Dirt pedals with different amps

31maxh

At home, with my little bedroom amp (little yamaha thing), my Wamplar Gearbox sounds gnarly! In the band room, the orange dirt channel makes my Gearbox sound like a toy. Am I using my amp/pedals wrong? Can anyone help me understand this situation?

ICBM

Which Yamaha model? Which Orange model? 

Are you using a clean or dirty sound on the Yamaha? What does it sound like through the Orange clean channel?

Type of technology, EQ, compression, and speakers are all going to make a big difference to how the amp responds to a pedal.

31maxh

The little Yamaha lunch box bedroom amps. It sounds great there.

In band room: Orange Micro terror. Comparing its dirt channel to the clean channel + Gearbox. It sounds so weak in comparison!

ICBM

31maxh said:

In band room: Orange Micro terror.

That would explain everything. The single worst-sounding guitar amp I’ve ever heard. It would make anything sound crap.

Except that the Micro Terror doesn’t actually have a ‘dirt channel’ - it’s a single channel amp. Are you sure that’s what it is?

Even if it’s a different model, it’s highly likely that the dirt channel is rather compressed, midrangy and dark - Oranges usually are. (The Rocker 30 excepted.)

Anyway, if you’re using a clean sound on the Yamaha and it sounds good, you need a clean amp with a much less middy tone to get a similar sound at band volume.

31maxh

Thanks - not dirt channel, but with the gain turned up. My bad. The amp with the gain turned up sounds amazing though. I'm not knocking that. I just thought the gearbox sounds so weak through the orange when the orange gain is turned down, compared with the amp gain alone.

jellybelly

I imagine that something like the micro terror is going to be gain focussed and therefore have very little headroom to let a pedal do it's job. 

Someone on here was asking about what makes an amp good with pedals as if there weren't elements that contribute to that behaviour but IMO there DEFINITELY are. Any amp that as a dynamic/open/uncompressed sound and relatively open/broad eq will 'take pedals well'. A JTM45 or tweed bassman would be prime examples. Anything else needs something specific that works with some of the amps attributes eg an AC30 has a particular mid and presence focussed EQ and slightly compressed tone and that's why it can be picky. 

All just my experience obviously. I'm guessing you're playing your Yamaha on the clean setting it's a fender blackface. About as far removed from the Orange set clean as you can get!

31maxh

Thanks @jellybelly - that makes sense. There's lots of YouTube pedal info out there. Any recommendations to get my head about amp basics?

AntonHunter

To clarify here, you much prefer the sound of the Orange in the bandroom right? I think volume might have something to do with it, louder pretty much always sounds better.

Are you trying the Gearbox pedal with the Orange amp? How does that sound?

31maxh

Thanks @AntonHunter - yeah, the gearbox with the clean orange amp sounds awful. Well, relative to the amp on it's own with the gain cranked.

And yeah, the amp gain sounds great when it's loud! I've enjoyed the gearbox through the practice amp and low levels. Maybe that's hidden what the pedal really does?

AntonHunter

I think what others have said above about certain Orange amps not being great for pedals when set clean is the likely answer really. I've tried a few and not liked them myself. Is the Orange amp yours or just one the rehearsal room has for hire? Definitely try a fender if you can.

EricTheWeary

Just had to look up what a Gearbox was - that’s an expensive overdrive! Bloody hell. 

Anyway, you could try it as an under drive. Max out the Micro Terror to be your boosted/ solo sound and use the Gearbox below unity gain for the rhythm. 

A Micro Terror will have bugger all headroom and always struggle with boosts/ overdrives. 

monquixote

You could try the Gearbox with the drive set low and the level up a bit with the Micro Terror set moderately crunchy to get a tighter drive sound.

I imagine the Micro Terror is not going to be a great pedal platform though.

31maxh

Thanks everyone for your inputs!