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Distortion pedals

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(@markii)
Eminent Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 13
Topic starter  

Newbe pedal question. I'm currently playing a Gibson SG with a Fender superchamp XD and I use a Marshall MG30 also. I play mostly classic to hard rock. Is using a distortion pedal going to do anything more for me versus using distortion settings on my amps? I'm thinking it would sound the same. Just trying to get more knowledgeable on pedals.


   
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(@ph0nage)
Reputable Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 199
 

it's really a matter of preference. Some like to use an amps overdrive/distortion channel and some like pedals.

Having been a superchamp XD owner and having a Gibson SG faded, I know that you can get a lot of sounds out of that. There are some good voices for classic rock on there. Some say that it sounds a little bit too processed with the digital voicings.

I've used a couple of distortions before i started using the overdrive channel on my peavey valveking. A Boss DS-1 (later modded, you can ask Dan T about that), VOX Satchurator, and eventually a Digitech Valve Distortion.

The digitech valve distortion is by far my favorite - in that it has a switch on it that will go from "Crunch" to "Saturation" - so it can go to light overdrive all the way to playing the heavy rock songs that my band covers. the other guitarist in my band has a Visual Sounds Jekyl & Hyde, which has two modes - OD and Distortion, which you can combine together. Very cool pedal.

My suggestion would be to go to a store and try out various pedals and see if you like them better than your natural overdrive on your marshall and your many voices on the Superchamp XD. The Superchamp does take pedals very well on the clean channel.

I find I prefer the thicker sound of tube amp overdrive personally, although my Digitech Valve Distortion is great to have

just my 2 cents


   
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(@blue-jay)
Noble Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 1630
 

+1 on all of the above. :wink:

Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.


   
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(@markii)
Eminent Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 13
Topic starter  

it's really a matter of preference. Some like to use an amps overdrive/distortion channel and some like pedals.

Having been a superchamp XD owner and having a Gibson SG faded, I know that you can get a lot of sounds out of that. There are some good voices for classic rock on there. Some say that it sounds a little bit too processed with the digital voicings.

I've used a couple of distortions before i started using the overdrive channel on my peavey valveking. A Boss DS-1 (later modded, you can ask Dan T about that), VOX Satchurator, and eventually a Digitech Valve Distortion.

The digitech valve distortion is by far my favorite - in that it has a switch on it that will go from "Crunch" to "Saturation" - so it can go to light overdrive all the way to playing the heavy rock songs that my band covers. the other guitarist in my band has a Visual Sounds Jekyl & Hyde, which has two modes - OD and Distortion, which you can combine together. Very cool pedal.

My suggestion would be to go to a store and try out various pedals and see if you like them better than your natural overdrive on your marshall and your many voices on the Superchamp XD. The Superchamp does take pedals very well on the clean channel.

I find I prefer the thicker sound of tube amp overdrive personally, although my Digitech Valve Distortion is great to have

just my 2 cents

Thanks, I was thinking about just picking something up cheap (ebay) to mess around with. Actually in my post I forgot to mention I am looking for another amp. A Valveking 212 is at the top of the list and really looking hard at a used Marshall DSL or TSL combo.


   
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(@ph0nage)
Reputable Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 199
 

I really love the valveking 112 that I have. It has many features - and I believe that the 212 has more options with presence and resonance. The one thing that bothered me with mine was that the speakers don't sound very good with it once you crank up the volume. Many forums have suggestions on speaker replacements for it. I found a speaker similar to a celestion vintage 30 to put in mine. Sounds great and it's less expensive than celestion or eminence normally run
http://warehousespeakers.com/proddetail.php?prod=veteran30_12

You probably can't go wrong with marshall. Wes Inman, one of the more well known members around here recently purchased a marshall haze head. He said the overdrive channel is great for classic rock. Here's the link to the Combo version of it.
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Marshall-Haze-MHZ40C-40W-1x12-Tube-Guitar-Combo-Amp?sku=581910&src ="3WFRWXX&ZYXSEM=0&CAWELAID=334451505"


   
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(@scott58)
Trusted Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 44
 

There is alot out there to choose from. I tried a fulltone OCD through a Valve king and liked it alot. Continued my research and started hearing about the Wampler SuperPlextortion and after listening to alot of youtube demos bought it. Been about a year and I rarely turn that pedal off. Best bet is hit youtube and go after what grabs you.

Dean Icon PZ
Line 6 Variax 700
Dean 79 ML (silverBurst) Dean 79 ML Arctic White
Dean V-Wing Dove
Wampler SuperPlextortion - Skreddy Lunar Module
Peavey Transtube 110 EFX - Vox DA20 - Valve Jr Head/Cab
Phonic 620 Power Pod PA
Line 6 Pod HD
H2O Chorus/Echo


   
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(@alangreen)
Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 5342
 

Newbe pedal question. I'm currently playing a Gibson SG with a Fender superchamp XD and I use a Marshall MG30 also. I play mostly classic to hard rock. Is using a distortion pedal going to do anything more for me versus using distortion settings on my amps? I'm thinking it would sound the same. Just trying to get more knowledgeable on pedals.

