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Help With Gear!, Help with gear!
Hajduk
May 7 2015, 08:19 AM
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Hi All need advice on gear. I'm looking for a good distortion pedal. I have the Boss DS-1 and a Palmer distortion pedal, not a fan of either. Currently I am using the Ibanez Tubescreamer with my Blackstar amp. Here is my issue, I live in a town house so when I want to do a record take I cant turn it up to loud and I don't get enough distortion from the Tubescreamer when amp is not turned up loud, Hope that makes sense!! Any suggestions on a good distortion pedal?

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Todd Simpson
May 7 2015, 09:40 AM
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Makes perfect sense smile.gif When you are using the TUBESCREAMER you are using the LEAD channel on the BLACKSTAR? Not the Clean channel yes?

Also, what settings are you using on your tube screamer and your amp? With a tube amp, you should be able to boost quite a bit of good lead tone using the lead channel and max volume on the tube screamer and then turn up the DIST/GAIN on the screamer to taste.

As far as other pedals, it just comes down to budget smile.gif What is your spending range?


Todd

QUOTE (Hajduk @ May 7 2015, 03:19 AM) *
Hi All need advice on gear. I'm looking for a good distortion pedal. I have the Boss DS-1 and a Palmer distortion pedal, not a fan of either. Currently I am using the Ibanez Tubescreamer with my Blackstar amp. Here is my issue, I live in a town house so when I want to do a record take I cant turn it up to loud and I don't get enough distortion from the Tubescreamer when amp is not turned up loud, Hope that makes sense!! Any suggestions on a good distortion pedal?

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Bogdan Radovic
May 7 2015, 09:44 AM
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You could try out Fulltone OCD drive pedal maybe. It is a really good quality pedal and sounds cool. Try it out in the store and see if it gives you enough drive and if you like the tone.

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Mertay
May 7 2015, 11:38 AM
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Been testing the Tubescreamer a lot lately, if you want the TS to produce more overdrive (but not distortion) it doesn't work well (usable to some level but starts to get unmusical compressed...) using lots of boost before it.

But using another overdrive (I use bb9, like it a lot for the job though doesn't do much on its own) before it and driving that overdrive just slightly makes a nice difference. I can make a recording for you if needed?

But if you're looking for more distortion, giving details Todd requested will help. The more details you give (amp model, settings etc.) the faster well figure out the problem.

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klasaine
May 7 2015, 02:07 PM
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I'll echo what Todd said both about how to use the amp and the TS together.
The Blackstar you're using does have a master volume control - ?

Is it the tone of the distortion that you don't like or the amount?

There are literally hundreds of OD/distortion boxes out there. If you have a budget of around $200.00 US (€177.00) you have a lot of choices ...

The Fulltone 'OCD' as Bogdan mentions is great sounding and has a lot of gain.
Todd uses the protonepedals 'Bulb' overdrive and has more gain than anyone should be allowed to have wink.gif
I like the Suhr 'Riot' and Catalinbread 'SCOD' for higher gain.
Ibanez 'Sonic Distortion' (SD9) is a nice, smooth high gainer.

A little less expensive is the proco 'Rat', a mainstay distortion box since the 80s (Mooer 'black secret' is a really good and very inexpensive Rat clone).
Also the Boss 'SD-1'. More gain and smoother than a DS-1.

*You can find most things at a considerably lower price point if you don't mind using Ebay or Reverb.com and you're patient.

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Todd Simpson
May 7 2015, 03:23 PM
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Some great responses and suggestions! Can you shoot us a quick example of your tone with boost on your lead channel on the blackstart? ANd maybe a lead tone from youtube or something that you like?

P.S. Do you have a sound card/interface? Have you thought about using plugins for testing tones? Amplitude/TH2 etc?

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Hajduk
May 8 2015, 09:54 AM
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Hi Guys thank you all for the awesome advice smile.gif SO to answer some questions, on the Tubescreamer the drive is 3/4 of the way up the Tone is at full and Level is 3/4. I'm using my Blackstar HT-1 right now and have it on the clean channel because if I put it to the the gain channel I get so much of a hiss from the amp. I have thought about using plugins but also have a Audio interface ( Focusrite 2i2) which I'm very keen on learning.

