Author Topic: Another nooby question from your resident muppet (Read 1667 times)

Roobubba · « **on:** October 25, 2007, 03:27:33 PM »

So, many people on here already have heard me whining about feedback and so on. I'm currently not using any distortion in front of my amp, and am wondering what other 5150 users do:

Does it make sense to put some kind of distortion, or even overdrive pedal in front of my 5150-II and turn the gain down on the amp?

We played our first gig on Sunday night, and it was LOUD. Very very loud. I was really struggling with feedback problems during soundcheck, hence had to crank the ISP decimator to get on top of it, but that meant that lighter picked notes were being completely suppressed. It worked *ok* for the gig, but it's far from ideal!

There have been quite a few threads about good overdrive pedals, and good distortion pedals, but if anyone has a specific preference with a 5150, I'd be really grateful of the pointer.

Or of course if this is just not a helpful thing to do, I'd be equally grateful for that advice too! I don't know anyone who uses such a big gainy amp, so I've no-one to ask except you guys!

Thanks in advance!

Roo

CJ · « **Reply #1 on:** October 26, 2007, 12:12:33 AM »

is there any chance theres something wrong with your amp? i haven't checked your other threads so i don't know if you've taken it to a tech or not yet...

ericsabbath · « **Reply #2 on:** October 26, 2007, 12:27:27 AM »

the secret about using noise suppressors is to cut the noise before the distortion (boosted or not)
if you use the decimator pedal, just put it between the boost pedal and the amp
if you use the rack version, it probably has a loop, so you can hook it in this order: guitar -> rack -> amp input -> loop send -> rack -> loop return

a wylde overdrive will make your amp sound huge (more than a tube screamer), but remember to put the gain knob on 0, or you'll get a lot more feedback and noise than you already have

gingataff · « **Reply #3 on:** October 26, 2007, 01:59:42 AM »

A lot of guys on the Andy Sneap forum swear by using a tubescreamer in front of 5150s or rectifiers, with the drive on the pedal set quite low, the output about unity gain and tone to taste.
It's supposed to tighten up the bass and boost the mids a touch. Bear in mind though that those guys are talking about recording rather than playing live but I'm sure it would tighten your live sound too.

shaman · « **Reply #4 on:** October 26, 2007, 02:18:22 AM »

..could use power attenuator to tame the beast...(hotplate,etc..)

Mr Ed · « **Reply #5 on:** October 26, 2007, 03:00:06 AM »

I would never, ever, ever use an external pedal for my dirty if I had something like a 5150.

Roobubba · « **Reply #6 on:** October 26, 2007, 09:00:32 AM »

ok guys, thanks for the responses. I lowered the pickup height a touch before practice yesterday. The overall volume was correspondingly lower, but it did also tighten the squealy-squealy stuff up too. Still need to work on this, it could be the guitar. I have taken the amp to a tech, but it's still possible that it's the amp, of course. Without being a tech myself, it's difficult to pin down the source of the problem. I have to say, though, with all of the adjustments and tweaks I've now made, it's much more manageable. Band practice last night was simply awesome :)

Cheers again, and I really hope to make this my last thread on this topic!

Roo