DetroitBlues Posted May 25, 2015 Posted May 25, 2015 Does anyone have a multiple channel amp but find just the clean channel sounds better with an overdrive pedal rather then switching to an overdrive channel? I think my Marshall DSL40 sounds best when I have my effects in front of the amp, including the overdrive/boost pedal... Is that a waste of an amp or a common practice?
TalismanRich Posted May 25, 2015 Posted May 25, 2015 Better... that depends on your desired sound. DIfferent..... definitely. The OD channels on my DSL401(OD1 and OD2 which is +20dB) are vastly different from any of my 3 pedals. Each one imparts its own tone signature on it. It all depends on what sound you're after. There are times when I gang both a pedal and the OD channel. to make it compress the heck out of the signal. Might not be useful in every song, but sometimes, it just sounds cool! BTW, the same goes for my Peavey Classic 30.
rockabilly69 Posted May 25, 2015 Posted May 25, 2015 Does anyone have a multiple channel amp but find just the clean channel sounds better with an overdrive pedal rather then switching to an overdrive channel? I think my Marshall DSL40 sounds best when I have my effects in front of the amp, including the overdrive/boost pedal... Is that a waste of an amp or a common practice? I love the clean channel on my Mesa Boogie DC2 but I never use the dirty channel. All of my overdrives are from my pedal board. I don't even know where my footswitch is for it:)
t0aj15 Posted May 25, 2015 Posted May 25, 2015 I've got more then a dozen multi-channel amps (and have owned god only knows how many others) and only one of those has what I consider more than one USEABLE channels. The Fender Super-Sonic 100 is IMO the best of the bunch. All three channels of the Fender sound great. In fact if for some reason the Fender becomes unserviceable I think the next time I'd end up with something like the Port City Pearl which has nothing more then a great sounding clean channel and then get the rest of my tones from pedals.
212Mavguy Posted May 25, 2015 Posted May 25, 2015 Just because an amp has two or more channels doesn't mean that all of the channels sound great in that amp as it arrived. What counts is how to decide what to fix and what's not broken. With that particular Marshall it's not surprising IMHO. As far as the distortion thang goes, you can't have too many usable, distinct dirty tones to apply as the music or your ears and fingers dictate. If the amp sounds bad in a distortion channel, investigate the tone chain within that amp and improve it for the benefit of each channel. Have done that quite a few times with various amp makes. Seldom does a store bought amp sound it's best without some vintage tube and/or speaker rolling. So it's best to start with something nice instead of ending up spending more than wise polishing a mass produced pre-compromised turd purchased with too low a price point for it's feature set. With that said, look at the British amp builders, Hiwatt/Reeves/Harry Joyce amps that sound great with a distortion pedal in front of a clean front end. Marshalls benefit as well, and other high gain sounds in 80's, a lot of that hair metal distortion came from stomp boxes into very powerful clean amps. Nothing wrong with that approach with moderate volume and effects levels until the amp starts distorting, then time based effects like delay and particularly reverb start sounding ragged in direct proportion to the amount that the amp itself is distorting. I'm pretty much finished buying amps, but if I build any more they will have a loop for effects. The best boutique or production amp builders start at the clean tone and work from there. You might have to change out the speaker in your amp first thing to get that dirty channel to sound better to your ears. Peavey Scorpion 12…hint, hint.
Gitfiddler Posted May 25, 2015 Posted May 25, 2015 My trusty old Mesa Mk IV has three channels, Clean, Overdrive and Lead. It took a long time to dial in the OD and Lead channels to where they were useful to my ear, but they all sound great now. That particular amp has so many subtle ways to modify all three tone stacks that it requires patience and lots of knob twisting. Then once you've dialed it in at home, you need to tweak it for live applications. With this amp, OD pedals aren't really necessary, but most pedals have their own thing going on. Some players prefer their favorite pedals, no matter how many channels their amp has.
tulk1 Posted May 26, 2015 Posted May 26, 2015 My favorite gigging amp was my Marshall JCM900 4102. Clean side went to 10. Dirty side went to 20! I really liked the clean side with the gain up. But for leads I used a Marshall Drive Master. I think that amp just sounded SO much better with that pedal. My current Mesa TA15 has multiple channels, selectable from the floor switch. Seems to have everything from squeaky clean to Mesa over the top distorition. But I still use a JHS Morning Glory for dirt; and Suhr Shiba for leads. I think the addition of pedals to any amp, whether it has multiple channels or not allows for a better sculpting of the sound. Lots more layers, and layers be good!
