Selling V-amp & Amp for Pedals.

I would start with an EQ (Danelectro Fish'n'Chips) then an Ibanez Tubescreamer. You should be able to find a Tubescreamer for cheap on e-bay or something.

Another must though, quality cables to jump them back to your amp. Poor cables can induce noises/hum into your system.

Just like most things, if you want quality, durability and longevity...... you need to pay for it.

Personally, I wouldn't throw the EQ around as the shell isn't built for abuse (mine has a plastic shell, I've seen others that are a little different but, they all looked like plastic too) but, it does work very well!

What ever you end up with, good luck and have fun! 8)

Thanks Mike.

I never really understood the love of EQ's. What makes an EQ pedal so much better then the eq on my amp. The only reason I can see is to run through the effects loop?

I may look at that Danelectro EQ you suggested, but a Tubescreamer isn't what I'm looking for, or at least I think not. But who knows, I'll try out whats around, then check eBay for a deal.

Re: EQ - Yes, you have your highs, mids & lows on your amp but, the Dano is a 7-band EQ. I plan on buying a rack mount dual 32-band EQ when I get the money. :twisted:

Much more options for shaping your sound.

SRV used a Tubescreamer (as does Kirk Hammet, but ssshhhhh, he calls it his secret weapon :lol: ). SRV's sound/tone came from many different factors but, a TS will help you a little in that direction plus, it "overdrives" your amp. If you want mild and not heavy distortion, you'll need to look into an overdrive pedal anyway.

I'd say: don't bother with EQs and TSs. I'd even go as far as to say not to bother with any pedals at all. Why? Because pedals are used to shape the sound of your amp further, not replace it. I've had a Ibby TS9 and a Boss SD1 and the result was always the same: awesome when used on a responsive amp with already a nice sound, hopeless on other amps. EQs are even more so like this, you use it to shape the sound but if you don't have anything to shape it's utterly pointless. All those SRVs with their TSs and Cobains with their DS1s all used it to complement their expensive amps.

My suggestion: dump your V-amp and *both* your amps. Then get one which gives you a basic tone you like. This can be SS, digital or tube, just make sure you like it. Then look into effects to shape it further to your taste. For a small budget you can look at Roland Cubes or Vox ADs for the digital stuff or at Ibbies Valbee or Epis Valve Junior for the tube stuff. This is all in the <$200 range. If you can gather up to $400 or so (should be possible if you sell the princeton) you have so much choices it's not even funny anymore.

But really, get the basics down solid, then add stuff.

My suggestion: dump your V-amp and *both* your amps. Then get one which gives you a basic tone you like. This can be SS, digital or tube, just make sure you like it. Then look into effects to shape it further to your taste. For a small budget you can look at Roland Cubes or Vox ADs for the digital stuff or at Ibbies Valbee or Epis Valve Junior for the tube stuff. This is all in the <$200 range. If you can gather up to $400 or so (should be possible if you sell the princeton) you have so much choices it's not even funny anymore.

But really, get the basics down solid, then add stuff.

Thing is I like the amp's clean, reverb, and chorus, just the overdrive I don't like. I'd hate to part with it just because of one thing. The problem is, I don't play my electric often. Sometimes I'll throw on a Dire Straits record and play along, becasue the clean channel is good. I can even manage some modern punk music, like Rise Against, but there distortion is pretty generic. I don't want a pedal to futher overdrive the amp, like a TS, but something that can hold it's own on distortion.

Another reason I want to keep the Fender is because my acoustics sound great through it with a touch of reverb, and I'd like to keep that tone.

I understand. But you probably won't be able to find a $100 pedal that outperforms the V-amp for distorted sounds. I can understand you might want something better, but I fear there simply ain't a cheap and instant solution to it. Espescially since you don't want modelers, which are basically the only alternative to proper amps.

What's your budget anyway?

I understand. But you probably won't be able to find a $100 pedal that outperforms the V-amp for distorted sounds. I can understand you might want something better, but I fear there simply ain't a cheap and instant solution to it. Espescially since you don't want modelers, which are basically the only alternative to proper amps.

What's your budget anyway?

I haven't decided yet, I'm going to take a trip to the guitar store soon and check out pretty much everything. I need to do some research before I starting getting any ideas.

OHG

I am not familiar with the new line of Danelectro pedals, but I own many of the older styles, and some of them are excellent, while others are just OK.

If you want a good pedal that will almost get you Metal distortion, but that can also be dialed down to get you a great Blues type overdrive, or even just a clean boost, I highly recommend the older Danelectro Daddy-O. I own one of these and it is a great pedal. Read reviews everywhere on it and you will see it gets high marks from the great majority of owners. And I would say the same thing. This pedal is very versatile, I really don't know of any other pedal that can produce so many different tones. You can set volume high and gain low for a clean boost for solos. You can set gain a little higher and volume a little lower for a great crunch tone. You can turn gain way up and volume down and almost get Metal. Very good.

Even more, this pedal has a 3-band EQ that really has great response. You can cut the mids and go full on the highs and lows for the classic "scooped mids" tone. You can boost the mids for a great lead tone that will really cut through a mix.

