Want to dirty up my clean..a bit

[WilliamTele]

I'm playing my Classic Player 'Baja' Tele through an ultra clean tube preamp running a TC Furlong 'Split' powered cab. Actually this is my setup for pedal steel guitar since that's what I play most of the time. The clean sounds with the Tele are out of this world but at times I want a little hair and I don't care for the sound I'm getting with my Boss DD-3. What would be a good pedal to give a nice smooth overdrive sound? I don't want anything too harsh sounding...more like the natural sound of overdriven tubes.

[revelator]

I love my Fulltone Fulldrive 2 pre-MOSfet threw my bassman for smooth OD. I set the drive REALLY low & love what it adds to my clean tone.

[isaacvining]

i'll give a +1 to the fuldldrive 2. It's one of my favorite low-gain ODs.

[Nub]

A Timmy would get you there nicely.

[Coop47]

For just a touch of hair, I'd suggest at least trying a pedal with a clean blend option, like a Sparkle Drive or a Pork Loin.

[Chiogtr4x]

Originally Posted by WilliamTele

I'm playing my Classic Player 'Baja' Tele through an ultra clean tube preamp running a TC Furlong 'Split' powered cab. Actually this is my setup for pedal steel guitar since that's what I play most of the time. The clean sounds with the Tele are out of this world but at times I want a little hair and I don't care for the sound I'm getting with my Boss DD-3. What would be a good pedal to give a nice smooth overdrive sound? I don't want anything too harsh sounding...more like the natural sound of overdriven tubes.

The Boss DD-3 is a delay- Did you mean OD-3?

To answer your question there are lots of options: The Barber LTD (or LTD SR for even flatter EQ- both are great!) , a Timmy, The Visual Sound Open Road to name a few. Can understand how you might want to get away from Boss stuff, but I still love my Blues Driver (at low Gain/High level) for providing a clean (and touch sensitive) boost to my amps with just a little breakup...

[Agitator]

See the concurrent "Low Gain OD" thread for some suggestions. The Timmy may not sound good through your ultra-clean amp. I recommend the Barber LTD or the Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret with the gain turned way down.

[WilliamTele]

Thanks for the replies, I'm looking into some of these options. I see that the Fulldrive is very highly rated but listening to it on the Youtube demos it seems like more distortion than I want, even at modest settings. It seems to me I have heard of quite a few country guys using a Sparkle Drive. I've never tried one of those.

The Boss DD-3 is a delay- Did you mean OD-3?

What I meant was the Boss DS-1, that's what I have. ...have a DD-3 as well, thus the confusion.

[Coach305]

Originally Posted by Coop47

For just a touch of hair, I'd suggest at least trying a pedal with a clean blend option, like a Sparkle Drive or a Pork Loin.

I find I use my Sparkle Drive far more often as just a clean boost to push my tubes a bit harder than I do as a dirt pedal. It does that job very, very well. I would also suggest you consider an inexpensive pedal that is only a boost pedal, like the Visual Sound Truetone...

[Agitator]

Originally Posted by Coach305

I find I use my Sparkle Drive far more often as just a clean boost to push my tubes a bit harder than I do as a dirt pedal. It does that job very, very well. I would also suggest you consider an inexpensive pedal that is only a boost pedal, like the Visual Sound Truetone...

He has a very clean amp already. A boost pedal will just make his guitar louder.

[ASC67]

Danelectro transparent overdrive would work nicely.

[Axis29]

Originally Posted by Nub

A Timmy would get you there nicely.

Originally Posted by ASC67

Danelectro transparent overdrive would work nicely.

Same same... I think this is a great suggestion(s)

I own a Transparent Overdrive and find it's awesome for that just edge of hair on a clean signal.

I imagine a Tim or Timmy could only be better.

[ddhr]

I use a Fat Boost for a touch of dirt. It has a gain and seperate bass and treble controls. I found that a tubescreamer had too much distortion for what I was looking for.

[WilliamTele]

He has a very clean amp already. A boost pedal will just make his guitar louder.

