Good pedal for solos with these amps? Ignore my other post!

[richedie]

LOL....

OK, you guys convinced me to keep my one and final OD pedal! What I was sick of, was how I always used an OD pedal. I was using it as another channel on my amp into the clean channel, so it never lived up to my amp's gain channel.

However, you guys make some great points in how to use an OD pedal and it may fit perfectly into how I use my amp now! Lately I have been using my guitar's volume more for lower gain and turning the gain down on my amp for more dynamics and medium crunch.....so having an OD pedal or tube screamer type pedal helps when it is time to solo! Obviously, when I am playing a high gain song and my amp has the gain up and my volume is up, I just use my amp's built in second master and solo boost.

But, when playing lower gain, I can totally see where the OD pedal comes in handy big time. That is what makes this forum great, helping others see things in a new light. I played around with this method this morning and it is nice!

So now the question is.....for boosting gain and leads when using lighter amp gain, what would be a good pedal choice? Right now I use a Sonic Edge J&J Overdrive and I am thinking of going back to my old standby and favorite, Xotic BB or AC!

Amps are Splawn Street Rod, Bogner 20th Shiva and PWE Event Horizon.

What I may do instead is pull my MXR flanger off the board since it never gets used, or my phaser since I no longer play much 70s or 80s rock. This way I will have Tuner - Wah - OD - Phaser - Chorus - Delay - EQ boost for my strat and tele - ISP noise supressor for the heavy stuff! Chorus, delay and EQ are in the loop. Right now I have a flanger on the board but it never gets used like the phaser.

Thanks gents!!!

 

[carlygtr]

Fulltone OCD is a good one

 

[richedie]

I tried the OCD and thought it was a bit fuzzy and better into a clean channel as your main OD, but not as a good solo boost. I prefer the Fulltone Fat Boost.

 

[craftm1]

Suhr KoKo boost, best there is as far as I'm concerned!

 

[boost]

I use a Timmy with the LM1458 chip and a EP Booster V1 for solo boosts with my Budda. Both have a different character I like. the EP just sounds like the tone got 'bigger' while the Timmy adds a bit more gain for a heavier sound. Both have their place and I never thought I'd be using two boost pedals, but I like what they do.

 

[richedie]

In this case I want more gain and fatter mids.

 

[tripstan]

Suhr KoKo boost, best there is as far as I'm concerned!

^^ This!

 

[richedie]

Suhr KoKo boost, best there is as far as I'm concerned!

^^ This!

Is it a pain to use since it has two switches? Just need simple boost.

 

[richedie]

I forgot I used to have an Xotic BB Mid Boost. Which I did not like it as much for into a clean amp as the regular BB, it excelled as a clean boost or mid boost with gain for leads.

 

[Badronald]

For solos I always us a TS because the mid hump cuts through the band.
For me its a Keeley Baked TS-9.

 

[Meathead]

For solos I always us a TS because the mid hump cuts through the band.
For me its a Keeley Baked TS-9.

Tough to beat, it does what it does well. You want a solo to jump out, adding mids can do that.

 

[tripstan]

Suhr KoKo boost, best there is as far as I'm concerned!

^^ This!

Is it a pain to use since it has two switches? Just need simple boost.

Nope ones a regular boost the other is a mid boost. Just pick your posion.

 

[rupe]

I'm a fairly new convert to the Timmy pedal. I resisted the hype but tried one out when the opportunity presented itself and immediately ended up ordering my own. I like the way it allows you to cut high and low frequencies rather than boost the mids...it still creates a beautiful mid-focused lead tone but does so more smoothly and musically to my ears. Its a winner without a doubt.

 

[richedie]

I'm a fairly new convert to the Timmy pedal. I resisted the hype but tried one out when the opportunity presented itself and immediately ended up ordering my own. I like the way it allows you to cut high and low frequencies rather than boost the mids...it still creates a beautiful mid-focused lead tone but does so more smoothly and musically to my ears. Its a winner without a doubt.

Yep, that is what the original Xotic BB and AC pedals do - allow you to cut highs and lows, while naturally allowing mids to stand out. amazing pedal! Sounds a bit better than the Mid Boost version. My all time favorite pedals are Xotic!

A friend of mine has the Timmy. My observations!
I love the BB for the sustain and harmonics...
I love the Timmy for it's clarity and open sound...
The BB boosts pedals better for soloing, the Timmy sounds better on its own for clear rhythm...

 

[carlygtr]

A friend gave me a brand new Maxon 808 and I have been using it with 4 diff amps. Great. adds some mids, cuts lows a bit, and makes soloing a breeze!

Other things I use are Treble Boosters cause I'm a Blackmore fan

 

[rcm78]

Another vote for the Koko Boost. Not difficult to use at all. Left switch is a clean boost, right switch is a mid boost. They work independently of one another...

 

[Rash]

They are all not difficult to use.

I would try:
Koko Boost right side (adjustable mid boost)

Rodenberg 808 mid hump (or 728 when you need an additional quite flat boost)

HBE Germania (very oldschool a cool fuzz, treble boost, gets cool mushy though)

OCD if you like it, you could try the Baldringer Dual Drive for more gain, transparency and better eq, similar

as they are kings in their class, though completely different in behaviour and sound.

Kai

 

[richedie]

A friend gave me a brand new Maxon 808 and I have been using it with 4 diff amps. Great. adds some mids, cuts lows a bit, and makes soloing a breeze!

Other things I use are Treble Boosters cause I'm a Blackmore fan

I thought they sounded sort of cheap?

 

[richedie]

Another vote for the Koko Boost. Not difficult to use at all. Left switch is a clean boost, right switch is a mid boost. They work independently of one another...

And it has a good bit of gain on tap? There are times I am playing very low gain on the amp and need to kick on gain and mids.

 

[Rash]

Very cool in front of Marshalls but the Rodenberg beats the Maxon....the HBE Germania is the most flexible Fuzz Treble Booster I heard....the Koko has a lot of clean Gain...the midrange is in another frequency (although adjustable) compared to the Rodenberg or Maxon, it feels different than my other mentioned pedals.

Kai