Anybody Roll Without OD Pedals?

[barfly]

There are no absolutes. When you think in those terms, you are always missing something.

Bravo! Well said. I whole-heartedly believe what you said. A friend of mine said about people we knew that had black or white opinions
on gear: "Ignorance is bliss."

 

[tonefordays]

I don't use an OD at the moment, although I do with my Studio Pre setup. A Wampler Super Ecstasy gives me what I want, due to the notorious difficulty of setting the knobs on the Studio Pre to sound good on both channels. With my Stiletto Deuce, I am playing a National Resolectric and a 1958 National lap steel through it. I get exactly the right amount of drive just from the amp.

 

[ryjan]

This may just be my weird thing but there's something I look for in every amp I buy. Something in the feel. Any pedals seem to take that little nuance I look for away for some reason.
It's similar to the difference between an amp that can hard bypass the loop. With it bypassed there is just a little more mojo or soul.

 

[KiwiJoe]

One of the things I look for in an amp is how good its OD is. I won't buy an amp with crap OD. That's why I fell in love with the original Mark I Boogie sound. I bought my Mini Rec largely because the "vintage" setting is so lush and reminiscent of the Mark I, and I can get it at less than ear-splitting volumes, although diming the gain and master on "clean" yields a glorious, uncompressed OD that is pretty loud.

That said, I've played with a few OD pedals, but I found myself preferring the amp's OD; so they sit in the drawer. I do keep the Mesa Grid Slammer on my board, though, as a sort of third channel option for something between pure clean and the red channel OD. It really sounds like the amp.

I think that players who have or are looking for "their own sound" (like me) tend to prefer their OD from the amp alone, and choose their amp largely for that reason, whereas players who want to get the "right" sound for the song (cover or tribute bands that go for accurate replications of recorded tones) tend to have a few or a lot of OD pedals to get the job done. Of course these aren't hard and fast rules; just trends I've noticed over the years.

I think it's great that we have choices so there's something for everybody.

 

[DangerMoney]

I won't buy an amp that requires me to buy auxiliary gear to make it acceptable. If a $2000+ amp can't make the grade on its own then I either need to find something that fits me better or work on my picking.

Same here. Never used OD pedals to start with.

 

[Cory]

I won't buy an amp that requires me to buy auxiliary gear to make it acceptable. If a $2000+ amp can't make the grade on its own then I either need to find something that fits me better or work on my picking.
I currently play an ESP with the het set into a Roadster. No fx, no boosts, gain at 1:00 is borderline overkill.

Couldn't have said it better myself!

 

[Cory]

There are no absolutes. When you think in those terms, you are always missing something.

Bravo! Well said. I whole-heartedly believe what you said. A friend of mine said about people we knew that had black or white opinions
on gear: "Ignorance is bliss."

I agree with you guys too - but I think it just depends on the amp/gear you are using. I guess in my situation (and with my current amp = RA-100) there is no need for an external drive pedal (which is what I prefer). I've gone through a countless amount of gear over my 20 years of playing - and there have been times that I've used dirt pedals to achieve the desired tone I was looking for.

 

[droptrd]

I don't always use an OD. But when I do, I......

I don't use ODs 24/7. But I do use them at every show, with every band I play with.

Its not about boosting gain. I think anyone that uses an OD will tell you that. Its about different textures of gain, amp feel, and in some case frequency response (or bandwidth?)

Using an OD is great to help cover up poor playing. It not only can be used to add top end fizz but it also kinda removes a lot of the touch sensitivity from your rig, making more consistent dynamics - much like a compressor but more subtle and open.

One metal band I used to play with, the band leader hated mid range. He said he didn't want acdc tone lol. whatever, I was the new guy in the band and I just went along. I used a mark III set kinda scoopy. I would use a stock ts808 for an OD to boost the mids a bit and add a little sizzle to my leads. It worked great - ol boy was happy and stayed off my *** about my tone.

My recto days (2ch) in the 90s and 00s I wouldn't go anywhere without my modded SD-1. Certain riffs and parts. It would tighted the lowend better than the amps eq could. Id be switching it on and off all night.

But still, most of the time I like to let the amp just be itself.

 

[DangerMoney]

Using an OD is great to help cover up poor playing.

Absolutely! One of the sayings from a band I was in:

"Distortion covers mistakes. When you play clean and screw-up, everybody knows it."

 

[soundguruman]

Do you go straight in without OD pedals, and let your amp's crunch and OD do the talking?

What amps and guitars are you using for this? What OD pedals did you sacrifice when you realized your amp sounded pretty good the way it is?

I have changed amps recently and the OD is really good. (One of them is a mint Subway Rocket 44) I felt like my OD pedals were almost in the way. I'm tempted to part with them and just let the amps dot he work. I'll have a couple three fx in the loop (chorus, reverb, delay) but the OD up front is gone.

I consider OD pedals "silly."
Tube OD in amp sounds way better, and I don't need footswitches or cables all over the place.

I also consider foot switches and channel switching "silly."

I plug straight in to the amp. I use the volume control on my guitar to change between clean and overdrive.

If you have an amp, and you don't like the sound of the amp overdrive, then get another amp, that you "do" like.

Real tube overdrive is the REAL sound. OD pedals are a weak imitation.

 

[KiwiJoe]

I consider OD pedals "silly."
Tube OD in amp sounds way better, and I don't need footswitches or cables all over the place.

I also consider foot switches and channel switching "silly."

I plug straight in to the amp. I use the volume control on my guitar to change between clean and overdrive.

If you have an amp, and you don't like the sound of the amp overdrive, then get another amp, that you "do" like.

Real tube overdrive is the REAL sound. OD pedals are a weak imitation.

It's silly when people don't think the same as I do or do things the way I do because I'm positive that everybody's musical needs are identical to mine.

