Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: ailean on April 19, 2008, 05:06:57 PM
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I have a Peavey ValveKing 112, and while it has a great clean channel I've never been overly impressed with the lead channel.
I was pretty much on the point of ditching it for another amp with clean / lead channels when I decided to give the Blackstar pedals a try to see if they could improve things for me. I went along to my local Blackstar dealer and tried out the HT - Dual and the HT - DistX.
Both myself and Sue have been playing some heavier stuff lately (could be something to do with the arrival of C-Pigs :roll: :twisted: ) so we tried the DistX first. It's a great high gain pedal IMO, it has a tone shaping dial to move between british and amarican voicing, not sure how accurate it is, but it gives some nice versatility to the sound. Standard Bass, mid and teble EQ, plus gain and level controls. We were playing Sue's C-Pig equipped Ibanez and got some really great Metal tones, face melting highs and end-of-the-world bass.
Next we tried the HT-Dual. I was really impressed with this pedal, the same controls as the DistX plus a clean / crunch button for channel 1. In effect this is a 3 channel pedal, clean boost(ch1) / low gain(ch1) / high gain(ch2). Extremely versatile, really great tones.
Both pedals are tube driven and use 300v interal power to properly drive the tubes, both come with power supplies and both are built like bomb shelters.
We played with each for about 10-15 in the shop and I couldn't decide between them, the HT-Dual is the more versatile by a long way, but the DistX gave us tones we couldn't get from any of our other equipment, where the Orange amps gives us at least some of the tones of the Dual.
You know where this is going right?
So I walked out with both, and a Small Clone I spotted on the way out :roll:
Having got them home and played (badly) a little while I can say that the Peavey is now safe and can earn it's keep along with the Oranges, and as an added bonus, because the pedals have both gain and level I can play overdriven tones at room levels :)
I'm (currently) very happy with my purchase, and no longer need to put a second 4x12 + head in the lounge. (It will happen one though I'm sure).
If you have an amp with a good clean channel these are worth checking out!
(http://www.padfoot.plus.com/img/P1010772.JPG)
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Awesome I just won a Dist-X on ebay for £77 + P&P
I'll tell you what I think once I get it! :) It should make my Laney VC30's clean channel verrry heavy! How is it for noise and how high gain can it go? Thanks
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Cool Rich. I'll look forward to having a go on the DistX at some point. It's the only one of their pedals I haven't tried as yet.
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Awesome I just won a Dist-X on ebay for £77 + P&P
I'll tell you what I think once I get it! :) It should make my Laney VC30's clean channel verrry heavy! How is it for noise and how high gain can it go? Thanks
No noticable noise (except when I hit the strings), it will of course amplify any noise on the line, but it doesn't appear to add much of it's own. Pretty sure it's true bypass as well. As for how high it goes? I frankly have nothing to compare it to, it's the highest gain device I've played with but that don't tell you much. I feel that if it had any more gain then all you'd get out of it is a horrible noise. I suspect it will match your expectations, but please let us know :)
Cool Rich. I'll look forward to having a go on the DistX at some point. It's the only one of their pedals I haven't tried as yet.
Alan, you are welcome as ever, just drop me a mail.
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Hmm interesting. I'm looking for quite a heavy distortion sound and this sounds tasty. Needs clips! There seem to be none on the interwebz of it!
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I'm pretty sure the Blackstar pedals are not true bypass. They do not claim to be in the blurb on the website. Also, the switch does not feel like any of the TB switches that I have ever used. They all have much the same feel.
However, if they are buffered, then they do have very good buffers, so shouldn't be too much of a problem, unless you are using loads and loads of buffered pedals, in which case it will contribute it's own little bit of tone suck.
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You got both. Ain't that just great. I can't even justify buying one.
*siiiiiiigggghhh*
I really gotta find a way to cope with this GJS (Gear Jealousy Syndrome)
Seriously though, glad to hear you're getting some good tones.
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So I walked out with both, and a Small Clone I spotted on the way out :roll:
You two just have to have all teh gearz don't you :roll: :evil:
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So I walked out with both, and a Small Clone I spotted on the way out :roll:
You two just have to have all teh gearz don't you :roll: :evil:
I know :( I have no will power. :roll:
In my defence I will say that the Blackstars are my first and only pedals, the Clone was for Sue.
