Help on using distortion pedals

[seanbenkoh]

Hey softies, I been considering to get a distortion pedal soon. But been playing for 2 years without pedals on my kustom kga65, so i have a couple of doubts.

When i put the pedal in, do i run it on the clean channel or the overdrive channel? And if i attach other pedals like distortion and flange can i still use the build in effects like chorus and stuff?

Thanks for any help given

 

[carboxymoron]

There's no problem with mixing and matching effects from pedals and your onboard effects. For a distortion pedal, you'll most likely want to run it before the amp (not in the effects loop), and in my limited experience I usually prefer running on clean channel, or overdrive channel with gain set pretty low. But I haven't used the KGA65. It also depends on the particular pedal, of course. Some are designed to add to dirty amps, while others work better as the only source of distortion. The best judge is your own ears.

 

[Brenkoh]

It is better to run the distortion pedal on the clean channel. This ensures you are getting the pristine tone of the distortion pedal. Most people use a boost/od pedal to thicken the sound (like a support cast in a show) of the distortion pedal or mainly as light gain on its own. I doubt you'll want to use your build-in effects after you step into pedal world. Once you're in, there's no turning back. However, you can still use your build-in effects together with the distortion pedal.

All the best in your pedal expedite !

 

[Vax]

What kind of distortion do you have in mind? Any particular band/guitarist's sound you're after?

Your choice of a distortion pedal will be affected by the way your amp currently sounds. Marrying a pedal to an amp is an art itself, and with distortion pedals, the task is a little more complicated. The distortion effect tends to sound big and can be muddy. You'll have to compensate by cranking the upper-mid and/or treble to regain definition and clarity, but you'll sacrifice your clean tone.

Is your amp footswitcheable? You could possibly try having the distortion pedal in one channel, and setting up a clean tone with the other (some overdrive channels sound good when clean).

If you are insistent on using the clean channel, I had a workaround when I owned a couple of distortion pedals. I'd have a bypass looper (2 channels are sufficient), and in that loop I'll put the distortion pedals with an EQ to "doctor" the tone as above. That way, I can bypass the distortion when I want a clean tone with a single button.

 

[xnanas]

It's better to run on clean. I have this experience too, when i first got my peavey Amp.

it's easy, just think.. if u run on overdrive.. the sound that comes out will be an addition from pedal + ampfx.

can u imagine? it will be like 1 distorted sound + 1 overdrive sound = 1 more rough distorted sound. i hope this help on imagining.