Thoughts On Using Pedals With Gainy Amps… And FX Loops! That Pedal Show
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- Опубліковано 22 тра 2024
- Welcome to That Pedal Show! Please subscribe to our channel and visit our store www.thatpedalshowstore.com
Life too short for long UA-cam videos? Please see the ‘Interesting bits and go-to sections’ information below.
In this episode we meander through what seems to be a huge point of discussion with a lot of people: using pedals with overdriven amps. As regular viewers will know, Dan and I tend to use cleaner / higher headroom amps for the basis on which to stack different gain sounds from pedals. However, lots of people really like the sound of an overdriven amp… which is where the ‘problems’ really start when adding pedals.
We run through comparisons of using common gain pedal types into contrasting amps: one clean/high headroom and one heavily overdriven to try to shed some light on the issues you may be having. And of course the discussion would not be complete without discussing delay and reverb into either the front of the amp, or the loop.
As always, there really are no answers, just better questions, and what we hope to arm you with here is simply a better understanding of the various gain stacking relationships you will encounter when using pedals with amps.
If you’re at any point confused which amp you’re hearing: Amp 1 lit on G2 means it’s the Hiwatt. Amp 2 lit means it’s the Victory. Enjoy!
Pedals in this episode…
• TheGigRig Three2One
www.thegigrig.com/three2one
• Sonic Research ST-300 Turbo Tuner Mini
Australia: bit.ly/2mR1s8c
• Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2dvn8Xy
USA: imp.i114863.net/OA6nG
• Xotic Effects RC Booster SH
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2dYulwD
USA: bit.ly/3INfLoG
Australia: bit.ly/2F3ucY4
• Analog Man Sun Face NKT Red Dot
www.analogman.com/fuzzface.htm
• Keeley Filaments
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2PTsOrQ
USA: bit.ly/3EZpvd6
Australia: bit.ly/2A2HmjZ
• Dunlop EP-103 Echoplex
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2cQsuNc
USA: bit.ly/31ZWbVv
• Lovepedal Hall Mod Reverb
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2esaVB5
• Empress Echo System
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2x5i4z4
Australia: bit.ly/2x0K9K7
• Empress Reverb
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2wpXw6M
Australia: bit.ly/2wq2lgp
• TheGigRig G2
www.thegigrig.com/g2
* Why do we have preferred retailer links? Find out here: www.thatpedalshow.com/partners
Interesting bits and go-to sections…
- Intro playing: 0:00
- What are we doing today: 1:39
- Today’s amps: 2:10
- Today’s questions: 2:50
- Today’s board & pedals: 3:06
- FX loops & gain? 4:00
- The PRS S2 Singlecut Standard: 4:35
- The Hiwatt: 5:45
- The new dB meter, and new pedalcam: 6:17
- Victory VX 100 The Super Kraken: 7:08
- JEM!: 8:45
- Tube Screamer into Hiwatt: 10:45
- …and Victory: 12:05
- RC Booster into Hiwatt: 14:30
- …and Victory: 15:45
- The Victory’s preamp focus function: 21:00
- Keeley Filaments into the Hiwatt: 24:02
- …and Victory: 26:00
- Fuzz?: 29: 17
- Fuzz into Hiwatt: 31:10
- …and Victory: 32:48
- Can Mick even get one good sound out of the JEM Jr? 35:50
- Delay and reverb - front end or FX loop? 38:30
- …and more discussion on FX loops in general: 42:45
- Delay level issues: 47:35
- Like dirty amps but have no loop? 49:20
- What about mid-gained sounds? 50:15
- Delay and reverb into the Victory with less gain: 52:50
- Keeley Filaments, Hiwatt, delay and reverb in the front: 55:55
- What have we learned? 57:20
Guitars in this episode:
• PRS S2 Singlecut Standard: www.prsguitars.com/index.php/...