I'm hoping I won't want anything else now, I like my guitar, and I like the sounds I can get from my amps, and I can't be bothered with a pedal board.
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No.
You need ATLEAST a Wah! COME ON! :D
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I need to hear that DistX! badly! :D
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Sorry.. no recording gear :(
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Welcome to the Blackstar Club!
Nailbombs into HT Dual into Orange GRO100 is SUCH a combination... just superb.
Think I need to find a band... it's been a while though...
:cry:
Mark.
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They were bought to make the Peavey work, I haven't tried them with the Rockerverb yet...
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Awesome- even more great gear you have now!
But hold on a minute...
I'm hoping I won't want anything else now
Erm...
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:?: :lol: :lol: :lol: :wink:
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^ Well quite. Seriously, what are the chances of buying no more? :wink: We're all gear addicts in here, I love it! In some ways it almost helps with GAS, seeing what other people have bought - it's like purchasing by proxy.
Those Blackstars are great pedals. I had an HT-Dual for a short time, but had to send it back because it made a horrible howling noise whenever I used my wah with it. Dunno if it was faulty, but the shop gave me the cash back. It was a real shame, cos I loved the sound of it.
As far as big pedalboards go, I'm finding myself using effects less and less these days - used to use a Boss GT-6, but all I have on the floor now is a Zakk Wylde Dunlop wah, a Planet Waves tuner pedal and a Marshall Compressor (to be replaced by a Keeley/Barber or similar when I can afford it). I'm guessing I'm in something of a minority though?
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^ Well quite. Seriously, what are the chances of buying no more? :wink: We're all gear addicts in here, I love it! In some ways it almost helps with GAS, seeing what other people have bought - it's like purchasing by proxy.
+111111!!!!
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^Definitely!
Just out of interest Ailean; would you say that the Blackstars' purpose is basically to get nice distortion at reasonable volumes? For some reason I just assume that about distortion pedals in general I think (not sure why!). Basically, would it be worth using it for gigging or recording e.t.c. or is it just another tool to get decent, reasonable-volume distortion out of an amp that can't achieve that so easily?
Odd question, eh? :lol: :oops:
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Basically, would it be worth using it for gigging or recording e.t.c. or is it just another tool to get decent, reasonable-volume distortion out of an amp that can't achieve that so easily?
Odd question, eh? :lol: :oops:
There are a million ways to get great tone. The Blackstar pedals could be used very appropriately in ANY of the ways you suggest. A truly great pedal can pull off the goods through a clean amp or a dirty amp, at volume or very quiet.
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^Definitely!
Just out of interest Ailean; would you say that the Blackstars' purpose is basically to get nice distortion at reasonable volumes? For some reason I just assume that about distortion pedals in general I think (not sure why!). Basically, would it be worth using it for gigging or recording e.t.c. or is it just another tool to get decent, reasonable-volume distortion out of an amp that can't achieve that so easily?
Odd question, eh? :lol: :oops:
My purpose was to get a decent distortion full stop, I just didn't like the lead channel on the peavey, plus I've swapped out the tubes to improve the clean, but it made the lead even worse, hence the need (perceived need) to change.
I didn't expect the Blackstars to do as well as they do at room levels, I was fully expecting the same problems as with the lead on a head, you have to drive it to get the sounds, so it came as a nice surprise that these also fulfilled the role of providing good gain tones at room levels. If I'd have known that when I went to try them it would have been a factor, but as it was my only concern was 'Give me a sound I want to play', and they did that in spades, which is why I walked away with both of them.
I probably shouldn't have bought the DistX, but I fell in love with a really great doomy tone we found, and just knew that if I didn't get it as well then I'd just end up wanting it more and more until I went back and bought it, so I saved myself a trip (no willpower).
I'm really happy with my gear now so I'm not expecting to get anything for me for a while, but a lot of my spending has been buying stuff for Sue, I'm such a soft bugger, I bought the Small Clone for her just becuase it was there and I knew she wanted one, she didn't ask or even hint. :roll: