Overdrive Pedals - Herbert

[Toolio]

Hello. I was wondering if anyone out there used an overdrive pedal in FRONT of a Herbert? I use a Maxon od808 in front of a Framus Cobra head and cabs and it sounds great!!! Good attack, gain, mids, tone etc. I tried the same pedal in front of the Herb and it sounded like dog shit. I don't know if the Herb just doesn't like pedals in front of it OR the Maxon 808 isn't the right overdrive pedal.

Thanks peeps!

toolio

A Thousand Kingdoms @ myspace.com

 

[Duolos]

No need for a pedal with Herbie. It will only detract from the amp.

 

[glpg80]

No need for a pedal with Herbie. It will only detract from the amp.

i think thats bull.

granted ill never have the money to own a diezel. and i'll never know anyone that has one i can play, but if i ever had $4,000 in a guitar head id make sure it accepted any pedals in front of it and in the effects loop decently before i bought it.

each person should be able to control their rigs for the end product, not the other way around.

'kno mean?

are you looking for a clean boost or a clean overdrive type of boost that adds a little "something"?

for a clean OD overdrive i would try something from MXR. like the zakk wylde overdrive used as a clean boost. i tried one out and was pretty astounded how good it functions like that. great pedal for the price.

if you are looking for a clean boost maybe someone else can recommend something, im not to familiar with them myself. only thing i have used in this category was a 10 band Eq pedal.

 

[sebby123]

Xotic BB preamp or RC Booster will work amazingly!

 

[Duolos]

No need for a pedal with Herbie. It will only detract from the amp.

i think thats bull.

granted ill never have the money to own a diezel. and i'll never know anyone that has one i can play, but if i ever had $4,000 in a guitar head id make sure it accepted any pedals in front of it and in the effects loop decently before i bought it.

each person should be able to control their rigs for the end product, not the other way around.

'kno mean?

are you looking for a clean boost or a clean overdrive type of boost that adds a little "something"?

for a clean OD overdrive i would try something from MXR. like the zakk wylde overdrive used as a clean boost. i tried one out and was pretty astounded how good it functions like that. great pedal for the price.

if you are looking for a clean boost maybe someone else can recommend something, im not to familiar with them myself. only thing i have used in this category was a 10 band Eq pedal.

So how can you comment if you do not own one nor have tried one...?

All Diezel amps take pedals well and have amazing loops....that isn't what I was referring to. What I was saying is that in the herbert, a pedal out front hasn't helped like it can on some other amps. In fact, it has taken away some of the other dynamics. Sure tone is subjective, I agree, however everything a person could need is already in the amp. No need to slam the front end of it more.

 

[steve_k]

Hello. I was wondering if anyone out there used an overdrive pedal in FRONT of a Herbert? I use a Maxon od808 in front of a Framus Cobra head and cabs and it sounds great!!! Good attack, gain, mids, tone etc. I tried the same pedal in front of the Herb and it sounded like dog shit. I don't know if the Herb just doesn't like pedals in front of it OR the Maxon 808 isn't the right overdrive pedal.

Thanks peeps!

toolio

A Thousand Kingdoms @ myspace.com

Which channel are you wanting to boost? Channels 2 and 3 are probably too gainy already to boost with any sort of 808 type pedal or distortion effect. Channel 1 should take an 808 if it is some bluesy tone you are after. I found 2 things that work real well on the Herbie:

1) Custom Audio Electronics Boost/Buffer pedal from MXR. Very clean and 0-20 db boost. Totally transparent and no discoloration or crud.
2) Loop a cable from the send/return jack and use the MV2 or MidCut level as a boost - MIDI controlled too.
3) The MXR Micro amp is a good little unit too.

The Herbie has 3 preamp gain stages and you got to be careful running driven FX in front of it. This is one of the fine pleasures of owning a $4000 amp! The tone is all you - not a pedal.

Steve

 

[glpg80]

So how can you comment if you do not own one nor have tried one...?

All Diezel amps take pedals well and have amazing loops....that isn't what I was referring to. What I was saying is that in the herbert, a pedal out front hasn't helped like it can on some other amps. In fact, it has taken away some of the other dynamics. Sure tone is subjective, I agree, however everything a person could need is already in the amp. No need to slam the front end of it more.

if tone is subjective, and the topic is about overdrive pedals, then why are you contradicting this topic? at least i made a recommendation of a decent overdrive dude

and since when do you have to own a diezel to recommend a pedal you know sounds good?

