OD/Distortion Pedal for Paul Gilbert

[ChrisMichael]

Looking for a higher gain OD/distortion pedal to round out my pedal board. Right now I have:

Sparkle Drive: Clean w/ a bit of an edge
Paisley Drive: mild overdrive for country
TS9: rock, leads

I need something with more gain, but I don't want it to sound "metal-ish". I was watching some Paul Gilbert vids this weekend and he seems to have that very tight hi-gain sound with clarity for speed-picking. That's what I'm looking for.

I've considered a Wampler Pinnacle - would that get me there? Other than that, I know PG has used an AC Booster and an RC booster.

Thanks!

[Leep Dog]

Paul is listed as a user of the MXR Custom Bad Ass 78 distortion on JimDunlop.com. Maybe give that a go??

[artdecade]

At the very beginning, there was a Marshall. Back in the Racer X and early days of Mr. Big, he was an ADA guy. Then he moved onto Lee Jackson (and Metaltronix) amps. These were basically modded JCM 800 circuits. During the majority of his solo career, he was using the Laney VH series amps. Once again, these were kinda in the same ball park as the 800 series. Today, he is back to using Marshalls. The strange thing is that Paul is using pickups that have more in common with single coils than the old Dimarzio buckers that he was most known for.

Anyhow, Paul has said that he wants his distorted tone to be like Blackout by the Scorpions. Most of the time he will EQ his rig to get him in the ballpark of that tone. I kinda do the same thing when I set up my rig. Ha. Its just one of the many things that I rip off from Paul. Don't forget that Paul also has his own line of ODs today (The Magic Box Paul Gilbert Fuzz Universe). He uses this pedal when he needs a gain boost. I have never seen him use the above listed MXR pedal.

For the perfect PG rig:

Guitar of your choice > 90 MXR Phase > ADA Flanger > Detox EQ> Magic Box > Marshall-type amp

The Detox EQ is a strange one. Basically, he uses it as a cut. So rather than stepping on an OD for gain, he will use this to cut signal and boost the treble to create a cleaner signal. Its an anti-gain pedal! Ha. This doesn't get much use with Mr Big, but it is important to his solo rig. The reason being that he gets his gain from pedals rather than the amp when playing solo. This is because he often has to use a rented backline rather than his own amps when doing clinics.

After all that, what do I recommend besides a Marshall?
PROCO RAT

[Leep Dog]

Yeah I have no idea if or how much Paul uses the MXR Bad Ass, I just remember seeing him listed as a user.

[uriah1]

-Okko Diablo..has good power, but, pricey....I think OD gain is in the ear of the beholder
anyway...some like a fuzz edge, some like a grit edge, some smooth...some piercing

[11 Gauge]

Originally Posted by artdecade

The strange thing is that Paul is using pickups that have more in common with single coils than the old Dimarzio buckers that he was most known for.

Paul has been on a quest to get more and more note definition as the years have gone on, and simply dropping the gain seems to only gotten him so far.

The new Injector pickups seem mostly based off the Area-series "single-ish" coils. IMO, part of the reason that they work for the "buckers with articulation crowd" is that they tend to give them the best of both worlds; a bit of bucker compression and some emphasis on the fundamental as opposed to the harmonics, with the higher resonant dominant frequency and brilliant upper order stuff of a nice and spanky "real" single coil.

Oz Noy uses the Area-series for more trad sounding Strat tones, and IMO his tone is to die for. He also has to rely on a backline for many of his gigs, so pickups -> pedals -> unknown amp is a setup that those DiMarzio pickups seem to excel at, or at least be a "really good current compromise."

I still use the old tech DiMarzio HS-series, and I love them, especially with dirt boxes. They simply go places that buckers will not.

Originally Posted by artdecade

...he gets his gain from pedals rather than the amp...

That just reinforces his odd choice of pickups for a "shredder guy, IMO."

Originally Posted by artdecade

PROCO RAT

+1. And speaking of shredders and the Rat pedal, one of my fave tunes is Buckethead's Brewer in the Air. Why? It's in standard tuning (well, Eb - big whoop compared to all this dropped A-C stuff), and it sounds like "the old Buckethead," when he was primarily using a Rat into something like a Peavey Renown, of all things. It's not overly shreddy-flashy, nice balance back and forth between just an instrumental rock number with some growl and then laid back portions.

...Anyway, I love the tones on Brewer in the Air. It doesn't sound like a wall of stereo panned Rectos with dropped A tuning, with a 27" scale length custom LP. It sounds like a Rat with a bit of self restraint (for a shredder guy) cutting back the distortion on the pedal.

