What Overdrive For Tweed Amps?

I decided to pull out my old '50s tweeds to gig again---I foolishly sold the best tube overdrive ever for my Bassman (a Nady tube overdrive) years ago.
Whether you are gigging originals or honest
reissues/kits,what are you using for that fat searing boost that's musical and touch sensitive? The tweeds are great for pedals when you find the right one.
Thanks!

I've listened to your clips, you don't need pedals. :wink:

Have you ever tried a Blackstone? It's an interesting pedal, I'd like to get my hands on one.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/stomp-box/98670-blackstone-mosfet-clip.html

Seems like you kind of answer your question with the wording of your question.

I'd check out a boost pedal. Doesn't color the sound of the amp; fattens up and adds grit.

A few possibilities out there - Bad Bob, Fulltone Fat Boost, Seymour Duncan, Micro amp etc.

Let us know.

PS just went back and caught a few clips, tasty stuff!

Lately, I've been playing with a rockabilly trio, using a tweed Deluxe clone and I'm finding a perfect boost/overdrive pedal to be a Tonefactor Copperhead. (http://www.tonefactor.com/proddetail.php?prod=Copperhead)

Thanks everyone for the responses (and kind words)....
Vincent Caster,I would love to be able to find an original Nady like I had before....I keep looking!

my ancient Ampeg Gemini 1 loves the FullDrive 2 from Fulltone, it's versatile and just a fun pedal to push old tubes with.

I would imagine that with a tweed a good boost would be enough. I would try a gritty boost like the Bad Bob.

I use a ZVex Super Duper 2in1 into my 5E3...sounds incredible.

i like the Xotic AC Booster.

Thanks everyone for the responses (and kind words)....
Vincent Caster,I would love to be able to find an original Nady like I had before....I keep looking!

I've heard it said that the Tonebone Classic tube overdrive/dist pedal is very similar to the old Nady distortion pedals that you're talking about. Not sure if that's accurate, but you can always order one from Musician's Friend and return it if it doesn't do it for you. All you'd lose is the shipping costs.

I use a Blackstone into a Tonebone Classic. I get clean tones that push the edge, as well as an incredible palette of OD sounds. The Blackstone is very touch sensitive. I also found that experimenting with 12-AX7s in the Tonebone is fun. And don't forget a BBE Sonic Stomp.

Wow,thanks everyone.......
one thing I like about the old tweeds is the "spongy" feel from the primitive circuitry.For the Deluxe and Tremolux,I can play them as is.The Pro and Bassman need a little help on the softer gigs.

I have a Tone Bone Classic as well which I like alot. Another pedal I like alot is the Digitech Bad Monkey, sounds great and cheap, my 2 favorite combinations. :lol:

I had an opportunity to play a Li'l Dawg Champster Special--15 watts with a 12" speaker--for awhile. I found overdrive pedals muddied up the sound too much for my liking and used my Bad Bob booster which sounded very nice. Demoed a Victoria 5E3 and found the same thing. I walked away from those experiences thinking if I were to ever get a Tweed amp I would use a boost pedal to get the searing lead sound.

I use a V2 OCD with my Vicky Bandmaster, and so far it's the only OD that doesn't compromise the touch sensitivity I love so much. That you can get into Distortion territory is also a plus.


T.S.

I am currently listening to your music. Very impressive. It sounds great. Some very good, smooth playing going on right now....

Chandler Real Tube or Crowther Hotcake!

Seymour Duncan Twin Tube. See sig for other ideas.

I like two clean boosts together, always a Burris Boostier first, next varies. Usually a Catalinbread Super Chile Picosa. Sometimes use the Catalinbread Semaphore trem pedal in that second position, on but with trem off. (This pedal has a real useful volume knob.) With a tweed type amp, where the best kind of drive comes from the power tubes, clean boost is as far as I'd go.

+1 on the OCD into my Mission 5E3.

When I cant play my bassman cranked up I use a pedal. I mostly leave it on all the time. Im a lovepedal fan. The woodrow has a tweed type sound and cleans up well by useing your volume control. I found I like the purple plexi or a blues face ( cot 50 variation) for myself. They lean towards a marshall plexi like pedal that cleans up well also. They can turn your bassman into a monster amp and still have that touch sensitivity, and ride your volume control on your guitar. That will take you from clean to mean. The clean sounds are nice. They run close to the bassman clean tones. Think of them as working like an amp. Plus you can play around with your bassmans inputs and have a few more tone options. :mrgreen:

If you can afford them(I can't), the Durham Electronics Sex Drive or if that isn't enough drive, the Mucho Boosto. Great sound without coloring.

http://www.durhamelectronics.com/

i'm using a lil dawg champster special, and my buddy is sending me his LTD, being that the LTD is a transparent style pedal, i hope it will give me just enough extra whoomp, without killing my original tone, for that extra cut through and boost for solos.

anybody have experience with the champster and an LTD?

Hey Refin!

...cool sounds... very soulful. Actually another poster was right you don't need to muddy up your clean, airy sound as is rather refreshing!

I have no specific suggestions other than I was looking a Tweeds in detail recently and some pedals that I came across that seem to work well in providing that tone are:

AMT Tweed Sound:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oBSyA0DWk4

http://www.amtelectronicseurope.com/en/shop/tweed-sound/


And a rather unknown pedal I picked up cheaply on ebay which is in same vein: Proel DS10.

http://www.tonefrenzy.com/sound_files/proel-distortion.mp3

http://www.4shared.com/file/63214681/e2e448af/proel_ds10.html

http://filters.muziq.be/model/proel/ds10

The latter is not what you would expect a Distortion to sound like, inasmuch as it is articulate and bright - akin the the Fender FBM1 but not muffled! Not easy to find though... One great accident, I have found that with my Cornford (3x12AX7 and 2xEL34 V30) it gives it a very good representation of a Deluxe Reverb just on the edge.

Good luck

Dod Gray Box Overdrive 250 pre amp

Pete Cornish - SS-2

But generally just the " Hillbilly Channel Switcher " .......My guitars Vol Knob
Turn up to O/D - Turn down to clean it up ...straight jacked into a Tweed :grin:

Bad Bob, or build one of these:

Jack Orman Mini-Booster (http://www.muzique.com/amz/mini.htm), which is what the Bad Bob is based on...

Wow,thanks everyone for your input,and nice words.
All my recordings (except for a few) on Soundclick are with a Johnson J-Station direct inject.
Lately I've picked up a Blue Tube and a BBE Green Screamer,haven't tested them with the Bassman yet.They sound pretty decent otherwise with the smaller tweeds.

In my humble opinion, a great OD for tweeds is the Klon Centaur, just set up for boost, nothing else. However its very pricey, and really only does one thing.

The ones that I use are: Crowther Hot Cake, with the level up and the gain at about 11 o'clock, and also a Fulldrive FD 2 Mosfet on the comp cut setting. The Tele gets the Hot Cake, and my slide guitar gets the Fulldrive. For PAF style humbuckers and P90's, I truly prefer just to plug straight into my Victoria's OR a real tweed when I've used them. The Tele doesn't seem to really have enough "beef" to drive my 35310 so I like the Crowther with it. For my Double Deluxe and my Deluxe, I prefer to go without any OD pedals. I love the sound of a Tele through 6V6 tubes.

+1 for the tonebone classic distortion. nails tweed sounds and much more and sounds great w/ all my amps. look for one from the past few years. the early ones some of them have bad switches

I use a Flying Dragon clean boost with my Richter 5E3, and I dig it.

http://lizardlegeffects.com/dragon.html

Wow, very tasty playing. I wish you were teaching around here I'd be taking some lessons from you!