Anybody go crazy and use straight pedals for dirt?

[blackba]

I have some vintage amps which I use just pedals for dirt. As long as I am not doing metal, I get fine results. If I am going to play stuff where I need gain, I go with my amps with onboard distortion.

If you main sound is clean or light to medium gain, pedals into a clean amp are a fine option. I do agree if you can get the amp cranking or on the edge of breakup, and use a boost to push it over the top, that is the best use of most dirt pedals, but that is not always possible.

 

[BeZo]

I do that, only I'm a bassist. I run my Ampeg just a hair past clean and use pedals out front to get my distorted sounds. I use 2 different fuzzes (a Mastotron for a gated sticky fuzz and a Devi Ever Hyperion for a fat fuzz), a Rat distortion, and an overdrive to get different sounds. For guitar, I would use a very slightly dirty amp and boost it or put a fuzz/distortion on it and find the sound(s) you're after. If you need to clean it up, you can always volume knob it or get a volume pedal up front to roll back the juice going in.

 

[Badronald]

I have two different rigs. My JTM45 with pedals and my Mesa Triple Rectifier with a cable.

The JTM45 is GREAT and works for a most applications. It's a "nice" tone.

The Triple Rectifier absolutely crushes everything else for heavy balls to the wall tone.

I lean toward the Mesa.

 

[1big1]

i've been messing around with a pedalboard rig the last couple of months. there's a difference in feel between the pedals and straight amp gain.. that's for sure. i'd prefer to use an amp for gain.. but for reasons of size and economy i'm using a pedalboard.
i don't have the money to buy.. rack up.. switch and maintain the amps i'd like for the tones i want.. and even if i did it wouldn't fit on most of the stages i play on.
it's been a bit of a struggle to dial the rig in and balance it out. i'm still tweaking it a bit.. but i've got more time than money.
i'm actually adjusting to using it and getting decent enough results that i can make it work.
i don't care for modelers a whole bunch. too much programming. i like to be able to tweak on the fly. but for some folks that's also a viable option.

 

[adew]

In reply to the OP - yes, I do. Many of the gigs that I play in my part of the world require use of supplied backline (we are not permitted to bring own backline, for example).

Like university81, I too use a HT-Dual pedal. Works great for me through a Fender Twin, or equivalent clean amp. No, it's not the same as amp distortion, but pedals like the HT-Dual and Suhr Riot (another favourite of mine) get very close to the feel and sound of an amp, IMO. Once everything is miked up through the PA, not sure any member of the audience will tell the difference....

@ university81
Are you running the BB Preamp directly into the HT-Dual for your boost? (Sorry, couldn't see the cabling too clearly in your photo.)

@ everyone,
hi, I'm new here - but couldn't resist joining in this thread.

 

[university81]

In reply to the OP - yes, I do. Many of the gigs that I play in my part of the world require use of supplied backline (we are not permitted to bring own backline, for example).

Like university81, I too use a HT-Dual pedal. Works great for me through a Fender Twin, or equivalent clean amp. No, it's not the same as amp distortion, but pedals like the HT-Dual and Suhr Riot (another favourite of mine) get very close to the feel and sound of an amp, IMO. Once everything is miked up through the PA, not sure any member of the audience will tell the difference....

@ university81
Are you running the BB Preamp directly into the HT-Dual for your boost? (Sorry, couldn't see the cabling too clearly in your photo.)

@ everyone,
hi, I'm new here - but couldn't resist joining in this thread.

the BB preamp is just before the loop selector thing, it's usually always on,

guitar --> tone press -> polytune --> bb preamp --> loop selector --> loop1: ht dual --> loop2 : m9 -->loop 3 : flashback + dd3 --> amp

before i was using it with more boost level to sometimes add more gain/sustain for certain lead lines to the HT dual (it was within loop1 with the HT), as i use medium/low output pickups it helps quite nicely, and adds flexibility

the clean boost is a real nice addition to the board imo, the tone press/comp is pretty integral to my tone as it's pretty subtle and the clean boost afterward just brings things to life, especially for clean parts , which is why i just set it and leave it on all the time, instead of using it for say 5% of a set, also helps the cable runs i guess

i also had good results using a 5751 tube in the HT dual, tamed that hi-end down somewhat and gain without having to roll off too much treble

 

[adew]

the BB preamp is just before the loop selector thing, it's usually always on,

guitar --> tone press -> polytune --> bb preamp --> loop selector --> loop1: ht dual --> loop2 : m9 -->loop 3 : flashback + dd3 --> amp

before i was using it with more boost level to sometimes add more gain/sustain for certain lead lines to the HT dual (it was within loop1 with the HT), as i use medium/low output pickups it helps quite nicely, and adds flexibility

Cool! Thanks for that. I have a BB preamp gathering dust somewhere - I'll give it a whirl with the HT-Dual.

 

[glassjaw7]

If you find the right combination of pedals and stack them with low gain, you can get a really nice and thick distortion tone (if your clean channel sounds good to begin with of course)

I recorded this quick clip with a cheap od going into a BB pre into the Mesa clean channel. Pretty happy with the tone.

