how many overdrives or distortion pedals should you have on your board?

frictionfraction

Always gig with a cleanish amp, with pedal board providing the dirt. Over the years I have had a bit of a comfort blanket approach to overdrive/distortion/boost pedals and if I might, just might, need it I have found it a home. I play in a pop rock band going from coldplay to papa roach.. and have decided I want to go for a pedaltrain mini and unload the big board.. question though is will 2 overdrives be enough?

Gassage

5

frictionfraction

phew.. would need some pointy toe boots to work that lot

spacecadet

All of them.

meltedbuzzbox

I have 4 (if you count fuzz) but I am about to drop one. No one listening gives a shit about those subtle levels of distortion/tone change. 

Soft crunch and take your head off seems to be all you need 

RMJ

The mandatory minimum is boost, drive, boosted drive, fuzz, boosted fuzz, octave fuzz, maybe another fuzz.

ThePrettyDamned

The correct answer is, "just one more, just the one". 

Richardj

I always though one was enough (I can hear the howls of laughter from over here in France!) having relied previously on my amp for clean, crunch and drive, having the pedal just to boost and smooth out the drive a bit.  However, since I got the Twin I have two.  A Digitech Screamin' Blues to give a bit more 'hair' and a Juansolo Banana (Emma Reezafratziz clone) to give some very tasty high gain rock stuff.

I'm a very simple person and really just want clean, crunch and drive, the subtleties beyond that are lost on me I'm afraid.

jeztone2

I have a overdrive as a boost and then a 2 channel pedal with warm drive on one channel & high gain crunch on t'other. I've just ordered a fuzz & I thinks that's it! LOL!

midiglitch

Two for me into a clean single channel amp: a tonebender style fuzz, and a distortion (a rat serves this dish up just fine, but I could work with an ocd, crunchbox, dod 250, whatever...).

Used to have a liquid sunshine on the board for low gain, and will never sell it because it is unequalled in that respect.  I found that whenever I wanted 'low gain' less gain sounded better.  This naturally ended with all my 'low gain' parts sounding better (in the mix) clean.

I could get by with just one, but I have the space and the fuzz and rat sound sufficiently different that it is nice to have those options.

guitarfishbay

The most I've found practical use for is 2. 1 to boost my disortion channel, and 1 to create a psuedo extra mid gan channel from the clean channel.

Johnnyseven

I have 3 and it works for me - Boss Hyper Fuzz and 2 Turbo Rats, I would like to add my Klone for a boost but it won't fit.

badlydrawnbanjo

I have my amp (Vox Ac15) set to just under breaking and I'm currently using a EHX Soul food to push it over. A Fredric effects harmonic percolator for distortion and a North effects green russian for big fat muff.

markslade07

Just a Klon Klone and a TS for me....though quite fancy something else but not entirely sure what...hmmm

John_P

I could get by with two - usually it's 3 or 4 if I'm running into a clean amp (fender twin) but only to make life simpler.

A mid gain chunky rhythm sound I can back off a bit for low gain sounds and a higher gain pedal for solo's would be fine for most gigs.

Dave_Mc

1,000,000

Oh and a 6505 as well.

monquixote

If you are using a clean amp then two is fine for most applications. 

One lower gain and mid humped and the other mid gained and a bit flatter.

That way you have clean, bluesy, drive and shred. 

If you need fuzz then I guess that's a third, but I've never found fuzz that useful live.

frictionfraction

Going with a barber unlimited and a barber gain changer. If I want more gain will swap the barber gain changer for a wampler sovereign but as I am using unpotted pickups think this will be too much gain

Dave_Mc

monquixote said:

If you are using a clean amp then two is fine for most applications. 

One lower gain and mid humped and the other mid gained and a bit flatter.

That way you have clean, bluesy, drive and shred. 

If you need fuzz then I guess that's a third, but I've never found fuzz that useful live.

Yeah I like using a TS/SD1-type and then a more transparent type together. Assuming the amp has a fair bit of gain on its own already. I'd really need a distortion pedal as well if the amp were to be set totally clean.

HollowAxis

I currently run 4 'levels of gain'.

Effects chain one has an EQD Palisades in it, so there are two OD/gain knobs on that set differently, and then a boost. Into one amp.

A second amp has a Turbo Rat in front of it.

So 4 levels stacking on top of eachother.

stonevibe

I use a drive and two muff type fuzz pedals.