The advantage of a stomp box over the settings on your amp is that you can use the stomp box whilst you're singing backing vocals rather than having to run back to the amp to change the channel.

That said, the Marshall MG30DFX has a footswitch option. If you like the distorted sound on the amp a footswitch will give you the same convenience as a stomp box.

A :-)

"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk


   
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(@blue-jay)
Noble Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 1630
 

Newbe pedal question. I'm currently playing a Gibson SG with a Fender superchamp XD and I use a Marshall MG30 also. I play mostly classic to hard rock. Is using a distortion pedal going to do anything more for me versus using distortion settings on my amps? I'm thinking it would sound the same. Just trying to get more knowledgeable on pedals.

The advantage of a stomp box over the settings on your amp is that you can use the stomp box whilst you're singing backing vocals rather than having to run back to the amp to change the channel.

That said, the Marshall MG30DFX has a footswitch option. If you like the distorted sound on the amp a footswitch will give you the same convenience as a stomp box.

A :-)

Alan just made a very good point. Also some, if not most distortion pedals, I'd say anything beyond the mild potency of the Ibanez Tube Screamers, some Blues Drivers and the Bluesbreaker, will take you to new really heavy metal and powerful levels of extreme crunch that the dirty channel on the amp isn't truly there for, unless it's a modelling amp.

Having said that, until I found the Zoom G1 and got the Roland Cube 20X, I normally used mild, classic or vintage distortion types, either included in the amp as the distortion channel, or a variety of those green Tube Screamers, made famous by Stevie Ray Vaughan; the round red Fuzz Face ala Hendrix, and the Blues Breaker, like Clapton, I assumed.

Anyhow, these are all ways of getting a fairly mild distortion, compared to the radical and heavily clipped sounds of death metal boxes, a really wild DOD pedal which I had & sold, and some of my son's - I'll show some very-affordables which he uses for his keyboards, since the keyboard amp has no distortion channel, and you don't need to buy high priced boutique pedals but you can if you want, they're a blast too for way more dollars! I keep and use an Ibanez Smash Box. It is one of the wickedest and loudest, mayhem-creating distortion pedals that I have ever encountered, and I'm permanently satisfied with it. :D

So here's part of my son's set up, the Boss pedals are fairly standard, everybody has had them at some point, they're just simple, good and get the job done? 8) And oops, I forgot to think about the boutiquish, too-rare-to-ever-remember Dot On Shaft delay pedal, when another member asked for a delay with certain features on his own thread. At the time, I googled and came up with nothing unique or different than Boss and perhaps Yamaha. It got itself into the pic. :roll:

Also, we are also collectors of Moogerfoggers or moogerfoogers which have many uses, including drive, and are addicted to Digitech and Snarling Dog & Wah.

Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.


   
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(@trguitar)
Famed Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 3709
 

I have an Ibanez Smash Box. It is truely a wicked distortion device. It even has it's own built in noise supressor that is more like a feed back supressor so ridiculous amounts of distortion can be used at high volume. This said, I don't use it much. I have been using a Tube Screamer into the dirty chanel of my amp. It is that little extra that drives the preamp tubes and gives me the sound I like. The one I have is a TS10 ....... yes a 10. Late 80's maybe early 90's, not sure, I bought it in 1992 maybe. Well, the switch is plastic and iffy at best, have to step on it several times to turn it off and on ocasionally. I decided to replace it but wanted to look at other options. I ended up with a Digitech Bad Monkey Tube Overdrive pedal. Same idea as the TS except $50 less and it has bass and treble adjustments. Oh yeah, sturdy switch too. I think I like this pedal for the use I mentioned above. Just into a clean chanel a TS or similar device like the BM is just not enough distortion but combined with the dirty chanel of a tube amp it is awsome.

"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --


   
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(@barbiesteel)
Eminent Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 14
 

Hello everybody,

Somehow I think I prefer the overdrive or distortion that comes in the amplifier. I have tried pedals like the metal zone and Boss's overdrive-distortion. The metal zone felt like a fuzz sound on top of the natural sound, while the overdrive-distortion pedal felt like increasing the sensitivity of the sound only....hard to describe....plus the batteries of pedals need to be replaced regularly and in time....hahaha.
Anyway, in practice-rooms I have played with Marshall amplifiers that gave me good distortion sound without any pedals, if I recall well.
I just don't know if it was a JVM 4 channels, the one with 2 channels or a TSL.

Have anyone tried the Dimebag's distortion box?
How do you get to the sound of Cannibal Corpse and Napalm Death, or White zombie?

:?: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:


   
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(@chalkoutline)
Estimable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 157
 

I use the Boss DS-1 distortion pedal. For $40 its a good meat and potatoes distortion pedal. It may not be the best but I think you get a lot of bang for the buck.

Interview guy: What is the source of your feedback?
Neil Young: Volume.


   
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