Overdrive Pedal with a .50 caliber+ ???

[DBALL]

I have tried using a Boss OD pedal with my Fender Deluxe Reverb (which has no real distortion on its own) and it sounds pretty good, but it still isn't a Mesa. On the other hand my .50 caliber is great from most rhythms but when I'm using my strat i get no sustain for my leads. Anyone else have this problem. It seems crazy to use a OD pedal with an amp that is known for its searing sustain. Just fishing for ideas. Thanks!

 

[bartchamdoh]

I know exactly where your coming from! I to am a fender through boogie kinda guy(strats and tele,s) When i use my mark 3,s there is no problem with sustain but the .50 caliber just doesn,t quite cut it imo it,s voiced more for rock with gain levels to match! There are several options you can use when it comes to pedals....option 1...try using a tube screamer as a clean boost...option 2...use a clean boost eg a keeley katana...option 3.....use a dedicated distortion pedal, i personally combine option 1 and 3 and use a ts-9 tubescreamer set up as a clean boost into a keeley modded ds-1 for a dual high gain lead pedal set up! My strats and tele,s sustain no problem with this set up! Many people like the bb pre amp pedal but although it has a smoother lead tone( than the ds-1) the difference is not that amazing that you could pick out which is which with out a/b ing the two pedals and imo the build quality of the ds-1 is much superior to the bb ( the bb pre amp pedal i tried arrived faulty in the post) and the ds-1 is a more convenient size for pedal boards ( i use a boss pedal board!) hope that helps.

 

[DBALL]

I know exactly where your coming from! I to am a fender through boogie kinda guy(strats and tele,s) When i use my mark 3,s there is no problem with sustain but the .50 caliber just doesn,t quite cut it imo it,s voiced more for rock with gain levels to match! There are several options you can use when it comes to pedals....option 1...try using a tube screamer as a clean boost...option 2...use a clean boost eg a keeley katana...option 3.....use a dedicated distortion pedal, i personally combine option 1 and 3 and use a ts-9 tubescreamer set up as a clean boost into a keeley modded ds-1 for a dual high gain lead pedal set up! My strats and tele,s sustain no problem with this set up! Many people like the bb pre amp pedal but although it has a smoother lead tone( than the ds-1) the difference is not that amazing that you could pick out which is which with out a/b ing the two pedals and imo the build quality of the ds-1 is much superior to the bb ( the bb pre amp pedal i tried arrived faulty in the post) and the ds-1 is a more convenient size for pedal boards ( i use a boss pedal board!) hope that helps.

Thx for the tips. So, when you say clean boost, do you mean keep the 50caliber lead gain the same and just use a slight bit of gain from the TS-9 to boost the sustain? That my be just what I need. I currently don't have a TS-9 but the Boss OD-20 has a tube screamer modeler and a DS-1 modeler. I'm not sure how accurate they are. Any experience with this pedal? I wonder if it would suffice.
http://www.pulseonline.com/boss/bigOD20.jpg
Can you give me an idea of where to start with the gain setting on the boosting pedal? I keep my .50 caliber lead gain at around 6 because of the clarity. When i need more sustain i usually crank it up to 9, at the expense of tone. I like the older vintage tones like Trucks, Bramhall and Angus. (i.e. sustain without gain).

 

[bartchamdoh]

Sorry don,t have any experience of the pedal that you mentioned. What i do with my tube screamer is put the gain right down and level right up and the tone control to taste(mine is between 1 and 2 o,clock).Used like this it gives a subtle gain boost and boosts the mids which has the effect of tightening the sound up and making it a bit more punchy! As i have said this works used in to the front end of an amp and many pro,s (Carlos Santana, Joe Bonamassa etc) do this however it works just as good when used as a boost in front of a good distortion pedal!!! Never use 2 distortion pedals the result is mush not tone lol. Most people say turn the gain down when using the tube screamer in front of an amp but i just leave it up(i like a lot of gain a la walter trout, gary moore etc).Try rolling the volume back on your guitar for rythmn and put it up for lead also i find rolling the tone back(on the guitar) helps make fenders sound phat for rock. All these things have a subtle effect on your tone but put them all together........well look out! hope this helps.

 

[DBALL]

Hey... just wanted to say that I tried the Clean Boost suggestions and Viola!....Great sustain and still great tone. I actually used my Boss OD-20 (set to Tube screamer model) with Drive at nearly 0 and level at nearly max. Now I can use my strat as often as i'd like. In fact, I was able to dial down the drive on the amp to 4, which is enough to give me a clean sound at low guitar volumes. I tend to like the lower levels of distortion in the lead mode. I was surprised, because i figured the Boss OD-20 to be a Digital based circuit rather than the the analog circuit as in the real TS-9 tube Screamer. (Not sure about that though) Either way, it boosts the input signal just enough to make the .50 caliber think i have hot pickups, when i don't. Anyway, thanks for the tips, big help!

 

[bartchamdoh]

Like cool glad it worked!