Distortion Pedal Rig Observation.

[Gainfreak]

Has anyone else noticed that when you play certain distortion boxes straight into an amp that the gain on them can be ok, but when you put that same pedal through a pedal board that adds a few more effects in the chain that the gain seems to be hopped up a lot more?

This has happened to me more then a few times. I guess some of the effects or some of the pedal in the chain seems to increase the gain on the pedal.


Just an observation. I decided to make a really portable pedal rig which consists of a Tech21 Power Engine and a few pedals.

I played a Carl Martin Single channel Plexi Pedal straight into the Tech21 to get a base tone. The pedal sounds excellent but even with the gain up i thought Id have to hit it with a TS pedal to increase the gain for long sustaining solos. I put that same pedal through my small pedal board that has a chorus and a couple of delays and even with the other effects off the same pedal now distorted like a MOTHER and it has hang time for days lol!

Anyone else notice this. I'm only mentioning this because I AM NOT A DISTORTION PEDAL GUY. Most of the pedals I've used were boosts used in front of an amp.

 

[university81]

i'm thinking it has something to do with input/output impedance and how it's reacting with the next pedals in line or the amp

had similar experiences with overdrive pedals in a certain order having different output levels because of it

i usually combine ODs and boosts , but i've got a mooer RATT clone distortion box on the board atm, sounds great for lead lines

 

[Gainfreak]

i'm thinking it has something to do with input/output impedance and how it's reacting with the next pedals in line or the amp

had similar experiences with overdrive pedals in a certain order having different output levels because of it

i usually combine ODs and boosts , but i've got a mooer RATT clone distortion box on the board atm, sounds great for lead lines

I'm thinking that you are absolutely correct.

The Tech21 doesn't add any gain like going through the front of an amp can, so I was surprised by how different the gain was when I added the Plexitone single to my pedal board.

With that said, I still think the Plexitone pedal getting hit by my Tube screamer is a Killer sound but what I once thought would have to be a mandatory thing was different once I added the pedal to the board. I'm sure this is pedal board 101 to guys who do this, but it was a huge eye opener for me

 

[glassjaw7]

I know what you're talking about, but to me it seems that it's actually volume or sustain (or both) that is increased.

 

[Gainfreak]

I know what you're talking about, but to me it seems that it's actually volume or sustain (or both) that is increased.

It could be. I have to check it out again!


I just noticed that when I played the Pedal through the Power Engine that even with the gain up high, it was like a KILLER crunch sound with decent sustain but it made you work. As soon as I put that same pedal into a board it had what appeared to be more gain with the same exact settings and Most definitely had More sustain. I didn't notice a volume increase but that was more then likely because I set the volume on teh pedal to off, so that I would not be blairing loud when turning the Tech 21 power engine on lol

 

[university81]

i'm thinking it has something to do with input/output impedance and how it's reacting with the next pedals in line or the amp

had similar experiences with overdrive pedals in a certain order having different output levels because of it

i usually combine ODs and boosts , but i've got a mooer RATT clone distortion box on the board atm, sounds great for lead lines

I'm thinking that you are absolutely correct.

The Tech21 doesn't add any gain like going through the front of an amp can, so I was surprised by how different the gain was when I added the Plexitone single to my pedal board.

With that said, I still think the Plexitone pedal getting hit by my Tube screamer is a Killer sound but what I once thought would have to be a mandatory thing was different once I added the pedal to the board. I'm sure this is pedal board 101 to guys who do this, but it was a huge eye opener for me

was gonna say the amp in question the power engine is usually used with modellers no? (like sansamp pedals or other modelling floor units) as it's essentially flat response

from what i've read the power engine has a 10kOhms input impedance , and something like a Marshall JVM410 has 470kohms

i had a sansamp setup for a little while (through a blonde pedal) had to set the OD pedal output levels completely different ( a lot lower than normal) , in any case whatever sounds good

 

[Gainfreak]

i'm thinking it has something to do with input/output impedance and how it's reacting with the next pedals in line or the amp

had similar experiences with overdrive pedals in a certain order having different output levels because of it

i usually combine ODs and boosts , but i've got a mooer RATT clone distortion box on the board atm, sounds great for lead lines

I'm thinking that you are absolutely correct.