• Fender American Vintage ’62 Stratocaster - Mick’s video at bit.ly/2cQv3yT
• Fender Custom Shop ’63 Telecaster - Dan’s video at bit.ly/2dlZJ6K
• Ibanez JEM Jr: www.ibanez.com/usa/products/d...
• PRS DGT - watch Mick’s video at bit.ly/2d8Xo2I
Amps in this episode
• 1973 Hiwatt DR-103 and Two-Rock 212 with Two-Rock TR 1265B speakers
• Victory VX The Super Kraken and Victory V212VG cabinet and Celestion Vintage 30 speakers
UK & Europe: bit.ly/3E68znP
USA That Pedal Shop: bit.ly/3E12wk9
We hope you enjoy this episode. Please subscribe to our channel.
You can buy TPS merch to support our efforts www.thatpedalshowstore.com
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/ thatpedalshow
Please visit our preferred retailers!
UK & Europe: Andertons Music bit.ly/2cRvIvt
Australia: Pedal Empire bit.ly/2mWmJQf
USA: That Pedal Shop www.thatpedalshop.com/
I make sure to play your guy’s videos very loudly so my neighbors think I’m a better guitar player than I actually am.
SirHumps ARuG mick and Dan talking super loud between riffs might give it away....
Do I have a high gain amp? No.
Do I have an FX loop? No.
Did I watch the entire video? Yes.
Where does all of my free time go? Watching TPS and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Haha!
Great job guys. Please disregard the comments that complain about the Db meter, the color of the wall behind you, mics too loud or quiet, not using such and such pedals, etc...
You guys are doing an amazing service for us all. Thank you for all your time, effort & information. It really is awesome.
Agreed. It's great to have the DB. It would be really helpful if there was a digital frequency analyzer as well. Do see when pedals get turned on what is happening to the mids, bass, treble ECT. Especially if it could show what band is being effected. So in case of the tubes creamer it would show a spike in 500 htz and a reduction of the bass. I wouldn't care if it's showing taking up half the screen it would be the best way to see what pedals are doing what in different situations/amps/guitars. Bravo
Yeah well said mate. It's free to view
Personaly I didn't like that Dan's toes were cut out of frame some times
I thought I’d share my HiWatt story with you Chaps as well as all the great TPS viewers. It is essentially my “brush with John Lennon” story. I was recording in a studio in the late 1980’s with my band. I had a bad amp (I was still learning about what a good amp was) and quite early in the session, smoke started rising from my lousy amp. A slight panic ensued, followed by talk of what in the world we were going to do, as we were playing all the music live and overdubs were going to be strictly vocals. While my band mates and I were going over possible options with the studio guys, I noticed a tarp covering something in the corner of the main recording room. Driven by curiosity, I walked over and lifted the tarp off. As I revealed what was underneath, the engineer yelled, “No no no... don’t touch that!” Exactly the words that caused me to want to see what I had discovered even more. Lo and behold, it was a 1x12 HiWatt combo. I turned and asked the engineer why he was so worked up.
“You can’t play through that!”
“Why? I need an amp and this is a very cool amp. What’s the skinny?”
He paused for a moment and then shrugged and spilled the beans... “We recently bought some gear from the Hit Factory in NYC when they were closing and that amp was one of the things we bought. It’s the amp John Lennon used to cut all his guitar tracks for Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey.”
My bandmates and I all stood in silence with our jaws on the floor. Finally I worked up the gumption and began my request/begging/rationalization for why they should make an exception and let me use the John amp. I think what clinched it for me was that the guys that owned the studio also owned a very cool music shop just above the studio and we were steady customers. Specifically, they were one of the only shops on the area that occasionally got vintage Gretsches in stock and both the other guitarist and I were Gretsch freaks. I, myself, had bought four Gretsches from them (this was a time when Gretsches were not in production, so if you wanted a Gretsch your only option was finding a decent vintage example. Luckily for me, this was also at a time when the popularity of the Gretsch name wasn’t so big, so a guitar that would nowadays would cost you several thousand dollars could be had for under $1000!
