Going all pedals for gain tones?

[Findthetone1]

Hey folks, this is my first post as my alter ego. I was Findthetone but forgot my password and do not use the email I registered that with. Soooo, I begin the process of upping my post count to post in the classifieds. Anyhow, I am a play at home guy but and am using a 5153 50 watt within 2 EVH 1X12s and assorted pedals. The amp is great but I just don't need 50 watts or that much gain. Has any body here favorably ditched amp gain and replaced it with pedals? There seem to be so many great pedals that emulate certain amps it just seems like the right thing to do.

 

[Lampshade1973]

Hey man I use pedals through a fender DRRI with pedals when I jam with the guys at the space but I also use the 5153 50 watt and now 6505 mini, they can sound great and full through a good tube clean amp like the DRRI but when you play them together you can hear the difference, the bogner pedals sound incredible and I mostly use an MXR super badass and boost it with an OD if needed but like I said play them against each other and it doesn't have the same punch but its a great platform and a lot of gigging guys do this, hope this helps??

 

[Racerxrated]

I have a JCM 800 bass amp...a true bass eq not like the old Super bass from the 70s. No gain whatsoever, have to use 2 pedals to get 80s or later rock tone. Its not quite the same as a boosted 800, but not that far off. Power section is the same as a 2204 though. Sounds good!

 

[IceMan]

I almost always use pedals in some form or another. At home, when I can't crank my amps, I love using some kind of "plexi" pedal into a clean amp like the clean channel on my Marshall JVM or on my Vintage/Modern set pretty clean. I also have the 5150III 50 watt and the Carl Martin Plexitone pedal into the Clean channel ROCKS!! Throw some delay in the loop and I can jam on that for hours. Totally gig-able for tiny rooms where you just cannot crank up a tube amp. There are SO MANY awesome pedals out there these days - we're in the "Golden Age of Pedals" in my opinion. I think it's the best way to get the variation in tone needed for doing the cover-band thing as opposed to a modeler - it just sounds better.

 

[Findthetone1]

Thanks for the replies guys. The more I read , the more I think pedals are the way to go. It's a lot easier and cheaper to ditch a pedal for a different one if I get tired of the sound.

 

[BMoore77]

I almost always use pedals in some form or another. At home, when I can't crank my amps, I love using some kind of "plexi" pedal into a clean amp like the clean channel on my Marshall JVM or on my Vintage/Modern set pretty clean. I also have the 5150III 50 watt and the Carl Martin Plexitone pedal into the Clean channel ROCKS!! Throw some delay in the loop and I can jam on that for hours. Totally gig-able for tiny rooms where you just cannot crank up a tube amp. There are SO MANY awesome pedals out there these days - we're in the "Golden Age of Pedals" in my opinion. I think it's the best way to get the variation in tone needed for doing the cover-band thing as opposed to a modeler - it just sounds better.

I agree with this....so many pedal options with outstanding build quality when playing at lower volumes at 2 am or in cover band situations. Just saw a cover band and the guy told me it was all pedals through the clean of his Mesa combo because of his need for different tones rather than just the dirt of his Marshall. Plus easier for the sound guy from place to place to have consistent tones, as well as setup and tear down. Easier to lug around too. Granted, there is nothing like playing through a 100 watt head with a cab. However, when considering his logic and hearing his tone, it was hard to argue. Check out Wheebo JCM Drive and JVM Drive. Best Marshall based pedals I have tried so far...and like Iceman said, throw in a delay and your good to go.

 

[Findthetone1]

I almost always use pedals in some form or another. At home, when I can't crank my amps, I love using some kind of "plexi" pedal into a clean amp like the clean channel on my Marshall JVM or on my Vintage/Modern set pretty clean. I also have the 5150III 50 watt and the Carl Martin Plexitone pedal into the Clean channel ROCKS!! Throw some delay in the loop and I can jam on that for hours. Totally gig-able for tiny rooms where you just cannot crank up a tube amp. There are SO MANY awesome pedals out there these days - we're in the "Golden Age of Pedals" in my opinion. I think it's the best way to get the variation in tone needed for doing the cover-band thing as opposed to a modeler - it just sounds better.

I agree with this....so many pedal options with outstanding build quality when playing at lower volumes at 2 am or in cover band situations. Just saw a cover band and the guy told me it was all pedals through the clean of his Mesa combo because of his need for different tones rather than just the dirt of his Marshall. Plus easier for the sound guy from place to place to have consistent tones, as well as setup and tear down. Easier to lug around too. Granted, there is nothing like playing through a 100 watt head with a cab. However, when considering his logic and hearing his tone, it was hard to argue. Check out Wheebo JCM Drive and JVM Drive. Best Marshall based pedals I have tried so far...and like Iceman said, throw in a delay and your good to go.

Yeah, I think this is the best route for me. I already have a new Plexitone so I'm good on my Marshall sound. Thinking a Bogner Blue as well and calling it. Just need to figure out my platform. I still prefer a head and it needs to have an effects loop. A Fender Supersonic 22 may be the ticket.