The Tech21 doesn't add any gain like going through the front of an amp can, so I was surprised by how different the gain was when I added the Plexitone single to my pedal board.

With that said, I still think the Plexitone pedal getting hit by my Tube screamer is a Killer sound but what I once thought would have to be a mandatory thing was different once I added the pedal to the board. I'm sure this is pedal board 101 to guys who do this, but it was a huge eye opener for me

was gonna say the amp in question the power engine is usually used with modellers no? (like sansamp pedals or other modelling floor units) as it's essentially flat response

from what i've read the power engine has a 10kOhms input impedance , and something like a Marshall JVM410 has 470kohms

i had a sansamp setup for a little while (through a blonde pedal) had to set the OD pedal output levels completely different ( a lot lower than normal) , in any case whatever sounds good

The Tech21 can be used with Modelers (I've used it with a Digitech RP1000) To the best of my knowledge the Tech21 pedals are analogue.
I got the idea of using a distortion box through the PE by catching a few of there videos lol

 

[mentoneman]

i'm thinking it has something to do with input/output impedance and how it's reacting with the next pedals in line or the amp

had similar experiences with overdrive pedals in a certain order having different output levels because of it

i usually combine ODs and boosts , but i've got a mooer RATT clone distortion box on the board atm, sounds great for lead lines

I'm thinking that you are absolutely correct.

The Tech21 doesn't add any gain like going through the front of an amp can, so I was surprised by how different the gain was when I added the Plexitone single to my pedal board.

With that said, I still think the Plexitone pedal getting hit by my Tube screamer is a Killer sound but what I once thought would have to be a mandatory thing was different once I added the pedal to the board. I'm sure this is pedal board 101 to guys who do this, but it was a huge eye opener for me

was gonna say the amp in question the power engine is usually used with modellers no? (like sansamp pedals or other modelling floor units) as it's essentially flat response

from what i've read the power engine has a 10kOhms input impedance , and something like a Marshall JVM410 has 470kohms

i had a sansamp setup for a little while (through a blonde pedal) had to set the OD pedal output levels completely different ( a lot lower than normal) , in any case whatever sounds good

The Tech21 can be used with Modelers (I've used it with a Digitech RP1000) To the best of my knowledge the Tech21 pedals are analogue.
I got the idea of using a distortion box through the PE by catching a few of there videos lol

i know it's a bit of a hassle but if you ever have the opportunity,
remove the stock speaker in the power engine and fling it into the hudson like a frisbee, and replace it with ANYTHING and it will improve
i have a scumback in mine for the win!

 

[Gainfreak]

i'm thinking it has something to do with input/output impedance and how it's reacting with the next pedals in line or the amp

had similar experiences with overdrive pedals in a certain order having different output levels because of it

i usually combine ODs and boosts , but i've got a mooer RATT clone distortion box on the board atm, sounds great for lead lines

I'm thinking that you are absolutely correct.

The Tech21 doesn't add any gain like going through the front of an amp can, so I was surprised by how different the gain was when I added the Plexitone single to my pedal board.

With that said, I still think the Plexitone pedal getting hit by my Tube screamer is a Killer sound but what I once thought would have to be a mandatory thing was different once I added the pedal to the board. I'm sure this is pedal board 101 to guys who do this, but it was a huge eye opener for me

was gonna say the amp in question the power engine is usually used with modellers no? (like sansamp pedals or other modelling floor units) as it's essentially flat response

from what i've read the power engine has a 10kOhms input impedance , and something like a Marshall JVM410 has 470kohms

i had a sansamp setup for a little while (through a blonde pedal) had to set the OD pedal output levels completely different ( a lot lower than normal) , in any case whatever sounds good

The Tech21 can be used with Modelers (I've used it with a Digitech RP1000) To the best of my knowledge the Tech21 pedals are analogue.
I got the idea of using a distortion box through the PE by catching a few of there videos lol

i know it's a bit of a hassle but if you ever have the opportunity,
remove the stock speaker in the power engine and fling it into the hudson like a frisbee, and replace it with ANYTHING and it will improve
i have a scumback in mine for the win!

LOL!!

I have had a love/hate with the stock speaker Sometimes I think they sound great and other times, not so much I'm just way to lazy to mess with them