Well, for now anyway
I had an idea yesterday, new to me at least. I use an SD-1 to push my DSL, the time-honoured thing, vol maxed, gain zero.
The thought occurred that actually I'm not using it as an overdrive at all, I'm using it as a boost, one with a fixed eq that cuts bass, pushes mids, knocks a little off treble.
So I thought I'd swap it out for a GE-7 for a laugh, cos theoretically it should do the same thing but with huge variety available in the eq bit.
Bloody brilliant!
Loads more boost available, plus lots of fun with all the eq options. As much or as little bass as I want, I can trim the mids or go for that cocked wah thing a bit, I can crank the presence on the amp and knock off a bit of treble on the GE, etc
Can't seem to nail the actual effect of the SD-1 at this point, and it's noisier for now, but, fun,
I wish I'd had this thought a long time ago
Comments
Try this, for a subtle, slightly beefier, less muddy, brighter sound (depending on your amp)
+5, 0, -6, -4, 0, +2, 0, vol wherever
http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/forum/guitar/acapella-29/1809951-
I did try it once - I can't remember with what amp... it sounded shit. Since then I've never once used one (or any overdrive pedal for that matter) as a clean boost. It's an overdrive pedal - it's designed to create overdrive. I've always found that if set right - with more dirt and a little volume boost, ie how you would set it as a dirt pedal into a clean amp - then it works well into a dirty amp too, and will still boost volume and cut through for solos because of the mid hump and tightening up the low end.
To be honest I just don't really get clean boosts at all, but if you do want one then it makes much more sense to use an EQ for exactly the reasons you said. I do actually have a GE-7... although I use it as an EQ and not a boost .
"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
"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
I don’t automatically want volume boosted, really you want to boost into what sounds good gainwise on the amp (as that changes with its gain control).
I stick the clean channel on and A/B the pedal on and off to find roughly unity gain. Then I switch the drive channel on and look for the tone shaping I want via the tone control on the pedal, and gain and tone controls on the amp. Only after I’ve had a play with the amp controls will I go back and re-tweak the pedals gain and volume. Sometimes switch the pedal on and off - with the way amps change tone at different volume settings sometimes it is better to run the amp gain a little lower and pedal volume higher. Or pedals tone control higher (to get a tighter response) which is then compensated at the amp to balance it.
Most amps don’t need extra gain from the pedal, and adding more gain could rob some clarity. The main exception I can think of is a Rectifier, because to keep that amp tight the gain has to be run a little lower than you’d run another typical high gain amp. But even then I’d only add a tiny amount of gain from the pedal.
YMMV, when I play metal I do pick like a gorilla so generate quite a strong signal at source too which also helps in getting the tighter and crunchier sound.
I still don't get it personally though... when I tried it it just sounded awful, really clangy and grating.
"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
Its specifically to get a tighter and more aggressive sound, mostly for the palm mutes, or leads.
If you aren’t playing fast heavy music then there’s no real point in trying to use the sound unless you specifically prefer it.
It is a problem solver really, trying to palm mute with songs above 180bpm+ sometimes an amp is too loose to get a tight punchy sound that cuts through an aggressive drummer mashing their cymbals etc
I think what I don't understand more is why it's become so much the 'received wisdom' for more normal playing styles. I've always assumed it was a snobbery thing since you're then 'getting the dirt from the amp not the pedal', but I just don't find that a useful approach at all, I prefer a blend of pedal distortion and amp distortion for anything more than a moderate crunch.
Increase the bass? It's usually all the way up anyway .
Actually I suspect the opposite - I use a quite scooped sound normally (with apologies to all those who think that's wrong as well...) and pushing the amp harder rather than adding extra distortion is probably the problem.
I do very much like the sound of a *dirty* SD-1 or TS into a crunchy amp like a Mesa or a big Marshall (set the way I do) though, it's not that I don't like that tighter mid boost.
"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
@ICBM , I was a bit puzzled with some of your thoughts but I think you summarised your point when you said you prefer a mix of pedal and amp distortion for anything beyond moderate distortion.
We differ there, for whatever reason I don't like pedal distortion, be it SD-1 overdrive or a "proper" distortion pedal. I'm not claiming I'd spot which is which in a test but I've always preferred a pushed amp. Pedal distortion has always felt small, or 2D or something.
So for me a clean boost (and now with eq options) is like being a kid in a sweet shop
I have a mini-pedal board just for that purpose. It mainly 'lives' in the FX loop of my 'Blue' Valvetronix but I also use it in front of my straight amps (where it adds gain) or in their FX loop (where it's clean).
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/voxman5/ADVENT-PC/Pictures/Gear/Floor pedals/Mini-pedal board for FX loop_zpsnlsbwov5.jpg