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Mertay
May 8 2015, 10:28 AM
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I checked youtube and seems while the clean channel can get very dirty, the overdrive channel seems to have serious distortion going on.

-Getting some hiss from the gain channel seems normal to me, core tone seems very Metallica powerchord ready to my ears smile.gif to make that more shreddy if needed, I wouldn't add gain by the overdrive (keeping the output of the pedal almost same as guitar) but try to add some dirt without adding more hiss (on a ts9 probably the tone knob would be looking at 11-ish settings) with an overdrive.

-But if you don't want to use that channel as you mentioned, that clean channel seems nice. First without the pedals, add the gain till you barely notice on single notes but more obvious when hitting a chord. Think bluesy clean tones, nothing over the top. This will be your core tone to work on, for absolute clean sound you can always back off the gain.

For adding TS9, you can either lower the tone (like 9 o-clock) and increase the drive (3 o-clock) or the opposite (usually its the opposite but this works for me). If the amp setting you first made is rhythm guitar, when pedal engaged this will be your bluesy solo tone. Shouldn't hiss or very minor when not playing (be careful with you sitting position too by the way to eliminate hiss).

Now for the shred, place the dist pedal between the overdrive and amp. Now you have 2 basic tonal options, either crank the dist. pedals dist. knob full or set it to around 12 o-clock and increase output on the overdrive before it. Problem with second option is when dist. pedal is disengaged the volume of overdrive get too much, but this is how I like it and can be sorted with A/B pedals etc. but let not worry about this now....

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Todd Simpson
May 8 2015, 06:43 PM
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AHAH! That's your problem right there. Your trying to use an overdrive pedal as a distortion pedal. The OVERDRIVE is really best used imho as a boost on that type of rig to give your amps dirty/distortion channel more punch.

Sounds like you just need to dial in a better distortion sound on your amp to be honest. Your gear is fine and doesn't seem to be the problem. The HISS is common on high gain rigs and it's why God invented NOISE GATE PEDALS. So you don't need a distortion box, you need a NOISE GATE smile.gif So you can use your amp as it was meant to be used, BRUTALLY! smile.gif

I"d say look at the MXR SMART GATE.

Then turn off your boost pedal and start dialing in a new tone on your blackstar distortion channel. Start with the gain/dist all the way down. Then turn up just before it gets noisey. Then turn on your boost pedal with knobs in the middle. Turn gain/dist on the boost all the way down and bring up slowly. After some tweaking you will find your tone smile.gif


Todd


QUOTE (Hajduk @ May 8 2015, 04:54 AM) *
Hi Guys thank you all for the awesome advice smile.gif SO to answer some questions, on the Tubescreamer the drive is 3/4 of the way up the Tone is at full and Level is 3/4. I'm using my Blackstar HT-1 right now and have it on the clean channel because if I put it to the the gain channel I get so much of a hiss from the amp. I have thought about using plugins but also have a Audio interface ( Focusrite 2i2) which I'm very keen on learning.

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Mertay
May 8 2015, 08:35 PM
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QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ May 8 2015, 05:43 PM) *
...


+1 but now thinking, if he's cranking the distortion on the amp high and really lowering the amps volume that hiss might be from the amp as the poweramp can't handle such low output from the speaker.

@Hajduk is that the case? like you're using listening levels so low someone sleeping next room won't wake up? smile.gif

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dcz702
May 12 2015, 06:58 AM
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QUOTE (Hajduk @ May 7 2015, 07:19 AM) *
Hi All need advice on gear. I'm looking for a good distortion pedal. I have the Boss DS-1 and a Palmer distortion pedal, not a fan of either. Currently I am using the Ibanez Tubescreamer with my Blackstar amp. Here is my issue, I live in a town house so when I want to do a record take I cant turn it up to loud and I don't get enough distortion from the Tubescreamer when amp is not turned up loud, Hope that makes sense!! Any suggestions on a good distortion pedal?

