Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
Any one have one of these pedals that just is like the secret sauce to add to an already good tone . Just brainstorming
Mr. Willy
Well-known member
I’m loving what the Friedman Buxxom Boost does to my SLO. Only OD/Boost I’ve liked with it. There’s no color at all. Just way more of your amp, if you want it that way. I’d like to have two and toggle between them.
cardinal
Well-known member
The right boost is a great thing. Marshall/SD-1. Recto or 5150 with the OD808. There's a mindset that a great amp shouldn't need a $100 pedal to sound good, but I don't argue with what just works. Those pairings just sound like natural extensions of the amps, just tighter with more gain and saturation that what's possible with the amp alone.
I've tried fancy compressors with high gain guitar and hated it. The overdrive compresses things enough.
I've never tinkered with EQ in an amp loop, but using one before the amp as a type of mid boost sounds great.
I've tried fancy compressors with high gain guitar and hated it. The overdrive compresses things enough.
I've never tinkered with EQ in an amp loop, but using one before the amp as a type of mid boost sounds great.
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
Interesting. I’ve yet to try that one . Very cool . Especially if it’s great with a SLO
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
I actually like using compresser pedals to just shape the tone .Not thinking of it as a compresser. Today I hooked up a Walrus Audio to a Heberts mk 3 and it did something cool . That’s made think of alll 3 as options and what others like .
RaceU4her
Well-known member
I usually always could go for a parametric in the loop. Boosts are kind of amp dependent. Compressors I never fucked with much
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
What’s your favorite parametric eq?
RaceU4her
Well-known member
i use an Ashly PQ16 six band rackmount now, id rather use that in the loop to fine tune things than do it in the box, i know you said pedals, if i was gonna use a pedal id check one of these out
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
Nice . I’ll check it .Like I said the Walrus Audio Deep Six got me looking for pedals to shape . I got it for free and I’m really digging tinkering againi use an Ashly PQ16 six band rackmount now, id rather use that in the loop to fine tune things than do it in the box, i know you said pedals, if i was gonna use a pedal id check one of these out
TheGreatGreen
Well-known member
Compression - As far as I'm concerned, compression is the secret ingredient to basically any great clean tone. Unlike what a lot of guitar store employees and forumites will tell you, too much dynamics can in fact be a bad thing. A good compressor makes all the difference for making a good clean tone manageable and not overly dynamic, which can spike your ears if you hit the strings too hard. I use an Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Deluxe compressor and it's basically the perfect pedal compressor. Zero desire for another after getting this one.
EQ - easily the most valuable guitar effect that nobody talks about. A good EQ in the loop of your amp, or in post if you're recording, can make all the difference in the world. MXR 10-band or even the Mesa 5-band graphic EQ work great in the loop. I've used a Boss GE-7 both in the loop and in front of the amp as a boost for years and love it. If you want to get fancy and go rack, Rane makes (or made) some great 1U rack parametric EQ's that can be had for pretty cheap these days. Highly recommend an EQ. If you want to know how effective a good EQ cab be, just look at the Mesa Mark series. Without EQ, the high gain in those amps is just about unusable for anything but 70's stoner music. With the 5-band EQ, they can basically do anything from jazz to fusion to death metal.
Totally agree. The goal is not "to appreciate this expensive product that not everybody can afford, Mr. Ungrateful!" The goal is to get the sound in your head. If the sound in your head is literally "a Dual Recto boosted by an SD-1" then that's the sound, and nothing else will do it, so that $2,200 amp will require that $80 pedal to be complete.
If there was an amp that just naturally sounded, controlled, and behaved like my Dual Recto or 5150 with my favorite boost pedal just naturally in there (that I could also individually tweak like I can with my pedal), then that argument would hold water... but there's not, so it doesn't.
EQ - easily the most valuable guitar effect that nobody talks about. A good EQ in the loop of your amp, or in post if you're recording, can make all the difference in the world. MXR 10-band or even the Mesa 5-band graphic EQ work great in the loop. I've used a Boss GE-7 both in the loop and in front of the amp as a boost for years and love it. If you want to get fancy and go rack, Rane makes (or made) some great 1U rack parametric EQ's that can be had for pretty cheap these days. Highly recommend an EQ. If you want to know how effective a good EQ cab be, just look at the Mesa Mark series. Without EQ, the high gain in those amps is just about unusable for anything but 70's stoner music. With the 5-band EQ, they can basically do anything from jazz to fusion to death metal.
Totally agree. The goal is not "to appreciate this expensive product that not everybody can afford, Mr. Ungrateful!" The goal is to get the sound in your head. If the sound in your head is literally "a Dual Recto boosted by an SD-1" then that's the sound, and nothing else will do it, so that $2,200 amp will require that $80 pedal to be complete.
