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Best distortion / boost pedals?

S

SpeedeMetal

Guest
Another response.....

HumBuck:


The JMP-1 Preamp has a "HUGE" bridged Transistor in between the 2 tubes in it .That transistor(and NOT THE TUBES) are what supplies the distortion to the jmp-1.That preamp is capable of nothing REAL in tube tone.Thats a real smoke & mirrors blow-job on Marshalls part-as well as brainwashing thru creative marketing(calling it a tube preamp)

The tubes are there for "circuit reference" and lend warmth and transient overtones to the solid state circuitry supplying the overdrive or distortion.The two tubes also contribute to the clean channels exclusively,but those are un-inspiring tones as well.And an FX loop DOESN'T belong on a preamp.

If you wanna mention REAL Tube Preamps you should get yourself-or at least play thru a Bogner "Fish",or a Bradshaw/Custom Audio Electronics 3+ or 3+SE Preamp,or an Egnater IE4...........these are REAL Tube preamps.

I OWN all 3 of those mentioned and on ANY given Day they EAT the jmp-1 ALIVE with Better Tone,More Versatility,Thicker,Gnarlier,and they are made by REAL Amplifier professionals here in the USA who care about the products they make and back em up regardless of when they were made or how many owners they've had.
Try to get a warranty claim filled from marshall..thats a Laugh!

I'm NOT a classic rock guy so the marshall tones you mentioned on recordings dont excite me or interest Me.(cept maybe Duane Allmans solos)
And Pedals are solid state(except a few like the Budda or Real Tube or SIB Varidrive,or Hot Chili Tubester)....but my point is that a well made tube amp(your Mesa's -and Mine too for example)with a Tube circuit that will overdrive is Far & Away a better choice for Overdrive/Distortion than Any pedal made.
 
S

Snags

Guest
Phil, I'm just a hopeless tinkerer that has tried all kinds of crazy shit over the last twenty years, just to see what would happen.
 

60burst

Les Paul Forum Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
2,854
I try to use pedals but I usually wind up playing clean live. I run my amps pretty close to wide open and take the amp that I think will fit the venue. I do have some pedals that I like which are an original TS808, Hotcake, Way Huge Green Rhino and a Way Huge Red Llama. The Red Llama sounds good but get ready for FUZZ. The other 3 are pretty similiar to me. They sound good and are very useable. The other guitar player who plays with me uses the hotcake and it sounds very good. He uses a lot of effects and really does a good job with them. I use them in the studio and come up with some good sounds. Live, I just never got used to using effects. I wish I had. A lot of guys do real well with them.
 

Karaoke Karl

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Jul 15, 2001
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2,689
I like the Full Drive II (orange version) right now through the Matchless and Marshall. It gives me great Gary Moore sustain. Although it does not clean boost anything.

Also the Ibanez TS-808 does the same as the FD. Might be hard to find one though. The FD-2 has the same chip as the 808 that everyone desires.

If you already have a great tone to your amp and you just want a boost to put you over the edge on leads the Klon Centaur I love. It is really a clean boost with no coloring. The gain though I don't like to much so I keep that at about 9 o'clock (little gain).
 

LHakim

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Jul 15, 2001
Messages
2,113
Clean boost

For a clean boost, let me let you in on a little secret. I have a Realistic analog delay I bought from Radio Shack in the 80's (don't laugh). The delay is very short, more like slap back echo, but the thing puts out a huge amount of clean boost that'll easily overload the front end of a non-master amp. To my ears it sounds pretty transparent and cleans up fairly well w/ lower output pups when you roll back the volume. It's not the most responsive device out there to pick attack, but I've gotten cool tones w/ it and my princeton and vibrolux. Generally though, I don't use any "stinkin pedals" and prefer to go straight into the amps these days.
 

Taurus Junkie

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Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
340
Hey cocheese :)

Looooong time no see man :peep! It's Robert Westerman...from the FDP...and my kinda new handle..

Anyhoo...I'd like to kick my .02 for the Prescription Electronics Germ...it's one hella fine boost, plus you get an extra gain stage if ever you need just a little bit more.

I use it live, but in the studio it's just me, Taurus, and Harry Joyce Custom 50...dimed :!
 

DLHelfand

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Jul 15, 2001
Messages
1,424
Pedals

I love pedals and especially OD/boost pedals. Although I do agree with Speed that you should use a quality amp that suits your needs, I disagree with his opinion of these pedals in general. By the way, Speed, I simply don't see how you can compare a Marshall JMP-1 to the three preamps that you use. Yours are very expensive super high quality preamps. They are all excellent. The Marshall is a production model that new sells for $600 +/- and regulary sells for $300 used. I used to use a Triaxis as well as the Marshall and got rid of the Triaxis immediately because it could not compare to the Marshall (in my opinion.) Granted if money was no object, I would probably use a Custom Audio or Bogner myself. I use Riveras and have for a while. I love my amps and usually use them with nothing but a little delay. I do however use a boost on occasion depending on what I am playing. When I do I prefer either a Way Huge Red Llama, T.C. Booster/Line Driver, and yes a Fulltone Fulldrive. I have many others, but those are my three favorites. Each one is used for a different tone.
 

Phil M

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Jul 16, 2001
Messages
2,722
Cool, DL! Which Rivera do you have?