 

[merlop]

No need for a pedal with Herbie. It will only detract from the amp.

i think thats bull.

granted ill never have the money to own a diezel. and i'll never know anyone that has one i can play, but if i ever had $4,000 in a guitar head id make sure it accepted any pedals in front of it and in the effects loop decently before i bought it.

each person should be able to control their rigs for the end product, not the other way around.

'kno mean?

are you looking for a clean boost or a clean overdrive type of boost that adds a little "something"?

for a clean OD overdrive i would try something from MXR. like the zakk wylde overdrive used as a clean boost. i tried one out and was pretty astounded how good it functions like that. great pedal for the price.

if you are looking for a clean boost maybe someone else can recommend something, im not to familiar with them myself. only thing i have used in this category was a 10 band Eq pedal.

So how can you comment if you do not own one nor have tried one...?

All Diezel amps take pedals well and have amazing loops....that isn't what I was referring to. What I was saying is that in the herbert, a pedal out front hasn't helped like it can on some other amps. In fact, it has taken away some of the other dynamics. Sure tone is subjective, I agree, however everything a person could need is already in the amp. No need to slam the front end of it more.

+1
Listen to Terry... He knows what he is talking about.

So how can you comment if you do not own one nor have tried one...?

All Diezel amps take pedals well and have amazing loops....that isn't what I was referring to. What I was saying is that in the herbert, a pedal out front hasn't helped like it can on some other amps. In fact, it has taken away some of the other dynamics. Sure tone is subjective, I agree, however everything a person could need is already in the amp. No need to slam the front end of it more.

if tone is subjective, and the topic is about overdrive pedals, then why are you contradicting this topic? at least i made a recommendation of a decent overdrive dude

and since when do you have to own a diezel to recommend a pedal you know sounds good?

Not saying pedals can't work man... I've owned all the Diezels except the Schmidt, and they do sound best to my ears with just a guitar direct into the amp.
IMHO, I think Diezels are a different monster when it comes to pedals... They take them well but weren't designed for them.
Terry is awesome guy and was not trying to insult you at all.
Until you try one it's hard to know. Like I said, pedals can work but i wouldn't recommend them either.

 

[glpg80]

No need for a pedal with Herbie. It will only detract from the amp.

i think thats bull.

granted ill never have the money to own a diezel. and i'll never know anyone that has one i can play, but if i ever had $4,000 in a guitar head id make sure it accepted any pedals in front of it and in the effects loop decently before i bought it.

each person should be able to control their rigs for the end product, not the other way around.

'kno mean?

are you looking for a clean boost or a clean overdrive type of boost that adds a little "something"?

for a clean OD overdrive i would try something from MXR. like the zakk wylde overdrive used as a clean boost. i tried one out and was pretty astounded how good it functions like that. great pedal for the price.

if you are looking for a clean boost maybe someone else can recommend something, im not to familiar with them myself. only thing i have used in this category was a 10 band Eq pedal.

So how can you comment if you do not own one nor have tried one...?

All Diezel amps take pedals well and have amazing loops....that isn't what I was referring to. What I was saying is that in the herbert, a pedal out front hasn't helped like it can on some other amps. In fact, it has taken away some of the other dynamics. Sure tone is subjective, I agree, however everything a person could need is already in the amp. No need to slam the front end of it more.

+1
Listen to Terry... He knows what he is talking about.

So how can you comment if you do not own one nor have tried one...?

All Diezel amps take pedals well and have amazing loops....that isn't what I was referring to. What I was saying is that in the herbert, a pedal out front hasn't helped like it can on some other amps. In fact, it has taken away some of the other dynamics. Sure tone is subjective, I agree, however everything a person could need is already in the amp. No need to slam the front end of it more.

if tone is subjective, and the topic is about overdrive pedals, then why are you contradicting this topic? at least i made a recommendation of a decent overdrive dude

and since when do you have to own a diezel to recommend a pedal you know sounds good?

