Randolf Arriola (embryo) Guitar Gear 101
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neverconscious
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Overdrive stacking question: Let's say I run my Direct Drive - which gives me TS-style symmetrical clipping - into my OS-2 in full OD mode (which as Randolf said is essentially an SD-1 circuit) - which is Boss-style asymmetrical clipping - with both pedals set for low gain. I get a really gritty aggressive sound. What's going on? Is the end result asymmetrical clipping, and does this change if I change the order of the pedals?
Hi randolf.
i was wondering how i could lower the noise level of my setup. It seems to hum a bit, and i think it might be due to my 1 spot adaptor, or the fact that i'm using one power socket to power my amplifier and my effects at the same time. I noticed when i went to your house the other time, your effects hummed quite a bit. Will it affect the sound quality when recording?
My signal chain is as such:
Budwah>DirectDrive>Blackstar>SmallClone>dd-20(coming in soon) all to fender deville 212
Was thinking of adding a subtle overdrive and use my dd as the lead pedal. would the bd-2 or sd-1 work better? was thinking of crowther hotcake as an option too.
thanks!
i was wondering how i could lower the noise level of my setup. It seems to hum a bit, and i think it might be due to my 1 spot adaptor, or the fact that i'm using one power socket to power my amplifier and my effects at the same time. I noticed when i went to your house the other time, your effects hummed quite a bit. Will it affect the sound quality when recording?
My signal chain is as such:
Budwah>DirectDrive>Blackstar>SmallClone>dd-20(coming in soon) all to fender deville 212
Was thinking of adding a subtle overdrive and use my dd as the lead pedal. would the bd-2 or sd-1 work better? was thinking of crowther hotcake as an option too.
thanks!
My experience with overdrive pedals has been quite different actually.
Early on my pedal-career, I grew fed up with stock Boss/Ibanez pedals. I mean, I can play them, heck, any one can. Its jsut that, I disliked the way they were voiced. Later on, I realised that I disliked they way they reacted to my playing.
It was either modded or forgotten.
And I thank you for opening the doors to modded pedals for me. I recall many a moment where you would a/b a stock pedal against a modded one... and I would be thinking, "what the hell have i been missing out?!". Especially for the Boss CS-3 pedal. :lol:
Lemme share what my ideal dirt tones are...
Its gotta sound huge. I love the way harmonics sizzle but no fizz(le) please. I don't need it to swell notes, add too much compression. I like my low end preserved. I don't want mid humps.
To that, I found, for stock tones, the Boss BD-2 fulfilled the criterias... except the stock was fizz heaven when you had too much gain on. Modded, it was wow. One of those, "duh, mod it" pedals. :lol:
Basically, I'm thinking fuzz type of dirt. A mix of Germaniums and Silicon transistors...
So I came upon the Screwdriver and Blackstone... boutique, overpriced, cork sniffer, yadda yadda... but they worked and solved all my tonal needs. Those 2 are still my favourite pedals and favourite pedal combination.
Now, I'm just bought an IC Chipped distortion box... my 1st one in like a year or more... because, IC Chips always sounded boxier, had this irritating impact on tone - single notes thinned out always - and the low end sounded artificial to me. So my faith is sort of restored in modern technology. Hehe.
I'm not building my dirt pedals to play with a tube amp. Or a solid amp. I didn't specifically go for either. Neither would I need my amp to be overdriven.
The aim of any dirt pedal I get would be that the pedals would generate all the dirt, no need to push the amp... and the bulk of pick sensitivity and dynamics should come from the pedals, not the amp. I mean, I can't lug my tube amp around everywhere (i can lah but with a broken back, how!?) lah... this is Singapore! Pedalboard Nation!
Given my absurd expectations and stuff... Randolf, what would you think I might be ... looking for or missing out on?
P.S. I recently got a Rangemaster! With the real deal NOS OC44 tranny! Hehehe... Vintage piece of history, I couldn't shy away from it... though its quite...well... its made to work with tube amps lah. Limited.
Early on my pedal-career, I grew fed up with stock Boss/Ibanez pedals. I mean, I can play them, heck, any one can. Its jsut that, I disliked the way they were voiced. Later on, I realised that I disliked they way they reacted to my playing.