I use a Knucklehead right now, but that Fandango combo has me drooling. No dealers around here anymore though, so I don't know when I'll bet to try it out.
 

DLHelfand

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Jul 15, 2001
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Rivera

Phil,

Right now I am using a Chris Duarte model. It was a custom shop type model that was made in low numbers and is now discontinued. It has a lot of features of most of their amps. It was obviously designed for Chris Duarte, a very versatile guitar player, who does mostly an SRV type thing these days. The amp is a combo with 1 15" EV speaker. Two channels, Ninja boost, Slavemaster, Reverb, adjustable effects loop, etc......This amp is so versatile that it comes with not just a manual, but a gian quick reference book with at least 20-30 setting per channel. It sounds awesome and Paul Rivera is the man. He will answer emails personally and do whatever it takes to make you happy with your amp. I used to own an R-30 which is also a great amp and is probably one of the best for the money.
 

DOSE!

Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2001
Messages
382
Hey DL,
Thats the same amp I use. Bought it a year. It is a great amp.
I use to use a Boogie for dirty and a Fender super for clean and the Duarte does them both great.
I'm looking to add another Rivera, maybe the BM115.
I want something as close to the Duarte for running stereo. :n
 

DLHelfand

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Jul 15, 2001
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Duarte

You might want to check the Rivera board. Sometimes they somebody might be selling one. I just saw another one used somewhere, but I can't remember where. You might want to try going to Google.com and typing in something like Rivera Chris Duarte for sale and see what comes up. Chris is playing BB Kings place in NYC on Wed (I think) I might go check him out. What is the other amp that you mentioned? Is it the Duane Eddy one? That looks to be about the same thing. You might also want to try a Rake series or maybe an R series head and just get another 15" EV cab.
 

mesablue

Les Paul Forum Member, Classic Club
Joined
Jul 17, 2001
Messages
701
Speedmetal some of us prefer the use of a box in front of our amps. I've been using Fender Bassmans for years. And I prefer a Fulldrive 2 my Paul and a good Bassman and thats my tone. I love it and I get many compliments on it from guys who are using the Bogners and such.
In my opinion, I cant stand most modern amps now days, granted I like the Bogner Shiva nice tone but i cant see my self using it.
I dont like the major amp companys telling me what the sound of the day is. Thats why I like the Bassman, its a blank canvas on which to paint a tone of your own. It is considered the mother of all amps.
And I'm really looking forward to trying the new Fulltone Tube pedal and the Soldano GTO. Just another layer in the painting of my tone. I get tons of tones out of a non channel switching tube overdrive channel amp and still have a killer clean sound.

Just my 2 cents.

By the way I do put in my vote for the Fat Boost
 

rays44

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Jul 24, 2001
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2,911
Amazing how much crap you have to take to get a simple answer to a simple question. You may want to try an older model real tube pedal without the detents in the controls. I swapped the 12ax7 with a 12au7 for a smoother sound and a less mosquito in heat sounding top end. You should be able to find one for about 60 bucks. I had an older Fulldrive but found it made my sound smaller. Must have been a concern for some folks because the current models have a flat mid mod. I really like the Barber tone pump 2. It goes from a fairly transparant clean boost to a Santana type smooth overdrive depending on how you set it. You got lots of good feedback on your question so it's all a matter of what suits you. Good luck.
 

axeman

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Jul 26, 2001
Messages
107
Pedals??

Did you ever think about putting a Line 6 pod pro infront of that bad boy with the foot controller. Then you can have any amp or sound you want. Solderno, Vox, Fender, Marshalls and custom sounds. I've had all kinds of pedals and racks (Boss, MXR, JMP 9001, ART, ADA etc....) and this is about the most versitile piece I've had in a while. So far no complaints. It only took a week for my other guitar player to get one after hearing mine. As for direct recording, it is unbelievible. You gotta check it out! WOW.
 

Ed Rafalko

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Jul 15, 2001
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6,287
From just playing around with them in stores, and having tried them in front of both racks and tube and solid state amps, the Pod doesn't sound good in front of an amp that will color your tone. Solid state and racks REALLY let the Pod breathe and show its stuff- a hot tube amp like the Marshall he's got will definitely make it sound other than what its manufacturer intended.
 

Shovelhead

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Jul 18, 2001
Messages
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Speedmetal, I'd agree that the right amp is the ultimate setup. But that's a pretty simplistic way of looking at it. I have several guitars, and not all of them are humbuckers. If I want to plug my '57 reissue Strat (as an example because the pickups are anemic) into a non mv Marshall 100 watter, it's so clean you could slice the front row's heads off. To kick the front end of an amp a little bit, it makes switching from a Les Paul to a Strat a little easier in the context of a gig. The 'tin box' Fulldrive lets you bypass the compression for a cleaner boost to the front end. Works for me.

I also have a Bogner, and don't use a pedal in front of it, unless I use that same Strat and need some hair on the tone.

As far as the list of gear you listed, I'm sure we're all impressed. But most of us don't have a pile of amps to choose from when going for a tone. Even if I HAD that pile, I'd likely stick a box in front of a 'lesser' amp at times, because it'd be appropriate for the song.

Oh, and BTW, don't call me 'dude'.
 

Shovelhead

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Jul 18, 2001
Messages
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I'm gonna have to disagree - 'Spud' and 'Ace' are pretty bad... :lol1
 
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