Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

[Rowan]

Hey guys which pedal would be best suited for that warm 90's alternative rock sound? I'm not looking for any sort of heavy grunge tone, think of any Toadies song, something along those lines. I have a 5150 II for heavy gain distortion, and I can get a semi-decent clean out of the rhythm channel. The rhythm channel can ALSO get a good OD sound but then I lack versatility.


I need a middle ground.

 

[Reckless Abandon]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

Maybe a DS-1 with the gain turned down a bit? I had one when I was in high school (late 90's) and it seemed to ge those sounds.

 

[Rowan]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

Oh right. I forgot to mention I have a modded DS-1 and I really can't groove with it. Its good for those dirty fuzzy classic rock type leads, but not much else. I don't want anything scratchy or fuzzy.

 

[James Rock]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

Maybe a lighter overdrive to boost it (the rythmn channel) into something more like a Modded SD-1.

 

[millsart]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

I really don't think any OD into a 5150 is really going to give the tone your looking for

Most bands I remember seeing and playing with, recording etc that were of the alternative/rock styles were usually using Marshall head like the JCM900, some still using the older 800's and so forth, plenty of DSL's too. Those were all pretty popular, affordable and easy to obtain around that time.

That style of music was heavy on the crunchy Marshally tones


Short of buying a different head, which probably sounds crazy, I'd look for a pedal that gives that great marshall crunch into your clean channel.

Jackhammer, Shredmaster, Hot British would be some nice options as they all have a very crunch JCM type of vibe

Add a LP and it will be just like its 1994 all over again

 

[James Rock]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

Add Crunch Box and Indyguitarist Plexstortion (JCM 800 type tone) to that list.

 

[Rowan]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

Ehhhh. No the clean rhythm channel is okay.

The head is fine, I just need an OD pedal for a couple passages.

 

[JohnnyGuitar]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

Electro Harmonix Big Muff and Pro-Co Rat are the pedals that I would look into.

 

[RockStarNick]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

Just buy a Fulltone OCD V3, and you'll never need another medium-gain overdrive pedal EVER.

 

[millsart]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

Add Crunch Box and Indyguitarist Plexstortion (JCM 800 type tone) to that list.

Crunch box is pretty awesome but I don't think it would be my main suggestion, its a little too heavy honestly. I love mine but use it more for the 80's metal/rock tone, not the softer 90's rock stuff.

Don't get me wrong the CB cleans up pretty well but its just better at heavy stuff,

I'd probably say an OCD would be a better choice for the OP's needs

Me, I like my CB though LOL

 

[millsart]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

Electro Harmonix Big Muff and Pro-Co Rat are the pedals that I would look into.

Muff's were certainly popular with plenty of 90's bands, but more for the grunge tones which I don't think the OP is looking for.

Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, Smashing P's, Melvins etc all can be well served by a Muff but its way too "muffy" for 90's alternative rock tones.

Rat's are also kind of fun pedals but totally sound like late 70's/80's rock/metal tones

 

[jony]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

I second the OCD suggestion.

 

[YEM]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

I'd say a Marshall JCM800 2210 or an Orange head, or up to a Bogner Shiva for heavier stuff. In pedals, I'd say a Keeley Fuzz Head if you want the best, a Big Muff, or a Boss DS-2 for something used.

 

[drpietrzak]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

Twin tube being hot by a TS. Range Master Java Boost into something. Skreddy Top Fuel (or other Skreddy of choice). Run one of these into a chorus or flanger, and delay.

 

[baritone]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

Try out a few different overdrives at the store. Some people like the Bad Monkey, and some people like various incarnations of the Tube Screamer. I have a TS9DX, DOD250, and a whole bunch of Boss overdrives.

 

[KeyOfG]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

I second the OCD suggestion.

And I'll third it!

Rowan, I think it's safe to say, every version of the pedal would do what you're hoping for whetehr it's V1, V2, or V3. By that point it's just personal preference with slight tonal changes within the eq spectrum. (Though of course messing with your eq settings on the amp will allow for other variations too. I think a lot of people just plug into a pedal and forget about all of the additional tweaking possibilities. I, myself, enjoy a V1 OCD unit. Though these stompboxes weren't a part of the time period, music, or scene. They are truly revolutionary by any other means. If you choose to look into them, all versions are easily available, and all will bring you a fairly close return on a resale should you decide it's not really for you.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

If I had your amp, and wanted access to good cleans, light OD and heavy distortion for 90's hard rock, I would use a guitar with a humbucker in the bridge and a single coil by the neck.

I would set the Rhythm channel to where it's as crunchy as I want it with the humbucker, and so that the Lead channel was the hi-gain tone I want with the humbucker. Then for clean parts I'd use the Rhythm channel and the neck single coil, and back off the volume until it's as clean as I want it to be.

If you REALLY wanna use a pedal, you could also set the Rhythm channel to where it's just barely breaking up and use a Tubescreamer or an SD-1 or something for when you want a little bit of extra crunch, but a cranked amp's crunch is always gonna sound better than a circuit board's crunch.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

I'd set the rythm channel squeaky clean and get a Rat. A lot of those bands were using Rats at thetime, along with Muffs and Boss distortion pedals, namely the DS-1.

 

[arbiter]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

i'd try the mxr+ or marshall guv'nor. guv'nor can be a bit muddy, but it could just work for you.

 

[vintagecrunch]

Re: Which OD pedal for 90's rock sound?

I used a Sans Amp pedal back in the 90's after seeing that the guys in Pearl Jam used them. It was one of the old ones with the dip switches and sounded pretty good with my marshal if I remember correctly.