Thin sounding lead tone.....

[maliciousteve]

Hi guys. Last night i played a gig and realised how thin and weak my lead sound is. My rhythm sound is great, very tight and powerful. but the lead sound just doesn't cut it. It needs thickening up and to have more power behind it. As it's a JCM900, it only has one channel with a switchable master volume. So would an E.Q pedal help thicken the sound up a bit? and maybe even give it more 'life'?   I'm already using a Boss SD-1 in front of the amp to push the tubes a bit more, it helps the lead tone a bit, but not much. Any info would be appreciated

[_tom_]

I would've thought an EQ would be what you want as you could add more lower mid etc to get a thicker tone. I've never used one though but in theory it seems like it would work.

[indysmith]

theres some really FAT overdrives out there that you could try - i'm pretty sure that that could help. I think the E.Q.'s a good idea too - just boost what yu want, take away what you don't. also - what guitar are you playing>? some thinness could be down to this...

[maliciousteve]

Well i was using a Washburn 7 string with a Warpig in the bridge. I think i will get an E.Q pedal to see what happens. If it doesn't work out, then i'll sell the head and look for something with 2 channels, seperate e.q's and master volumes. I should have a feline 7 string next week so i'll see how that sounds.

[Ratrod]

The stock SD-1 sounds a bit thin. You could have it tuned by Keeley or analog man to get a fatter sound.

[TwilightOdyssey]

The stock SD-1 sounds a bit thin. You could have it tuned by Keeley or analog man to get a fatter sound.

The SD-1 is not a good pedal, imo.
However, it may be that you have the Tone control on the OD set to a position where it's accentuating some frequency you don't like. Have you tried working with the Tone knob?

Also, try playing your guitar with the SD-1 in your signal chain but off. Are you still experiencing the same problem?

Have you tried a fresh battery? A dead battery can wreak havoc on your tone!

Finally, try setting the controls on the SD-1 in their neutral position. Toggle the pedal on and off. Are you hearing a difference?

Unfortunately, unless you practice at gig volume regularly, it's hard to know ahead of time what your tone will be like. There are always some small tweaks needed when you get to the venue, since each room is different.

[HTH AMPS]

I agree with the above statements about the SD-1, I've modded quite a few of them and I wouldn't use one for a solo boost in the stock form.  

When unmodified, you loose quite a bit bass but get a midrange boost compared to your bypassed tone.

Either get the SD-1 modded for a flat EQ or buy an EQ pedal and crank the level and mids for leads.

 :twisted:

[maliciousteve]

The stock SD-1 sounds a bit thin. You could have it tuned by Keeley or analog man to get a fatter sound.

The SD-1 is not a good pedal, imo.
However, it may be that you have the Tone control on the OD set to a position where it's accentuating some frequency you don't like. Have you tried working with the Tone knob?

Also, try playing your guitar with the SD-1 in your signal chain but off. Are you still experiencing the same problem?

Have you tried a fresh battery? A dead battery can wreak havoc on your tone!

Finally, try setting the controls on the SD-1 in their neutral position. Toggle the pedal on and off. Are you hearing a difference?

Unfortunately, unless you practice at gig volume regularly, it's hard to know ahead of time what your tone will be like. There are always some small tweaks needed when you get to the venue, since each room is different.

When the pedal is turned off, the sound isn't nearly as tight and powerful. The sound is even more thin. I also put in a fresh battery before hand.

I set the tone control to about 12 o clock, then the level on full and gain off. Making the sound tighter but not adding gain. Maybe i should of added more gain to get a smoother lead tone? instead of the shrill lead sound i seemed to get.

[Tim]

Never had any problem with my Keeley modded SD1s and have never gigged without them over the past 3 years............as long as you've got enough mids in at the amp you'll be fine.
The problem with the stock SD1s is the bass is very mushy so you tend to over compensate with the highs on the amp, fine for chords but not so good for single note work.Like HTH says, adding and EQ pedal with boasted mids will thicken it up but be prepared for the noise level to come up with it too.
The other problem could be in the front end of the JCM900 which I believe doen't have an entirely true valve front end..............whenever I've played them they've always seemed over bright.

[WITH FULL DISTORTION]

is there anything related to the warpig on this issue of your about the Leads getting thin and not cutting through the mix?

[Ratrod]

If you leads are thin with a Warpig, it's not because of the pickup. It's pretty fat on the leads.

[lepersmeesa]

check out the same settings with more expensive cables, try different eqs, different pedals etc. I doubt the reason would be the pickups. Pickups can only do so much to your tone if you sucking your tone else where, for example weak batteries in pedals etc.

[tewboss]

I agree with Tim. The stock SD1 will never be as good as the Keeley or Analogman modified pedals.

If you want bass then have a look at the Frantone The Sweet pedal as that has got bass galore. Its actually a fuzz pedal, but higher gain so its a dirty distortion but nice sounding.