Dirt Pedals

[koula901]

My dirt pedals seem to make all the guitars sound about the same, especially in high gain settings. Is that what you find?

[DetroitBlues]

I've gone through several overdrive, distortion, and fuzz pedals... Nothing works best as my Digitech Bad Monkey... The late Gary Moore and Phil X both use the pedal when they could have anything in the world on their pedal board...

[DetroitBlues]

Forgot to add, when I play, my guitar sounds distinctively like me... With the Bad Monkey, I can still hear the sonic differences between my 150 and Strat....

[koula901]

Forgot to add, when I play, my guitar sounds distinctively like me... With the Bad Monkey, I can still hear the sonic differences between my 150 and Strat....

that's exactly what I'm talking about. Is the Digitech Bad Monkey your high gain, or low gain pedal? I'm thinking it's the high gain one, if so, what are you using for crunch? Or, do you just back off on the volume pot on the guitar for a low gain sound, after you set up for high gain?

 

Do some people stack low gain pedals and just step on another one for their high gain sound?

[DetroitBlues]

that's exactly what I'm talking about. Is the Digitech Bad Monkey your high gain, or low gain pedal? I'm thinking it's the high gain one, if so, what are you using for crunch? Or, do you just back off on the volume pot on the guitar for a low gain sound, after you set up for high gain?

 

Do some people stack low gain pedals and just step on another one for their high gain sound?

There is overdrive and there is distortion. I think distortion pedals will color your tone so much you can't tell. While else would Malmsteen get his heavy sounds from regular single coils! Lots and lots of distortion from high gain amps and pedals... I crank the OD on the Bad Monkey.... Using it into my old Traynor, it's sounds like an old Marshall. Not death metal, melt your face, and wake the neighbors high gain, but more like, 70's AC/DC rock...

[Kuz]

Yes, with high gain you can get close to having a Strat sound like a LP, or a Tele sound like a 535, ect.... Think of why most of the high gain metal players all sound similar/same. There is a sweet spot with the OD where a Strat will sound like SRV or Jimi, a 335 will sound like Cream, a PRS will sound like David Grissom or Santana, and a 150/LP can sound like Warren Haynes. Go too far on Distortion and they all sound the same, too little and you don't get enough distinction from guitars. So, yes, in my opinion, the opposite can be true.... straight bone clean and it is hard to tell a 535 from a 150 from a P-90 guitar. It is pretty easy to identify a humbucker from a single coil guitar, but harder when playing clean. Even then it can be sometimes hard to tell the difference from a Tele and a Strat, again, a little OD and the difference is easier to identify.

[JeffB]

We might be talking about the upper reaches of low gain overdrive rather than high gain. What pedals are you using Katy?

[koula901]

We might be talking about the upper reaches of low gain overdrive rather than high gain. What pedals are you using Katy?

 

Superplex Wampler for high gain distortion, Freekish Blues Alpha Drive for my low gain (this one I bought specifically because it fattens up single coils very nicely for a thicker bluesy sound).

[koula901]

Do you guys feel that different pickups react differently with dirt pedals? I was wondering about this, because I have those high output ceramic mini hums in the Firebird. But it seem that at very high distortion, the pedal dictates the sound.

[JeffB]

I dont think the superplex is really a high gain stomp. Its more of a classic rock stomp I think.

 

 

I would be willing to bet anyone thats spent anytime using high gain as part of their technique and sound can tell you exactly whats wrong, right or different about one guitar over another through a stack of gain in a blind fold test

I dont really like too many songs that use copious quantities of gain but have at different times had to cover some. I found that I had to alter my technique to play with it effectively and also develop an ear for the differences in gain sounds. There are different high gain sounds. Its not just a generic thing.

A strat sounds nothing like a PRS or ESP Eclipse when being played through a lot of gain. Even if you have a SD JB in the bridge its still different. I like it but a true metal guy might not think its beefy enough.

Just like a lot of people sound quite similar and aim for the same sounds when playing blues or classic rock(pre 80's) I guess metal guys have their own references for sounds and to the uninterested it might all sound similar.

A young guy I work with thought we had Joe Bonamassa on all day everyday at work until he mentioned that we really liked Joe and I told him we were listening to Andy Timmons.

 

 

 

[big bob]

The soldano supercharger GTO can be a gain pedal or a high gain pedal, rich and full sound yet let's the character of each guitar come through! I also have a Demeter gain pedal, the Demeter sounds about the same no mater what guitar I use, but I like the sound.