What kind of blackstar do you have?
You say when recording in your home you need to keep volume levels down.
Well if you have a blackstar your in luck my friend.
Every blackstar amp I've come a across has a emulated output jack in the back.
You can run a cable right from this output to you AI, and turn the master to 0 and use the channel volume and it will go right into your computer so you can use your monitors or headphones.
I recorded all my recs this way, works great.
I used a Mesa boogie flux drive overdrive pedal. Nice pedal has tone, gain, treble, and bass control.
Soooo if you got a blackstar and a audio interface you should be able to play silently. I loved my blackstar, but sold it for money twords a pod 500x for more tone options.

Edit
I saw in your reply you have a ht1. So you have a emulated out on the back. You can use a guitar cable into your interface. Check out the ht1 manual it states that your amps output can be used to connect to a recording device.

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This post has been edited by dcz702: May 12 2015, 07:11 AM

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Hajduk
May 12 2015, 08:15 PM
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Sorry all was away for a couple of days would have responded earlier smile.gif Thank you again for awesome responses. Yes Mertay, I am cranking the gain and lowering the amps volume smile.gif I get complaints sad.gif I also realized that I have my delay then my chorus pedal first in the line up and yeah Todd I am totally using the TS9 for distortion and yes am planning on getting a noise gate have wanted one for awhile, thank you guys for clearing all this up smile.gif so will fix all this up. I also have heard really good things about the OCD Pedal and I know Klasaine you had recommended that pedal. DCz702, yes I have the Blackstar HT1 and 5 and they both have emulated outputs, would love to use that option! Is there a special cord I need? Need to research this option more. Thank you all for awesome advice smile.gif

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Todd Simpson
May 12 2015, 08:44 PM
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No special chord needed smile.gif THe OCD is a great pedal, but honestly it sounds in many ways similar to the tube screamer with maybe a bit more gain so whatever you are using the screamer for, the ocd will do about the same imho. THe problem is from trying to use an overdrive as a distortion pedal. Overdrive pedals work best to boost a distorted amp, not as distortion by themselves. So turner the amp VOLUME down, turn the tube screamer up, and then dial the amp gain/distor up to taste. If you get noise, add a noise gate and that should sort it out wink.gif

QUOTE (Hajduk @ May 12 2015, 03:15 PM) *
Sorry all was away for a couple of days would have responded earlier smile.gif Thank you again for awesome responses. Yes Mertay, I am cranking the gain and lowering the amps volume smile.gif I get complaints sad.gif I also realized that I have my delay then my chorus pedal first in the line up and yeah Todd I am totally using the TS9 for distortion and yes am planning on getting a noise gate have wanted one for awhile, thank you guys for clearing all this up smile.gif so will fix all this up. I also have heard really good things about the OCD Pedal and I know Klasaine you had recommended that pedal. DCz702, yes I have the Blackstar HT1 and 5 and they both have emulated outputs, would love to use that option! Is there a special cord I need? Need to research this option more. Thank you all for awesome advice smile.gif

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klasaine
May 12 2015, 09:50 PM
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Though similar in it's voicing I will say that the OCD has way more gain and potential low end than a stock TS and the OCD is considered a distortion pedal. Mine even gets into fuzz territory when I max out the gain.

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Todd Simpson
May 13 2015, 12:33 AM
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Your mileage may vary of course smile.gif But I wouldn't go so far as to call the OCD a "Distortion" pedal, as it's called an OVERDRIVE by the folks that build it smile.gif Perhaps it does push farther than a tube screamer though. But to my ears. neither one is enough for the kind of gain I think he is talking about. To wit!!.. here is a pedal shootout smile.gif



For my money, a "Distortion" Pedal is along the lines of the Amptweaker TMP. Here is a quick playthrough I did when the folks @ amp tweaker sent me one to try.



