Best overdrive pedal for 57’ custom deluxe?

[Heymikki]

Hi all,

I just acquired a 57’ custom deluxe and I’m looking for a new overdrive pedal to pair with it. Previously I was using a mad professor sweet honey OD but I don’t like the tone of it with this new amp. I play classic country, blues and classic rock. Thank you!

 

[Urshurak776]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the OD of the 57. You can't dial in the sound you want with it stock?

That being said, the KOT with a 57 is super versatile and can sound great.

 

[gridlock]

A J-Rockett Dude.

 

[DaphneBlue]

I have good results with a trex moller (first version, not the second one). My ehx hot tubes wasn't great with it.

 

[charlie chitlin]

I find a lot of od pedals to have a lot of mids...which your Deluxe already has.
I find that that circuit basically doesn't like od pedals...to my ears, anyway.
Although...I find that an od followed by a boost that accentuates highs is a glorious sound for a 5E3.
I use a TS9 (but never alone, I think it sounds terrible with a deluxe) followed by an E-H LPB-1.
Neither pedal is fancy or expensive, but find they make a heavenly tone.
Also, if things get loud and your Deluxe starts to fall apart and can't be heard in the mix, stepping on the boost will give it some slice and dice to cut through the mix.
I have a Beano Boost that is amazing for this, but so noisy.
Someone recently sent me another Rangermaster style pedal to demo, but I haven't gotten to it yet.

 

[King Fan]

Timmy and similar ‘transparent OD' pedals are nice with tweed, and especially the 5E3, where dirt can sometimes get too dirty. And you gotta explore the bass and treble cuts, and the lower half of the drive and level knobs…

 

[E5RSY]

 

[John E]

With the 5e3 I gigged a few years ago, I always really liked it with my modded Boss BD-2. Really transparent (especially in the mids) and focused the hi/low a bit. Could also go from just slight boost to fairly high gain depending on the need of the room/volume.

 

[hotcoffeenochill]

A boost that'll tighten it up a bit if you can play loud. A "transparent" OD if you can't push it volume-wise but still want breakup sounds out of it.

 

[Mark the Moose]

The issue is getting the mids right. I like the Timmy because as you cut the treble/bass and bump the gain you get more mids, and visa versa. The JHS Angry Charlie has a 3-band, which gives you tons of flexibility, the Barber Gain Changer also has some different mid settings.

 

[Killing Floor]

You’re welcome. Thank me by sounding better than your friends.
Best blues breaker on the left. Best Nobels on the right. And you can stack them. Sells out for a reason. The reviews are true.

 

[Chicago Matt]

As already pointed out, the 5e3 circuit already has plenty of mids and lovely tube distortion when cranked. I play my 5e3 cranked to around 9 on the Bright channel with the unused channel on 6. That way I can get edgy clean with the guitar volume on 6 or 7 and full crunch on 8 to 10.

If I need more, I find my Boss G-7 with around 15 db of boost into the 5e3's front end really makes it sing, and I get the advantage of being able to shape sound with the EQ sliders. It provides more than enough OD for my needs.

 

[CapnCrunch]

I didn't see any mention of what type of guitar or pickups OP will mainly use. Impossible to pick an OD without knowing that. That said, the Deluxe doesn't take OD's well or any pedals very that well for that matter. That is true in my opinion if you intend to turn it up much past whisper level. The most important consideration for OD is the ability to turn low frequencies way down. I'd probably use a Timmy to start.

 

[Heymikki]

I didn't see any mention of what type of guitar or pickups OP will mainly use. Impossible to pick an OD without knowing that. That said, the Deluxe doesn't take OD's well or any pedals very that well for that matter. That is true in my opinion if you intend to turn it up much past whisper level. The most important consideration for OD is the ability to turn low frequencies way down. I'd probably use a Timmy to start.

I only play teles. I’ve got one with a twisted tele in the neck, and a nocaster in the bridge, one with Tex mex pickups and a lucky dog tele with their hogleg pickups.

 

[CapnCrunch]

I only play teles. I’ve got one with a twisted tele in the neck, and a nocaster in the bridge, one with Tex mex pickups and a lucky dog tele with their hogleg pickups.

Is the amp too loud when you push it into its natural overdrive? I think your best OD sound is going to be the amp by itself, at least that is true for me. If it is too loud, then you could explore attenuators as an option. I never had any luck with an attenuator with my Deluxe though. It just didn't sound right, unlike my AC15 which sounds great with an attenuator.

I would try an OD with a good EQ (mostly to reduce and tame the lows) and without a noticeable mid hump. Timmy is a good one. Another that I think would be good would be Crowther Hot Cake. I never had a good boost when I still had my Deluxe, but if I still had the Deluxe I'd try an xotic BB boost or even one of the EP pre's.

 

[Chipss36]

Gee I don’t know..I just use this old thing. Seems to work ok?

 

[Heymikki]

Is the amp too loud when you push it into its natural overdrive? I think your best OD sound is going to be the amp by itself, at least that is true for me. If it is too loud, then you could explore attenuators as an option. I never had any luck with an attenuator with my Deluxe though. It just didn't sound right, unlike my AC15 which sounds great with an attenuator.

I would try an OD with a good EQ (mostly to reduce and tame the lows) and without a noticeable mid hump. Timmy is a good one. Another that I think would be good would be Crowther Hot Cake. I never had a good boost when I still had my Deluxe, but if I still had the Deluxe I'd try an xotic BB boost or even one of the EP pre's.

I love the natural overdrive of this amp. At blues jams and when I play with a full band I can achieve volumes where I don’t need a pedal. For home use or when I’m just jamming with another guitar player and no drummer I find that I can’t get the volume loud enough where the amp overdrives on its own.

 

[CapnCrunch]

I love the natural overdrive of this amp. At blues jams and when I play with a full band I can achieve volumes where I don’t need a pedal. For home use or when I’m just jamming with another guitar player and no drummer I find that I can’t get the volume loud enough where the amp overdrives on its own.

It may be worth trying an attenuator for real. This is the one (older version of this) that I have MiniMASS 50w Attenuator – Weber Speakers (tedweber.com). Like I said above, it did not work as well to my ears with the Deluxe as it did with my AC15, and Marshall 18 watt also, but that may have just been my personal thing. You could easily get the overall volume down to a good home level with the amp volume set at the level you normally use for playing with a band. Food for thought .

 

[Dukex]

I wouldn't put anything in front of it. I bought my 5e3 for it's specific tone(s), particularly the overdrive.

 

[plagnerm]

It’s a fender twin, but I think this’d be a good one: