Kinda considering exchanging my Fat Boost for a Full Drive..

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Random Hero

Random Hero

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So I got a Fat Boost 3 yesterday and have been running it with my Cornford Harlequin all day. It sounds great but I dunno if I would be happier with the Full Drive 2? I used to have one when I had an XTC and it was just great, plus the extra boost side could be really quite useful. I guess in short, I'm looking for a little more of that TS-type compression/midrange rather than just a straight-up clean boost, which I originally thought I wanted. Make sense?

As I say, not knocking the pedal but I'm unsure it's exactly what I'm after.

At the minute, I'm finding because the Fat Boost 3 is just clean boosting, thus essentially just making my guitar output higher, I'm having to run the gain a little higher on the amp than I ideally want to in order to get the liquid sustain I want. To me, a cranked preamp with a boost infront just ends up sounding a bit messy and doesn't compress in a pleasant way, so I figure with the Fulldrive I'll be able to run the drive lower on the amp and boost it up with the FD - I guess dialling in actual gain - adding the onboard boost too should I need that little bit extra - essentially giving me a clean/crunch, drive and lead all in one.

Does that seem to make sense?


Your thoughts?
 
Sounds like a plan!

It's all a matter of whether you want to keep the amps tone as it is, and add more gain? or if you want to add gain aswell as affect the tone?

If the amp was slightly fatter sounding, then i would hit it with a OD/boost that has a bit of a treble/upper mid hump. That will give you the extra gain but in the right frequencies, so it doesnt turn to mush.

But then some other amps i have used, already have enough of that upper midrange.. so a TS type boost can be overkill with the upper mid/treble frequencies and thin it out too much/losing the fatness and bottom end. In this situation i would probably want to keep the amp's tone as it is but just add more gain, so i find the clean boost (like the FatBoost) works best :thumbsup:

How do you feel about the tone of the amp unboosted? Not gain levels, just the actual tone itself?
 
MrDan666":3ehk7wmp said:
Sounds like a plan!

It's all a matter of whether you want to keep the amps tone as it is, and add more gain? or if you want to add gain aswell as affect the tone?

If the amp was slightly fatter sounding, then i would hit it with a OD/boost that has a bit of a treble/upper mid hump. That will give you the extra gain but in the right frequencies, so it doesnt turn to mush.

But then some other amps i have used, already have enough of that upper midrange.. so a TS type boost can be overkill with the upper mid/treble frequencies and thin it out too much/losing the fatness and bottom end. In this situation i would probably want to keep the amp's tone as it is but just add more gain, so i find the clean boost (like the FatBoost) works best :thumbsup:

How do you feel about the tone of the amp unboosted? Not gain levels, just the actual tone itself?
Click to expand...

The amp is fat sounding already and it's certainly not a case of overkill in the upper mid frequencies. I really think a TS-type boost will work well with it. I don't really want to change the tone much but a clean boost doesn't quite seem to be what I'm after. As I said, driving the preamp a bit too hard and then boosting it further is compressing it a bit too much but in a not so desirable way. You know what I mean? Don't get me wrong, it sounds great, I just think it could work better if the preamp gain was a bit lower with the FD adding the extra gain.

I mean, the FB3 is a "clean boost to tweed style gain" pedal so it's a low gain type thing really. The Fulldrive can get pretty raunchy so it seems it would get what I want. I remember loving it with the XTC Blue and Einstein Texas channels too, which is somewhat akin to where the Harlequin lies, unboosted.
 
Random Hero":2q8d987c said:
The amp is fat sounding already and it's certainly not a case of overkill in the upper mid frequencies. I really think a TS-type boost will work well with it. I don't really want to change the tone much but a clean boost doesn't quite seem to be what I'm after. As I said, driving the preamp a bit too hard and then boosting it further is compressing it a bit too much but in a not so desirable way. You know what I mean? Don't get me wrong, it sounds great, I just think it could work better if the preamp gain was a bit lower with the FD adding the extra gain.

I mean, the FB3 is a "clean boost to tweed style gain" pedal so it's a low gain type thing really. The Fulldrive can get pretty raunchy so it seems it would get what I want. I remember loving it with the XTC Blue and Einstein Texas channels too, which is somewhat akin to where the Harlequin lies, unboosted.
Click to expand...

I know exactly what you mean!

From what your describing, i would agree.. the TS type boost option would be the route i would go personally. The FD-2 is a great pedal, and i think it would work just right with your Cornford rig. As you said, with both sides of the pedal available, you have a lot of tonal possibilities right at your feet.

I say go for it! :thumbsup:
 
MrDan666":3hjg7b1l said:
Random Hero":3hjg7b1l said:
The amp is fat sounding already and it's certainly not a case of overkill in the upper mid frequencies. I really think a TS-type boost will work well with it. I don't really want to change the tone much but a clean boost doesn't quite seem to be what I'm after. As I said, driving the preamp a bit too hard and then boosting it further is compressing it a bit too much but in a not so desirable way. You know what I mean? Don't get me wrong, it sounds great, I just think it could work better if the preamp gain was a bit lower with the FD adding the extra gain.

I mean, the FB3 is a "clean boost to tweed style gain" pedal so it's a low gain type thing really. The Fulldrive can get pretty raunchy so it seems it would get what I want. I remember loving it with the XTC Blue and Einstein Texas channels too, which is somewhat akin to where the Harlequin lies, unboosted.
Click to expand...

I know exactly what you mean!

From what your describing, i would agree.. the TS type boost option would be the route i would go personally. The FD-2 is a great pedal, and i think it would work just right with your Cornford rig. As you said, with both sides of the pedal available, you have a lot of tonal possibilities right at your feet.

I say go for it! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

I think I just might.
 
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