I'm looking for a better Overdrive Peddle

[jrgtr42]

If your VR is just too much stage volume when it's working, another option might be to put up a glass / plexiglass baffle in front of it.
Look at Joe Bonamassa's rig - he has the amps set up and cranked, but the baffle set to keep from blowing him off the stage and blowing away the first 10 rows.
But a TS style pedal works best when the amp is cooking. I have one of those, a Soul Food (and a dozen other dirt boxes...) and they sound best when the amp is working.
||Another option would be a Deluxe reverb in place of the VR... Hate to be spending your money like this though.

 

[El Gringo]

I've used a similar set up and it works great, as it does for most. Drive needs to be set low, if at all, Level set high as possible to 'bold' up the tone. I typically run the tone at 12:00 or lower but for Bloomfield tone maybe brighter would be better.

Lower volume Fender amp settings mean eq adjustment as Bass needs to come up a bit from typical high volume settings. You may want to remove V1 tube, [12AX7 tube furthest away from power tubes. First tube on right looking at rear], this is Normal channel preamp tube and will disable that channel but beef up the Vibrato Channel. You can swap that tube with the 12AT7 phase inverter tube, [last tube before power tube or closest to power tubes], the 12AX7 tube is a higher gain than 12AT7 and was used in Tweed amps. This fattens up the tone.

A boost pedal can also work and EH SOUL FOOD is my current choice. Great price, pretty much uncolored, for transparent tone boost and a great drive circuit if you need it. Fantastic pedal.

Such a thing of beauty to the ears by swapping one 12AX7 for a 12AT7 . I am very familiar with this recipe and it works .

 

[ourmaninthenorth]

.... been subbing ECC81's for 83's for years for less gain.

Here's one that fly's under the radar a bit, a British made Brimar 13D9, a special quality military ECC81 (12AT7) , using one as single preamp in an Emery Microbaby, and as a splitter in my Gartone, and in a boost pedal.

Lovely fat smooth robust tone in all applications.

13D9 @ The Valve Museum

 

[deytookerjaabs]

Hey Members, grab your 'members' and listen up...

My most desired sound would be Mike Bloomfield live at the Fillmore West in 1969 driving his Les Paul through an old 'Twin Reverb'.

That sound was all over the place back then, but not as much in rock'n'roll. Something about long lo-fi or coily cables mixed with big iron JBL loaded Fenders. It's bright yet raspy and clear when pickin' soft. I love that sound. Watch Waylon Jennings or Eric Clapton on the Johnny Cash Show, lotsa country pickers from Roy Nichols on down ran that rig. I had a JBL '67 Twin for years, glorious beast it was.

If you're gonna fake it at lower volume without changing amps I'd recommend a lava retro coil cable + treble booster (germanium) + a mild transparent OD then play with dials until it's nice and clean with a hair of bite. Better than that a Princeton/Deluxe with a JBL plus lotsa cable.