Ultimately, the owners gave in and allowed me to plug in and play. What a sound! My 1961 Duo Jet sounded fat, sparkly and full. Naturally, all I could think was, “I’m playing through the amp that John Lennon played through!!! I’m cosmically connecting with JOHN!!!”
I used the amp for the next few hours and had a blast. It was one of those moments in life that instantly became indelible.
Though the band is long since gone, as is the studio, the store, and who knows what became of that amp, one thing remains... I had the honor of playing through John’s amp!
I hope you all got a kick out if this and thank you for reading!
haha stuff like that is awesome ! Hell, i like the history of my old beat up marshall cab, evn though most people havent heard of the bands that owned it, Snot + Ultraspank. + i dont listen to them. but its still cool how gear keeps delivering over the years.
that is so rad, thanks for sharing!
Loved the story!
lies......if they owned a music shop then why wouldn't they run upstairs instead of letting some kid who just blew-up his amp play thru something they obviously bought as an investment
Mick’s intro tone! I could smell the hairspray! Yes! ❤️
Not too sure why the hate for the db meter exists...I think it’s fab!
I intend to add a db meter to our rehearsal space. The boys do get loud!
What if you set the db meter on a stand in between you guys and the amps, about the same height as the stools. It would be more accurate, because it would be in front of the amps. It would also still be in a place where you guys could look back on it.
Ian Nicholson Only cats would get distracted more easily. Keep the meter!
Been watching the show for a few years now and I just wanted to compliment how great the picture/audio quality has become over the years. You can tell you guys put a lot of work into the show and take great pride in it. Keep it up! And most of all thank you!!!
Thank you, very kind of you to say, and a very nice tonic to all the moans. Hooray - cheers!
Yes sir! You guys are amazing! Please know that. Thank you so much. Love from San Francisco.
Totally agree with this. Audio and video quality have improved greatly over the years. I would say that I just started listening with headphones on my laptop and that does bring the quality to life. Anyone moaning should stuff it and try that for a while.
Mick expressing his desire to be able to honk hendrix was the emotional climax of this episode. I felt the glowing ardor.
Certainly more interesting than trying to play bad rock for an hour. Mick here. Honestly, I'm done with making shit I don't want to make. Thanks!
This reminded me how well tube amps distort and why It is the sound a lot of pedals aim for. It’s not as flexible as pedals but it is a lovely noise.
This is one of the few places I ever want to comment. I enjoy scrolling through while watching, just nice to be a fan with other fans.
Yeah, has to be the most well behaved and friendly comments section on all of UA-cam. They should set up a forum!
Alright alright, I am a believer now. I ran my jmp with kt88’s fully gained all the time. I would boost it with a tube screamer and it was the tone I was looking for. However other than rolling the volume back my tonal options were really limited. The biggest difference to me was when you guys suggested running the master on 10 and using the gain as a volume. I have never been happier with my tone than I am now. Running the amp as a pedal platform has opened up endless opportunities for different tones and my wallet.........
Cheers guys! Bravo to you two for making videos on subjects outside your comfort zone.
It's taken me all afternoon to watch this episode because I keep getting distracted with setting up my board with my QuarterMaster. Keep up the inspiring work guys!
Always in the front. Always through the clean channel. A compressed tight dry or wet sound. That’s the beauty of pedals...they provide a “studio sound” if you will...been playing for nearly 30 years and I’m happy that the guitar sound is finally just as adjustable as a synthesizer...(if that makes sense)🤔🎶✌🏻🕶
Amen brother. Used to mess about with gain channels, now I'm totally clean channel plus pedals.
Love your show guys! You seem to get along well and the chemistry makes the content even better. God bless gentlemen.
Have this on while working, heard the Knobs chord and thought "wait, I thought I had TPS on!" Love Knobs. And you, too!
Should have got Bea in!
I often think they should have him in anytime high gain is in the mix
Amazing job as usual gentlemen!!
I now know the following from watching TPS:
1.Yes it’s perfectly acceptable to sit tweaking and noodling my life away in the never ending quest for tone..
