what's a good pedal amp?

korovamilkdud

korovamilkdud

WhoDatologist
So let's say you have a super nice distortion pedal at your disposal, like a Maxon ROD or a Tube King or a Tube Factor.

What amps are best if you really just want the amp itself to be a clean slate to color with pedals? We know pedals aren't that hot in an fx loop...
 
Re: what's a good pedal amp?

korovamilkdud said:
So let's say you have a super nice distortion pedal at your disposal, like a Maxon ROD or a Tube King or a Tube Factor.

What amps are best if you really just want the amp itself to be a clean slate to color with pedals? We know pedals aren't that hot in an fx loop...
Click to expand...

Oddly enough,my Vox Valvetronix VTH 120 head takes extremely well to all of the many different pedals I've stuck in it's input....The only thing I ever tryed in the loop,was a Boss GEQ 7 and found I really didn't need an eq...Just very pleased overall with this amp!

I use this really great BF Fender clean tone and then run the pedals into the amp..
 
Re: what's a good pedal amp?

Sorry Chris, I couldn't disagree more on the JC-120...those amps are just terrible at pedal based overdriven/distorted tones IMO...

Fenders in general as well as old style Marshalls take to pedals well as HiWatts not to mention a load of other amp but it really depends on what type of tone you are looking for...
 
Re: what's a good pedal amp?

Hiwatts and Fenders.

Fenders are pedal whores, every "Huzzah my pedal board is the size of Texas" player I know uses a fender amp for it's rather neutral tone (no mid-spike-character like British amps seem to have.)

And I suggest Hiwatt.. because David Gilmour can't be wrong.
 
Re: what's a good pedal amp?

Any amp with lots of headroom.... Fender (Twin in particular), Hiwatt, Orange, Marshalls, ect.

The only exception I've found to this is the Fender Princeton. It doesn't have a whole lot of headroom, but it's the best pedal amp I've ever used.
 
Re: what's a good pedal amp?

I'd put my vote in for a Tweed Fender. A particularly larger one would be better with some headroom for the more transparent tone with pedals. Tweed Super or Pro would be perfect IMO so you can get a slight breakup when you are playing at gigs and then hit it with the pedals because most pedals like Tube Screamers and Fuzzes to me sound MUCH better with a little grit already.
 
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Re: what's a good pedal amp?

Hiwatt DR504 or DR103 if you like loud, Custom 7 and 20 for quiter use.

Reeves DR504 and etc are essentially the same, only cheap and higher quality.
 
Re: what's a good pedal amp?

OD/Dist ALWAYS sound best when the amp is swelled up to it's own natural breakup point. For that reason, get a tube amp that is getting an edgy tone at the volume you usually want to play at. Doesn't matter what brand, as long as it's not a sterile cleeeen sound. The cleaner the amp is, the harsher an OD pedal sounds.
 
Re: what's a good pedal amp?

I would say a Fender Tube combo would probably be your best choice... depends on what size venues you play...

A Fender Twin has a lot of headroom and if you really want a grittier sound w/ distortion.. try the smaller amps whether it is a Deluxe or a Champ...

The Hot Rod Deville series are pretty amazing..
 
Re: what's a good pedal amp?

the Peavey Classic 30 is probably the "standard" pedal amp...
inexpensive, toneful, and takes pedals really well.
 
Re: what's a good pedal amp?

grendeltone said:
The Hot Rod Deville series are pretty amazing..
Click to expand...

I love my Hot Rod DeVille. They take pedals extremly well. The only down side is you need to really crank the volume if you want any distortion from the amp. It has a great clean sound and is very versitle because of how well it takes pedals.
 
Re: what's a good pedal amp?

Gotta throw in a vote for the Peavey Classic Series. Mine takes pedals well and has a nice clean tone to boot. Gotta love the price too.
 
Re: what's a good pedal amp?

+1 for Fender and Peavey both. Really, a flat-ish tube tone on the edge of breakup is just right, IMO. It keeps the clean stuff from getting too jangly, and when the pedal hits, the amp helps it along. A Fender Pro Reverb is darn near perfect, cause it's not too loud at 40 watts, and it'll make the pedal a part of its own sound.
 
Re: what's a good pedal amp?

grendeltone said:
The Hot Rod Deville series are pretty amazing..
Click to expand...


Amazing at what? I had a friend's 4X10 sitting in my basement for two years. I could not stand that thing. With pedals or without. It was too loud (and I play 100 watt heads), too trebly, too in your face. The cleans weren't snappy/spanky, the amp's overdrive was mush. So I used the same friend's Mesa V-Twin pedal into the amp and it still sucked. I've been soured on Fender amps ever since that one.
 
Re: what's a good pedal amp?

Red_Label said:
Amazing at what? I had a friend's 4X10 sitting in my basement for two years. I could not stand that thing. With pedals or without. It was too loud (and I play 100 watt heads), too trebly, too in your face. The cleans weren't snappy/spanky, the amp's overdrive was mush. So I used the same friend's Mesa V-Twin pedal into the amp and it still sucked. I've been soured on Fender amps ever since that one.
Click to expand...

Don't let those modern Hot Rod series put you off of Fender forever, brother...there are FABULOUS sounding Fenders to be had. Those amps are made for Marshall-y guys who think they want a Fender but don't get the differences, and to whom each is supposed to appeal to. Find yourself a '70s model Pro Reverb and find out what a Fender is supposed to sound like.:cool:
 
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