Overdrives to push tube amps

[Toe-Knee]

I'm going to try backing it down to about 5/6 next time, trouble is at gigs when soundchecking you only got 5 seconds to test your tone before the soundguy tells you to shut up so its impossible to gauge any sound you like.

I ain't looking for a scooped sound cos I want to cut though the mix, in the past maybe its been far too high coupled with the middy pickup.

You can cut through the mix with a scooped tone. It just has to be scooped correctly and very narrowly.

However yes you can have too many mids it gives a kinda of bloated/congested sound with little to no punch. It's the reason I got rid of my Aftermath when I built my SLO thing.

[CommonCourtesy]

Some of the example EQ settings in the manual for the 6505+ say put them on 2.5 but there's no way I'm having them that low! 5 minmum for me!

I like my chords and stuff to be punchy and have some body to them, not thin and weedy like a lot of metal guitarists.

[dave_mc]

I won't be getting rid of the TS9 anytime soon, just looking around to see what else is out there. I mean the screamer and 6505+ work well together, but keep seeing stuff about the OD808 and other overdrives. Even seen a handwired tubescreamer which is £300+!!

I do have a Boss SD-1 but I would've used it more for solo boosts, and I don't solo in this band so I don't need to use it. I might give it a go though, the Digitech Bad Monkey is something I've been aware of too, cos of the bass control knob.

As for the overdrive being noisy I've (finally) learnt how to use the loop of the ISP Decimator G-string, before I was hooking it up incorrectly by having it run in the FX loop only to quieten down the pre-amp on the lead channel, but as it was right in front of the amp it made noise if too much pre gain was used (i.e above 5). Now I've had the 6505+ lead channel modded so its silent I don't need to fiddle around with the effects loop, instead just run the tubescreamer through the loop of the ISP and running the guitar straight through so cleans aren't affected. My pre-gain is now on 4 and the drive is on zero on the pedal, level around 1 o'clock. No noise now.

A tubescreamer is a tubescreamer unless its the od820 but thats not really a tubescreamer

with regards to the TS7/9/808 they're all practically the same pedal with very minor circuit differences that don't neccesarily translate into tonal differences.


Don't waste your money!

Agreed.

I'd have thought it you want to tighten it up you want something either with a bass cut, or with a bass knob. So that (at least in my experience) rules out things like the klon, OCD, etc.

The OCD is actually my preferred way of tightening up a heavy tone. Knock the gain down to 0 and just use the level and tone and you get a really focused tight sound without as drastic a low end drop off but it's still plenty tight and aggressive.

Edit: Actually I was wrong above. My preferred way of tightening my tone up is to switch to a guitar with EMGs and use my MKIIC+ I don't really use boosts of any kind much anymore now that I don't have cr@p amps. 

LOL

I didn't really like the cheapo joyo ocd clone as a boost. At least for a high gain amp where I prefer the bass cut thing- for lower gain it was a decent, fairly transparent boost IIRC.

Maybe the real thing is better.

[Toe-Knee]

Some of the example EQ settings in the manual for the 6505+ say put them on 2.5 but there's no way I'm having them that low! 5 minmum for me!

I like my chords and stuff to be punchy and have some body to them, not thin and weedy like a lot of metal guitarists.

yeah that's just an extreme setting. Really you need a GEQ on the amp or in the loop to get a punchy yet aggressive tone without having to have bucketloads of mids.

[CommonCourtesy]

I'm going to try and roll off the mids on the amp at the next show, and boost with the TS9. I used an Egnater head at rehearsal earlier and used less on the amp and then about 2 o'clock on the pedal. Sounded quite good.

I do find as well when the volume is a bedroom level you need to turn the mids up a bit more, as the amp gets louder its not as necessary. So at gig volume the post-gain is about 2/2.5. At home I can't turn it up to 1 without the walls shaking!

[witeter]

I have a Maxon OD808 and I love it, however im not sure it it would be worth your while spending the cash if you already have a TS you are happy with-by all means try and test it out and if you really really want it you could in theory get it via  a trade,etc.
Regarding mids, it can vary a lot depending on what band you are in and if you are competing with another guitarist-for live use i run mine around 5 (i use a evh 5153) but for recording around 2/3 sounds awesome. And some soundguys tend to eq the amp sound anyways so whatever setting you go for itll be mostly for your benefit rather than the crowds. Good luck!

[CommonCourtesy]

Well I was just looking around to see if there was anything better out there, alot of American bands use the OD808 so it'd be cool to give it a go.

We are a dropped tuned chuggy type band, not full on metalcore but some heavy elements in there. Will try my mids on 5 or so at the next gig see where that fits. What setting is your pre-gain at? I usually run it at 4 then put the TS9 on top. Gives more punch.

[Alex]

They're all too similar to hear the differences through the high gain channel of an amp. The main concerns are noise levels. The TS9 is already very good.

[BigK]

I use 3 different pedals into my Mesa Boogie Roadster. I find that the differences can be quite dramatic just depends on the amp

ProTone Deadhourse Deluxe for my main tight rhythm tone. - Has more push in the mids and tightens things up a bit more generally better for my darker guitars. But at the same time doesn't cut too much low end. nice and aggressive up top too.

Rex MAB overdrive for my thicker darker rhythm tone - has more of a flatter darker response than the dead horse less of a mid hump but still gets things a little tighter, punchier and aggressive - good for heavy breakdowns/KSE stuff

Mesa GridSlammer for leads - alot smoother/sweeter than the other two very well judged mid boost to help cut through. Its tighter than the deadhorse.

They are all run with very little or no gain just tone (normally about 10-11 o'clock) and volume to get the right drive level.

[Dave Sloven]

I just found out about this Seymour Duncan OD.

Anyone tried one?  3-band EQ, 9V or 18V, looks interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FyYMDu7Q6w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWE4vSpb7Fw

EDIT: Here's a video of the MXR M77 in use that you might find interesting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzSCDnw7iaQ

And this one by 'Guitar Face Man'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0C9UkCPUVM

[CommonCourtesy]

I hope you don't use those 3 pedals all at the same time Big K haha.

Peavey's are well known for a bit of a flubby lead channel sound so an overdrive run in front tightens things up big time. I played straight into the amp a few weeks ago with the pre-gain on 6 and it sounds a bit meh. Pre-gain on 4 and the level on the Tube screamer turned up sounds better. I never messed about with the tone knob til yesterday, adds some colour to it.

[Dave Sloven]

I don't have that problem with the 6534+ ... I think when I started using the tubescreamer I was just following the received wisdom on this series of amps, but the EL34 power valves seem to provide a tighter, middier tone compared to the 6505 and 6505+

I only use the MXR M77 OD now to drive the input of my EVH Phase 90. Otherwise I run the preamp gain at around 5, presence around 5-6 and the resonance around the same.

I only mention this because when I was looking for information on how to EQ the 6534+ I kept finding threads on the 6505+ that suggested the amps were very similar and that the standard ISP, TS, 10-band set-up was pretty much mandatory.  I have found that while the ISP and 10-band are crucial for me the 6534+ seems to have an inbuilt 'screamer effect' compared to the 6505+

I'd highly recommend an EQ in the loop if you don't currently have one.  That was the one pedal that really made a big difference, besides the noise reduction stuff.

[CommonCourtesy]

The only band I know that uses a 6534+ is The Devil Wears Prada, and the guy still uses a tubescreamer on top. Has this pre-gain pretty high, on 5.5 as well.

Some people say the 6505+ is a middy amp, some don't, I would't say it has as many as a Marshall, for example.

I've modded my head so the lead channel is quiet, so I don't need to mess about with FX loops and stuff, saving set up time. Only noise I have to worry about now is the tubescreamer making noise once kicked on. I have this under control though with the loop of the ISP.

If using an EQ what am I looking to boost the most?

[Dave Sloven]

Well, I can't really tell you what to boost, that's really a reflection of your settings in your whole signal chain up to that point and your personal taste.  I can tell you that have ten bands of active EQ to play with gives you a lot more options than the passive low, mid, treble on the 6505+/6534+ preamp.  I have found it useful.

I used to run my pre gain at 6 with a Maxon OD-9 with the tone at roughly noon and the gain at 0 with the level dimed, but now I don't run a screamer at all and leave my gain at 5.  It might reflect my role in the band, which is rhythm player in a punk band with a heavily distorted lead guitarist and bassist. If I put my gain up too high I just kind of get in the way and you can't really hear what I am playing.  Backing off on the gain gives me a tighter sound (for my setup).  I also use a Boss NS-2 out front and an ISP Decimator G-String in the loop; that helps tighten things up a bit in terms of just general noisiness floating around.

I don't know The Devil Wears Prada - should I assume that they are a metalcore band?  The name sounds like one

[CommonCourtesy]

I think the guitarist in my band has an MXR 10 band, canit remember if he sold it or not but if he's still got it I might try it out.

I ran it on 6 with the tubescreamer on at the first gig I used it for and all I got was noise!! Didn't hook up the ISP properly which didn't help but I underestimated the power of the lead channel on the 6505+! Anything above 4 is too much esp if you're boosting, and you can't hear much. I'm the rhythm player as well in my band, hold down the main chunk of the song in terms of harmony.

They're an American metalcore band yes, if you look at his settings on the amp in a quick shot, he has a lot of pre-amp gain:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgwZQou-xt4

He has two noise gates though so I assume he has a quiet live sound in terms of background noise.