Yes, that would be a concern. My preamp is a Sarno Musical Solutions Revelation Tube preamp which was designed primarily for pedal steel players, or anyone looking for a tube sound with a lot of clean headroom. So basically even when pushed hard it doesn't break up. It's an amazing preamp but I'm asking it to do double duty when I switch over to six string. I don't want to change any settings on the preamp and by design I wouldn't get a good overdrive sound even I did. I'm checking out some of these suggestions on Youtube and so far the Sparkle drive looks like a good candidate.

[Agitator]

Originally Posted by WilliamTele

Yes, that would be a concern. My preamp is a Sarno Musical Solutions Revelation Tube preamp which was designed primarily for pedal steel players, or anyone looking for a tube sound with a lot of clean headroom. So basically even when pushed hard it doesn't break up. It's an amazing preamp but I'm asking it to do double duty when I switch over to six string. I don't want to change any settings on the preamp and by design I wouldn't get a good overdrive sound even I did. I'm checking out some of these suggestions on Youtube and so far the Sparkle drive looks like a good candidate.

You need to ignore any advice that involves a Tim/Timmy or using a clean (or low-gain) boost to generate overdrive in your amp. As I said (in that other thread), I have a MusicMan and I'm in the same boat. I think the Barber LTD will do what you're looking for.

[Coach305]

Originally Posted by WilliamTele

So basically even when pushed hard it doesn't break up.

Interesting. Sounds like the Sparkle Drive is worth a look for you; you can add in "hair" a follicle at a time with it...

[nosuch]

Consider a mad professor sweet honey overdrive also - very dynamic.

[frankie5fingers]

I use a few amps; use and have tried, several ODs and boosts. Using a DR modded to use 6L6s - very clean. I recently found something from a little different direction; a JHS Morning Glory. It's based on the old Bluesbreaker pedal/JTM 45 circuit. Not a rave but it might be what you're looking for. Completely different from the dozens I've owned or have tried, including the others mentioned. Worth a look/hear. Not to contradict the poster who un-recommended the Fat Boost, but that too might be a decent choice. Although it is a boost, it has a volume knob so the fattened and slightly hairier tone can be dialed back to unity. It may actually be too clean for what you want though, I only use it as a fattener for Tele/country solo work. The LTD (SR version) is also very nice for some grit.

[ChipOnly]

These guys have it spot on. Timmy or Dano TOD v1, but you probably can't just walk into a store and buy either of those.

The two ODs with clean blends are great suggestions too. I had both a sparkle drive and a pork loin and ended up keeping the pork loin for a few reasons, one of which was versatility - I could dial in a few different low-gain sounds with it. I think it is a bit of a sleeper pedal.

[11 Gauge]

A super clean rig will expose any "weakness" with a standard overdrive design.

Unless you want some teeth to it, it would probably be best to stick with something that mainly adds harmonics to a modestly clipped signal. IOW, something as close to tubes just barely starting to let go as possible, and no more.

I use a pedal called the Peppermill for this very purpose, since my main amp is a Super Reverb with a pair of very efficient ceramic 10's in it for max clean punch. The only issue with the Peppermill is that it's a scratchbuild thing by a DIY group called runoffgroove.com.

Here's a sound clip of the Peppermill into a soundcard, so you aren't hearing tubes doing anything:

Peppermill clip one

Peppermill clip two

I don't consider them the best representation, but they at least give an idea.

So along those lines are pedals like the Subdecay Liquid Sunshine:

http://www.subdecay.com/product.php?id=6

and for more subtle but perhaps even smoother:

http://www.clinchfx.com/ep-pre

EP Pre Dirty Clip

Note - the EP Pre is NOT a booster - it is a legitimate preamp in pedal form. The primary function is to enhance your signal (in all the right ways).

Pedals in this category are typically a bit pricey, but they cut to the chase IMO for when you have a super clean rig and just want a little bit of the sweet stuff. A traditional OD or boost can be a real crapshoot IMO.