This is an excellent pedal. Many like it more than their Tubescreamers, that's saying a lot. But it is half the cost of the TS9 and 1/3rd the cost of the TS808. I cannot say this pedal is as good as the Tubescreamers, but it gives these pedals solid competition.

This pedal is quiet, and does not color your tone. It is a darn good pedal.

The Fab Tone (I also own one of these) is pure Metal. Even with the gain down all the way you are getting heavy distortion. You cannot get a Blues tone or clean boost with it. It is also good, but the Daddy-O is better.

Danelectro Daddy-O

I gave you this link because you can read the reviews. But if you do a search at MF and type Daddy-O you will also see you can get the Chicken Salad pedal free with the Daddy-O.

Read the reviews on this pedal everywhere and you will see they are very good. As far as some of the lastest reviews saying this thing picks up the radio, mine has NEVER picked up the radio even once and I've owned it for years.

Thanks Wes, I'm going to check that link out, I think a friend of mine has one of those, I'll give his a try when he gets back from the summer.

Paul

Off He Goes

I just spent about an hour reading reviews on the Daddy-O on Harmony Central. As usual, you will see some who claim this is the best overdrive ever, and others who say it is the worst pedal ever. So you just have to read lots of reviews and get an overall view. I think that reading these reviews you will see disappointment from those wanting harder distortions, and glowing reviews from those looking for good crunch or lead boost type tones.

For instance, from my own experience with this pedal I know I can get Collective Soul (one of my favorite bands), SRV (easy), and Pearl Jam. I can see getting Pink Floyd too, although I always think of heavy effects with Pink Floyd.

But you are not gonna get Tool with this pedal. It is not that heavy.

This pedal can get you the best classic Punk tones you ever heard. You can get the Clash easy. You can get that great AC/DC overdrive crunch (just about my favorite type of tone) with this pedal.

But this pedal is not magic. And I guess a lot depends on the gear used with it. I use this with my Strat and LP into my HRD, Marshall DSL401, and my new Epi Valve Jr. head. These are all good sounding amps to begin with. And my guitars are pretty good too. So I cannot promise this pedal will sound good with all guitars and amps.

And I don't know what tones other people like. I hate super-duper-hyper-mega distortion with gargantua chorus, delay, flange, compression..... You get the idea.

So I am going by your post. Couple of reviews said that Tom Petty and his guitarist both use this pedal on tour. Well, I like Tom Petty type overdrive, and that is what this pedal does. But forget Tool or any grunge like distortion by Nirvana or the Smashing Pumpkins. This pedal is not going to do that. But it will do just about everything else.

Wes, me and you are on a similar boat here.

When I mentioned Tool, it wasn't with the intent of starting a Tool cover band or anything, just a tone I like. If I could get any number of those tones and give up a super heavy one thats fine.

The Pearl Jam, and Collective Souls tones are what I'm after the most. I've seen both in concert, and spent a great deal of time listening to different tones from both.

I'm not a fan of effects. A Perfect Circle and Pink Floyd use the most that I can handle. But chorus and reverb is all I ever use. Chorus on clean, and I always have reverb around 3.

The Tom Petty thing is great, I'm a hugh fan. I love those tones.

I should also mention that I do see some upgrades in the futher of my guitar. Maybe some new tuners and some GFS humbuckers. So that's going to shake up things a bit.

On a bit of a similar note, when ever I try out new settings on the V-amp, I always play "Better Now" it's not really the classic Collective Soul tone, but it is prety awesome one none the less.

OHG

I am not sure if I know that one, though I've probably heard it. Our band does December, but I also love Shine, Heavy, Gel and many others.

They love one name titles. :D

Collective Soul like Tom Petty are both from Gainesville, Fla. I believe. Growing up in Fla., I am proud of all bands from the state.

Don't forget an EQ! :lol: At least test one in a chain at GC (or mom and pop). They should have your amp too. An EQ really does help cleaning and shaping your sound. Not pushing them on ya, just wanna let you know they work.

My friend has the same amp as you. When I first got my setup (EQ and TS9), I tried it on his amp and soon found that the DOD he is using, is sucking the tone out of his setup. It really is a nice soundin' amp on its own.

I didn't get to mess around with settings much, didn't have too. Gave it a nice little crunch.

I was supposed to go to his house this past weekend but, I really didn't feel like driving 45min., he lives near the CT border. I'll see if he is free this weekend and if we can record something so you can hear it with the EQ and TS9(sorry, don't have the one Wes is talking about). I owe geoo a recording of the schecter (two birds with one stone I'd say! :lol: ). I still haven't installed all the things I had on my laptop (including recording stuff) since my hard drive crashed. Ooooh yeah, that sucked!!!

Ok Mike, you can shut up now.

10-4

:D

Thanks Mike, I'd really appreciate that. Like you said, the amp is decent on it's own. But I just can't get the right overdrive from it. I'm going to make a point to try some TS's, EQ's, and a Daddy-O on my next trip.