help! overdrive question for hillsong sound

[mindtwist07]

Hi I use 3 overdrives in my board, first a sparkledrive clone, then a TS808 and last a Danelectro Transparent overdrive. I use the sparkledrive for clean boost.( Low level no gain, no blend, tone is at 4 o clock ) Then a ts808 (mid gain settings) Danelectro TOD ( small gain level at 12 o clock, No bass Treble at 12, almost a boost setting pedal). When the sparkle drive is on and the ts808 engaged i always get that unwanted hum and when the TOD is engaged the hum is louder than ever and at times the overdrive sound is ok and at times the sound becomes to mushy almost fuzz like. Why is this happening? I have newly replaced the 2 12ax7's in my amp with JJ's. The 6V6 power tubes are still stock, I wanted to go for that hillsong overdrive sound.

Im using a laney cub 10 into a custom 1x12 cab, I'm also using a visual sound 1 spot.

I don't know if the problem is in the pedal itself?the settings?Tubes?1 spot?

There is no hum when only one overdrive pedal is engaged.

Heres my chain: guitar > phase 90, sparkle drive, ts808, Danelectro TOD, Boss DS-1, Morely volume, DIY analog delay, Boss DD-20 > laney cub10 into 1x12 cab.

Thanks

[silentechoes]

Could be a ground loop caused by the 1 spot. Could also be that the pedals don't play well together, I've had this problem different times.

My current od setup consists of a Barber Direct Drive cascading into a Fulltone OCD. Before that it was the MXR Wylde od into the OCD. Both of these setups worked well.

My favorite pedal for getting Hillsong tones is the Direct Drive though. If you pull the tone knob, and set everything at noon that seems to really nail their sound.

[DropKick74]

droff uses a tim at times... he has a video on youtube where he explains his setup. He uses two clean amps and gets the gain from his pedals. Like I said I know he said he uses a tim or a timmy. one or the other

[mindtwist07]

Originally Posted by silentechoes

Could be a ground loop caused by the 1 spot. Could also be that the pedals don't play well together, I've had this problem different times.

My current od setup consists of a Barber Direct Drive cascading into a Fulltone OCD. Before that it was the MXR Wylde od into the OCD. Both of these setups worked well.

My favorite pedal for getting Hillsong tones is the Direct Drive though. If you pull the tone knob, and set everything at noon that seems to really nail their sound.

how can i fix the ground loop problem and the pedals that don't work together? do i have to change the sequence or do i have to remove one and check the compatibility for to pedals?

so your ocd is the boost and your main drive is the barber am i correct?

thanks

[mindtwist07]

Originally Posted by DropKick74

droff uses a tim at times... he has a video on youtube where he explains his setup. He uses two clean amps and gets the gain from his pedals. Like I said I know he said he uses a tim or a timmy. one or the other

I think he was using a timmy for that video and a divided by 13 Joyride.

I got the Danelectro TOD because its a clone of a timmy. Though the joyride is a different OD and its not for sale here in our country

Ive been having trouble in trying to get the droffs overdrive sound. Because of so many factors. The amps, the guitars and their pickups and the pedals. Droffs guitars have good mid grit to it. Mines way bassy

[silentechoes]

Originally Posted by mindtwist07

how can i fix the ground loop problem and the pedals that don't work together? do i have to change the sequence or do i have to remove one and check the compatibility for to pedals?

so your ocd is the boost and your main drive is the barber am i correct?

thanks

The only way to fix the ground loop problem is to get a power supply with iso'd outputs, like a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power Plus or a TRex Fuel Tank. Or just run them on seperate 1 spots. As for compatibility, yeah just play around. Change the order, try two at a time, try your pedals with different ones.

And actually you've got it partially right. I set my od's up so that they can be used alone for varying amounts of gain, but when I run them together the Barber boosts the OCD for a massive lead tone.

[vedt]

Originally Posted by mindtwist07

I think he was using a timmy for that video and a divided by 13 Joyride.

I got the Danelectro TOD because its a clone of a timmy. Though the joyride is a different OD and its not for sale here in our country

Ive been having trouble in trying to get the droffs overdrive sound. Because of so many factors. The amps, the guitars and their pickups and the pedals. Droffs guitars have good mid grit to it. Mines way bassy

In that video, yes, he showed off his Timmy and Joyride on the smaller board. But his main board has 4 or 5 other overdrive pedals. He lists them on the Hillsong Creative website under Gear. On the same site, he also shows his amp settings, so it should get you closer to nailing that sound. Basically, his Vox AC-30 volume is at noon.