2. Even as a lower level intermediate player I have so much more understanding of how time is achieved
3. There are sometimes vast differences and subtle nuances between pedals but experiment and find your own tone
4. I need less pedals....shock horror!!!! Blasphemy..... but I need to understand the ones I have and my amp more... I think the tones there somewhere
5. Guitar t shirts are actually cool
6. When I find my perfect tone I’m not really going to have learnt anything new to play lol damn the noodling and tweaking..!!!
7. OMG if it’s the last thing I ever do I need to plug my LP into a JTM 45 and smile like a nutter...🤘🏼
russ brockwell 🤟
russ brockwell I would advise getting a 1987X and pulling the bright cap. Then bridge channels and set both at about 7 (level not time). Does what you’ve got in your head a lot better. Well it worked for me anyway😎
Not that you need my blessing but this is my favorite comments section comment ever!! Good on ya (said in Dan’s accent)
For me, tone defintely informs my playing. "Some random tone" that i arrive at, reminds me of a song or artist... Then boom, riffs and style in that vain. I'm close to the tone I'm after for this stoner thrash math doom project. As soon as it's dialed, let the creativity flow!
Just posted a comment in a similar vein! Too much time spent tweaking and changing effects instead of playing! Glad to hear I’m not the only one who suffers from this!
Decided earlier today that I’ll be cutting back to a few core pedals going into my valve amplifier. I’m hoping that will help with focus in practice sessions!
He went for the whammy straight away the absolute madman!!
You guys are on it for the new year love vqa and pick n mix and main show and looking forward to more vlogs- you must be racking up involvement and views. Great work.
kudos to these guys for making long and enjoyable videos, and putting timestamps in the description
Agree whole heartedly. Love the long videos DO NOT CHANGE FORMAT TO SHORT VIDEOS EVER!
PLEASE!!
I watched the first minute or so and that tone Mick had was just how I would want a higher gain tone to be. That PRS single cut sounds great! I'll watch more later. We need a USA tour for the TPS band! Come to Nashville!
I'm a Mesa Boogie guy. The best way I've found to hit a high gain channel is with a graphic EQ. You can be selective in what band you slam and you can clean up the bottom if you want. I'm not sure why guys use a Tube Screamer hoping the curve is right when you can dial in the curve.
Yeah, nice. I was a devoted MkIII user for many years and did exactly that. But the TS and high gain amp is really a thing for the Rectifier and 5150 boys!
Love, love, love TPS!!! You guys help make the elusive quest for consistent great tone more of a reality. In my 40 years of playing I have never been closer to the sounds I hear in my head actually coming out from my fingers. I could have really used this show back in the 90s when I was playing out all the time. Rock on!
Oh, right off the bat, that S2 sounds glorious!
The mental start of the weekend! TPS at my desk on Friday morning! Ahhhhhhhhh........
I think you guys Illustrated the problem a lot of us bedroom players have. We have low wattage tube amps and modelers because we don't play super loud all the time. But those types of amps do not allow pedals to shine through most of the time. It's the balance between High Headroom and low volume that gets most of us. By the way Mick you sounded great and I love that PRS singlecut. I have one very similar and I love it.
Congratulations, fellows! You finally achieved some of my signature tones this episode! Well done. Especially Mick. ;-)
In all seriousness, though, this was a fantastically informative and entertaining episode. As always, I learn so much by watching and listening to you both play and talk. Such a joy! Please get some more TPS picks (plectrums) in your store!
I continue to learn more and more about the signal chain every time I watch TPS. Thanks for the additional info on the FX Loops, also. I think it’s quite confusing as most will just put their modulating and reverb as a de facto standard into the FX Loop. The reality seems to be like anything else in the signal chain - “it depends”. It depends on the quality of the FX Loop and how its engineered, it depends on how the amp is designed overall, so many factors. Great seeing it “live”. And I still am quite impressed on how giddy you all get when you find a great tone! Lol. Happy New Years Dan & Mick.