Kuz Posted May 26, 2015 Posted May 26, 2015 I have several 7 channel amps..... a vintage Fender amp played clean and 5 OD pedals on my board. For me, I could never find an OD channel on my previous multichannel amps that sounded better than a vintage Fender amp with some good OD pedals!!!
DetroitBlues Posted May 28, 2015 Author Posted May 28, 2015 I have several 7 channel amps..... a vintage Fender amp played clean and 5 OD pedals on my board. For me, I could never find an OD channel on my previous multichannel amps that sounded better than a vintage Fender amp with some good OD pedals!!! You do have some fine vintage Fenders...
shook494 Posted May 29, 2015 Posted May 29, 2015 I have a KranK single channel 50 watt head that I keep super clean. Almost no gain. It can do a great Marshall crunch but I don't use it. I put a Lovepedal Redhead and or an Oddfellow Caveman OD in front of it for different flavors. I got rid of my multi channel amps because I never switched em.
tulk1 Posted May 29, 2015 Posted May 29, 2015 I have several 7 channel amps..... a vintage Fender amp played clean and 5 OD pedals on my board. For me, I could never find an OD channel on my previous multichannel amps that sounded better than a vintage Fender amp with some good OD pedals!!! How many channels? And I thought the Mesa Road King was over the top. ............
Kuz Posted May 29, 2015 Posted May 29, 2015 How many channels? And I thought the Mesa Road King was over the top. ............ Any of my 4 Vintage Fenders have at least 7 channels....... Channel 1 is the amp played clean Channel 2 is the amp clean plus Ethos OD Channel 3 is the amp clean plus TC Electronics Vintage Distortion Channel 4 is the amp clean plus TS9 (late '80s) Tubescreamer Channel 5 is the amp clean plus Euphoria OD Channel 6 is the amp clean plus BB Pre-amp OD Channel 7 is the amp clean plus RAT Distortion
tulk1 Posted May 29, 2015 Posted May 29, 2015 Any of my 4 Vintage Fenders have at least 7 channels....... Channel 1 is the amp played clean Channel 2 is the amp clean plus Ethos OD Channel 3 is the amp clean plus TC Electronics Vintage Distortion Channel 4 is the amp clean plus TS9 (late '80s) Tubescreamer Channel 5 is the amp clean plus Euphoria OD Channel 6 is the amp clean plus BB Pre-amp OD Channel 7 is the amp clean plus RAT Distortion Oh, well that explains it ........... uh .... not!!
Kuz Posted May 30, 2015 Posted May 30, 2015 Oh, well that explains it ........... uh .... not!! I am playing the amp clean and then using my OD pedals on my pedal board and calling them "different channels". So yes it is a single channel clean amp but my 6 different OD pedals make it seem like a 7 channel amp. Understand now?
Conneazoo Posted May 31, 2015 Posted May 31, 2015 I love all 4 channels on my Mesa Boogie Roadster. All four are very tweakable and useful.
duhvoodooman Posted May 31, 2015 Posted May 31, 2015 Does anyone have a multiple channel amp but find just the clean channel sounds better with an overdrive pedal rather then switching to an overdrive channel? I think my Marshall DSL40 sounds best when I have my effects in front of the amp, including the overdrive/boost pedal... You just described what many (most?) owners of the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe & DeVille amps think. The overdrive channel of these amps is widely considered to have a very uninspiring tone, and many owners just leave the amp in the clean channel mode and use pedals for overdriven and distorted sounds.
DetroitBlues Posted June 1, 2015 Author Posted June 1, 2015 You just described what many (most?) owners of the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe & DeVille amps think. The overdrive channel of these amps is widely considered to have a very uninspiring tone, and many owners just leave the amp in the clean channel mode and use pedals for overdriven and distorted sounds. That's sort of why I brought it up... Seems like a lot do the same thing with the Blues Deluxe...
Gitfiddler Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 That's sort of why I brought it up... Seems like a lot do the same thing with the Blues Deluxe... The Blues Deluxe can be modified to turn it into a much better sounding amp...(clean AND dirty channel)...with the addition of better tubes and a speaker upgrade. I dropped a Weber Alnico 50 watter in it and it sounds amazing. Now both channels are useful.
duhvoodooman Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 The Blues Deluxe can be modified to turn it into a much better sounding amp...(clean AND dirty channel)...with the addition of better tubes and a speaker upgrade. I dropped a Weber Alnico 50 watter in it and it sounds amazing. Now both channels are useful. Interesting. I recently picked up a "limited edition" tweed version of the Hot Rod Deluxe that came with a Jenson P12N alnico speaker, and I upgraded the stock power tubes to a nice set of Winged C 6L6's and the V1 preamp tube to a NOS JAN GE 5751. The clean channel sounds freakin' great--and takes pedals like a champ--but I still don't care for the drive channel.