 

[JimmyBlind]

Go check out a guy on YT called 'RACKDOCTOR'. He builds awesome custom pedal boards out of LA and gets some incredible tones stacking ODs and whatnot.

Check out this with the stacked XTS precision and Hotcake. Sounds incredible.

 

[glassjaw7]

If you're talking about "amp-in-a-box" pedals that can do mid to high gain, then the ones I've used that can replace an amp's gain are Bogner Red, Blackstar HT drive and Carl Martin Plexitone.

Of those, the Bogner is my favorite. Most versatile and just kills on a good clean channel. Very similar in tone and feel to a real Ecstasy (had both)

The Blackstar HT drive is a really fat and warm medium gain pedal that approaches high gain crunch. Sounds sort of Marshall inspired. Really a fun pedal and definitely feels like you're playing an extension of your amp. It basically gives your amp another channel.

Carl Martin plexitone - nice pedal. It's not very similar to a real plexi at all because of the CRAZY amount of distortion on tap but has certain shades of Marshall tone. With the gain dialed way back you can get a nice crunch tone. My only complaint is that it's too focused in the low and high-end and not enough in the mids. It's a little "cold" sounding and boomy but overall, the amp-like feel is there.

For natural overdrive, my favs are JRockett Archer and Xotic BB. I've heard the Kingsley pedals and some of the JHS pedals are great such as the Angry Charlie, Supro and Silvertone amp pedals.

 

[Findthetone1]

If you're talking about "amp-in-a-box" pedals that can do mid to high gain, then the ones I've used that can replace an amp's gain are Bogner Red, Blackstar HT drive and Carl Martin Plexitone.

Of those, the Bogner is my favorite. Most versatile and just kills on a good clean channel. Very similar in tone and feel to a real Ecstasy (had both)

The Blackstar HT drive is a really fat and warm medium gain pedal that approaches high gain crunch. Sounds sort of Marshall inspired. Really a fun pedal and definitely feels like you're playing an extension of your amp. It basically gives your amp another channel.

Carl Martin plexitone - nice pedal. It's not very similar to a real plexi at all because of the CRAZY amount of distortion on tap but has certain shades of Marshall tone. With the gain dialed way back you can get a nice crunch tone. My only complaint is that it's too focused in the low and high-end and not enough in the mids. It's a little "cold" sounding and boomy but overall, the amp-like feel is there.

For natural overdrive, my favs are JRockett Archer and Xotic BB. I've heard the Kingsley pedals and some of the JHS pedals are great such as the Angry Charlie, Supro and Silvertone amp pedals.

I agree with the Plexitone having a ton of gain. Regarding the Bogner Red, I've also owned an XTC in the past and found myself pretty much staying on the blue channel all the time (much like my 5153 50) so I was considering the Blue instead of Red. Have you tried both and if so why did you go with the Red?

 

[firegate]

There are a lot of pedals out there that really sound amazing, but I've never been able to get used to playing gain pedals instead of amps. The feel just isn't there IMO. You can certainly get by with gain boxes in a pinch, but if you're used to playing tube heads, pedals just don't measure up.

 

[IceMan]

I almost always use pedals in some form or another. At home, when I can't crank my amps, I love using some kind of "plexi" pedal into a clean amp like the clean channel on my Marshall JVM or on my Vintage/Modern set pretty clean. I also have the 5150III 50 watt and the Carl Martin Plexitone pedal into the Clean channel ROCKS!! Throw some delay in the loop and I can jam on that for hours. Totally gig-able for tiny rooms where you just cannot crank up a tube amp. There are SO MANY awesome pedals out there these days - we're in the "Golden Age of Pedals" in my opinion. I think it's the best way to get the variation in tone needed for doing the cover-band thing as opposed to a modeler - it just sounds better.

I agree with this....so many pedal options with outstanding build quality when playing at lower volumes at 2 am or in cover band situations. Just saw a cover band and the guy told me it was all pedals through the clean of his Mesa combo because of his need for different tones rather than just the dirt of his Marshall. Plus easier for the sound guy from place to place to have consistent tones, as well as setup and tear down. Easier to lug around too. Granted, there is nothing like playing through a 100 watt head with a cab. However, when considering his logic and hearing his tone, it was hard to argue. Check out Wheebo JCM Drive and JVM Drive. Best Marshall based pedals I have tried so far...and like Iceman said, throw in a delay and your good to go.

Yeah, I think this is the best route for me. I already have a new Plexitone so I'm good on my Marshall sound. Thinking a Bogner Blue as well and calling it. Just need to figure out my platform. I still prefer a head and it needs to have an effects loop. A Fender Supersonic 22 may be the ticket.

You might want to consider something other than the Bogner Blue if you plan on using the Plexitone for your primary Marshall sound. I have both the Blue and Plexitone and I think there is a lot of 'overlap' in terms of the tone of both. The Blue even has a 'Plexi' setting on it. You might want to consider the Bogner Red for a little different flavor and more gain or maybe something from Wampler - like their SLOstortion or Pinnacle. Just my $.02