[t0aj15]

The best dirt pedal I've heard is a tube driven pedal from SD called the Twin Tube Classic which uses two mil-spec JAN tubes to create a two channel pre-preamp that effectively turns a one-trick pony (clean) amp into a full blown three channel amp that can cover pretty much all the bases, except for possibly heavy metal which doesn't interest me.

 

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/stompboxes/sfx03_twin_tube/

[Trouble]

I think we've had this thread before, some stomps work really well with medium to low gain, and some like the Rat will get you in that '80s rock territory and can still be fairly sensitive to picking dynamics and the guitar volume knob, but anything approaching modern high gain is not going to be what everyone calls "transparent", in other words, different guitars are all going to be "colored" so much by the pedal that they sound very similar, it is what it is, not much that can be done if you want really high gain.

 

My favorite medium to low gain stomps in no particular order,

1)Barber Direct Drive (Marshall-esque and has never left my board) really sings, can get get you that Sweet Child sound on the neck pup and responds to pick attack and volume changes.

2) Fulltone OCD, very similar in sound to the DD but can be a little to smooth, and sometimes gets lost in the mix a little.

3) Barber LTD more like a Blackface Fender in a box, really responsive, more of a low gain boost type stomp

4) Xotic BB Preamp, really adjustable with a lot of available gain, but seemed to be a little to smooth for me at least with the rig I was using at the time.

5) Proco Rat, I have the "You Dirty Rat" version which has just a bit more compression and gain than the original, I would prefer an original but this one works well enough in a band setting, a rat will cover a pretty broad range, rolling the tone back will get you in the "woman tone" ballpark, you can get a smooth lead sound or crack it open some and get into the '80's hair metal sound with it. This is about the highest gain pedal I've used that was really functional playing at club volumes.

6) There are a couple different versions under different brands and names, but the Brown Sound In A Box circuit can get you into the high gain heavy metal territory, it's a simple design that cascades several transisters and really emulates the Van Halan sound, but it's a finicky, temperamental beast, that will squeal, whine, feedback and just really be noisy. You really need a noise gate to use one live.

 

There are others I've used that were very good too, but typically the really good ones are going to be of similar design and sound, with just minor tonal differences. In my opinion most really high gain pedals are crap, and hard to use in a live setting at club volumes, although they might be cool in your bedroom. Stacking two good medium gain pedals will get you close enough for live work, without too much of a tantrum.

 

That's about all the advice I can give you Koula and it comes from buying playing and building a lot of pedals. If you give me a reference of what type of sound you want, Ac/DC, Poison, Black Label Society I might be able to make a suggestion.

[bobmeyrick]

The best dirt pedal I've heard is a tube driven pedal from SD called the Twin Tube Classic which uses two mil-spec JAN tubes to create a two channel pre-preamp that effectively turns a one-trick pony (clean) amp into a full blown three channel amp that can cover pretty much all the bases, except for possibly heavy metal which doesn't interest me.

 

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/stompboxes/sfx03_twin_tube/

I have one of these, and while I don't use it that often, it's a very useful pedal. A few years ago the school at which I was teaching put on a concert with mainly pupil bands and the backline was the school's own little Marshall solid state combos. I was part of the hastily put together staff band, so I brought along the Twin Tube Classic to put in front of the little Marshall and it sounded great. A good thing to have if you're using an unfamiliar amp.

[Hfan]

Hey Katy, thanks for starting this thread. The other day I was wondering what defined a "dirt pedal". Fuzz, OD etc. I need the edjeamikation.

 

I bought a Jaques two stage overdrive pedal some years ago mainly on what I read on the net in my "pre guitar forum" days, played with it a few times and got bored.

 

I found that my Barber compressor pedal seems to add some nice subtle grind.

[tulk1]

I love pedal threads. It can be as enlightening or as devastating as ANY thread about guitars or strings or or or .......

 

I don't use much in the way of high gain. Altho' Tracy has asked me to have that on one song. One song! Can't justify it for that. I do mostly Low/Med gain. And because I know everyone wants to know!!

 

I use:

JHS Morning Glory - nearly always on. Not quite. But nearly.

Surh Shiba Drive - which gets me into RnR territory with good authority.

And like HFan, I've found my compressor can get me into the grind territory, as well.

[Hfan]

ok I googled "dirt pedal". First result:"Guitarist slang for an overdrive or distortion stompbox". Sorry, I was curious, actually thought that it was something other then a OD or distortion pedal. I need to get out more.. Continue.

[smurph1]

Recently I've taken to turning the gain down on my overdrive some.. I don't know if you all have had the same experience, but it seems to let the actual sound of the guitar and amp come through, while still giving me the sustain I want.. Especially with my Stratocasters.. Sorry if this is redundant!! LOL

[smurph1]

The best dirt pedal I've heard is a tube driven pedal from SD called the Twin Tube Classic which uses two mil-spec JAN tubes to create a two channel pre-preamp that effectively turns a one-trick pony (clean) amp into a full blown three channel amp that can cover pretty much all the bases, except for possibly heavy metal which doesn't interest me.

 

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/stompboxes/sfx03_twin_tube/

That sounds like a real nice pedal.. I may have to get one..

[Markohio2112]

I think we've had this thread before, some stomps work really well with medium to low gain, and some like the Rat will get you in that '80s rock territory and can still be fairly sensitive to picking dynamics and the guitar volume knob, but anything approaching modern high gain is not going to be what everyone calls "transparent", in other words, different guitars are all going to be "colored" so much by the pedal that they sound very similar, it is what it is, not much that can be done if you want really high gain.

 

My favorite medium to low gain stomps in no particular order,

1)Barber Direct Drive (Marshall-esque and has never left my board) really sings, can get get you that Sweet Child sound on the neck pup and responds to pick attack and volume changes.

2) Fulltone OCD, very similar in sound to the DD but can be a little to smooth, and sometimes gets lost in the mix a little.

3) Barber LTD more like a Blackface Fender in a box, really responsive, more of a low gain boost type stomp

4) Xotic BB Preamp, really adjustable with a lot of available gain, but seemed to be a little to smooth for me at least with the rig I was using at the time.

5) Proco Rat, I have the "You Dirty Rat" version which has just a bit more compression and gain than the original, I would prefer an original but this one works well enough in a band setting, a rat will cover a pretty broad range, rolling the tone back will get you in the "woman tone" ballpark, you can get a smooth lead sound or crack it open some and get into the '80's hair metal sound with it. This is about the highest gain pedal I've used that was really functional playing at club volumes.

6) There are a couple different versions under different brands and names, but the Brown Sound In A Box circuit can get you into the high gain heavy metal territory, it's a simple design that cascades several transisters and really emulates the Van Halan sound, but it's a finicky, temperamental beast, that will squeal, whine, feedback and just really be noisy. You really need a noise gate to use one live.

 

There are others I've used that were very good too, but typically the really good ones are going to be of similar design and sound, with just minor tonal differences. In my opinion most really high gain pedals are crap, and hard to use in a live setting at club volumes, although they might be cool in your bedroom. Stacking two good medium gain pedals will get you close enough for live work, without too much of a tantrum.

 

That's about all the advice I can give you Koula and it comes from buying playing and building a lot of pedals. If you give me a reference of what type of sound you want, Ac/DC, Poison, Black Label Society I might be able to make a suggestion.

Dude I have the exact same batch of pedals except the rat. You my friend have good taste.

[rockabilly69]

I use two dirt pedals daily, a Fulldrive II Mosfet, and after that, a Durham Sex Drive. The Fulldrive simulates amp distortion for me when I play slide

guitar on my acoustics and resos, the Sexdrive adds just a little more dirt and compression for solos. Finding the right dirt pedals is tricky, and must

be chosen to work with the pickups in your guitar, and what you choose for an amplifier. I went thru many pedals to find out what would consistently

work for me. And as mentioned before, the more gain dialed in on the pedal, the more it takes the uniqueness of your guitar away.

[Gitfiddler]

I'm having a blast with these dirty stomp boxes:

 

Ibanez TS9, White Face Rat Reissue and Zendrive.

 

Each sounds different, depending on the guitar and amp. The fun is in the knb twisting to find that sweet spot for the specific song or tone desired. All are sweet thangs.

[JeffB]

I seem to have found pedals that work with any of my guitars whether single coil or hb.

I did notice that my fender is pretty happy to take what ever I put in front of it and sound pretty good where as any thing I stick in front of my mesa sounds pretty much like the mesa particularly at low volume.

I think its the Mesa's compression and extra gain stages(even clean) that makes the difference in the way it takes a pedals signal compared to the fender(nmv, treble bass)

[tbonesullivan]

not all dirt pedals are the same. It depends a lot on how they distort/overdrive the sound, as well as the kind of EQ and Filtering they have after that. But in general the more gain you add, the more you compress the sound, and the more homogenous it is going to sound. This goes for amps as well.

[Yooper]

A TS9 and any amp can do the job. For more juice, and different flavor, I like my Boss OD-2 Turbo overdrive. Wouldn't mind adding a White Face Rat.