stacking drive pedals

[bluesfloyd]

hi, guys
i hear people talk about stacking there drive pedal together,

whats the idea of stacking drive pedals?

do you guys use your drive pedals this way ?

do some drive pedal work/stack well together then other drive pedals ?


thanks for your time guys,
bluesfloyd,

 

[baritone]

Re: stacking drive pedals

I've experimented a little with it. Whether light or heavy distortion, the sound frequently thins out. I did get some enjoyment from running a TS9 into a Metal Zone. I much prefer the sound of one optimized distortion box & using the guitar's knobs & switch for in-between sounds.

 

[Demanic]

Re: stacking drive pedals

The secret is to use them like gears in a transmission. I like compression into overdrive, then distortion with a clean boost at the end. Then you can use them in different combinations as you need.

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[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: stacking drive pedals

I almost always stack. Very few combinations sound bad, but it depends on your amp and the pedals in question.

 

[ThisDyingSoul76]

Re: stacking drive pedals

Certain things do work better together than other combinations. TwilightOdesey points out another thing too, the amp is a factor too.

What I find with stacking is if you take pedals that are basically polar opposites (one possibly overly bright on its own, the other a bit dark sounding for example) the resulting sound is somewhere between. They compensate for the other pedal's weakness. Also, the result will be different depending on pedal order. The one closest to the amp will be more present.

Not every combination will work, but one thing to keep in mind is that sometimes a terrible sounding pedal will sound great when paired with another.

What I like to do when I stack is set the gain on each pedal to a low to moderate setting, sometimes the lower gain pedal is before the higher gain and with a volume boost to drive the other pedal harder.

Experiment. Have fun and don't dismiss a pedal until you've tried every combination.

 

[HiFiRebel]

Re: stacking drive pedals

I used to stack and Blues Driver and a TS9. Now I stack a Soul Food and a Mini Tube Screamer. I really dig the Soul Food in there.

 

[Matt42]

Re: stacking drive pedals

The secret is to use them like gears in a transmission. I like compression into overdrive, then distortion with a clean boost at the end. Then you can use them in different combinations as you need.

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I really like that analogy. When I was running a 4 drive setup into a clean amp, I'd use them to add a bit more gain, some compression and to slightly shift the EQ. I currently only have two drives, a lot of my leads end up with both of them on.

Something else to consider when stacking pedals is that order matters. If I put my Archer before the EHX Crayon, I get a different sound than when the Crayon is in front.

 

[Demanic]

Re: stacking drive pedals

With the boost at the end, I can boost just the straight guitar, or guitar with comp, or guitar with comp and overdrive, or guitar with overdrive...
You get my point.

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[dave74]

Re: stacking drive pedals

Also boosting an active pickup is a drive-stack.

 

[Archer250]

Re: stacking drive pedals

I personally don't stack, but some of the best live tones I've heard from my pedal-holic friends are from stacked pedals. One guy uses a Pedal Projects Klone into a Tubescreamer into a modded RAT I gave him. Sounds killer. Personally, I feel like stacking dirt units lack dynamics.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: stacking drive pedals

Personally, I feel like stacking dirt units lack dynamics.

This is a fact; the more clipping you introduce, the more compression/loss of dynamics/noise you are adding. The amp is a critical part of the equation, and how you have it set. I like setting my amps for edge-of-breakup then use a compressor, tape saturation, boost, and drive pedal in front. The drive is not over the top (I keep everything at unity gain and am more into crunch tones than flat-out distortion) but it has a harmonic complexity that I feel I cannot get with a single drive pedal ... or maybe the stacked pedals bring out that complexity? Not sure, but it makes a noticeable difference. Whether that difference is an actual improvement remains to be seen!

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: stacking drive pedals

Lots of good stuff in here. I'll just point out that you really need to think "EQ" along with compression and clipping/distortion. I like to use my Fulldrive with a Fuzz Face and Fender amp to roll off some of the harsh highs and simulate the slightly breaking up Marshall feel (more so than the clean fender tone)

Also, the Tube Screamer has become so popular for a reason, no matter what your rhythm tone is (clean, slight breakup crunch, distortion) the mid hump and compression just help your lead jump out.

 

[Archer250]

Re: stacking drive pedals

This is a fact; the more clipping you introduce, the more compression/loss of dynamics/noise you are adding. The amp is a critical part of the equation, and how you have it set. I like setting my amps for edge-of-breakup then use a compressor, tape saturation, boost, and drive pedal in front. The drive is not over the top (I keep everything at unity gain and am more into crunch tones than flat-out distortion) but it has a harmonic complexity that I feel I cannot get with a single drive pedal ... or maybe the stacked pedals bring out that complexity? Not sure, but it makes a noticeable difference. Whether that difference is an actual improvement remains to be seen!

What I meant is that stacking 2 pedals to achieve a certain amount of gain doesn't feel as dynamic and doesn't clean up as well as turning the gain knob on either pedal to achieve the same amount of gain. But that's just me.

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[HiFiRebel]

Re: stacking drive pedals

It's not the certain amount but rather the certain type of gain.

 

[ThisDyingSoul76]

Re: stacking drive pedals

It's not the certain amount but rather the certain type of gain.

Exactly... More gain isn't necessarily the goal. It's about getting tones that the paired up pedals can't achieve on their own. The pedals are chosen either by the character of the 2 pedals being different but blending well, a bright pedal to give clarity to a more muddy sounding one, a dark pedal to tame the high end of one that's overly bright or add girth to a thin sounding pedal, etc. The pedals bring out harmonics that the other does not and they compliment each other to bring out a more complex tone.


You may lose dynamics, I've never paid much attention. I'm usually using low to moderate gain when I stack... The thickness of my tones from stacking are more about the way the sound the pedals produce mesh together and not so much the amount of dirt. Even with a single pedal, the more gain you add the less dynamic things become. Usually when I'm stacking gain pedals I'm not playing with dynamics. It's a section of the song that is going balls out and I turn off the extra gain pedals when that section is done.

 

[Matt42]

Re: stacking drive pedals

Anymore, I tend not to do a lot of stacking on rhythm parts, which is when I want the most dynamics. I'll leave it off on some leads too, if I'm playing something where dynamics are going to be important. But sometimes, that super compressed lead tone is exactly what I'm after!

 

[Archer250]

Re: stacking drive pedals

That said, putting an 808 in front of another pedal never disapoints me. It makes the tone much, much more aggressive.

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[ThisDyingSoul76]

Re: stacking drive pedals

I just got a V3 series Jeckyl and Hyde the other day. The Overdrive side stacks well with everything I've tried. So does the distortion for that matter. I do find so far that when on the clean channel and at lower volumes, the distortion thins out when it's not stacked with something. Get that clean channel loud enough to start getting some natural tube compression though, and it's huge sounding.

 

[Southbound Suarez]

Re: stacking drive pedals

I don't typically stack although I do use my Keeley Boss Blues Driver almost all of the time. I have a early Keeley/Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive and Fulltone Full-Drive Mosfet pedal which are both Tube Screamer clones. I believe some would say to stack your gain pedals from lower gain pedals to higher gain pedals. In my case of the Blues Driver w/a TS clone, the BD first and TS clone w/clean boost next may be better for the analogy given by Demanic in Post# 3 because of the clean boost sections within the Sparkle Drive and Full-Drive Mosfet. That is unless I am using my Klon Klone or Mk.4.23 clean boost pedals separately.

 

[bluesfloyd]

Re: stacking drive pedals

hi,guys
big thanks to you guys above for all your good advice about stacking drive pedals,

bluesfloyd,