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Recommend your favorite pedal (Blues/Blues Rock)

Nobi

New member
Joined
Nov 17, 2003
Messages
857
my current love - the Bogner Wessex
it sounds great with whatever amp i played it through.

here is the Pete Thorn demo
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w17WSX5N4hk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

sonar

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Joined
Jan 10, 2003
Messages
3,589
Somehow missed this thread. Fun read.

Assuming we're still talking about a Blues Junior amp I'd lean toward the cranked amp with the guitar's volume control approach. There's just not a lot of headroom to play around with when using 15 watt amps in a band situation. And dirt + dirt = pig squealing mud.

Around the house or a Fender with some headroom I like MIAB type pedals. The old standby is a Barber Direct Drive. TS style pedals I recommend my favorite pedal purchase from last year, the Custom Shop Xotic BB Preamp.

There's lots of good choices with low to medium overdrive pedals. That said the best tone approach (if often impractical) is still just a cranked amp.
 

Big Al

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Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
The problem I am having is that the rooms I am playing in are quite small. One gig is playing electric lead and fills in an amplified acoustic group, the other one is an electric blues trio. So cranking the the master to get the tubes cooking is just too loud. I can use a lot of preamp volume with the master rolled back to get a pretty nice crunch but I want to be able to quickly go from clean to 'blues dirty' quickly and then be able to use my guitar volume to go fine tune. In this case I can simply buy a foot switch I suppose for the FAT channel, I was just wondering if there was a better solution for my needs. Maybe more flexibility?

Bro, use the amp with a pedal in the acoustic group, but if you are playing with a Drummer in that Blues Trio no way are you going to be too loud with the 15 watt Blues Jr. Run both volumes straight up at noon, halfway up and use the fat switch for natural overdrive. Unless you are playing in apartments you should be fine.:hank
 

bratpack7

Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2003
Messages
246
Bro, use the amp with a pedal in the acoustic group, but if you are playing with a Drummer in that Blues Trio no way are you going to be too loud with the 15 watt Blues Jr. Run both volumes straight up at noon, halfway up and use the fat switch for natural overdrive. Unless you are playing in apartments you should be fine.:hank

Lots of experimenting going on here, and ^^this^^ is just about where I am finding a sweet sound. I am using a Blues Driver with just a hint of gain instead of the FAT switch. I find I have a bit more control (level/tone) with the BD2.

Just to update my quest, I ended up A-B ing a Maxon OD 808 and a BD2. I liked the 808 a lot, and even though the two are quite different, the BD2 had a sweet spot that spoke to me. Interestingly, my sons Tele worked better with the 808.
 

Big Al

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Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
Lots of experimenting going on here, and ^^this^^ is just about where I am finding a sweet sound. I am using a Blues Driver with just a hint of gain instead of the FAT switch. I find I have a bit more control (level/tone) with the BD2.

Just to update my quest, I ended up A-B ing a Maxon OD 808 and a BD2. I liked the 808 a lot, and even though the two are quite different, the BD2 had a sweet spot that spoke to me. Interestingly, my sons Tele worked better with the 808.

Yeah, all my various Tube Screamer pedals work best for me with Fender guitars. I have used the BD2 and it seems to mate with the Gibsons well. Cool you got a handle on it and your way is the best way. It is the same for the rest of us. Finding that thing that speaks to us.
 

redisburning

Les Paul Froum Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2015
Messages
256
Lots of experimenting going on here, and ^^this^^ is just about where I am finding a sweet sound. I am using a Blues Driver with just a hint of gain instead of the FAT switch. I find I have a bit more control (level/tone) with the BD2.

