How do you boost your Rebel 30?

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musicmanmu

musicmanmu

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Hey guys...new here, but I've had my Rebel 30 Head and pair of 112x cabs for a month now, and I really love it. I needed a light (bad back), modular rig that would be suitable for gigging, and this is perfect.

I really LOVE the cleans on this amp, and with a Danelectro CTO pedal in front of them, I get some nice mild breakup.

I usually dime the drive channel's gain and I love it, but I was wondering if any of you other Rebel 30 users use any sort of boost pedal to get a bit more 'oomph' out of channel 2 for leads and/or heavier stuff.

I tried using the Danelectro CTO, but it seems to make that channel squeal (could be my proximity to the amp during practice). I used the Jeckyll channel of my Jeckyll and Hyde Dual Overdrive pedal, but it did the same thing. I have an original Fulltone Fat Boost pedal on its way to me, and was hoping it would do the trick.

I ran all these pedals in front of the amp, as I 've heard that running a volume-raising effect into the loop was bad for the amp? I don't really know - this is my first tube amp (long time Line 6 user).

Any thoughts or suggestions from you guys?

Right now my signal path is: Guitar>tuner>Danelectro CTO>Boss CE-5>Boss OC-3>EHX Micro Q-Tron>Line 6 DL4>Amp. Not sure where to put the Fulltone.

Thanks for your help!
 
Hello, welcome! Although I have no experience with some of the pedals you mentioned, I do know the Fulltone Fatboost will be a great pedal for the Rebel 30. I have the same head, and it's been my experience so far, that the Rebel 30 is better with a cleaner boost rather than a tube-screamer/mid-boost pedal. I haven't messed around much with boosting ch1, as I use it strictly for a super clean. I don't play with a lot of gain, so ch2 is basically my mild/mid-gain channel. If I need heavier than that, it's rare, so my TC Nova's drive section works great on top of ch2.

I will also say that you'd probably be better off backing down some of the gain on ch2. Keeping it dimed doesn't leave you a lot of dynamics/headroom. Maybe take it down to 3 or 4pm, and then try your boost pedals. Never know..

You can run a volume raising device in the loop, as long as it's within reason. Your amps return will NOT be happy with a 20db boost, but a 4 or 5db lead boost is just fine. I used to use a Boss volume pedal in my 2210 Marshall's loop for years. The pedal had a minimum control on it, so I could set my rhythm volume with the pedal all the way back, and my lead volume was 4-5db louder with the pedal all the way forward. I got away from using that method years ago because there were many cool boost pedals coming out.
 
I use one side of a Visual Sound Double Trouble with mine, but I've got my Rebel 30's gain set at 1-2 o'clock. Try rolling your gain on the R30 back to at least 3 o'clock, and then boost. I also have the gain on the DT set at 8-9 with the volume at 2 0'clock. YMMV. :rock:
 
Agree with the guys here. Either lower your gain on the amp, and/or lower the gain on your pedal. Higher gain leads to less "punch" or "oomph" really. Get some solid medium plus gain on your amp, then boost pedal with volume up/gain down. Should sound big and tight.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I honestly should've thought to turn the gain down on ch. 2 (I have it almost dimed, but not quite) :no: . I will definitely fiddle around with it more!
 
Just an update...I got the Fat Boost, and did as suggested and backed the gain off to around 2 o'clock or so. :rock: Success! Does just what I want...gives the amp more gain and punch than diming the gain knob, and doesn't make the amp squeal. I'm now trying to use the Danelectro TOD pedal as a volume boost for solos.

Which order should I put the pedals in? Right now I've got the chain as such:
Guitar
Tuner
Danelectro TOD
Fulltone Fat Boost
Chorus
Micro Q-Tron
Delay
Amp

It seems that with both the Dan and Fulltone pedals on, my Micro Q-Tron sounds like crap. Should it go before them as a wah pedal sometimes does? And, should I switch the order of the OD pedals? I guess I should just play around, but was wondering if any of you guys had some suggestions.
 
I always put my OD/boost pedals last in line, just right before the amp. With an OD/boost, I find that if it comes before any modulation effects, it usually results in making my chorus or phaser sound horrible. If you put the OD/boost after, it should be fine.

Let us know your results after you try it! :rock:
 
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