Pedal or amp distortion?

[ashmorefan]

Hey guys, I just wanna know what most of this board thinks/uses.

Do you like using ur pedals for distortion, or your amp for distortion? And which one do you think sounds better.

Personally, I've never played through a real kick-ass amp (like a JCM800 or Dual Rect, etc...), so I've been counting more on my distortion pedals. But I hear that amp distortion is just superb (generally if you have a good tube amp).

 

[Stillborn]

Personally, I've never played through a real kick-ass amp (like a JCM800 or Dual Rect, etc...), so I've been counting more on my distortion pedals. But I hear that amp distortion is just superb (generally if you have a good tube amp).

yes...

but i think most ppl dun need that kinda power @ home...

i use the sansamp GT-2, cuz i've a small amp...n its great...

 

[pooo]

I like amp distortions, especially the tube ones, but using a pedal as a booster. Partly because i have low output pickups equipped on my guitar.

 

[marshall_law]

I prefer tube amp overdrive. Sounds really warm and good for blues. I not into pedal overdrive, colour my tone too much.

 

[veez]

Ultimate rule, the more powerful tube amps you've got, the less distortion pedals you need.

Try listening to the MESA BOOGIE triple RECT head + cabinet sound alone and be blown away.

 

[brundisium]

pedal or amp for drive/distortion, imo, depend on budget, the variation that you want in the tone and also what short of music that one is playing.

There are some pedals which are design to give a amp like response for drive/distortion or even clean tone. Used in the right combination, it provide the player with a additional tone that will add on as a alternative to the original tone from the amp. Colouring of tone is reduce to a minimum. Too bad that such pedals are not cheap and not available locally.

Sometime it interesting to know that some player still use a drive/distortion pedal even though they have those high gain amp. They just set the amp at the verge or slight breaking in tone and with the drive pedal on, it drive the tone into distortion.

End of the day, i guess its just a matter of preference

 

[repulse87]

I doubt thats the ULTIMATE RULE in terms of distortion. A Triple Rectifier would sound impressive, but a tube amp with lesser power will also sound as impressive, IMO even better. The more powerful a tube amp is... the louder you need to increase your volume to get tube saturation and real TUBE overdrive.. (that is.. if you're not using an attuenator), and within most of our context, who can turn a triple rectifier past 9 O'clock? I've tried the Triple Rectifier personally and even at 8'Oclock.. it was OVERKILL for bedroom playing... 150 Tube Watts!! Using a smaller wattage tube amp (though not as powerful) maybe better in a sense.

Some people use pedals even though they have powerful tube amps to back them up. Some people get tube amps for their clean sound, like the bell-like chime of the Vox AC-30, or Fenders for the squeeky cleans? Thus they need pedals to supplement their distortion.

 

[JMguitars]

I like high wattage tube amps for their clean tones ..... the high wattage ensures big sounding clean tones where the bass is full and strong ... other than that, I'd stay below 50 watt amps when considering distorted amps.

In terms of distortion, I always felt more comfortable with the FEEL of amp-generated distortion versus pedal-generated distortion.

But, I would use an OD/Distortion pedal to further shape/boost/eq an already overdriven sound.

 

[mrmisse]

yeh.. it really depends on what you are looking for..

for me.. i would like my amp to be sweet sweet clean, at most, just alittle drive.. n let my pedals do everything else.. true, OD from good tube amps can really give you that grit but then again u can have so many analog pedals with different character.. imho.. don go for digital sounding ones.. there r many distortion pedals out there that can excel when you work with the right combo..

 

[LimpPisskit]

Marshall Guvnor yeah!

 

[brundisium]

the original black colour marshall guvnor, same series with the shredmaster/drivemasterr?? or the reissue gv-2. Those old series marshall pedals are gem.

 

[pooo]

The old series are priceless. Pretty hard to find, they cost a bomb.. literally.

 

[marshall_law]

Then the new series are???

I'm wondering nowadays why does old things sound better than newer stuffs. Look at amp, a jcm 800 beats a jcm 2000. A 1959 gibson LP beats a 04 gibson LP. And now almost every company is trying to recreate the old stuff.

 

[ashmorefan]

http://www.marshallamps.com/images/products/pedals/gv-2unit.html

that's a pic of the new guvnor. I think the old ones were kinda square-ish and black... well at least the shredmaster is.

 

[brundisium]

http://www.oaktreeent.com/web_photos/effects/Marshall_Guvnor_Guvnor_Guitar_Effects_Pedal_web.jpg

the old guvnor picture