andretoscano
Active member
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2014
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Hi.
I decided I needed some kind of booster pedal to plug my guitar in and give me some additional saturation to chase those heavier high gain sounds on my Mark V.
It bothered me to have to have the GAIN turned all the way up in my Mark V and not getting quite there without fiddling around with the EQ and tone controls.
So I've tried about a dozen of different boosters, OD/Dist pedals, you name it.
The problem I've found with distortion pedals is that they "print their personality" too much on your guitar sound, so you end up amplifying and distorting (if this verb even exists...) a combination of both the Mark V + pedal on your amp.
Which might be great if you're after really cool and different sounds. I have my favorites (Xotic SL Drive, Randall RGOD, Wampler Triple Wreck, etc.).
If you think about it, this makes sense. Your guitar signal passing through a pedal is, in effect (no pun intended), being driven to the point of saturation by the pedal circuitry. That's how you mostly get distortion. That means the Mark V will get an already distorted sound, and the result will obviously be a mix of both.
But a good clean booster would - in theory - just amplify the level of my guitar without causing *too much* distortion, hence pushing the input of the Mark V but letting it shine.
Well, tried around four different boosters (Xotic EP, TC Spark, BBE Sonic Stomp, Strymon OB1).
And the clear winner is the Strymon OB1.
I don't have any stakes at the company nor do I sell them.
Just wanted to share my excitment!
Forget about the Compressor part of the pedal (I don't really use it much, certainly not for heavier high gain sounds).
The booster part is really amazing! It's a clean boost, and it gives you the option of boosting only certain parts of the spectrum (Flat, Middle or Treble).
If like me you want to know how your Mark V will sound with the GAIN turned up to 15, maybe this is what you're looking for. Certainly solved my problem.
Maybe I'll eventually upload some sound clips, or create a YouTube video or something during this weekend.
Cheers!
André
I decided I needed some kind of booster pedal to plug my guitar in and give me some additional saturation to chase those heavier high gain sounds on my Mark V.
It bothered me to have to have the GAIN turned all the way up in my Mark V and not getting quite there without fiddling around with the EQ and tone controls.
So I've tried about a dozen of different boosters, OD/Dist pedals, you name it.
The problem I've found with distortion pedals is that they "print their personality" too much on your guitar sound, so you end up amplifying and distorting (if this verb even exists...) a combination of both the Mark V + pedal on your amp.
Which might be great if you're after really cool and different sounds. I have my favorites (Xotic SL Drive, Randall RGOD, Wampler Triple Wreck, etc.).
If you think about it, this makes sense. Your guitar signal passing through a pedal is, in effect (no pun intended), being driven to the point of saturation by the pedal circuitry. That's how you mostly get distortion. That means the Mark V will get an already distorted sound, and the result will obviously be a mix of both.
But a good clean booster would - in theory - just amplify the level of my guitar without causing *too much* distortion, hence pushing the input of the Mark V but letting it shine.
Well, tried around four different boosters (Xotic EP, TC Spark, BBE Sonic Stomp, Strymon OB1).
And the clear winner is the Strymon OB1.
I don't have any stakes at the company nor do I sell them.
Just wanted to share my excitment!
Forget about the Compressor part of the pedal (I don't really use it much, certainly not for heavier high gain sounds).
The booster part is really amazing! It's a clean boost, and it gives you the option of boosting only certain parts of the spectrum (Flat, Middle or Treble).
If like me you want to know how your Mark V will sound with the GAIN turned up to 15, maybe this is what you're looking for. Certainly solved my problem.
Maybe I'll eventually upload some sound clips, or create a YouTube video or something during this weekend.
Cheers!
André
But I still have some. The OCD can work really well, anything from clean to adding some crunch. Timmy works very well, as it seems to with most amps, because it allows you to tune the top and bottom. Your standard Tube Screamer type pedals can work well also, as they roll off top and bottom, which tightens up the bottom. Heck I've even enjoyed toying with my Fulltone 69 as a lead boost. Yes, fuzz pedals can work with Mesa amps! (Although I couldn't didn't care for my fuzz pedals much with my Mini Rec). But my favorite so far, is my SHO clone. It just adds some zing to any channel you use on the V25 or any other amp. It makes the IIC+ and IV modes just rip! I need to build a few more because I have a buddy who needs one. That pedal really works extremely well with the V25 though (and the Mini Rec, TA15 and any other amp I've tried). Just gives a bit fat, juicy solo tone. 