QUOTE (klasaine @ May 12 2015, 04:50 PM) *
Though similar in it's voicing I will say that the OCD has way more gain and potential low end than a stock TS and the OCD is considered a distortion pedal. Mine even gets into fuzz territory when I max out the gain.

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Hajduk
May 13 2015, 07:42 AM
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Thanks for the awesome vids Todd smile.gif and yes I am looking more for a high gain pedal smile.gif

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dcz702
May 13 2015, 09:21 AM
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QUOTE (Hajduk @ May 13 2015, 06:42 AM) *
Thanks for the awesome vids Todd smile.gif and yes I am looking more for a high gain pedal smile.gif

you say you want to "learn your interface"
its very simple assuming you have already connected it to your computer and downloaded and installed the latest drivers from focusrites website.
you then open your daw, in your computer settings chose your interface to be the defualt input and output to use it as you soundcard all the time wich is what most people do, its what i do.
the outputs will go to your monitors.
dont know if you have studio montitors, if not get some headphones sennheiser hd280pro is a good choice for good quality and low price tag, but there are lots of good headphones, give and take on the prices. your interface has a head phone jack right on the front like most interfaces.
now that you have done all that run the same kind of cable you use for your guitar from the ht1 or your ht5s output into the front input of your interface keep the gain knob of your interface down a bit , keep the switch below the gain knob on INST.
adjust the headphone to a comfertable listening level.
now mess with your amp, find a good tone, then on your audio interface turn the gain up till when you play striking all strings hard muted the meter turns red, this is clipping, and you dont want this to happen, especially when recording, it sounds like shit wink.gif, roll back your interfaces gain knob a bit till you can strike strings hard with no clipping. now your READY TO ROCK cool.gif.
by using your setup this way you will really get some qaulity practice, you guitar will be in the mix, and you can adjust your levels really easily.
i used a ht-20 to record and have a HT-1 that i use when i go out of town and wanna bring my guitar, for a liitle amp its got some impressive gain, and with a overdrive before it it should be more than enough for classic rock to metal, depending on what kind of guiatr you have for metal of course smile.gif
your interface and ht-1 together are great for recording, give this things i described a shot your gonna like it especially at night

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Mertay
May 13 2015, 09:37 AM
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QUOTE (Hajduk @ May 13 2015, 06:42 AM) *
Thanks for the awesome vids Todd smile.gif and yes I am looking more for a high gain pedal smile.gif


For the budget, I'm really happy with a used boss mt2 I bought. I boost it with an overdrive and set its dist. knob to around 11, no more gain needed for shred smile.gif

But the nice thing is the eq's on it are very useful, even on a glassy sounding Fender like amp with the right eq setting on it it doesn't hurt ear drums smile.gif

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Hajduk
May 13 2015, 08:09 PM
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Thanks dcz702 smile.gif I have a pair of Seinheiser HD 125s and I understand what clipping is as well. Actually quite excited about doing record take this way! Is it OK to run your line amp through pedals into interface? Thanks Mertay I was actually looking into that pedal smile.gif

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jstcrsn
May 14 2015, 01:49 AM
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QUOTE (Hajduk @ May 13 2015, 08:09 PM) *
Thanks dcz702 smile.gif I have a pair of Seinheiser HD 125s and I understand what clipping is as well. Actually quite excited about doing record take this way! Is it OK to run your line amp through pedals into interface? Thanks Mertay I was actually looking into that pedal smile.gif

it is okay as long as it has a speaker simulator out. The guitar speaker is what gives it its "nice"sound so without it it sounds thin. as far as more peddles , you might want to try Reaper as your DAW , as many use it and you would get great help. Reaper has many eq's , delays and such that you could put on after the recording,it is better to add as many things after in case you don't like something you don't have to rerecord.

My opinion on your screamer and amp is you should be able to ample ( pun intended) gain out of those 2.
I would all settings on your amp at 5 ( except reverb) , on the screamer level on high, tone on eight gain on two. Start to raise the gain on your amp until you can get your gain.This is the give and take of gain ,Loads of gain brings in Loads of hiss. it is something you will probably have to learn how to get out at mastering or with a gate

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