Yeah, a bit thin/buzzy here and there, but it doesn't turn my guts to mush like shredder stuff with nu-metal amps/tunings.

Probably super cheez-o in the context of this forum, but I'm including a video (which is just the studio recording with a still image).



And here's the song live, with the LP'enstein and a pair of those friggin' Rectos. Really grumbly, nasty. Me no like. Funnily enough, he's not in Eb for this one. Could just be the crap live recording, but I like the studio album tones, and to me, they say "RAT."



Apologies for the "shred cheezo factor" in this stuff.

[twangjeff]

See if you can find one of the older 24 volt Option 5 Destination Overdrive pedals. That is a very open natural sounding high gain distortion pedal with a three band EQ that comes in very handy.

[Bhallguitar]

I've seen PG playing a Silvertone guitar through a small combo amp playing with the Electric Fence and it still sounded killer! Sometimes it's the player himself more than his gear.

[telerocker1988]

The latest video I just happened to see the other day (I randomly watch rig videos) had him using a block logo Distortion + MXR. He also uses a Green Rhino at times according to the video.

[artdecade]

Can someone post the video of PG playing an MXR distortion pedal? I can't seem to find it but it has been mentioned twice in the thread.

He has a rotating OD spot on the pedal board. It is basically an extra spot on the Voodoo Lab Power Supply. I have seen him use the Green Rhino there in the past, but its not really a go-to pedal for him.

This is the most recent one (Mr. Big)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFE2YKMjs2U

[telerocker1988]

This is even more recent than the PG vid and where he uses the MXR:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lHFeogmnuQ

[artdecade]

Oh I see. Its the same rig as the earlier US leg of the tour, but he has the MXR in the random spot. He is calling it the "pot luck" spot!

[Leep Dog]

He seems like a pretty down-to-earth, cool guy. He's also an amazing guitar player.

[Verne Bunsen]

Originally Posted by 11 Gauge

one of my fave tunes is Buckethead's Brewer in the Air.

Rumor used to have it that Buckethead IS Paul Gilbert..... Now I'm not saying, I'm just saying......

[artdecade]

That rumour is wrong. Buckethead is Brian Patrick Carroll. He is a former student at GIT and probably studied under Paul (and numerous other shred legends) when he attended classes back in the 80s.

They are both great players, but you can hear their differences in phrasing regardless of how many thousands of notes that fly by!

[twangjeff]

Originally Posted by Leep Dog

He seems like a pretty down-to-earth, cool guy. He's also an amazing guitar player.

I met him at GIT. He is a very friendly guy and quite funny as well.

[11 Gauge]

Originally Posted by twangjeff

I met him at GIT. He is a very friendly guy and quite funny as well.

I'd have to say that he is one of the best with these interviews. Very relaxed, easily understood, good sense of humor, no ego, and he has an accurate grip on what his gear does. That is really rare.

Steve Morse is another guy like that, and I'm sure there are others, but they are few and far between.

[11 Gauge]

Originally Posted by artdecade

That rumour is wrong. Buckethead is Brian Patrick Carroll. He is a former student at GIT and probably studied under Paul (and numerous other shred legends) when he attended classes back in the 80s.

Brian's biggest influence was probably Shawn Lane. If you go to around 4:50 in this video, you can hear where Brian got some of his licks from:



But when you said "Rat" in a PG thread, I had to put Buckethead in here, knowing that Brian got training from Paul, and used a Rat for the bulk of his dirt tones in "the early days," before he did the GnR tours, before he got the funds to get the Mesa amps and other stuff. There's no Rectos on Bucketheadland (I), Monsters & Robots, etc. Around Kaleiodscalp, the super de-tuning and Slipknot-esque amp sounds appeared. Along with all these weird electronic fart noises and stuff. I'm glad he's eased up on some of that stuff.

...But I would LOVE if BH would just go back to playing his cleaner amps, and using the Rat instead. He used a 2204 on the earlier stuff, too.

Guys like Paul and Brian represent the "fun side" of shredmania IMO. Some of those guys are so into themselves, whether they are aware of it or not. But not those two. And shred need not be just lots of distortion or metal-esque, either. The Shawn Lane video above represents that, to some extent.

[artdecade]

Originally Posted by 11 Gauge

Some of those guys are so into themselves, whether they are aware of it or not.

Everything I learned about how to treat vocalists, keyboardists, bass players and drummers, I learned from Yngwie.

UNLEASH THE FURY!

PS - I actually love the Malm to death, but he must have been who you were thinking of in regards to the above quote.

[Verne Bunsen]

Originally Posted by telerocker1988

This is even more recent than the PG vid and where he uses the MXR:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lHFeogmnuQ

Wicked interview, thanks for the link!