If there was an amp that just naturally sounded, controlled, and behaved like my Dual Recto or 5150 with my favorite boost pedal just naturally in there (that I could also individually tweak like I can with my pedal), then that argument would hold water... but there's not, so it doesn't.
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Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
Great info man
duncan
Active member
My go to lately has been the Diamond boost eq. It’s all the things you’re looking for.
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
Interesting
DanTravis62
Well-known member
Comp, only for clean tones. With a high gain sound, you don't need it unless your technique is iffy. For clean tones it can be magical though - especially with amps that don't have any natural compression.
Boost, depends on the amp - many amps need one to get the types of sounds I use, but I don't use one with my Larry. I've had my best results with weird stuff, not the tried and true sd1/808 that everyone else likes.
EQ is a great tool to have around, a swiss army knife, but if you have to go really extreme with it in the loop you probably don't have the right amp for you. It's just as useful for a clean boost or mid boost for solos.
Boost, depends on the amp - many amps need one to get the types of sounds I use, but I don't use one with my Larry. I've had my best results with weird stuff, not the tried and true sd1/808 that everyone else likes.
EQ is a great tool to have around, a swiss army knife, but if you have to go really extreme with it in the loop you probably don't have the right amp for you. It's just as useful for a clean boost or mid boost for solos.
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
The other day a student gave me Walrus Audio Deep Six . I didn’t use it like a compression more like a boost /eq . I usually don’t like compressed but it has some magic to it . It got toying a around
TheToneDig
Active member
Comp - The LA-2A compressor as a pedal. Can even handle your humbucking. Surprisingly also found in post-production for heavier than clean both at the start and end of chains. Compression on compression is supposed to be a no-no, but I have seen this way more used than people are talking about for hard and heavy. It's a global way of getting everything in order.
Boost - Transparent klons are in at the moment. Get something there like a Tumnus. Treble booster for Plexi. SD1 for JCM. 808 for everything else. Have a TS9 if it comes down to it. I use Earthquaker devices Arrows for a boutique boost.
EQ - Get Line6 Helix Native and buy profiles. Study the EQ chains going on and all the settings. Gold there. Everything from Van Halen to Red Fang. Ballpark settings are there for the real deal stuff.
Good luck.
Boost - Transparent klons are in at the moment. Get something there like a Tumnus. Treble booster for Plexi. SD1 for JCM. 808 for everything else. Have a TS9 if it comes down to it. I use Earthquaker devices Arrows for a boutique boost.
EQ - Get Line6 Helix Native and buy profiles. Study the EQ chains going on and all the settings. Gold there. Everything from Van Halen to Red Fang. Ballpark settings are there for the real deal stuff.
Good luck.
S
Special Ed
New member
Never found a compression pedal I could gel with, although I haven't tried one in years. My frankenrig consists of a Univox U45B with a Mesa Boogie 5-Band EQ after a Suhr RL with a Lehle Volume pedal between the guitar and amp. The Lehle has a 10db boost built into it - incredibly transparent and just enough boost to send the little Univox into overdrive heaven. Because the Univox is a dark amp, the EQ adds a little sparkle that is missing otherwise. Easily one of the most versatile rigs I've ever owned.
Smash
Hack
I have 31 band graphic rack mount I used in the loop with several amps. You can do whatever you want with your tone with it. If you are smart and use very little of it, you can sculpt an already good tone. You can also use negative eq to get rid of the static in the background of a high gain amp. I did that for awhile, then I made a monster metal tone that was tight AF but had the nastiest palm mutes. I have a loop switch that I would switch the eq in when I wanted to break down brick walls with my palm mutes. So I could have a stock amp/modded amp with a click of the footswitch. I don't do that with my wizard, because I have so far been happy with just playing it. But I have a DBX 231 that i got for cheap from another rig-talk brother. I think a 131 would be great, because i don't use both channels. But there is nothing that will give you control like an eq in the loop. Using a pedal boost is great if you get one that works with your amp. I have a ts808Hw that i love in front of the wizard when i boost. But most boosts have something that bothers us hence why so many are for sale in the classifieds. Can't go wrong with an eq
Smash
Hack
I have a lehle 90 volume pedal also. Thing is so goddamned smooth. It just sits there cause i only use a boost sometimes(no other pedals), but i refuse to sell it just incase i put the pedal board together again. I used mine in the loop after the gate just to set another level (volume only, no gain) when i really wanted a part to stand out. i never tried the onboard boost. But i think that is one of the best designed pedals ever
Smash
Hack
This was hands down the best death metal rig i ever had. I ran two zuuls; one up front and one in the loop, and that graphic eq in the loop with a parametric eq in front of the amp sculpting my boost. Now I am a stuck up purist, but that was a cool rig. Just didn't have the marshall highs/mids like my W800.
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