LV300 Twin, which is a hybrid (I think) 2x12 combo.

I really didn't like the tone that I heard when the owner do the soundcheck (very buzzy and thin) so I reluctantly used my own pedals to add the dirt:
A modified Boss Metal Zone (Diezel mod) and a Keeley Blues Driver.
Used the BD as a volume boost for solos.

Turns out that the 'Diezel' Metal Zone, which I don't really like when playing at my bedroom, slayed through the gig.
Extremely thick and punchy, meaty mids and very clear highs, yet not piercing or cheap sounding. I was floored and my bandmates were impressed, too.
I always thought it could only do a cheesy 80's butt rock tone. It doesn't.
Never had it sounding like that before. So I guess there's really no replacement for volume when it comes to good Rock guitar tones?

It's goddamn annoying.

 

[Kam]

Re: So my gear sounds OK, but only at gig volumes. Yay.

Dude, I have one of those LV300s. What you should have done is use the second channel but roll the gain on the amp all the way down so that it's pretty much clean and then boost it with pedals. That's pretty much what I do, even though I really like the onboard distortion sounds. :fing2:

 

[Diego]

Re: So my gear sounds OK, but only at gig volumes. Yay.

Thanks man!
I didn't have much time to try settings, and I didn't wanna mess for long.
And thankfully I didn't, it was fantastic.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: So my gear sounds OK, but only at gig volumes. Yay.

Hey - its much better to have a good sound at a gig that sucks at home rather than vice versa!

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: So my gear sounds OK, but only at gig volumes. Yay.

I'd say it's not just about the volume, it's also about other instruments replacing and complementing some of the nasty frequencies you hear when you play alone.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: So my gear sounds OK, but only at gig volumes. Yay.

Tonight, I played in my rehearsal space with bassist and drummer, and listened to all 5 of my OD pedals, as a sort of experiment.

I used the Klon, Way Huge Green Rhino, MXR Classic OD and Zakk Wylde OD. Also, the T Rex Mudhoney, which is like an 'overkill gain' type pedal.

I came away blown away by the Klon number 1, and the Green Rhino and MXR Classic OD being best with a strat, and the Klon and Zakk Wylde being best with humbuckers. But when you put the Klon, Green Rhino, MXR Classic and Zakk through their paces, they all sound good, with a different flavor. The Green Rhino has a very forward and present voice. The Klon sounds like you turned everything on the amp UP, and the MXR's have a real knack for adding pure gain with it's own voicing.....the Classic more midrangey, and the Zakk completely neutral to the unison sound.

The MXR Zakk Wylde impresses me more and more for it's ability to do nothing but add neutral gain. That's what Zakk likes about it. His JCM 800 with nothing but additional gain.

All of them were good, so price means nothing really. The T Rex Mudhoney stands apart from the other 4. It's an OD/Dist/Fuzz type pedal, and it sounds best in extreme settings, while the other 4 sound best creating a naturally overdriven tone.

 

[Diego]

Re: So my gear sounds OK, but only at gig volumes. Yay.

That's cool man.

I didn't try the Keeley Blues Driver as dirt, only as a boost, and I'm extremely tempted to try it dirty and loud with the band.
Something tells me it's gonna be amazing.

I'd say it's not just about the volume, it's also about other instruments replacing and complementing some of the nasty frequencies you hear when you play alone.

It could be, actually the other guitar player has sort of a twangy dirty country tone, even though he plays an LP with Dimarzio Evos!
So it complements the über-thick tone I had going really well.

I wouldn't record with these pedals for sure, but gigs? Bring 'em on.

 

[eschoendorff]

Re: So my gear sounds OK, but only at gig volumes. Yay.

WTF is 80s "butt rock?" Is it like a local thing? I grew up in the 80s and don't remember the butt rock part...

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: So my gear sounds OK, but only at gig volumes. Yay.

same thing happened with my ds-1. i used to think it was always just too thin and buzzy, even after i modded it. however, @ gig volume with the tone rolled off amost completely it adds a nice bright crunch that works real well for boosts. along with a TS-type pedal(either my mxr classic or delta labs ts-copy), i can get pretty much any tone i need.