If You Have An "Always On" Pedal You Need A New Amplifier

[tlsmack]

I use my Joyo American Sound to prevent me from needing a $1500-$2000 amp. I need a $35 pedal into a $150 amp a lot more than I need a Tweed Deluxe.

 

[Brent Hutto]

Three little words...

Clean
Pedal
Platform

For me a simple, three-knob $90 Boss OD-3 into a clean Katana amp sounds so good I can't imagine going and spending hundreds of dollars trying to find an amp that sounds the same without the OD-3. Not to mention the knobs on the OD-3 are right there by me, when the amp is clear across the room.

Couple hundred bucks for a solid state/digital amp and less than a hunnert for my always-on pedal. Pleasing tone doesn't have to be expensive.

 

[Brent Hutto]

I

I use my Joyo American Sound to prevent me from needing a $1500-$2000 amp. I need a $35 pedal into a $150 amp a lot more than I need a Tweed Deluxe.

I have played (in a store) through a nearly $1,000 Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb and an over $1,000 tube Deluxe Reverb. The sound I'm looking for from my guitar does not exist in either of those amps.

I've also plugged into a Marshall style "EVH" amp and a huge 2x12 cabinet one time. There's a lot of sounds I could like in there but the cost was even more than a tube Deluxe and, more importantly, at the volumes I turn down to in my living room it didn't like much of anything.

 

[Wooly Fox]

Not my thing, I like my amp and guitar to be inconsistent

 

[Linderflomann]

If you get the sound you want, who cares how you get it. Who cares if it does or does not require a pedal?

 

[pippoman]

Even with a different amp, my ‘always on’ pedal would still be on. That’s just the kinda jerk I am, so I didn’t check any of your silly boxes. There!

 

[Highway 49]

I’ve ticked all four. Sometimes I love the idea of the pedal (not necessary a drive pedal) that somehow brings the guitar and amp together, and sometimes I love the idea of just plugging in…

 

[Billy3]

To the Op. Out of curiosity, what amps do you own?

 

[Jimclarke100]

When playing into an amp, it’s into a 5e3 champ clone and then I nearly always have a reverb pedal on. It really only comes off if I’m playing at full whack where the distortion trumps the reverb.
No I don‘t need a new amp - the champ sounds wonderful.

 

[1293]

Pedals are cheaper than amps. If it gets the job done...

 

[ChicknPickn]

My Quilter 101 Mini Reverb is made for pedals. I think a lot of SS heads are.

 

[Mindthebull]

Survey makes no sense. The correct answer is missing: “No and I completely disagree with you. There is no perfect amp and no perfect pedal for everyone, but sometimes there is a perfect combination of the 2 for me.”

This is why no one likes pollsters lol.

 

[1293]

When playing into an amp, it’s into a 5e3 champ clone and then I nearly always have a reverb pedal on. It really only comes off if I’m playing at full whack where the distortion trumps the reverb.
No I don‘t need a new amp - the champ sounds wonderful.

What is a 5e3 champ? I have a 5e3 Deluxe.

 

[bottlenecker]

I mean whatever works. I'm not going to tell anyone else how to cook their own recipe, but if I found myself needing a shabby little 9v transistor circuit to do something other than a special effect, I'd probably consider it a bandaid on a problem with my guitar or amp.

Then again I like some pretty trashy lo fi old stuff.

 

[loudboy]

I have an always on Xotic SP compressor, other than the old Lab Series, I've never seen an amp with that.

 

[cometazzi]

My always on pedal is the Joyo American Sound. it's always on because I can get the same (approximate) sound on all my different amps.
an equaliser between the amps so to say.

So basically you need less amps. That's not a poll option!

 

[mexicanyella]

I’m generally happier playing through a compressor than not, so if I am playing through an uncompressed-sounding amp, like my Peavey Special 150’s clean channel, I like to have an always-on compressor in the signal path.

More recently I have been playing through modelers into a power amp and cab, and I always have some amount of compression in the virtual signal path.

I don’t see it as a crutch; if I had an amp with onboard compression that I liked I’d be happy just using that, but I don’t, and I do have a compressor pedal I like the sound of, so...

 

[schmee]

You've seen the subject header, what do you think?

BS.
If it was installed inside the amp chassis as part of the pre amp section would it be OK then?
Because different guitar amps may have anywhere from 1-4 tubes and related electronic things in the preamp. So which amp is "pure" the 50's tweed with one pre tube or the Super Reverb??

 

[Pine Pitch]

Yes it’s a crutch. But I need to have some crunch on tap. If I turn my Princeton up to the point where I’m getting some crunch, the people around here are whinging.

 

[DeeBobGuitar]

I don't know about you guys, but I couldn't possibly play guitar without my always on pedals- a dimed Boss HM-2, two hall reverbs, and a ring mod with no dry signal in the mix, in that order.