Gearjoneser
Gear Ho
Re: Using Your Amp's (Natural) Distortion
To be honest, I've acquired many classic gain pedals more as an experiment than for actual application.
I'm much more into amps, and using them for music... while pedals take a real back seat. Before you think I'm crazy.... I do use pedals. I've got so many that I don't use though, because I'm always about amps first.
Before getting into the finer points of gear, I spent all my time thinking of guitar/amp/pickup/boost, and I still use that formula. I think I fell into the trap of buying gizmos, as a gear junkie, but as a musician, I stick with the basics. The gear journey taught me a lot though. I learned which OD's sound best with which amps, and once I knew, I stuck with it.
Here's some formulas.
JCM 800 - MXR Classic OD, Boss OD's, Maxon. Anything Barber makes.
Fender Blackface - Tubescreamer, Green Rhino, Fullrone Fulldrive II.
Plexi - Marshall Gov'nor II, Cmatmods Brownie, Klon, Barber, and many others.
Tweeds - lots of them work, but the Way Huge Red Llama is a must have pedal for the Tweed lover. Actually, spend the money, and buy a new Camel Toe.
As a collector of dirt boxes, I'd recommend the Red Llama or Camel Toe to the guy who has every other OD classic. Thank me later.
But to answer this thread, I use amps for the most part. Bad Cat Cougar 50, Bogner XTC, Marshall Jubilee, JCM800, Orange, Matchless Chieftain, Gibson Goldtone, Fender Pro Reverb, Fender Vaporizer, Fender Excelsior.
I play with pedals, but usually depend on my amps to deliver the gain level I'm looking for.
To be honest, I've acquired many classic gain pedals more as an experiment than for actual application.
I'm much more into amps, and using them for music... while pedals take a real back seat. Before you think I'm crazy.... I do use pedals. I've got so many that I don't use though, because I'm always about amps first.
Before getting into the finer points of gear, I spent all my time thinking of guitar/amp/pickup/boost, and I still use that formula. I think I fell into the trap of buying gizmos, as a gear junkie, but as a musician, I stick with the basics. The gear journey taught me a lot though. I learned which OD's sound best with which amps, and once I knew, I stuck with it.
Here's some formulas.
JCM 800 - MXR Classic OD, Boss OD's, Maxon. Anything Barber makes.
Fender Blackface - Tubescreamer, Green Rhino, Fullrone Fulldrive II.
Plexi - Marshall Gov'nor II, Cmatmods Brownie, Klon, Barber, and many others.
Tweeds - lots of them work, but the Way Huge Red Llama is a must have pedal for the Tweed lover. Actually, spend the money, and buy a new Camel Toe.
As a collector of dirt boxes, I'd recommend the Red Llama or Camel Toe to the guy who has every other OD classic. Thank me later.
But to answer this thread, I use amps for the most part. Bad Cat Cougar 50, Bogner XTC, Marshall Jubilee, JCM800, Orange, Matchless Chieftain, Gibson Goldtone, Fender Pro Reverb, Fender Vaporizer, Fender Excelsior.
I play with pedals, but usually depend on my amps to deliver the gain level I'm looking for.
Last edited: