software

I thinks I've about had it with OD and distortion stomp boxes. To me, the one's I've tried all seem to have the same annoying traits: distortion boxes all seem to be too fuzzy sounding and OD pedals have a lack of bass and are to thick with mids to the point of sounding cloudy. So far I've tried:

Tonebone Hot British. I've tried experimenting with differant preamp tubes but the high end is still to fuzzy for my liking.

Tonebone Classic. A bit better but a bit to mid heavy.

Marshall Guvenor II. Wasps in a jam jar tone.

Barber Direct Drive SS. Cloudy with mids. When you try to clear it up it gets very piercing, but I could hear the potential of the crunch it delivers.

Boss OD-1 and SD-1. Did not like these pedals stock so I had them modified by a fellow at the Fender Forum. Much better than stock but still not what I was looking for. The sound gets too compressed too quick.

Ibanez. I can't remember the model name but it's the one with the 4 modes. I thought it gave new meaning to the word 'adequate.'

I'm not trying to copy anybodys tone at all. Just trying to find a pedal that has the right qualities to get some good classic rock tones going. A pedal that will do tonal justice for Led Zeppelin to Van Halen II type of things. I'm playing a swamp ash Les Paul with Dimarzio Virtual PAF's into a Fender DRRI. For a speaker I've got a Hellatone 30 that's housed in a seperate cabinet that I'm using as the main. I'm just an at home player so the 22 watts from the the Deluxe is more than enough for me. I just need to find the right pedal for it all. Thanks.

Check out the clips of the Hermida Mosferatu at the clip of it in front of the Dr. Z Maz is very representative of its tonal qualities IMO, but keep in mind he doesn't tweak the gain/tone knobs at all so you're only hearing one setting. The best quality of the pedal IMO is that it lets the rest of your gear shine, just adds to it. In this clip you can tell immediately that it's a tele-style axe into a Z, their flavors are still very present.

EDIT: Here's a direct link to the clip I'm referring to.

from : localhost/hermidaaudio.com/Mosferatu_Maz.mp3

well...it looks like you have tried a bunch of Tubescreamer quot;likequot; units (no bass, mid hump, lots of compression)...by far the BEST OD pedal I have ever tried is a Lovetone Brown Source...the prob is that they are out of production and bring a pretty penny on Ebay and in used/vintage shops...as for surrent production units I have heard good things about the Fulltone OCD, as well as the Analog Man King of Tone (prob with the KOT is that the wait is about a year or pay out the nose on Ebay...) I guess Im not being much help with this ...good luck...maybe other will have some ideas for pedals that are still being made and that you don't have to wait 12-14 months to get.

Thanks. Fret Fire, I just gave a listen to the clip of the Mosferatu pedal. Now THAT sounds like a definate possibility. Seemed to posses all of the elements that I'm looking for. Sounded great as well as the fellow who was playing on the demo! I'm going to further check that one out.


Originally Posted by Mike M.Thanks. Fret Fire, I just gave a listen to the clip of the Mosferatu pedal. Now THAT sounds like a definate possibility. Seemed to posses all of the elements that I'm looking for. Sounded great as well as the fellow who was playing on the demo! I'm going to further check that one out.

Keep an eye out on the pedal emporium at thegearpage.net, I scored a full size Mos there for about $120 shipped in excellent condition.

from : localhost/thegearpage.net/board/forumdi...?s=amp;forumid=33

Just tossing OD boxes out there, the Fulltone Fulldrive 2 also has some tubescreamery tones in it, definitly worth a check

Ty

The Foxrox Zim is incredible.


Originally Posted by GandLManJust tossing OD boxes out there, the Fulltone Fulldrive 2 also has some tubescreamery tones in it, definitly worth a check

TySounds like he hasn't like the TS-type pedals he's tried. IMO he'd probably like something with a different circuit design.

There's also the Crowther Hot Cake, and the Menatone King of the Britains.

I hate to be the one who throws a spanner into the works, but can you get the sort of sounds you're looking for out of a pedal? It seems like you really know tone and 'almost there' sounds just aren't going to cut it for you.

Is the Zep/Halen thing just something else that you want to be able to play from time to time, or does it take up the bulk of your playing? If this is a priority then I think I'd consider a different amp.

I loved the Direct Drive when I had a go with it in a shop. If I didn't already have more OD's than I fit on my board then I'd get one, for sure! In my signiture there's a pedal called a Power Screamer, I love it. Possibly more than I love my mum, it's awesome. It's kind of like a Tube screamer but a bit more transparant (without the massive mid hump) but it doesn't have a load of bass, which I think is important to you. I'd still reccomend the Power Screamer to anyone though.

I don't want anything where the mids are scooped (Mesa) but I don't want anything with that cloudy, midrange hump either. You guys have mentioned a few things I've never heard of, like the Foxron Zim, the Crowther and the Menatone. Looks like it's time to do some homework! Thanks again.


Originally Posted by Mike M.Looks like it's time to do some homework! Thanks again.

Just be forwarned, once you start looking into the caliber of pedals being mentioned here, you can run into some cash pretty quickly


Originally Posted by benjaturnerI hate to be the one who throws a spanner into the works, but can you get the sort of sounds you're looking for out of a pedal? It seems like you really know tone and 'almost there' sounds just aren't going to cut it for you.

Is the Zep/Halen thing just something else that you want to be able to play from time to time, or does it take up the bulk of your playing? If this is a priority then I think I'd consider a different amp.

I loved the Direct Drive when I had a go with it in a shop. If I didn't already have more OD's than I fit on my board then I'd get one, for sure! In my signiture there's a pedal called a Power Screamer, I love it. Possibly more than I love my mum, it's awesome. It's kind of like a Tube screamer but a bit more transparant (without the massive mid hump) but it doesn't have a load of bass, which I think is important to you. I'd still reccomend the Power Screamer to anyone though.

Oh believe me, I know that no pedal is going to sound exactley like this amp or that amp. But I'm thinking there's got to be something that's better and can get a bit closer than what I've tried so far.

As I said I'm not trying to copy a tone but yes, I prefer the Zep/Halen type of tone for the type of things I like to play and write. I could go out and buy a Marshall tomorrow but being that I'm just an at home player I ask myself can I really justify spending that kind of money? I'll admit that it's very tempting for that tone but again, do I really need it in my situation? There's got to be a pedal out there that can get me somewhat close to what I'd like to hear.

Look at brian has just created 2 OD's (one TS type and one totally different)

Oh believe me, I know that no pedal is going to sound exactley like this amp or that amp. But I'm thinking there's got to be something that's better and can get a bit closer than what I've tried so far.

As I said I'm not trying to copy a tone but yes, I prefer the Zep/Halen type of tone for the type of things I like to play and write. I could go out and buy a Marshall tomorrow but being that I'm just an at home player I ask myself can I really justify spending that kind of money? I'll admit that it's very tempting for that tone but again, do I really need it in my situation? There's got to be a pedal out there that can get me somewhat close to what I'd like to hear.

If I'm honest then 'almost' is good enough for me. Mostly because of of the finances involved in getting the sounds exactly.

I just remembered, the Caral Martin Plexitone is basically everything that you're looking for in theory. I've heard nothing but very good things about as well. I've never had a real go with one, but on paper it fits the bill perfectly.

Incase you're not familiar with them it basically a 3 channel (I'm not certain of this, but I think it's 3) overdrive that does the SLP and JCM thing. Not horribly priced either, I think about $200 on Ebay.

Got to be worth a look at least.

Doh! CARL Martin. Sorry, typo!

You might have noticed in my signiture that I've got a Carl Martin Crunch Drive which I think is essentially the crunch channel of the Plexitone. To be honest I haven't quite figured out how to get it to work for me yet, but all the other guitarists I've played with seem to be really impressed with it. Based on this ignore everything I ever say about pedals, ever! LOL

All advice is welcome, believe me. I just had a thought as I was on my way home from work tonight. Maybe I should consider something like the 50 watt Vox modeling amp or maybe one of the Tech 21 amps for that 'Marshall' thing. Hmmm. I've heard great things about both, just wonder which one might get me closer to what I'd like to hear?

The best-kept semi-secret in guitar effects is the Tim pedal.


Originally Posted by MikeRockerThe best-kept semi-secret in guitar effects is the Tim pedal.

Could you tell me a bit more about this? A website, perhaps?

I just listened to the 'Phat Axx' pedal at the 'Indie guitarist' site. Sounded like that one had some promise to it so I wrote and inquiring about how it may work thru my setup. I'll see what they have to say.