Not saying pedals can't work man... I've owned all the Diezels except the Schmidt, and they do sound best to my ears with just a guitar direct into the amp.
IMHO, I think Diezels are a different monster when it comes to pedals... They take them well but weren't designed for them.
Terry is awesome guy and was not trying to insult you at all.
Until you try one it's hard to know. Like I said, pedals can work but i wouldn't recommend them either.

not meaning to step on anyones toes, i appologize.

not everything need tone tweaking and there are very few amps out there that this category applies to. but different strokes for different folks at the same time. topic is about overdriving a boutique amplifier so thats why i commented.

sicne that's the case i can understand Terry's response. it just came off as cocky against Toolio wanting to try out overdrives in front of his amplifier.

carry on

 

[HerbieBoogie]

i did the same thing and found that Herbie doesn't like OD very much. oh well!

 

[jack butler]

Tried an 808,SD1, Fulltone Fatboost, SIB Fat Drive, ZVEX Super Hard on, and MXR Micro AMP in front of my Herbert. All had a negative effect on the tone.

 

[zuel69]

I have owned a Herbert and I agree with glpg80. Turn the gain down on the amp and use a bb or ocd or whatever as a slight clean boost and the amp sounds and feels a bit more like a Marshally flavored amp...and it sounds great. Even using a boost almost as a neutral input into any amp gives a slightly sharper attack...it really is a feel thing and it is subtle.

No need for a pedal with Herbie. It will only detract from the amp.

i think thats bull.

granted ill never have the money to own a diezel. and i'll never know anyone that has one i can play, but if i ever had $4,000 in a guitar head id make sure it accepted any pedals in front of it and in the effects loop decently before i bought it.

each person should be able to control their rigs for the end product, not the other way around.

'kno mean?

are you looking for a clean boost or a clean overdrive type of boost that adds a little "something"?

for a clean OD overdrive i would try something from MXR. like the zakk wylde overdrive used as a clean boost. i tried one out and was pretty astounded how good it functions like that. great pedal for the price.

if you are looking for a clean boost maybe someone else can recommend something, im not to familiar with them myself. only thing i have used in this category was a 10 band Eq pedal.

 

[mincy]

I've tried boosting my Herbert with an old TS9 I have and didn't like it at all. I've tried a couple other pedals friends of mine have had with the same results. Nothing top shelf or boutique, just boss, Ibanez, mxr, etc. Those same boosts sound great with my Mesa, but with the Herbert, it's just seems to loose dynamics. I've had no problems running other effects with the herbert, though that's always been through one of the loops.

All that being said, there is a clip of a Herbert on netmusicians.org by a guy named AgentOrange who posts on HCAF. He uses a TC Integrated Preamplifier for a clean boost in front of his Herbert and it sounds absolutely amazing.

 

[Random Hero]

Yeah I tried it with my old Herbert and didn't like it much. I had a Maxon OD808 and it just did nothing for me. The Einstein however, with a Fulldrive on Ch1 mode 2, was very nice.

 

[glassjaw7]

I know Andy W boosts his with an OCD and it sounds great to my ears!

 

[sebby123]

Andy Wood only uses he OCD on the clean channel, I guess thats why i love boogies so much they take pedals so damn well!

 

[Toolio]

Thanks for all the replys. I agree with what most of you said. In my opinion the Herb doesn't like overdrive in the front, in contrast to many other amps out there. From the pedals I tried, none helped at all on the Herb. The Herb already has a tremendous tone, but even on Ch 3, it is a very clean distortion, which to my ear lacks a certain attack that a lot of distortion gives you. I must say the loops are flawless in the amp too! I think my problem (if you want to call it that), is in my speaker/cab selection.

Thanks Again for the input!

Toolio

A Thousand Kingdoms

 

[Mailman1971]

I owned a ENGL INVADER and no matter what pedal I used in front it DID NOT take it well.
My Randall RM100.....LOVES OD pedals.
Cameron modded Marshall I owned.......Hated PEDALS!!
Have to keep trying and exploring.......

 

[A-T]

i use somtimes Dirty Devil from Coolpedals in front of my Diezel VH4

 

[Death by Uberschall]

Bottom line:

Great amps don't need overdrive or distortion pedals, kills the full range tone in most cases.

Now a great clean boost can definitely be another story.