 

[longfxukxnhair]

I have pedals but I dont use them. I went thru my phase (short lived) but got out of it quickly.

I play Gibson's and ESP's thru 4 amps. 2 Engls & 2 Marshalls

 

[soundguruman]

I consider OD pedals "silly."
Tube OD in amp sounds way better, and I don't need footswitches or cables all over the place.

I also consider foot switches and channel switching "silly."

I plug straight in to the amp. I use the volume control on my guitar to change between clean and overdrive.

If you have an amp, and you don't like the sound of the amp overdrive, then get another amp, that you "do" like.

Real tube overdrive is the REAL sound. OD pedals are a weak imitation.

It's silly when people don't think the same as I do or do things the way I do because I'm positive that everybody's musical needs are identical to mine.

The question was: anybody roll without overdrive pedals?
I answered and explained WHY.
I don't like pedals, I don't need pedals.

You can take the best guitar player...
and give him the crappiest amplifier...
and the crappiest guitar...and no effects pedals at all.
and he will still sound GREAT. Why is this?

It's NOT the amp, or the PEDALS, or the GUITAR.
It's the GUITAR PLAYER that makes it sound great.

People who "think" they need overdrive pedals to sound good...
It's ALL in your playing. NOT in the pedals.
You don't need pedals to sound good. You need to learn how to play GOOD.

The effects pedal is just a toy.

 

[TimeSignature]

I consider OD pedals "silly."
Tube OD in amp sounds way better, and I don't need footswitches or cables all over the place.

I also consider foot switches and channel switching "silly."

I plug straight in to the amp. I use the volume control on my guitar to change between clean and overdrive.

If you have an amp, and you don't like the sound of the amp overdrive, then get another amp, that you "do" like.

Real tube overdrive is the REAL sound. OD pedals are a weak imitation.

It's silly when people don't think the same as I do or do things the way I do because I'm positive that everybody's musical needs are identical to mine.

The question was: anybody roll without overdrive pedals?
I answered and explained WHY.
I don't like pedals, I don't need pedals.

You can take the best guitar player...
and give him the crappiest amplifier...
and the crappiest guitar...and no effects pedals at all.
and he will still sound GREAT. Why is this?

It's NOT the amp, or the PEDALS, or the GUITAR.
It's the GUITAR PLAYER that makes it sound great.

People who "think" they need overdrive pedals to sound good...
It's ALL in your playing. NOT in the pedals.
You don't need pedals to sound good. You need to learn how to play GOOD.

The effects pedal is just a toy.

WRONG:
You can take the best guitar player...
and give him the crappiest amplifier...
and the crappiest guitar...and no effects pedals at all.
and he will still sound GREAT. Why is this?

It's NOT the amp, or the PEDALS, or the GUITAR.
It's the GUITAR PLAYER that makes it sound great.

Just because a guitar player is "good" or "great" doesn't mean he or she will sound good or great playing through crappy gear. LOL

 

[Markedman]

Just because a guitar player is "good" or "great" doesn't mean he or she will sound good or great playing through crappy gear. LOL

+1

 

[KiwiJoe]

The question was: anybody roll without overdrive pedals?
I answered and explained WHY.
I don't like pedals, I don't need pedals.

You can take the best guitar player...
and give him the crappiest amplifier...
and the crappiest guitar...and no effects pedals at all.
and he will still sound GREAT. Why is this?

It's NOT the amp, or the PEDALS, or the GUITAR.
It's the GUITAR PLAYER that makes it sound great.

People who "think" they need overdrive pedals to sound good...
It's ALL in your playing. NOT in the pedals.
You don't need pedals to sound good. You need to learn how to play GOOD.

The effects pedal is just a toy.

Well, it's actually, "...learn how to play WELL," but I'll not belabor the grammar fascism.

And actually, I'm with you - to a point. Yeah, I bought my Mesa amp primarily for its OD; that's the sound I like and the OD I use 99% of the time. However, I use the amp footswitch, and I bought one of Mesa's pedals to have another OD option. I also roll guitar volume. I also like kittehs and bourbon (not together, though).

All I'm saying is that you're a bit judgmental about what other people do..."People who "think" they need overdrive pedals to sound good..." What do you care? And by that reasoning, why do people "need" overdrive (amp or pedal) to "sound good" if it's all in the player (which, I agree, is the most important ingredient)?

Anyway, it's all good. Rock on.

 

[KiwiJoe]

Just because a guitar player is "good" or "great" doesn't mean he or she will sound good or great playing through crappy gear. LOL

True. I think that good player sounding good through crappy gear thing came about as a counter-argument to the idea that good gear will make a poor player sound good.

The thing is that, given the exact same amp/rig, a good player will sound better than a poor player. I mean, nobody I know wants to listen to somebody who can barely play regardless of how good his/her gear is, right? And the better players tend to also have better toanz (as subjective as the whole "tone" thing is).

 

[ifailedshapes]

I think posting this question on a Mesa/Boogie forum is introducing some bias into the answers. Our amps are known for their signature distortion, whatever flavor it may be. Personally, I go back and forth. I am currently in big-time pedal phase. I have some nice pedals from boutique builders that sound amazing. I think the best part about gain pedals, though, is gain stacking. Sometimes channel-switching amps sound like two different amps. With pedals, you can keep your base tone consistent, and just add more and more dirt on top of it.

 

[ryjan]

OD pedals and training wheels are both good tools for compensating for a lack of skill. Once that skill has been learned they should get taken off. :lol:

 

[kdorsey]

Wow guys. Just, wow. :? A Klon in ch1 or on top of a lower gain ch3 is a beautiful thing. Finding new ways to continue finding flexible ways to use a 25 year old amp isn't heresy, it's a new spice in the recipe. To each their own.