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Vintage threads from the first ten years

overdrive pedals

11/3/1996 9:42 AM
Al Pollard	overdrive pedals I am wanting a an overdrive pedal, that sounds really warm and will add to my sound. I would like any suggestions, I'm using a Fender Strat Plus and Bassman replica amp. Any info on the Centaur? Muff Pi? Blue or Real Tube? Thanks, Al

11/4/1996 11:34 AM
frank yang	If you can afford the Centaur, go with it. I've heard great things about it. Or try Mike Fuller's Fulltone II- I believe newer models will have a straight signal boost feature in addition to the overdrive. And if all else fails, pick an Ibanez Tubescreamer. It may be overhyped, but it's a great sounding pedal. All of the above are overdrive pedals which will drive the amp harder, and give you a nice smooth tube distortion. They are NOT, however, distortion pedals in the Metallica sense. The Big Muff is a totally over the top fuzz that is loads of fun, but may not be what you're looking for. My pedal setup consists of a TubeScreamer TS-5 into a ProCo Rat II into a Sovtek Big Muff Pi. Overdrive, distortion, fuzz, all covered. I can't comment on the Real Tube/Blue Tube boxes. Eric Johnson uses an old Tube Driver that was recently reissued. Those pedals have a 12AX7 in them, like the Ibanez Tube King. Other tube boxes are the Mesa/Boogie V-Twin (2 12AX7s) and the Matchless Hot Box (2 12AX7s, I think). You may want to try these in lieu of the solid-state boxes above. They may be all you need to make your rig as versatile as you'll ever need. Check out the Harmony Central effects database for more opinions - that place is invaluable.

11/4/1996 11:34 AM

frank yang
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If you can afford the Centaur, go with it. I've heard great things about it. Or try Mike Fuller's Fulltone II- I believe newer models will have a straight signal boost feature in addition to the overdrive. And if all else fails, pick an Ibanez Tubescreamer. It may be overhyped, but it's a great sounding pedal.
All of the above are overdrive pedals which will drive the amp harder, and give you a nice smooth tube distortion. They are NOT, however, distortion pedals in the Metallica sense. The Big Muff is a totally over the top fuzz that is loads of fun, but may not be what you're looking for. My pedal setup consists of a TubeScreamer TS-5 into a ProCo Rat II into a Sovtek Big Muff Pi. Overdrive, distortion, fuzz, all covered.

I can't comment on the Real Tube/Blue Tube boxes. Eric Johnson uses an old Tube Driver that was recently reissued. Those pedals have a 12AX7 in them, like the Ibanez Tube King. Other tube boxes are the Mesa/Boogie V-Twin (2 12AX7s) and the Matchless Hot Box (2 12AX7s, I think). You may want to try these in lieu of the solid-state boxes above. They may be all you need to make your rig as versatile as you'll ever need. Check out the Harmony Central effects database for more opinions - that place is invaluable.

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11/6/1996 12:55 PM
Joe Movich	I am using a BOSS Blues Driver pedal as well as an Ibanez TubeScreamer TS-5 I really like the sounds of both of these pedals. I haven't ever heard any of the pedals with a 12AX7 in them, such as the Mesa/Boogie V-Twin or the Matchless Hot Box. Anyone have experience with these pedals?

11/10/1996 11:00 AM
Al Pollard	Joe, Harmony Central effects database has data on these pedals along with many more. I found HC to be extremely helpful, people who have used the pedals rate the pedals. I found HC on the AMPAGE. I hope this helps, if you have any questions email me at apollard@hub.ofthe.net.

8/26/1997 10:30 AM
Nat	What's the web address for Harmony Central ? How did you find it on Ampage? Sounds like a great site. Thanks

1/31/1997 12:01 AM
Chuck	Don't dicount the option of Just overdrive. for years I used a Plexi Reissue (similar circuit but different componants and tone). For extra true overdrive I used a Boss GE7 eq pedal pushed up in the mids with a little bass and treble rolled off, then set the level for full 15db boost. You can control the harmonics of the overdrive by fine tuning the freq. bands. It sound great. The idea occured to me while I was considering the word "overdrive". I wanted to "overdrive" my amp, and an eq pedal with as much as 30db boost should do it I figured. It's not enough gain to melt your face off, but almost.

1/31/1997 12:01 AM

Chuck

Don't dicount the option of Just overdrive.
for years I used a Plexi Reissue (similar circuit
but different componants and tone).
For extra true overdrive I used a Boss GE7 eq
pedal pushed up in the mids with a little bass and
treble rolled off, then set the level for full
15db boost. You can control the harmonics of the
overdrive by fine tuning the freq. bands. It
sound great.
The idea occured to me while I was considering
the word "overdrive". I wanted to "overdrive" my
amp, and an eq pedal with as much as 30db boost
should do it I figured. It's not enough gain to
melt your face off, but almost.

2/1/1997 12:10 PM
Mark Hammer	One of the nicest sounds I ever got was a cheesy Univox Compressor (sound clamp?) into an MXR 6-band EQ, into my little Princeton. Compressors give a nice even, clean boost, which adds some dirt to a battery-based EQ, and the EQ pushes the amp's input stage in predictable (i.e., I can make it sound how I want it to sound) ways. Chuck's definitely on the right track.

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