distortion..preamp or pedals : discuss

pornbob · 27th November 2008, 4:11pm

having been a long time supporter of `you can only get a good distorted sound from the preamp/power amp turned up loud` school of thought, a recent wee box from vox (sic)

has changed my opinion completely. so much so that i now run a wee chain of pedals into the clean channel of my JVM. It kinda goes like this:

guitar>

dimebag wah>

marshall ed-1 compressor>

vox satchurator>

kerry king 10band eq>

mxr carbon copy delay>

boss chorus>

boss tuner>

marshall JVM410h on clean channel (orange mode)>

TC electronics G sharp in parallell fx loop for long delay settings

this set up sounds a million times better to me than going straight from wah to
marshall with all fx in the loop and using a combo of preamp/power amp gain to
achieve a nice fluid lead sound and indeed this is the way that satriani gets his tone, which is why i started this wee adventure in the first place !

your thought ladies/gentlemen please............

J.M · 27th November 2008, 5:23pm

hmm i may well have to check out this pedal! I am a firm believer in tones from the amp, however, I have been known to use pedals to change, or supplement these tones!

so yeah, best of both

Largest of Als · 27th November 2008, 6:02pm

If the style you're playing in is all very much the same thru your set, then get the tone you want from an amp.. keep it as simple as possible.

If you're constantly changing your sound on stage, then pedals are the way to go, but you might find getting one higher end multi fx and taking the time to programme it properly is better than having a whole chain of pedals, with each one a link waiting to go wrong.

Each to their own I guess..

Also remember, you can work for a long time to get the perfect tone/set up.. only to have a shite PA and /or crap engineer totally destroy it before anyone hears it.

Al

pornbob · 27th November 2008, 6:19pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Largest of Als

Also remember, you can work for a long time to get the perfect tone/set up.. only to have a shite PA and /or crap engineer totally destroy it before anyone hears it.

Al

i feel your pain Al , been there too many times to mention sadly

J.M · 27th November 2008, 7:31pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by pornbob

i feel your pain Al , been there too many times to mention sadly

+1

done some dep work for a function type band n used a multi effects as opposed to luggin a huge rig about!

pornbob · 27th November 2008, 8:05pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.M

+1

done some dep work for a function type band n used a multi effects as opposed to luggin a huge rig about!

the days of me luggin anythin about are long gone...we have people to do
that now

Largest of Als · 27th November 2008, 8:38pm

Of course... the other piece in the puzzle is the player..

No point having the best gear in the perfect setup if you're just gonna play a load of shite.

Al

pornbob · 1st December 2008, 11:58am

ok people, done two gigs this weekend with the `pedal` setup as opposed to
my regular `straight to amp` one and i have to say i`m pretty much a convert
to the pedals. much more flexability and choice of sounds and a better more consistent drive tone, ...guess i`ve answered my own question !

Elite · 4th December 2008, 2:01am

wouldnt ever use a pedal to get a distortion tone but im considering getting a keeley modded ts to use as a boost for my VHT its pretty un neccesery though as my rythm tone destroys.

J.M · 4th December 2008, 4:31am

and the most confident post of the thread goes to......

Campestral · 4th December 2008, 4:54am

you got any tunes with you stepping on some pedals for fun? i can't imagine you not making good tunes but test it

Elite · 4th December 2008, 3:54pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.M

and the most confident post of the thread goes to......

never said i was capable of playing anything on it lol

pornbob · 4th December 2008, 8:44pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elite

wouldnt ever use a pedal to get a distortion tone but im considering getting a keeley modded ts to use as a boost for my VHT its pretty un neccesery though as my rythm tone destroys.

i have a keeley ts-9 mod plus, wonderfull box !!

Elite · 6th December 2008, 4:17pm

does it colour the tone of your amp?

pornbob · 8th December 2008, 2:06pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elite

does it colour the tone of your amp?

aye it sure does but not in a bad way...lots of lovely mid range, perfect for solos
especially if you dont have a load of mids in your rythm sound, it cuts right through the whole band