EVH "Brown sound" dirt pedal for Express 5:50; opinions?

[melodiusthunk]

Can anyone reading this recommend an overdrive or distortion pedal to use with the Express 5:50to get vintage high-gain Marshall-like tones (think early EVH or 1970's Zeppelin)?

There are so many units out there that claim to capture those sounds, and I am not in a position to spend a lot of time and money cycling through even a small fraction of the possible candidates . Thus, I would welcome any informed opinions on this subject.

Thanks in advance,

Scott :?:

 

[jmontgomery]

Wampler pinnacle

 

[BoogieMan_SC]

Vox Satchurator......from mild/organic to soaking wet saturation...

 

[Newysurfer]

Can anyone reading this recommend an overdrive or distortion pedal to use with the Express 5:50to get vintage high-gain Marshall-like tones (think early EVH or 1970's Zeppelin)?

There are so many units out there that claim to capture those sounds, and I am not in a position to spend a lot of time and money cycling through even a small fraction of the possible candidates . Thus, I would welcome any informed opinions on this subject.

Thanks in advance,

Scott :?:

C'mon guys - he's asked for a Marshall in a box distortion pedal.
The best high gain Marshall JCM clone pedal by far is the MI Audio Crunchbox imo. It's also cheap, true bypass and it nails JCM 800 & 900 tones.
Lower gain, more $$, not as close to Marshall JCM, but more versatile is the Fulltone OCD.
Marshall Jackhammer is also good :mrgreen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goQ0CJNmb30&feature=related

 

[MrMarkIII]

Well, which do you want, high gain, or early VH "Brown Sound" and '70s Zep? Not exactly the same. IMO.
The Gov'nor pedal, while not as saturated high gain as the Jackhammer, sounds closer to early Eddie. IMO. Still, you can't go wrong with the Crunchbox. IMO.
IMO.

 

[VCuomo]

Another vote for the MI Audio Crunchbox - I use it with my 5:50 all the time.

 

[melodiusthunk]

Well, which do you want, high gain, or early VH "Brown Sound" and '70s Zep?

Ah yes, I should probably have avoided the use of the words "high gain", since they mean differnt things to different people. Early EVH and Led Zep are plenty high enough for my ears.

Basically, my intent is to find a pedal that can expand the useful range of gain sounds without needless duplicating the capabilities that Mesa has already built into the 5:50 preamp. Lacking space (and $) to house multiple amps, I figured a good pedal might be the best way to go.

Thanks for responding,

Scott 8)

 

[melodiusthunk]

Thanks to all who responded; I've got some good leads to follow up on.


happy, happy, joy, joy...

Scott

 

[CHATTERBOX]

I use an old Ibanez SD-9 with my Express 5/50. I basically have 3 channels for live gigs. Channel 1 (Crunch setting with lower gain), Channel 2 (Blues setting with mid-gain or Burn setting with lower gain), 3rd Setting just adds the SD-9 for heavier tones.

 

[richpjr]

A few other Marshall in a box pedals that are quite good are the Catalinbread DLS and the Barber Direct Drive. I have used them both on my 5:50.

 

[edward]

Hi Scott,

Never tried one myself, but the ZVex "Box of Rock" got lots of love from the LPF guys (do a search on LesPaulForum and TheGearPage). The ZVex is supposedly a great Marshall tone right outta the box. I'm not a Mashall guy myself (that's why I lvoe Boogies, eh? ), so can't comment personally.

Edward

 

[melodiusthunk]

Went with the Crunchbox. Adding a bit of delay in the loop and switching on my compressor now gets a pretty good take on that early '70's thru mid '80's clarion call distortion. F-L-A-S-H-B-A-C-K:: roc 'n roll can never die!

Too much is never enough; Smells like cheap petrol and demented self-indulgence... I-l-u-v-it!

And the fire red color of this box even provides bonafide legal defense against the probability that I didn't know it was loaded...

No longer contemplating replacing my Strat single-coil bridge pup with a humbucker, as the crunchbox can turn the quacking duck into a howling, saber-toothed goose on demand.

Verdict: Sinners repent your mistakes of the past >> Eat more bacon! Bouah-hah-hah... :twisted:

Scott

 

[Newysurfer]

Went with the Crunchbox. Adding a bit of delay in the loop and switching on my compressor now gets a pretty good take on that early '70's thru mid '80's clarion call distortion. F-L-A-S-H-B-A-C-K:: roc 'n roll can never die!

Too much is never enough; Smells like cheap petrol and demented self-indulgence... I-l-u-v-it!

And the fire red color of this box even provides bonafide legal defense against the probability that I didn't know it was loaded...

No longer contemplating replacing my Strat single-coil bridge pup with a humbucker, as the crunchbox can turn the quacking duck into a howling, saber-toothed goose on demand.

Verdict: Sinners repent your mistakes of the past >> Eat more bacon! Bouah-hah-hah... :twisted:

Scott

Wise decision imo hehehehe.
CB is the best distortion pedal available today imo - turned both on and off.
Sounds even better on 18v too

 

[soundchaser59]

Since you have an amp that already sounds so good, maybe try a slightly different approach?

ZVex Super Duper Boost, it's like two clean boosts in one, and you can select either or, or both at the same time. THere is a guy calling himself "This1sMyne" and he makes clones that are excellent quality, his clone would be the Mini Solo Boost + "two in one," same functionality at about half the price.

And while you are at it, I'll repeat my recommendation to be sure you experiment with a boost in the fx loop. I even tried a BB Preamp in the loop and it would easily get me in the range of tones you describe. It's amazing how much tone there is to milk out of that amp when you slam the power tubes without driving the preamp into that fizzy mosquito hive distortion sound that I dislike so much.....

I've had excellent luck with a $100 dollar Analogman TS9DX I jumped on from garbay....