Gitfiddler Posted June 1, 2015 Posted June 1, 2015 Interesting. I recently picked up a "limited edition" tweed version of the Hot Rod Deluxe that came with a Jenson P12N alnico speaker, and I upgraded the stock power tubes to a nice set of Winged C 6L6's and the V1 preamp tube to a NOS JAN GE 5751. The clean channel sounds freakin' great--and takes pedals like a champ--but I still don't care for the drive channel. I've read many users feel exactly like you about the HRD amp. Sounds like you've already put some great glass in yours. I went with JJ's Preamp Gold Pins from Eurotubes, and may change the Power Tubes later. Happy for now. Check out these folks and maybe they can recommend something in the JJ line for the OD channel: https://www.eurotubes.com/store/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=78
bluwoodsman Posted June 10, 2015 Posted June 10, 2015 I still like the sound of my mark IIB on clean with just a bit of a dirty pedal added. Gives a different tone than any other dial up setting I can use, and it has some responsiveness to attack that I like too.
RhoadsScholar Posted June 10, 2015 Posted June 10, 2015 I have marshalls, fenders, some custom stuff. I have found the Rivera Era Fender Concert AMPS (early to mid 80's) give you a great, close to blackface clean sound and a decent overdrive sound (but you have to dial in the EQ to get it right. Once dialed in, these are sleepers. They come in other flavors (lower wattage, higher wattage) original super champ, Princeton reverb II, Deluxe reverb II ... I believe they originally wanted to compete with the mesa boogie crowd but they have their own unique sound, last of the point to point amps. I believe Gitfiddller has a few of these. I like the concerts, they tend to be a little cheaper and they are a loud and proud 60 watt amps. Frequently see them between 500 and 600 used on guitar center's website. I always thought they did the channel switching quite well....
Gianluca Posted June 10, 2015 Posted June 10, 2015 just my story I own and play a Fender Montreux from P. Rivera era, it's a mosfet amp and it's great at both clean and lead. The lead channel still has the best OD tone range for me (as of now) and combined with some modulations in FX loop I can get quite satisfied controls are Treble, Bass, Mid1, Mid2 lots of configs to setup. I use a BK Butler TubeWorks OD(old 3 knobs model) for some boosting or some OD over clean channel, the Butler gets the input from 1990s CryBaby output. The amp has a spring reverb. I swapped the original speaker with a Celestion V30 and it got better. I am satisfied, it's loud and let me play well even at low volumes. I think using the natural OD on the lead channel or using a external OD feeding the clean channel are two different things not really comparable and both have their own pros and cons. When using the Tubeworks feeding the clean, if I use the neck PAF it gets someway overlodaded at certain control values...sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't and act on guitar volume or the OD itself. For example, some other times I think I miss a good transistor OD to be used in front of the clean channel(but not only) and think that maybe I'll get one(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0dDk3s4x2c)....one day. Some other times I think a simple 1channel combo is more than enough, for example: http://www.dreamakeramps.com/gb/combo/14-pure-dream-combo.html or even lesser controls: http://www.dreamakeramps.com/gb/combo/13-funny-dream-combo.html but right after the GAS spring I wonder what/how could I do without a 2chan amp ... :-)
JeffB Posted June 10, 2015 Posted June 10, 2015 I played through a Laney 30w amp tonight. Great clean channel! took me some time to dial in the gain channel but when I did it seemed to be kinda perfect for what songs we were jamming on. It wasnt the sound I would normally use but it worked fine, sounded great. I didnt take any pedals or even a tuner so I had to make do. If I took my pedals I probably wouldve ponced around dialing them in as well. Any of the multi channel amps Ive had I started out with no extra stomps but at some stage would end up with od stomps in the chain. The reasoning was always that if I was going to have delays in the loop and maybe a wah or some modulation device in front I may as throw some od stomps on the board as well. The exception was the Mesa LS and a roots jam or gig. Nothing extra needed. Two channels and a solo boost, actually, an over kill thinking back about it.
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