Overthinking Screamer Pedals

S

Searay

Active member
I've bought and sold probably two or three of each Analogman, Keeley, Ibanez Tube Screamers through the years. I now use a KOT but I end up fiddling with it too much. So recently, I bought a cheapo Joyo Vintage Overdrive and the darn thing sounds fairly decent. It appears to have more, (too much) gain on the volume so if you crank it like the Tube Screamer, it gets fuzzy/fizzy, but at about noon on the dial it does what it is supposed to. I rarely use the Drive knob. Do these clones really have a spot in the market or do my ears deceive me?
 
Sure, I´ve always figured anything that´s $5 of parts can sound great whether it says Analogman or whatever on it. If it works, it works. I´m a snob for a lot of things, but basic pedals have always been the exception for me.
 
My favorite Screamer type is the BYOC Green Pony.. everyone should buy this kit and build it if you are into these pedals. It's an easy paint-by-number build.
 
As a boost, they all sound good to me, nearly every OD pedal I've tried. Right now I'm using a Maxon od808 and it's probably my all time fav... it tightens up the low end, but not too much like a sd-1 does, and it's got more pleasant midrange and treble frequencies to it IMO.
 
hammered said:
I've tried a ton of Screamer pedals over the years to do the whole boost and tighten up the low end . Right now my favorite is the regular ole Boss SD-1 , gain off and volume all the way up
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When I use a SD-1 I like to add a bit of the drive in there, like almost 9 o'clock on the drive cause the pedal has almost no push to it (even with the level cranked) without doing that.
 
The next step is to get rid of the screamer or just use it to boost the signal.

Or just get rid of it and get an eq with a boost.
 
Geo said:
The next step is to get rid of the screamer or just use it to boost the signal.

Or just get rid of it and get an eq with a boost.
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If an EQ pedal doesn't have a level control you can just move all the sliders near the top, works great as a boost, in a frown shape of course. That's what i do with a MXR 6 band.
 
anomaly said:
If an EQ pedal doesn't have a level control you can just move all the sliders near the top, works great as a boost, in a frown shape of course. That's what i do with a MXR 6 band.
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So many good pedals out there now, doesn't Steve Stevens endorse something like that?
 
The thing about Tube Screamers, though, is that even with the Gain on 0, they're still adding some clipping and other compression things that an EQ on its own cannot replicate. So there is still room for a Tube Screamer, IMO.

I really like the Duncan 805 for its ability to shape the EQ (without going as complicated as a Graphic EQ) as well as doing the TS compression thing.

Personally, I like Rectos. And I find that for my own style and the tone I'm going for, an SD-1 tightens it up better than an 808, and adds some of the bite and attack that neither a Rector nor a TS808 or OD808 naturally have. I really like the Wylde Overdrive for that. It's basically an almost straight up SD-1 clone that's very subtly tighter and grindier, IMO.

The one thing that my OCD always struggles with TS's and SD-1's (not the hot-rodded ones, just the plain standard ones) is that even if you crank the level all the way up, you're barely even at unity gain (on a clean channel) with hot pickups like EMG's. With even hotter pickups like the X2N or the Black Winter, you won't even get unity gain, which I find disappointing. I mean, after all, they still work, since you'll be dropping more gain from your amp on top plus you'll get more clipping from the pedal, but my OCD struggles a little with knowing that my boost is not really boosting, LOL.
 
The JOYO pedals have a good rep especially for the money . I've tried the vintage overdrive and it is solid .
 
I've gone back to the TS-808 , SD-1, or DOD 250 circuit with my main drive now coming from a KLON clone. Makes the highs and lows tighter and just bigger. I have the previous version and for sure prices seem to have gone up almost a 100$ but if you are going to have just one OD, it won't break the bank. This one has a "lean" setting which tightens it ever so slightly which I really like.

https://mojohandfx.com/products/sacred-cow
I like some sort of clean boost just to pump the OD up slightly for leads and right now I am using my KoKo Boost V1. Just barely on. I'm essentially doing the George Lynch thing. Wah-Klon-TS-Chorus-Phaser and done.
 
The Klon works nicely into naturally tighter-sounding amps too. It does add some detail and grind without neutering the low-end too much.

I have the Archer and the TC Zeuss. Both nice.

But I don't find it works particularly well with Rectos, personally.
 
Rex Rocker said:
The Klon works nicely into naturally tighter-sounding amps too. It does add some detail and grind without neutering the low-end too much.

I have the Archer and the TC Zeuss. Both nice.

But I don't find it works particularly well with Rectos, personally.
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Good point. Sorry, I was talking Marshalls or anything close to their design. Anything else, I can't speak to. As Recto's tend to have more gain and bloat, a TS is probably the better compliment to that sound.
 
Just read Gary Holt is using this with his jubilee for full effect🔥😎
Screenshot_20230202-132943_Chrome.jpg
 
The full size TC Electronic Spark is a pretty cool option . You’ve got the three mode toggle switch Fat,TS,Clean and separate bass and treble . With the toggle in the TS mode it gets a little too compressed for me but I really like the clean setting
 
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