It was either modded or forgotten.
And I thank you for opening the doors to modded pedals for me. I recall many a moment where you would a/b a stock pedal against a modded one... and I would be thinking, "what the hell have i been missing out?!". Especially for the Boss CS-3 pedal. :lol:
Lemme share what my ideal dirt tones are...
Its gotta sound huge. I love the way harmonics sizzle but no fizz(le) please. I don't need it to swell notes, add too much compression. I like my low end preserved. I don't want mid humps.
To that, I found, for stock tones, the Boss BD-2 fulfilled the criterias... except the stock was fizz heaven when you had too much gain on. Modded, it was wow. One of those, "duh, mod it" pedals. :lol:
Basically, I'm thinking fuzz type of dirt. A mix of Germaniums and Silicon transistors...
So I came upon the Screwdriver and Blackstone... boutique, overpriced, cork sniffer, yadda yadda... but they worked and solved all my tonal needs. Those 2 are still my favourite pedals and favourite pedal combination.
Now, I'm just bought an IC Chipped distortion box... my 1st one in like a year or more... because, IC Chips always sounded boxier, had this irritating impact on tone - single notes thinned out always - and the low end sounded artificial to me. So my faith is sort of restored in modern technology. Hehe.
I'm not building my dirt pedals to play with a tube amp. Or a solid amp. I didn't specifically go for either. Neither would I need my amp to be overdriven.
The aim of any dirt pedal I get would be that the pedals would generate all the dirt, no need to push the amp... and the bulk of pick sensitivity and dynamics should come from the pedals, not the amp. I mean, I can't lug my tube amp around everywhere (i can lah but with a broken back, how!?) lah... this is Singapore! Pedalboard Nation!
Given my absurd expectations and stuff... Randolf, what would you think I might be ... looking for or missing out on?
P.S. I recently got a Rangemaster! With the real deal NOS OC44 tranny! Hehehe... Vintage piece of history, I couldn't shy away from it... though its quite...well... its made to work with tube amps lah. Limited.
suckasucks
New member
whats the difference between your OC44 rangemaster(beano boost if im not wrong?) and the analogman beanos? (NKT275s if im not wrong again.)
Different... transistors?
It would just differ in the manner the transistors interact with your tube amp or dirt pedals... I can't recall the diff between the OC44 and NKT275s but well, its there online somewhere...
Analogman's Beano also does come with OC44s... as Retroman's Beano can be stocked with NKTs ... or OCXX trannies.
I choose the Retroman over Analogman because of the additional features Retroman had. Like a HissBuster - basically a high treble cut off, to take away hiss though it would take some sheen off your tone - lose mojo. And a variable capacitance network in lieu of a 2/3-way voicing switch on Analogman's Beano. I get to go from very bitey trebly bass-cut treble boost to a rounded treble bass from hell chug.
But really. The main factor was that... I dealt with Retroman before... he is top notch in the service department. Top Notch! And I can custom my pedal. So heck. More mojo right?
Btw, randolf is one of those top notch service oriented musicians here in Singapore. I've met many who refuse to share... some who only share when approached... but like... erm... only Randolf has been constantly, consistantly sharing his know-how with others. Even though, I bet, hehe, if you search SOFT, you'll find old posts by randolf covering almost the same ground.
What to do when the man likes to repeat important knowledge!? :wink:
embryo
New member
Neverconscious wrote:
Quite literally Like your sig, all the components in the guitar chain are relative in producin the final tone. 3 things come to mind that I could suggest to you to take into consideration when you'r encountering a "gritty" tone based on your description;
1. Make sure your pedals tone knobs are nowhere past 12 o clock. You get artificial highs and more noise when 2 pedals have artificial highs stacked. Don't be shy about experimenting with the tone knob at 9, 10 o clock or even minimum. use your ears and not your eyes when setting sounds.
2. The tone settings of the amp is usually where the problems begin. Most beginner players tend to dial off too much treble at the amp side and start jacking up the tone knobs on the pedals. This usually stems from playing at low bedroom levels with small footprint sized amps and trying to get it to sound like a raging stack. If you must get that stack in the headphones kinda sound then perhaps digital amp simulators is the way to go.