[mindtwist07]

Originally Posted by vedt

In that video, yes, he showed off his Timmy and Joyride on the smaller board. But his main board has 4 or 5 other overdrive pedals. He lists them on the Hillsong Creative website under Gear. On the same site, he also shows his amp settings, so it should get you closer to nailing that sound. Basically, his Vox AC-30 volume is at noon.

I have read the blog page over and over again. But if i try it with my effects and settings with the amp i cant get close to that hillsong overdrive sound.That really bugs me. he has 4 overdrives the sparkledrive ( now replaced with rc booster) the maxon od pro the jekyll and hyde and a timmy and i saw in his blog that the sparkle drive (clean boost) is on all the time and uses two more overdrives the maxon as main over drive and the jekyll for boost without having any hum and he doesnt have any noise gate or whatever. I dont know if his true bypass switch has anything to deal with his clean overdrive sound? Does it?

You can see my set up above and its all i have. Im going to add a tremolo soon.

I dont have a Vox AC-30 thats very expensive in our country.

[mindtwist07]

Originally Posted by silentechoes

The only way to fix the ground loop problem is to get a power supply with iso'd outputs, like a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power Plus or a TRex Fuel Tank. Or just run them on seperate 1 spots. As for compatibility, yeah just play around. Change the order, try two at a time, try your pedals with different ones.

And actually you've got it partially right. I set my od's up so that they can be used alone for varying amounts of gain, but when I run them together the Barber boosts the OCD for a massive lead tone.

I have tried a custom power supply and works great with my pedals hum is less almost none when two OD's are engaged. Space is an issue for me thats why i got a visual sound 1 spot adaptor with 8 multi plugs. Thanks for the advice i'll try playing around with the order and sequence.

For my other question, do you think the reason why when two of my overdrives are engaged, there are times it sounds good and at times it sounds mushy and almost fuzz like is because of the amps power tubes or preamp tubes? or the overdrive itself? Sorry for being a noob i've been using multieffects all my life as a guitar player and im new in pedals especially in a long pedal chain.

[silentechoes]

Originally Posted by mindtwist07

For my other question, do you think the reason why when two of my overdrives are engaged, there are times it sounds good and at times it sounds mushy and almost fuzz like is because of the amps power tubes or preamp tubes? or the overdrive itself? Sorry for being a noob i've been using multieffects all my life as a guitar player and im new in pedals especially in a long pedal chain.

Shouldn't have anything to do at all with the tubes, but that would be easy enough to eliminate: just try your pedals into a ss amp if you have access to one. Sounds like a bass boost, almost like you're going from your bridge pickup to your neck pickup, or your amp is coupling with your floor. Try moving your amp into another room if you can. Sometimes if a floor has poor support underneath, it causes a wicked bass boost because of the excessive vibration.

How do you have your amp set up? It could be as simple as lowering your bass just a little bit.

Another thing: I hate Dano pedals. I know they get a lot of love on this and other forums, but I have had nothing but issues with the few that I've had. Try taking that out of the equation and see if that helps.

[Bensen]

I think the problem is the in the cascading gain stages. If you play one overdrive into another it can turn it into muddy, bassy fuzz (wich can be good - think john frusciante solo sound) if the gain is too high. Try lowering the gain on the pedals until it sounds right. If you want maximum control put the pedal with the least distortion first in your signal chain and the one with most distortion last, but experiment for yourself, a different configuration can sound great too.

[mindtwist07]

Originally Posted by silentechoes

Shouldn't have anything to do at all with the tubes, but that would be easy enough to eliminate: just try your pedals into a ss amp if you have access to one. Sounds like a bass boost, almost like you're going from your bridge pickup to your neck pickup, or your amp is coupling with your floor. Try moving your amp into another room if you can. Sometimes if a floor has poor support underneath, it causes a wicked bass boost because of the excessive vibration.

How do you have your amp set up? It could be as simple as lowering your bass just a little bit.

Another thing: I hate Dano pedals. I know they get a lot of love on this and other forums, but I have had nothing but issues with the few that I've had. Try taking that out of the equation and see if that helps.

I have used the same setup i have today with a ss amp a 75 watt and a 15 watt solid state and its ok no problems whatsoever. My amp tone is almost 4 to 5 o clock. my main overdrive tone is on 4-5 o clock and dano with no bass and treble at 1 o clock so i think its imposible to have a bass boost with all trebles on high setting. My guitars tone is also at full.

However my cab is not at full support underneath. I think i'll check that. I didnt know poor flooring could cause a wicked bass boost. Thanks silent echoes! I think i now know the culprit

[mindtwist07]

Originally Posted by Bensen

I think the problem is the in the cascading gain stages. If you play one overdrive into another it can turn it into muddy, bassy fuzz (wich can be good - think john frusciante solo sound) if the gain is too high. Try lowering the gain on the pedals until it sounds right. If you want maximum control put the pedal with the least distortion first in your signal chain and the one with most distortion last, but experiment for yourself, a different configuration can sound great too.

