I'd like to get an OD/Distortion pedal, but not sure which one. I have a Blues Jr. amp, and was leaning toward getting a Digitech Bad Monkey or Ibanez Tubescreamer. Then I saw a couple of stompboxes with tubes in them...Behringer VT999, for example. Since I'm already using a tube amp, is there any real benefit to running a stombox with tubes? Or are these pedals used primarily for making a solid-state amp sound like a tube amp?
Thanks for any help, all.
Dan
Go here and you can hear what tube boosters/OD pedals can do.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
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Greybeard, thanks for the link. There are some impressive audio samples on that site. But I'm still curious - if you're playing through a tube amp, what is the difference between running a tube O/D pedal in front of it as opposed to an Ibanez Tubescreamer (or similar pedal)?
Dan
I agree, those were very nice samples. Hughes & Kettner is known for making quality products.
An overdrive pedal socks it to your preamp section of your amp. So you can get really overdriven tones at lower volumes, plus it can sock up the overdrive of an amp with a low gain preamp section.
I also recommend the Behringer TO800 overdrive pedal. This was designed after the original 80's tubescreamer made famous especially by Stevie Ray Vaughan. This is a great pedal. I had band practice yesterday and it is still my go-to pedal. This is not a distortion pedal, it is overdrive, but excellent tone.
Here is a good soundclip, this guy says he likes it MORE than his modded Tubescreamer. :wink:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UteVdAOsquU
It even sounds good into a solid state amp
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Neither of you guys is making this any easier. Just when I think I have my choices narrowed down between 2 or 3 pedals, you two come along with sound clips of more pedals! Oh well, maybe I'll have to buy 2 pedals.
Wes, I've never looked into Behringer's stuff before, but I recently visited their site to check out the VT999 OD pedal. I also listend to some samples of other pedals and was quite impressed, especially after factoring in their prices.
Dan
There are many good overdrives out there, but they all cost a lot more than the Behringer. :D
I don't know why people hate Behringer so much. They came on strong about 10 years ago with many very innovative products. And they were ahead of their time, they had everything manufactured in China and were able to offer good products for great prices. Some real big NAME companies put them down for this, now these very same companies are having their products manufactured in China.
So who is copying who? :wink:
Here's what the TO800 sounds like cranked all the way to max.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G62WWki3gIE&feature=related
This pedal gets excellent harmonics. This fellow had the tone turned down a little too low for my liking, but the tone control is very responsive and can go from very thick and muddy all the way to very bright and edgy. Not bad for $30.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
I prefer to buy American when I can, but I'm not a rich man. So I can't afford to spend $200 on a pedal when I know a Dano or Behringer will do the same thing for $30.
I just purchased an EHX Big Muff, and I love it. Now I'm looking for an OD pedal. I thought it might be cool to have a tube-driven OD pedal, but I don't know if the extra cost is worth it.
Dan
