One pedal what would it be

[TeleBrew]

Right now I'd have to say my Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret. I can't live without some sort of dirt box and this one is rather versatile.

[agaveman]

Maxon OD9

[IggyT]

not sure if you mentioned the style of music you play ..but for me ...sometimes I strip things down to just two: Compressor and delay...
iggy

[AngelStrummer]

There can only be one...

If I had to choose, my Boss CS-2

[axsys]

If that's cheating, then I'm really partial to my '81 TS9. It just has "that" sound. Or I guess it could just be that my ear is accustomed to it.

[pinkspider]

Seems like fulldrive got alot of votes.

+1 on the fulldrive too.
Recently i find myself taking the FD2 off the board and putting it on the floor in between my tele and amp. I can go for hours just with it alone, no other pedals on the board ever came close to having this privilege.

[nosuch]

Right now my Excalibur Tone Screamer, a tube screamer clone I got for cheap. But honestly most time no pedal for me ...

[Slickster]

+1 on the fulldrive2 ... picked up a pre-mosfet blue one from fulltone. Brand new 2nd ... can't find a flaw ... $90

still ... my sprakle drive always sounds good too. Plenty of versatility

[octatonic]

Easy!



:-)

[Televised]

Originally Posted by Pinball_Wizard

Honestly if you have a tube Amp, go for the Tubescreamer.
the only reason mt Poor Man's 808 has asymmetrical clipping, is because I'm using solid state. If I had tubes I'd go full blown 808.

Tubescreamers were meant for Tubes and work real slick with the old tube amps.

[Billy B.]

Route 66 !I always have the comp side on

[usc96]

I've been playing straight guitar to amp lately, but I'd probably pick BJF Honey Bee or a Lovepedal COT 50 for a bluesy sound. Out of all my pedals, first choice is going to my Fulltone Tube Tape Echo.

[Stewart Ward]

Originally Posted by Rumble

Not according to this: http://www.harmony-central.com/Guita...evolution.html

"6. 1970's Marshall Master Volume-> in--> G1 --> volume --> G2--> G3--> EQ--> master volume--->

Marshall, taking ideas from amp techs who were already modifying their amps, and from Mesa's new Boogies, decided it should manufacture a master volume amp. Guitarists wanted more distortion from their amps, and they wanted it at lower volumes. Marshall's solution was to add one extra gain stage, which gave its 1970's Master Volume amps a lot of crunch. Not the super saturated gain demanded by metal players in the late 1980's, but perfect for crunchy 70's riffing.

Notice that Marshall didn't simply clone the Mesa-Boogies. They kept the EQ at the end of the preamp, not the beginning, like in Boogies. They also didn't use as many gain stages.

7. Early JCM-800's with diode clipping
in--> G1--> EQ--> gain--> G2--> DIODES--> volume--> G3--> loop--> Phase Inverter--> master volume--->

This complex circuit was Marshall's first attempt at mixing tube and transitor distortion in its larger amplifiers. The mix of tube gain and diode clipping produced more distortion, but some players thought the sound was too "buzzy" and "thin" and "cold" compared to Marshall's all tube designs."

Mine is a 1976 model and doesn't have any solid state diodes so it probably sounds quite a bit different than the ones you had.

Who stole the idea from who is not really that important. But to be correct, the SINGLE channel JCM800s were always 100% tube/valve. It's always been the case that the TWO channel JCM800s (Like the Zack Wylde versions) always had diode distortion. And many players love them.

In terms of design, it's more important to note where the EQ is in the circuitry. If the EQ is pre distortion, then that type of amp will excel at low level distortion for blues, country, etc. Not so good for heavy throbbing low end or scooped metal type distortion... unless it has post distortion EQ/graphic as well.

Post distortion EQ is an outright rock sound mainly. It will deliver those modern rock tones. But sadly, not so good at the 'on-the-edge' side of guitar tone. You can't select which frequencies distort first!

The reason is simple, with pre distortion EQ, you can make the upper frequencies distort first, reduce mid range and low end distortion. The EQ acts as frequency dependent gain controls! This is NOT possiblle with most post distortion EQ equipped amps!

So, you can't really begin to compare early Mesa Boogie and Marshall amps in the way you have. They are radically different animals.

[Stewart Ward]

Originally Posted by Rumble

I can use my 50-watt Marshall JMP with a PPIMV thru two V30s when the family's sleeping two rooms over or in a large venue. For distortion I don't need anything else. The same goes for my AC15 and 2x12 Blues Deville, although their ranges are narrower (lower volume range for the AC15, higher for the Blues Deville). The Marshall can be quieter than the AC15 and louder than the Deville and still sound sweet. The only thing the Marshall can't do is reverb, tremelo, or delay, so I may use a pedal for those. I've got a Boss reverb/delay pedal so that does it. I like wahs as well, but those aren't really used in straight blues (and I don't play the blues).

Loudness and Tone... it's all in the mind!

Let me qualify that by referring you the the chart attached. I think this should explain a lot for guitarists and in particular, why the idea of 'cranked amp tone' at low volume is not really possible.

[ibodog]

I'm quite partial to my Bad Cat 2-Tone or the Matchless Hot Box I had before it.

[rob2]

Maxon OD-9

[cwcowell]

Tremolo. Doesn't matter which one.

[hatecrew]

Fulltone OCD

[Teleglide]

Boss DM-2

[titaniumslide]

+1 on the Fulltone Fulldrive 2

[fullboost2]

FullDrive 2 Mosfet. SO versatile!

[the_existential]

Hey longbow (orig poster), saw you picked up a TS7 - TS9, good pedal. If you get to looking again I would suggest two in particular.

1. the Blackstone Overdrive - this pedal sounds more like "your amp just overdriven" than anything I have played or heard, super dynamic and touch responsive, and is a great saturator for other dirt boxes.

2. the Maxon SD-9 - this is MY desert island pedal. You can get the gritty touch of dirt you spoke of, all the way up to a raging distortion. Check out some yout tube clips of it. Insanely great tones out of this thing and it goes well with a Fender style amp.

[telechaser]

I Can't.

[Flashback]

Originally Posted by Stewart Ward

Who stole the idea from who is not really that important. But to be correct, the SINGLE channel JCM800s were always 100% tube/valve. It's always been the case that the TWO channel JCM800s (Like the Zack Wylde versions) always had diode distortion. And many players love them.

In terms of design, it's more important to note where the EQ is in the circuitry. If the EQ is pre distortion, then that type of amp will excel at low level distortion for blues, country, etc. Not so good for heavy throbbing low end or scooped metal type distortion... unless it has post distortion EQ/graphic as well.

Post distortion EQ is an outright rock sound mainly. It will deliver those modern rock tones. But sadly, not so good at the 'on-the-edge' side of guitar tone. You can't select which frequencies distort first!

The reason is simple, with pre distortion EQ, you can make the upper frequencies distort first, reduce mid range and low end distortion. The EQ acts as frequency dependent gain controls! This is NOT possiblle with most post distortion EQ equipped amps!

So, you can't really begin to compare early Mesa Boogie and Marshall amps in the way you have. They are radically different animals.

Wylde never had a two channel signature Marshall.

[mod edit for civility]

[absurdplanet]

I only use a little slapback echo; works for me . . .
There are times when a little more overdrive would be nice.
I'll be adding a Zendrive sooner or later.

[TyPierce]

I've been horsetrading and A/B-ing overdrives for the better part of two years now and have finally settled on the Menatone Red Snapper. Very uncompressed and open sounding, which is what I was looking for, and with way more gain on tap than I'll ever use.

I was also a fan of the Barber LTD, but the Menatone made the smile stick.

[Spidercaster]

Analogman King of Tone would be my choice.

[791979]

Well, FWIW I wouldn't touch a Tubescreamer with a bargepole. I know lots like 'em, but I cannot get on with them at all.

My recommendations would be (in no particular order).

• Zvex Box of Rock
• Blackstone Mosfet (this one is really cool IMHO, and would probably be my 1st choice)
• A good Fuzzface (like Analogmans Sunfaces) and use the volume knob on your guitar.

Tim/Timmy are too transparent for me (for this use).

I'm also pretty sure that the Dirty Little Secret would be a good buy, but I have yet to recieve mine.

[SS Haze]

One pedal = Korg Pitchblack
if you were looking for a pedal that effects the sound?
m13 lol

[Tremolo7]

It would be my Fulltone '69 fuzz!

[schenkadere]

MXR Dyna Comp....standard stock model.

[randysmojo]

AC Booster!

[mkorsmo]

MXR Carbon Copy