Also kicked a modded phase 90 on at :44 for the lead part.

 

[Random Hero]

I do it. I run my Tweaker clean and use the Riot for gain. Sounds killer. I've also used a JCM800 clean and the Riot for gain with great results.

FWIW, Dave Kilminster is using the Riot for all the solos live with Roger Waters so I think it does a pretty convincing job...

 

[ACShreds]

it seems to work out ok for steve vai and satch...

 

[ACShreds]

it seems to work out ok for steve vai and satch...

Well, Satch anyway. Joe runs his amps clean and uses a distortion pedal.

Vai runs his pedal to OD an already distorting amp.

oh i thought steve was still running his dist side of his jemini into clean legacys

 

[AmpliFIRE]

both of these are badasss...but pricey:

 

[joepete77]

It can work but I always found best results when the amp is pushed at least a little, it is still a clean tone but just a pushed clean. As far as basing the tone 100% on the pedal i usually dont like it much although its passable. It depends on what amp and pedal used also as the results will vary greatly.

 

[university81]

the BB preamp is just before the loop selector thing, it's usually always on,

guitar --> tone press -> polytune --> bb preamp --> loop selector --> loop1: ht dual --> loop2 : m9 -->loop 3 : flashback + dd3 --> amp

before i was using it with more boost level to sometimes add more gain/sustain for certain lead lines to the HT dual (it was within loop1 with the HT), as i use medium/low output pickups it helps quite nicely, and adds flexibility

Cool! Thanks for that. I have a BB preamp gathering dust somewhere - I'll give it a whirl with the HT-Dual.

i'll just add that the red channel seemed to take to the boost better before i got it modded, since i got the mods done both respond really well to an extra boost in front of the pedal,

you could also try with say the green channel in 'clean' mode, with the gain turned up and level adjusted to taste, get some cool tones like that i reckon,

have fun =0 the bb preamp is one of my few mainstay pedals over the years, no matter how many times i think of maybe selling it , it kicks me in the ass with new possibilites and good tone

 

[1big1]

It can work but I always found best results when the amp is pushed at least a little, it is still a clean tone but just a pushed clean. As far as basing the tone 100% on the pedal i usually dont like it much although its passable. It depends on what amp and pedal used also as the results will vary greatly.

that's what i've been finding as well. a pushed amp tends to add a bit of character to pedal tone.
also.. some pedals play well with some amps and not so well with other amps. some pedals also don't play well with other pedals. it can really be a crap shoot when you run multiple pedals for dirt.
i found three pedals that work pretty well with each other and with my platform amp to cover the tones i need. finding the forth one has been challenge.. but i think i found it last weekend. i'll know more after rehearsal tomorrow.

 

[university81]

so i found some time to record...albeit with a camera phone , the rig i play through, video was way too big, so i just exported the audio and sent it to soundcloud

The amp is a hiwatt custom 100 from 76 i think, set *completely clean* EQ'd to my taste, i play some clean bits along with some effects before hitting the pedal on, it was kinda loud (you would have to speak up and or turn the television up pretty loud to hear yourself over it) and the camera was right next to where i was playing which is why you hear the strings smashing =0

when the amp is more warmed up and i turn up the master some more it just gets better, thanks to the huge headroom the sound stays pretty consistent

random riffage and stuff from my band: www.myspace.com/lafaconnected

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https://soundcloud.com/paulb2/pedalboard ... nto-hiwatt


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the pedalboard again:

 

[thiswaythatway]

Lotsa dirt flavor out there, pick according to your budget and taste:

Pete does a good demo of the Plexitone here, I think it sounds very good for a dirt pedal:

Or for a EVH kinda tone, this pedal sounds quite good:

Or Mark's video of the Suhr Riot shows that a dirt pedal can do the job:

Myself demoing the AMT E1, it's recorded direct but does an awesome job into a clean amp too:

I'm loving how the Wampler sounds.

 

[gkinsingapore]

In this part of the world I dont always get the option of using my full rig as a lot of bars already have backline and its a hassle to rip their gear out and put mine in. I have a little pedalboard I put together for this and the Wampler Pinnacle is the only dirt pedal I have .....its tough to dial in but once you are there its all the distortion you need in a lot of situations...... sounds really really good in front of a Fender Twin

 

[Milerky2]

I currently use a Mesa Studio 22, and though the lead channel on it is amazing, it does not like for my modulations to hit the front of the amp. So I have been using a combination of a VS Route 66, Nobels ODR-1 + and a Japanese DS-1. (I have a Korean as well, there IS A DIFFERENCE!) as long as you balance your levels between the outputs of the pedals, and have a GREAT clean sound that responds well to your nuance, pedals can sound GREAT!
And your mods can hit AFTER your dirt.

I'm not a great player, I may get someone like drucifer to play my rig soon and post some clips.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

I personally hate this setup, reminds me of my crap tones from my broke teenage years...although I've seen many players with huge skillz doing it this way. I can't help but think their tone would be better with a different approach, but if it sounds good it is good.