3. The gain structure of each pedal should be explored from the minimum setting and dialled up in small increments for each and then rebalanced when stacked to find that unique sweet spot where you'll find a useable drive sound from each pedal and also when stacked.
Yes repatching the pedals in different order will give you a different character. The stock TS9 uses Symetrical whereas the SD1 uses Assymetrical clipping diode configuration. A common must have mods among enthusiasts is to convert the TS9 to incorporate the Assymetrical clipping diode config that the stock SD1 has. Assymetrical clipping this and that in pedals at the end of the day is basically a "pedal" way of trying to emulate the way tubes clip/saturate.
Hope this helps.
Quite literally Like your sig, all the components in the guitar chain are relative in producin the final tone. 3 things come to mind that I could suggest to you to take into consideration when you'r encountering a "gritty" tone based on your description;
1. Make sure your pedals tone knobs are nowhere past 12 o clock. You get artificial highs and more noise when 2 pedals have artificial highs stacked. Don't be shy about experimenting with the tone knob at 9, 10 o clock or even minimum. use your ears and not your eyes when setting sounds.
2. The tone settings of the amp is usually where the problems begin. Most beginner players tend to dial off too much treble at the amp side and start jacking up the tone knobs on the pedals. This usually stems from playing at low bedroom levels with small footprint sized amps and trying to get it to sound like a raging stack. If you must get that stack in the headphones kinda sound then perhaps digital amp simulators is the way to go.
3. The gain structure of each pedal should be explored from the minimum setting and dialled up in small increments for each and then rebalanced when stacked to find that unique sweet spot where you'll find a useable drive sound from each pedal and also when stacked.
Yes repatching the pedals in different order will give you a different character. The stock TS9 uses Symetrical whereas the SD1 uses Assymetrical clipping diode configuration. A common must have mods among enthusiasts is to convert the TS9 to incorporate the Assymetrical clipping diode config that the stock SD1 has. Assymetrical clipping this and that in pedals at the end of the day is basically a "pedal" way of trying to emulate the way tubes clip/saturate.
Hope this helps.
embryo
New member
ftggog wrote;
The last time that Mr Big came to town to perform in the 90's I spotted a soundcrew who was basically Paul Gilbert's own NOise GAte! Serious!
This guy must've rehearsed with P Gilbert for days on end to know the precise points of each song when to switch the noise gate on or off because I detected a growing roar of hiss each time Gilbert held on to a sustaining note or feedback just before he moves a certain way to signal for the noise gate to kick in.
There'll always be higher levels of noise as we raise the distortion level. Stacking does not remove but helps to minimizes the noise. In my own setup if I stacked 3 drive pedals set at my version of the sweetspot there will be as much gain and tonal control as I need but with much less noise than if I were to rely all the distortion from the maximum dist setting of any single pedal. Unless there's a built in noise gate device, any single analog drive pedal at maximum distortion settings will always give out more noise.
My noisiest setting in my setup is when I engage all drive pedals eg.
535QWah(with boost on)--CS3--SD1--BD2--DS1--Dynacomp. I only use this setup for certain moments when I intend to create a certain wall of sound feedback effects! Heh
Do note that with the above example all my drive pedals including the comps and wah in my setup are modded to sound well on their own or stacked to suit my needs. Each player has unique needs so take my above example as just a guide to help you find your own with your own unique setup.
I should also point out that when trying to assemble your own pedal stack configuration it is important to be careful to avoid creating what I refer to as "bottleneck syndrome" which happens alot with certain incompatible combinations of stock with modded and boutique pedals.
Let me explain; Imagine what it would be like to stack 3 drive pedals with the mid hump characteristic... you'll experience a more sever loss of lows and highs with a muddy cross modulated muddy mids at the output of the last drive before it hits the amp's input jack. Maybe it could be useful in noise rock situations who knows ya but anyway now you know.
The last time that Mr Big came to town to perform in the 90's I spotted a soundcrew who was basically Paul Gilbert's own NOise GAte! Serious!
