Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: dheim on January 09, 2009, 01:26:38 PM
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ibanez tube screamer or clones seem to be the standard for tightening valve distortions... i've got an electro-harmonix english muff'n that i use as an overdrive (at high gain it's quite fuzzy and i don't like that kind of distortion) with nice results... if i use it before the lead channel of my amp (wich isn't much loose, at least for my needs) i can't notice great further tightening of my sound... is it an effect just obtainable with solid state overdrives or a real tube circuit can be used as well (and so there's something wrong in my settings)?
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I've never found that Tube Screamers tighten my sound at all. I just use them for more gain and saturation...
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Might be your settings. Start off with the drive on or close to 0 and tone & volume around noon. Then fine tune if need be.
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the 'tightening up' feeling is just a side effect of the EQ response of the pedal. often boosters cut bass, which will make a vintage amp like a plexi or master volume sound tighter. plus they hopefully give a distortion which compliments the normal amp valve overdrive, and also a general level boost to overdrive the input valve even more.
i agree with twinfan that a TS pedal doesn't really tighten an amp. in my opinion a TS is very lead orientated. however there are quite a few TS derivatives which are more general purpose and do tighten up rhythm and so on - perhaps a Boss SD-1. i do think that TS lead sound is a very difficult one to beat though.
if you just want to tighten stuff up, you could think about an EQ pedal - it will give you more control than the single EQ control of an overdrive pedal.
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I thought more volume before an amp using an overdrive pedal tightened up an amp's sound, if this is wrong what does more volume before an amp do, add compression?
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For tightening up and valve distortion sound, I think the MXR Zakk Wylde overdriv is the absolute business. When I was gigging in a thrash band using a Triple Rec, I had the ZW on all the time with t's drive on zero. Massive difference.