Thats the problem bensen. I dont use much gain on my pedals. My sparkledrive 0 gain 11 o clock on the level, next the TS808 with gain on 8-9 o clock level - 11 o clock. Dano TOD 0 gain and 11 o clock - level. That's why i'm thinking about the amp maybe the problem with the power tubes or preamp tubes since i use my amp in the edge of breaking up. The only high gain pedal i have is a DS-1 and when its usually on all overdrives are off.

[tjalla]

The TOD works great for me, front end pushed by a Menatone Red Snapper for more bite, grit and chime. Agreed that the TOD can be a noisy pedal depending on what its paired with, but it sounds fabulous - regardless of price. In fact it beats out a whole bunch of more boutique contenders.

It sounds so good that I went ahead and ordered a Timmy.

[artdecade]

Playing pedals into pedals always creates new sonic territory. Trey from Phish cascades his TS9s into each other for his lead and crunch tones. Sometimes it works and sometimes it sounds like an electric plum. Try using lighter boosts into heavier boosts into a cleaner amp setting.

[revelator]

Nigel post alot of pics of his gear thru his twitter. These are the MOST recent that he's put up.





He has switched to Jackson Ampworks from the Vox/Matchless stereo setup he used to use.

http://www.jacksonampworks.com/

His true bypass looper & pedalboard were built by http://timonkleinindustries.com/ who is a SUPER NICE GUY btw! Timon also builds all the touring cases for Hillsong and Hillsong United AND has recently taken over the lead electric guitar spot for United.

[Airguitar]

I used to spend a lot of time and money trying to sound like my heroes until a muso friend I really admired asked me:- "Ever tried sounding like YOU?"
Made me take a new look at all my gear, and now I do have my own sound, and the knock-on effect of that was it also set me free to PLAY like me!!
I now get a lot of compliments and young guys wanting to sound like me...
Isn't that where we all want to be?

[revelator]

Originally Posted by Airguitar

I used to spend a lot of time and money trying to sound like my heroes until a muso friend I really admired asked me:- "Ever tried sounding like YOU?"
Made me take a new look at all my gear, and now I do have my own sound, and the knock-on effect of that was it also set me free to PLAY like me!!
I now get a lot of compliments and young guys wanting to sound like me...
Isn't that where we all want to be?

I agree. I left the "sound like" world long ago and have gotten more compliments on my tone sense then then I ever did while trying to sound like my "tone gods". Searching other peoples sound can help you discover ELEMENTS of your own though.

For many people who play in churches (which in most cases makes you a "cover band" of other churches who write/produce CDs) they want to really nail the tone and feel of the original recording. There's really nothing wrong with this considering every cover band out there is trying to get the same thing. I personally try to capture the "essence" of the parts/sounds played and then add my own interpretation of it.

[mindtwist07]

Originally Posted by revelator

I agree. I left the "sound like" world long ago and have gotten more compliments on my tone sense then then I ever did while trying to sound like my "tone gods". Searching other peoples sound can help you discover ELEMENTS of your own though.

For many people who play in churches (which in most cases makes you a "cover band" of other churches who write/produce CDs) they want to really nail the tone and feel of the original recording. There's really nothing wrong with this considering every cover band out there is trying to get the same thing. I personally try to capture the "essence" of the parts/sounds played and then add my own interpretation of it.

I totally agree with this one. That's why its a cover, i have to nail the closest sound i can get with my setup up with the original without having the same setup they have. When you play a church music you cant just play a heavy sounding distortion because that's your sound, that's your tone. I think that's a big mistake. Dont get me wrong i have another band that plays heavy stuff, that's why i have a different setup for that one and i can have the tone i wanted that defines me without copying any other artists tone. For a church cover that's another story. BTW I change the lead part of some church songs we play because that's where i can tell my own interpretation for that song and not copy the original ones. Its the only part i can express my freedom from a cover :)

Thanks for the updated pics of droffs setup revelator. I think he's finally going for the duesenbergs this time.

For years and years from his mesa nomads and ac30s and ac15/matchless setup. He's now going for a smaller jackson amp. But its a 50 watter! he's getting more practical these days dont you think?

[revelator]

To the best of my knowledge he's running the Britain in class A mode so its "only" an 18watt run like that but 18 class A watts TIMES TWO is a lot!!! heck one is going to be loud! He has said he feels its the best tone he's had. I know that Robbie Macintosh (sp?) is using one w/ John Mayer.

As far as his pedals I think his board is pretty amazing. Great choices & I love Timon Klein looper.