Question Amp or Pedal overdrive??

[batyak]

Hey, i'm after a bit of advice! I've been playing for 12 years on and off and have always used the gain/overdrive from my amps. I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the pros and cons of using an fx pedal for overdrive? Does it make much difference in front or in the fx loop? Cheers!

 

[Adamr]

well i havent been playing for anywhere near aslong as u so im not gonna try and tell you about tone or gear. but i know u want overdrive in the front of the amp not the effects loop. and an overdrive pedal will be a slighly different sound to your amp. as u can use it on the clean and on the overdrive channel. to either get that boost on ur o/d or a subtle crunch on the clean. biggest problem u have is choice now there are so many. im currently looking for a zendrive. but theres loads of others i like the sound off . this video might help you. click on the vid for overdrives/distortion LickLibrary.com - Guitar Tuition, Backing Tracks, TAB, MP3 Downloads, Transcriptions

 

[batyak]

Fantastic! Thanks Adamr, that's sorted things out in my head!

 

[bkrumme]

I use both. Channel 3 on my Mark V will melt faces, but so will channel 2, especially when I use it with an overdrive. A Tube Screamer, OCD, ZW, or something of the like is super useful as an overdrive or as a boost.

I have a G-System running using the 4 cable method, so I just put my overdrives in the G-System loops. Works like a charm, and the loops are true bypass so even if the pedal isn't I can keep my signal the same.

 

[ScoobySteve]

OD and Distortion and how you can achieve them are two entirely different things.

In my experience, there has never been a Distortion pedal that could touch the quality of an amps Tube channel Distortion. Just my perspective. Some pedals get close, some not so close. If you're willing to live in a world of compromise (which most musicians today do) then using a OD and Distortion pedal in front of a clean amp isn't a bad way to go about things. A lot of people do this.

For overdriven sounds, however, having a good overdrive is a very good investment as well. Whether you're using it as a clean or dirt boost it sounds great.

I.E. I use a Keeley MOD + Tubescreamer TS9 and a Fuzz pedal for my dirt boost. (Note these pedals aren't giving my amp distortion, they're boosting my amp's distortion channel) The TS9 for my lead sound, searing notes and the fuzz for rhythm single picking. I use a keeley compressor for my clean boost and to add some sustain, and I use a Keeley modded BOSS BD-2 Phat for my overdriven sounds for all your bluesy needs.

Hope that helps.

 

[beej]

Pro: you can use a single channel amp and the pedal gives you a second channel.

Con: it doesn't sound the same as a great amp cookin'.

Most of the tones we love are a combination of preamp and power amp distortion. It's a complex recipe of power supply interaction, overtones and compression. It's just hard to duplicate that with a pedal.

That said, if you have an amp that sounds great, you can probably get an OD/Dist pedal that will sound really good. But you still have to start with an amp that sounds good. Bonus points if you find one you can push to get the power section breathing.

I have both. I have a channel switcher I LOVE (Guytron), but it's heavy as hell. So a lot of the times I'll take a small amp (Badger) that has power scaling and an OD pedal to goose it. Doesn't sound the same, but for small gigs it's plenty fine.

There are no rules. Just try things until you find something you like the sound of. There's so much nonsense out there these days ... just remember that hearing is believing, and just because an amp or pedal is hyped doesn't mean that you'll like it.

 

[Miqueas92]

My Boogie MKIV needs no overdrive or distortion.

Having said that, if I were to put anything in front it will just give me even more options. So....

I would say, get a GREAT amp ie MKIV etc. then pedals to come up with other tones.

Throw in an ASS and you will be busy for a while.

Mick

 

[Jimmyb]

I'm very old school in my approach. I use pedals in front of my amp (HiWatt) to give O/D sounds. Basically, my amp is set clean and everything else is from a box on the floor.

 

[Miqueas92]

isn´t old school turning everything to 10 ¿¿¿

Mick

 

[dwells]

dude buy yourself an Xotic BB preamp pedal run it at half gain and your amp at half gain and you will have the sweetest tone available!!!! trust me

 

[nobozos]

I used to use only the amp to generate all the gain that I would use. For the sake of this discussion, I use a 5150 combo, which will generate more gain than is actually usable, so the amount of gain was never an issue for me. What was an issue was the quality the of gain. The 5150 has a kind of a "buzzy" gain, and it doesn't clean up particularly well when you roll your guitar's volume back.

I had the idea to use a Boss Super Overdrive in front of the amp, and roll the Pre gain back to 4.5 to 5 on the Crunch channel. I usually had it set at 6.5 to 7. At 4.5 on the crunch channel, the amp sounds relatively clean with the guitar volume at 8. The Super Overdrive was there to add the gain that I dialed out of the amp when I wanted it.

By turning the Level of the Overdrive to 3:30, and the drive at about 10:00, I have been able to achieve a better quality gain at the same level of gain, if that makes sense. It's less buzzy, and more transparent. Notes are more distinguishable from one another, and the overall tone is better.

Hope this helps.

 

[Slingy]

I know what you mean, when I first tried a 5150, I thought I was being attacked by a swarm of bees!

 

[fbecir]

Amp overdrive is great but for some gigs it can be a problem. Sometimes, you cannot play on your amp (especially festivals where there are a lot of bands). Thus, if you rely on your amp distortion, you have a serious problem

That's why now I use a pedal for distortion (Blackstar HT-Dual). A good pedal can give you a nice sound and you will be able to replicate this sound on every amp (just find a clean & natural sound on the amp).

 

[mesavox]

I do both... I use the DC3's distortion for most things, but for some songs I use the clean channel with my AC Boost pedal. It's very transparent, and works well with EL84 amps. This sound is more vintage, and open sounding. Less compressed.

There are other examples like Don Donagan of Disturbed who uses an all out high gain distortion pedal in his clean channel. He gets a VERY quick repsonse this way, and it's more percussive it seems. I also experience the more percussive thing with my AC Boost.

One example that comes to mind, and I'd be very interested in knowing what they use (so I shall look it up when I'm done lol), is when we play Finger Eleven's "Paralyzer." Still very distorted, but not the high gain saturated sound. So, the difference between overdrive pedal and distortion pedal starts coming into play depending on what you are after. You may want to research some pedals to see what is the most versatile for your needs.

Essentially, I think the short answer to your question is going to be BOTH for most people. The two approaches sound different, and yet both are very useful even in one original band.

I know the question has already been answered, but I always like reading as many different posts as I can when I ask a question like that so I thought I'd share my point of view and experience on it.

 

[colinboy]

Some pedals on the market these days are brilliant and sound very authentic but i still prefer the overdriven tones from an all valve amplifier!

 

[jcm900]

isn´t old school turning everything to 10 ¿¿¿

Mick

or, to eleven

 

[Miqueas92]

or, to eleven

Well...

I WAS going to say to 11 but I thought just so... cliche


Mick