It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!
This is going to seem like such old ground that has been covered a million times, but hear me out, and apologies for the lengthy post.
I've had a year off from gigging in a wedding/function band, where I spent over ten years having to cover many bases. During most of that time, through necessity, I've used multi-channel amps, MIDI, digital gear, you name it. As a result of this, and in my old age, I've as good as forgotten how to get a good lead tone out of just a Marshall (JVM410 combo) and a Les Paul (PRS SC245 25th Anniversary to be precise) and am hoping you guys can offer up some wisdom.
I've been using a TC Nova Drive, which is a versatile pedal and has served me well, but it is a little soulless if anything, and I fancy changing to a decent drive pedal instead. Question is, should that be overdrive, distortion or a simple boost, and what recommendations for any/all?
The OD side of the Nova is in classic Tubescreamer territory, which doesn't work terribly well with Marshalls in my opinion. The distortion side works better, but quickly adds too much compression to mid-high gain settings, which I think is the problem. I'll add at this point that I've never really been a volume pot rider for soloing, but I do use it sparingly when needed for variation. I've tried using the higher gain channels on the JVM for soloing, but they don't quite do it for me on their own.
I'm talking classic rock in the truest sense here, but anything from Thin Lizzy to '80s hair metal (Whitesnake, Bon Jovi etc), the rhythm tones for all of which the JVM is quite capable of without any assistance. I could do with 'a' pedal that will work with the lower and higher gain channels of the JVM to achieve these tones without too much fiddling. Playing lead on the rhythm channels I have set just doesn't cut through or sustain like I want it to, and I need something that really makes the lead tones jump out of the speakers, while retaining clarity and without making the whole shooting match a mushy, compressed mess. I have a Blues Driver and an OD-3, neither of which quite do the trick.
I fancy trying a Suhr Riot, but they only ever seem to mentioned for getting Marshall sounds out of Fenders or other clean channel amps - will it do what I'm looking for? Other recommendations and advice on how you guys achieve this 'simple' outcome would be very welcome indeed as I just can't seem to see the wood for the trees!
Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
If you've got the amp set dirty, then a Bad Monkey* in front sounds great.
Or, if you just need a volume boost, a MXR Microamp in the FX loop. I use both with a DSL....
*I'm aware they're cheap-as-chips, and not at all booteek.......
Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21)
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Thanks @ICBM, this is kind of what I was wanting to hear. I like Boss pedals, an SD-1 can be had very cheaply, and I've never tried one before. Would you recommend bog standard, or one of the many modded variants?
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21)
I find with Marshalls, you need something a little more transparent.
With Fender amps the mid hump of a typical TS workds wonders, but less so into a Marshall.
The problem with modern high gain amps is that any sort of boost in front, just saturates the pre-amp more
after a cerain point it doesn't really get you much more distortion just more sensitivity (at the expense of light touch dynamics).
So I'd run the different channels alot cleaner than designed and then use a boost.
Bandcamp
Spotify, Apple et al
Head over to the JVM Forum if you haven't already been, there's a massive section on Tone Settings that I find useful, from people who really know about the amp specifically!
"Mid humpy mush" isn't a problem I've come across, using a TS9 for 10 years.
Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21)
TSes are great, too, don't get me wrong, but for me they can be a bit too nasal with middier amps.