This guy must've rehearsed with P Gilbert for days on end to know the precise points of each song when to switch the noise gate on or off because I detected a growing roar of hiss each time Gilbert held on to a sustaining note or feedback just before he moves a certain way to signal for the noise gate to kick in. There'll always be higher levels of noise as we raise the distortion level. Stacking does not remove but helps to minimizes the noise. In my own setup if I stacked 3 drive pedals set at my version of the sweetspot there will be as much gain and tonal control as I need but with much less noise than if I were to rely all the distortion from the maximum dist setting of any single pedal. Unless there's a built in noise gate device, any single analog drive pedal at maximum distortion settings will always give out more noise. My noisiest setting in my setup is when I engage all drive pedals eg.
535QWah(with boost on)--CS3--SD1--BD2--DS1--Dynacomp. I only use this setup for certain moments when I intend to create a certain wall of sound feedback effects! Heh
Do note that with the above example all my drive pedals including the comps and wah in my setup are modded to sound well on their own or stacked to suit my needs. Each player has unique needs so take my above example as just a guide to help you find your own with your own unique setup.
I should also point out that when trying to assemble your own pedal stack configuration it is important to be careful to avoid creating what I refer to as "bottleneck syndrome" which happens alot with certain incompatible combinations of stock with modded and boutique pedals.
Let me explain; Imagine what it would be like to stack 3 drive pedals with the mid hump characteristic... you'll experience a more sever loss of lows and highs with a muddy cross modulated muddy mids at the output of the last drive before it hits the amp's input jack. Maybe it could be useful in noise rock situations who knows ya but anyway now you know.
embryo
New member
Shreddy Moo wrote;
As always Shreddy Moo, Tanx for the kind words.
I'm sure it gets a lil frustrating now and then in your own tonal quest when you choose to travel the path less traveled and find it hard to make sense of all these never ending options available out there that always promise but fail to help you when all you're trying to do is make that sound you already hear in your head a reality.
Maybe, just maybe you are not interested in exploring classic rock guitar tones and the inherent configurations of tools that come with it more so because of circumstances rather than choice. This is understandable.
Based on your description of your pedal experiences you do seem to lean more towards to the edgy 80's era of all pre amp distortion into a solid state power amp into high wattage speaker cabs. This configuration will basically focus all compression on either the pre amp's stage or before the amp's input with distortion solely from the pedals. This way it'll help you to get all the low and high end. Because there's no distortion and compression from other components like a rectifier, power tubes or speaker breakup you'll get a more tansient spike with each fast picked note or slam of a power chord. This is more of the modern sound of the heaviest metal tones today where it's all clean or all rage. Perhaps?
Nine Inch Nails when they released Downward Spiral back in the early 90's got alot of guitar players scratching their heads wondering how on earth were those massive transient power chords achieved and with what equipment. The answer was no amps were used merely overdriving the audio inputs of his Mac into DIGITAL DISTORTION!
Ahhhh! Now you know! Hehehehehe...There's no rules in Rock n Roll Dude!
Here's an idea for you Moo if you want to pursue a radical sound. Patch your output from the last pedal direct to the mixer board (bypass all guitar amps) that has a powerful parametric eq patched in to sculpt your tone with a surgeon's precision to your hearts desire! This way you'll get to zone in specifically on all the intended highs and lows without any compression that you could ever dream from your favourite guitar.
Perhaps perhaps Moo!??
As always Shreddy Moo, Tanx for the kind words.
I'm sure it gets a lil frustrating now and then in your own tonal quest when you choose to travel the path less traveled and find it hard to make sense of all these never ending options available out there that always promise but fail to help you when all you're trying to do is make that sound you already hear in your head a reality.
Maybe, just maybe you are not interested in exploring classic rock guitar tones and the inherent configurations of tools that come with it more so because of circumstances rather than choice. This is understandable.
Based on your description of your pedal experiences you do seem to lean more towards to the edgy 80's era of all pre amp distortion into a solid state power amp into high wattage speaker cabs. This configuration will basically focus all compression on either the pre amp's stage or before the amp's input with distortion solely from the pedals. This way it'll help you to get all the low and high end. Because there's no distortion and compression from other components like a rectifier, power tubes or speaker breakup you'll get a more tansient spike with each fast picked note or slam of a power chord. This is more of the modern sound of the heaviest metal tones today where it's all clean or all rage. Perhaps?
