Distortion pedals?

[Cliff Schecht]

I've been having a helluva time getting good sounds out of my modified Boss Blues Driver. I used to love how it sounds but now when I crank up the gain it's like the mids drop out completely. Won't cut through a mix worth a piss and if it does, it's just because it's set loud or trebly as shit!

For the type of music I now play with the band (think Winwood/Clapton and Spencer Davis Group) it's just not doing the job well. I run a TS-808 before this which sounds fine for a mildly overdriven tweed type sound and helps kick the Blues Driver into a great saturated lead tone (the big mid hump of the TS-808 fills out the Blues Driver), but with just the Blues Driver I get a pretty useless distorted rhythm tone.

Maybe I'm just used to the cut of an Express. When you roll back a bit and play on the neck with a Strat or Tele you get a fat bluesy sound that handles both single notes and chords really well. I'm looking for this in pedal form. Not an Express in a box mind you, I don't expect this, but something that I can use for light-medium distorted tones and kick on the TS-808 for high gain solos and lots of sustain. Touch sensitivity is what the Blues Driver doesn't lack, I'm just not digging the voicing.

With all of this in mind, can anybody point at any pedals that would fit the bill? Keep in mind that I can build pretty much whatever as I used to build a lot of pedals and still have most of those parts on hand. I do plan on running some simulations and tweaking on the Blues Driver a bit but I need something to replace this on my pedalboard for now.

Before anybody goes recommending amps, keep in mind that I have 15+ amps already and have most territories covered there. For playing small show I prefer nowadays to run a small clean amp, mic it and control my various tones with pedals. I've finally accepted the fact that I am horribly clumsy with volume knobs and selector switches, especially on a Tele, and can change parts in a song more gracefully with foot stomping devices.

[MCK]

How about a multiple amp setup? Voodoo Lab amp switcher to layer or run individually... Then you just bring more amps with you.

[Cliff Schecht]

How about a multiple amp setup? Voodoo Lab amp switcher to layer or run individually... Then you just bring more amps with you.

This was something I considered but I'm trying to consolidate my setup as much as possible. I figure if I'm going to run a pedal board then I want to be able to do everything from that board. The nice thing about my setup now is I can carry most everything in one trip (1x12 in one hand, pedalboard in the other and guitar on my back - the BF Deluxe I built is tiny so it doesn't count ). If I go this route I need two cabs and two heads just to play my entire set list. Also since we are playing small stages I'd like to take up as little real-estate as possible.

I'll get you those pictures soon, keep reminding me if I forget as I am on vacation now and am feeling especially lazy lately .

[MCK]

BF Deluxe I built is tiny so it doesn't count....

I'll get you those pictures soon, keep reminding me if I forget as I am on vacation now and am feeling especially lazy lately .

Ah that elusive BF Deluxe...

Glad to hear you're getting some rest. Enjoy your vacation. I'll bug you on an hourly basis!

Going back to your reply... I hear what you're saying. Of course makes most sense for small venues, simple setups etc.

[katopan]

Bit of cross-forum pollination..... To me this fits the bill of what you describe and has ruined commercial distortion pedals for me forever:
http://www.wattkins.com/faq/rf-drive
http://www.tubeface.com/pcb/rf-drive-pcb

[Cliff Schecht]

Hey thanks! That's hella simple and looks like something I can throw together quickly tomorrow. I was thinking about prototyping a Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal but I could have this up and running in an hour. If I don't like it'll I'll move forward from there but looks to be a cool place to start.

Is there anything special about the 1N5711 or can I throw any ol' Schottky in there? I have buckets full of BAT49's..

[eazilyled]

I know what you are saying. It's convenient sometimes to turn up to a small jam / gig with a small cleanish amp and a pedal board.

I've had good success with the Crowther Hotcake for light distorted rhythms. Also great as a boost. It does get a bit dark and fuzzy at higher gain settings.

Another pedal thats I like for more crunch is the Fulltone OCD.

Sometimes I run both, with the OCD as the main crunch and the Hotcake following that set to boost / light crunch for solos.

Both are good in the touch sensitivity department as far as pedals go.

I'm sure I read somewhere that KF liked the Hotcake.

[eazilyled]

This is where I heard about the KF / Hotcake connection:

http://www.thegigrig.com/acatalog/Paul_ ... rview.html

[billyz]

I just tested out the Shiba from Suhr and It is very good. Cleaned up well enough and really gets mean too.

The Riot was also great for even heavier distortion.

[M Fowler]

I use the Hermida Zendrive Drive OD.

[NickC]

I love the Boss Blues Driver. But several years ago the audio engineer during an in-studio television show taping complained it made my guitar sound like "a jar of angry bees". At the time I thought it was quite insulting.

I've used all of the Boss distortion / overdrive pedals at one time or another.

A couple of years ago I learned of Wampler pedals, and got a couple I like a lot; the Ecstasy and Pinnacle.

You can learn about them here:

Ecstasy
http://www.wamplerpedals.com/overdrives/ecstasy.html

Pinnacle
http://www.wamplerpedals.com/distortions/pinnacle.html


These kinds of pedals are so subjective; one mans tonal bliss is another mans "jar of angry bees".

[billyz]

I love the Boss Blues Driver. But several years ago the audio engineer during an in-studio television show taping complained it made my guitar sound like "a jar of angry bees". At the time I thought it was quite insulting.

I've used all of the Boss distortion / overdrive pedals at one time or another.

A couple of years ago I learned of Wampler pedals, and got a couple I like a lot; the Ecstasy and Pinnacle.

You can learn about them here:

Ecstasy
http://www.wamplerpedals.com/overdrives/ecstasy.html

Pinnacle
http://www.wamplerpedals.com/distortions/pinnacle.html


These kinds of pedals are so subjective; one mans tonal bliss is another mans "jar of angry bees".

The Wamplers are good. I A/B'd the Suhr Riot and Shiba against the Pinnacle and SLO. I leaned towards the Suhr pedals a bit. Both are good. The Wampler Reverb was the best I have tried in that arena.

[ChrisM]

Bit of cross-forum pollination..... To me this fits the bill of what you describe and has ruined commercial distortion pedals for me forever:
http://www.wattkins.com/faq/rf-drive
http://www.tubeface.com/pcb/rf-drive-pcb

This original design looks very similar to highly acclaimed "Timmy"

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6698/timmyau2.jpg

[telentubes]

I have a Hermida "Zendrive" OD, and an Analogman "King Of Tone" on my board, both of which I like a lot. Another cool boutique pedal is the Honeybee. I think they are all well documented and schematics are available.

[LeftyStrat]

If you're looking for something that sort of captures the Express, take a look at this schematic:

http://www.lynx.bc.ca/~jc/meteorModded.gif

Doug Hammonds site seems to have disappeared, but the clips were pretty amazing.