Just to update my quest, I ended up A-B ing a Maxon OD 808 and a BD2. I liked the 808 a lot, and even though the two are quite different, the BD2 had a sweet spot that spoke to me. Interestingly, my sons Tele worked better with the 808.

the 808 cuts a lot of top end and bass; both of which a good tele has loads of. if you need to jump out front it helps to be both louder and have relatively more mids; both of which that pedal does with aplomb.

the bd-2 is one of those pedals I really want to try but I'm always concerned about bypasses as I run quite a long pedal board and have distinct preferences for the number, type and location of buffers in my chain. but then I watch something like this and it's unbelievable how aggressive this guy sounds with one; there are less angry Matamps out there:

 

PierceLP

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Joined
Apr 1, 2015
Messages
81
I loove my Catalinbread RAH. Its perfect for that Zeppelin II mid honky stuff and it breaks up in a borderline fuzzy way, its super expressive and dynamic too. Its based off of Page's Hiwatts from 69 - 71, of course a pedal will never come close to a couple cranked vintage hiwatts but it definitely gets you into that universe.
 

jgyn

New member
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
783
Into my Fender amps, my BYOC Silver Pony Klone or a Providence SOV-2 at 1/4 gain. Or an Xotic RC Booster.
Into my Marshalls, Paul Cochrane Timmy or Zvex Box Of Rock, set at half gain or less.
 

Monroe

Active member
Joined
Mar 11, 2008
Messages
1,139
I won't go back to the beginning of time, but in recent years, I've tried and liked:

Maxon OD808
Barber Direct Drive
Barber LTD
Menatone Blue Collar (very nice)
Fulltone Catalyst (current use, replaced a fuzz face with it)
(all with that typical mid hump and compression of any 808)

But I also like to run a non-compressed, flatter overdrive on my board like:

OCD (current use)
Menatone Red Snapper
Maxon OD820 (Klon clone, sort of, really nice)


Plus, I had a Fulldrive 2 Mosfet Anniversary which does both compressed and non-compressed.
I never bonded with the Fulldrive
 
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Nobi

New member
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Nov 17, 2003
Messages
857
The Bogner La Grange is another great option.
Played one a couple days ago and i liked it most in the Low Gain mode.
 

LowMach

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Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Messages
74
Consider the simble overdrive. Great in front of a fender or Marshall circuit for low to medium gain.

 

J T

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Messages
10,501
The Blackstone.

BlackstoneFace.jpg


It has to be the first pedal in the chain between the pickups and everything else.
 

gmann

Well-known member
Joined
May 26, 2003
Messages
6,147
That amp with the C Rex, all you need is the footswitch.
 

S. Cane

Active member
Joined
Dec 10, 2014
Messages
656
My gigging experience with pedals, simply put (many here will frown at first read, but believe me: try and you will see what I mean):

I think the most versatile dirt pedal I've put my hands on is the Danelectro Daddy-O. Pretty much lets you scoop the mids if you want to, or leave all of them thrown in, plus bass, treble, overdrive and volume, with much more precision than the price and the funny looks make you think.

This pedal would never leave my pedalboard if it wasn't for the size, I have to use a lot of pedals and my pedalboard is too narrow to accomodate all kinds of stuff.

151850000000000-00-500x500.jpg

Second best is the Dunlop distortion +, which is a seventies classic and also has a great advantage over the Dano: you can easily adjust the amount of overdrive you want with the tip of your foot during a gig, no need to lean and dial with your hands. It gives you a VERY wide palette of tones, going from a nice bluesy crunch to some serious dirt (although I never thought of/heard it as a distortion pedal, it sounds like an accentuate overdrive, as a matter of fact). Only disadvantage is that you can't deal with bass, mid and treble, there are only two knobs, drive and volume.

images


I also have a germanium mini fuzzface in the chain, because I play a lot of fuzz stuff, but I must say it's one hell of a temperamental pedal.
 

K701

New member
Joined
Apr 10, 2015
Messages
466
I've used a micro amp--- an old Ibanez T808-- Boss DS2 going into the Blues Jr for years.
So I get 3 tones:

1)Ceanish/bordering on breaking up
2)then the tube screamer adds some meat
3) then more distortion with DS2

The distortions aren't set high but it still sounds heavy; all are set on the verge snd so respond well when I play harder or softer.

This is set at a volume where the police aren't called. Gradually increase the volume bit by bit when playing in a room.

Big Al is a brave warrior when cranking amps. I want to do it his way but I'm scared I will blow tubes or fuses or something?
 
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