Nine Inch Nails when they released Downward Spiral back in the early 90's got alot of guitar players scratching their heads wondering how on earth were those massive transient power chords achieved and with what equipment. The answer was no amps were used merely overdriving the audio inputs of his Mac into DIGITAL DISTORTION!
Ahhhh! Now you know! Hehehehehe...There's no rules in Rock n Roll Dude!
Here's an idea for you Moo if you want to pursue a radical sound. Patch your output from the last pedal direct to the mixer board (bypass all guitar amps) that has a powerful parametric eq patched in to sculpt your tone with a surgeon's precision to your hearts desire! This way you'll get to zone in specifically on all the intended highs and lows without any compression that you could ever dream from your favourite guitar.
Perhaps perhaps Moo!??
snuffleupagus
New member
Sorry Randolf, slightly out of topic here, but do you have any mods for Digitech Digidelay?Just wondering...Any opinions about that delay pedal?Maybe I'd just want to explore the possibilities,
thanks!
thanks!
embryo
New member
snufleupegas wrote:
Depends really whether the pots are of digital encoders or analog controls type of design. Analog type of controls on digital delays like the Boss DD2, DD3 and DD5 make it moddable for a very nice treble cut (Hi Cut Mod) to get that analog delay sound. However, if it's full deeegeeter circuitry inside then unfortunately no. The newer Boss DD6 which uses digital encoders imho doesn't sound as good as the older models and because of the added complexity will cost more too.
Depends really whether the pots are of digital encoders or analog controls type of design. Analog type of controls on digital delays like the Boss DD2, DD3 and DD5 make it moddable for a very nice treble cut (Hi Cut Mod) to get that analog delay sound. However, if it's full deeegeeter circuitry inside then unfortunately no. The newer Boss DD6 which uses digital encoders imho doesn't sound as good as the older models and because of the added complexity will cost more too.
embryo
New member
Tanx Ken, it's really a life long learning process ya. Still learning and developing new ideas along the way with everyone here.
In my earlier years I guess I was fortunate enough to combine my passion for music together with analog and digital electronic technology for guitars, MIDI, signal processing, amplification recording and PA systems. EFX Modification and building ideas were inspired by the fascinating monthly articles by Craig Anderton on Guitar Player magazines of yore.
I must also credit Thomas Leong who exposed me to his fine collection of some of the best instruments in the world and also the first hand lessons I discovered from tinkering with his vast collection of vintage guitars and amps. Tanx Thomas! Big tanx and acknowlegement also goes out to John Herbert of Lion Studios who gave me 1st hand lessons on the magic of the recording studio. I learnt then that mastering the application of compression was more important than eqing. He also thought me how to make the most out of the most simplest pieces of equipments to make great sounds. Hey John!
I'm a big fan of technology and high quality equipment but I'm also a believer that it's the person's passion and soul that commands the hands to evoke soul stirring sounds from the cheapest and meager setup to the most outragiously priced and vast assortment of instruments and related tools.
In simpler words that mean so much "Tone is in the hands".
"Clap clap clap... "So...Where's my Grammy???"
In my earlier years I guess I was fortunate enough to combine my passion for music together with analog and digital electronic technology for guitars, MIDI, signal processing, amplification recording and PA systems. EFX Modification and building ideas were inspired by the fascinating monthly articles by Craig Anderton on Guitar Player magazines of yore.
I must also credit Thomas Leong who exposed me to his fine collection of some of the best instruments in the world and also the first hand lessons I discovered from tinkering with his vast collection of vintage guitars and amps. Tanx Thomas!
Big tanx and acknowlegement also goes out to John Herbert of Lion Studios who gave me 1st hand lessons on the magic of the recording studio. I learnt then that mastering the application of compression was more important than eqing. He also thought me how to make the most out of the most simplest pieces of equipments to make great sounds. Hey John! I'm a big fan of technology and high quality equipment but I'm also a believer that it's the person's passion and soul that commands the hands to evoke soul stirring sounds from the cheapest and meager setup to the most outragiously priced and vast assortment of instruments and related tools.
In simpler words that mean so much "Tone is in the hands".
"Clap clap clap... "So...Where's my Grammy???"
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