Using distortion pedals........

[Maximusgordon 2.0]

Ok, ive had a couple OD pedals before to boost amps but never a straight up distorion pedal. I know you would generally run it into the clean channel right? Well then what about back in the days when people used distortion pedals into cranked up Marshalls? Those were anything but clean! Or did they go into the lower sensitivity inputs? And how much does the amp your playing through effect the sound of the distortion pedal? Do you maintain the overall dynamics of a tube amp if u use a good distortion pedal? You get the picture, im trying to figure out how all that stuff works. So flood me with info if u can!

Thanks,
Max

[bvc310]

I use a distortion pedal, mainly as a solo boost. I use it over the top of my overdrive, to thicken the sound as well as raise the level.

[drew_half_empty]

it depends on the pedal, some color the sound more than others. In-amp distortion CAN be combined with pedal distortion, like if you have a really crunchy OD channel and you want something a little fatter with more sustain, but still maintain crunch, you can get a fat sounding pedal & combine with in-amp distortion to get that. Gotta be careful tho cuz sometimes you get crazy feedback or a horrible horrible tone. A lot of people usually get EQ pedals if they find their sound is colored too much, its a good counter, and maybe a little compression, it all really depends on the situation

[some_dude]

I do both. My Big Muff sounds great on the clean channel of my Rectifier, but I can't get a good sound with it through the distortion channel. I also have a DOD Grunge that sounds good (well, it sounds good if you like the Grunge sound) through both the clean channel (as a wall of gain sound), or the distortion channel (as a treble boost/gain boost/sustain boost pedal).

[Guitarist]

Typically if you put a distortion pedal over the overdriven channel with sufficient amounts of distortion on the pedal, it will end up plain sterile mud. Use an overdrive if you want to put some icing on the OD channel. Distortion pedals belong on the clean channel of a SS amp when playing at low volumes. My opinion...and believe me, I've been there.

[y2stevo]

Yeh i decided to try that too, i put a DOD distortion over the overdrive on the DSL50 and as guitarist said, It was serile mud, It was if it was getting phase cancellation too, i doubt it was tho as it sounded more like it was severly clipping...Very horrible

[some_dude]

When using a distortion on a gain channel you need to turn the pedals output volume down or else it clips like a mofo (one of the reasons I can't stand using the Big Muff on my dirt channel).

[Pandemonium]

I prefer to get my distortion from my amp and boost it over the top with OD for solos. I set my OD clean so it's more like a boost.

[casblah]

I've got an MT-2 running thru a JCM for boosts, and as mentioned, it can get kinda sterile-sounding. So what's a viable alternative? A sonic maximizer, a compressor, a graphic EQ? Any insights?

[Jeff_H]

I've got an MT-2 running thru a JCM for boosts, and as mentioned, it can get kinda sterile-sounding. So what's a viable alternative? A sonic maximizer, a compressor, a graphic EQ? Any insights?

A graphic eq is a popular choice, I find it to be a tad noisey. Something like the SD pickup booster adds a nice clean boost to an amp, or something like a Fulltone Fat Boost is really sweet. My favorite is still the Fulltone Fulldrive II overdrive pedal. Great, great overdrive pedal and it has a built in lead boost that is footswitchable.

[Jeff_H]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...739531652&rd=1

This is the real deal....and at a really decent price.

[MrHeavyMetal]

I use a ProCo Rat and a MXR Micro amp pedal. killer into my 59 Plexi.

http://www.robertkeeley.com/product.php?id=7

http://www.zzounds.com/cat--MXR--3244

MrHM