Distortion pedals and amp balance?

[Benjamin Hwang]

Hello everyone,

I want to ask if you must pair up a distortion pedal with a clean tone of the amp. Im currently have a wampler plextortion and going to get the vox lil night train very soon. Problem is ive heard that its almost impossible to get a fully clean tone from this particular amp.

Im wondering if the tone will still be alright if there is a little bit of dirtiness to the clean tone when paired up with a distortion pedal? Thanks.

 

[CyanideJunkie]

It all depends on the settings on your amp and pedal. Personally, I wouldn't employ the Plextortion in this case as the Lil' Night Train already has a Vox-meets-Marshall kinda vibe. But if you prefer getting your dirt tones from your pedal, I would suggest you dime your amp's volume and slowly increase its gain level to taste. That's pretty much the best way to get the cleanest signal from MV amps. What you'd want to avoid is crossover distortion when your amp's signal is too distorted and is further amplified by your dirt pedal, creating what most people find a very unpleasant buzzy distortion.

 

[Benjamin Hwang]

I see. Im specifically trying to get the jcm800 ish kind of tone which the plextortion claims to provide. And when i tested the lil night train out in citymusic, it has a slightly veiled, muddy and vintagey tone than what i really want. Havent been able to play around with the controls a lot though.

Hopefully the plexi works decently with the lil night train. Im also getting an ibanez tubescreamer ts9

Thanks!

 

[CaboWabo]

As long as you can get a decent clean tone it should all work out if you're relying on pedal distortion
it always has been this way for me

 

[zesn]

^
what Cabo said.

Maybe you would like to try another amp before you get this lil night train.

 

[CyanideJunkie]

Using a TS-type pedal to goose the Lil NT's might get you closer to the type of sound you want but if you really need that Marshall chug, have a look at the new DSL15.

 

[Benjamin Hwang]

Thanks for the suggestions! By TS u mean tube screamer? And i dont really have another amp choices left as im tight on budget and looking for second hand ones only. Vox lil night train is quite close to what i want already

 

[CyanideJunkie]

Yup, TS = Tube Screamer

 

[subversion]

he he, a little ironic that i'm trying offset my JCM800 tone a little bit by employing an under-drive pedal