I love the DB meter. Thanks.
I own a couple Xotic pieces, and after seeing this episode, i see more of their fine products in my future. The RC sounds very "natural" to my ears and salubrious to my low gain lifestyle. Thank you for another scintillating episode. Cheers!
Just want to THANK YOU both for the wealth of information you've given over the years in a fun and intelligent way. All the best and I hope you continue for many years to come.
That explanation of using delays into a grainy amp was fantastic. Really helped shed some light some issues Ive been having with the delay volume. Thanks guys!
That PRS sounds killer!!!! nice Mick!
Great topic :-) When I got my Komet a couple of months ago I sat down with a bunch of my pedals and quickly audtioned them to see what would work - basically an hour spent going "nah... nope... nah...". In the end I kept a klone, a treble boost and Komet's own drive pedal on the board, and used my Power Station loop to run a delay and reverb pedal after the amp. Overdrives and fuzzes didn't sound bad, they just added so much saturation to an amp that was already well saturated :-) I need to go back and revisit some other pedals now that I understand the amp better. The Victory is different in that it's mainly preamp gain compared to the Komet's "everything" gain structure (i.e. power tubes distort at a similar rate to the preamp), but this is really useful info and inspiration - thanks guys!
As always, very instructive and entertaining. Thanks to you, I recently started using a JHS AT2 into the clean channel of my Peavey Classic 30 for distortion and it sounds great. I had been previously using the amp's crunch channel for all my overdriven and distorted tones but the AT2 into the clean channel has great distortion without compressing. When I hit it with a boost it actually gets louder as opposed to mushier. Still using the crunch channel for bluesier tones with an Ibanez Mini TS for solo boosts. Thanks, guys. Love the show. Looking forward to the Wt/Dry amp show you've been mentioning.
Outstanding, thank you! Very informative and timely while I search out a sweet spot for gain structure for many styles.
The Hiwatt is back, YEAH !!! This thing is a pure beast
Mick, you’ve done Cream gigs, Hendrix gigs... When are you doing a Van Halen gig? Loved the cheeky Van Halen riffs you played. 😎
Haha!!! It would be like Kim Jong IL doing standup.
And that made me spit out my coffee! 😂
"I can't hear you even more than I couldn't hear you three seconds ago." That's a classic, right there, Mick.
Always put my boost in FX loop with delay / reverb - I use MXR Micro Amp as a volume kick up for solos - works well with both Marshall & Orange amps. Great show !
Great show Guys! :) I used to be a "filthy amp" person but these days I prefer to run the amp cleaner and use pedals - so much more control. I have a Vox AC15, so admittedly there is a potential headroom problem, however I get around it by plugging into the normal channel, turning the power amp ALL the way up (I need every millimeter of headroom) and forgetting about it, and using the channel volume to set the volume as loud as possible before serious break-up. I then use a Boss Blues Driver as my main gain pedal, with a DS1 (with the gain on zero and bass backed off) bunged in front and use my guitar volume control as the overdrive knob (the pedals basically being set and then ignored - they're just part of the amp now). So I'm using pedals AND the old school guitar volume method. As I've only got 15 watts, if I need to totally clean up, without losing too much volume, I can always switch the pedals off. Anyway, it all seems to works well. If I ever need more I'll add another AC15 ;) Again, a great show - many thanks :)
i really haven't tried vox amps but lately i have been playing thru my plug in which does a great job emulating, well i was very impressed with the vox amp, especially the way it takes pedals, hi gain, and overdrives.
@@arnyarny77 I love my AC15. It takes pedals really well but the trick is to use the normal channel, keep the power amp open and gain lower. Works a treat :)
Hi, I also have an AC15 and I wanted to share: Try experimenting with your input and especially output tubes for more headroom. The chinese tubes used in the modern ACs are very hot, so if you can find some NOS EL84s you'd be amazed. I swapped my stock tubes with a pair of old Telefunkens - my amp opened up massively and the sound also was much more 3 dimensional. Cheers - I think 15 watts is plenty for most gigs today mate.
@@TyRobertsmedia Thanks for the tip :) I agree 100% re the wattage. With today's PA systems, 15 watts is more than enough for me :)
I put Boss 7 band eq set to flat in the effects loop as a boost after effects. Awesome🌞
Me to works great
Enjoyed that.big time fellas.. Felt you had said it all before but definitively you had to put it into this episode. All you have taught me about Amps came through and very well explained.... thx
I love it when Dan picks up the Ibanez 😄
Mick tapping was also precious
No D&M pedal... Outrage! I use the D&M with my Friedman BE 100 head and it sounds phenomenal.
ah, cheers mate :)
Thanks for improving my Friday as usual TPS squad :D
I'm a metal head, now in a cover band covering every type of music. Gotta say this was an awesome episode. So many videos from you guys have helped me get better tone and understanding of how my guitar sits in the mix. Please keep up the excellent work.
Thank you for doing this video!
I used to have 4 overdrives and 2 fuzzes on my board with a high headroom amp and I finally decided to simplify my life with a great “gainy” amp and now just have one fuzz and a boost.
The key for me was finding amps with good FX loops for pedals. So now I primarily use Splawn, Friedman and 3rd Power amps. My delays and reverbs still sound awesome.
I feel the “limiting” of choices (to use Dan’s term) actually improves creativity. And don’t forget that you can run your volume knob on levels under 10! Geez, I mean, I can use my Les Paul neck pick up on 2 for clean, bridge on 10 for crunch and both PU’s for a nice classic 70’s rock tone.
I see a lot of guitarists wasting the preamp section of killer amps and using 3 gain pedals inline and it’s sort of sad.
Cheers guys!
Suggestion: Put the DB meter on the back wall, aim the old GoPro at it, and do a little out of the way picture-in-picture when you think the DB meter would be most useful. Just thinking out loud here so to speak.
tubbyadamj oh balls I just said the same thing without reading your comment first. Well, have an upvote for visibility!
Continued: If you wanted to reduce the distraction you could add a dark film to reduce the brightness.
Editing that would be a pain, no??
Just lose the dB meter. It’s distracting from your conversation and not necessary. Who cares how loud it is. I know everybody is concerned with hearing loss these days, but you know damn well when your playing too loud. That’s why we have ears and common sense.
Duane D your common sense is going to net you tinnitus and hearing loss in 10 years time
Fun show, guys! There's something I quite enjoy about seeing Mick outside of his comfort zone. I think it's because I display a similar look of frustration whenever I pick up a guitar, ha ha.
About FX loops: I wonder how many FX loops were designed at a time when rack units were in vogue. Assuming the rack unit would be looking for a line level signal, I'm guessing there would an inherent difference regarding things like impedance, nominal level, etc. being supplied by the send. This makes me wonder whether using a reamp box at the head of your signal chain in the FX loop would clear up some of the issues people experience using pedals in FX loops, especially in older amps. Thoughts?
dudes! As always, thanks for the incredibly useful & instructional video. I'm a high-gain player (6505 all day) and through trial and error discarded many pedals as they didn't do what I needed/wanted them to, and now have figured out why. I got the 6505 for that sound, but when I've tried branching out, I've found it - surprise, surprise - limiting. I've worked things out for me decently now and have a quite a few different sounds from the one rig, but have been thinking more & more about exploring other amps. This video almost has me convinced (I'm a stubborn bastard).
This video has me reconsidering almost every amp I have (and many great pedals I've likely gotten rid of) due to not truly understanding how much head-room vs. high-gain impacts how pedals react. So informative & a great show!...thank you! A lightbulb moment for me.
I would highly recommend analog delay before gain, when i tried it once, it felt like it should be this way. Also if you have some of those true spring reverbs around, i bet it will be awesome as well. I'm a huge fan of reverb before drives, holy grail on a flerb setting kicked off chorus i had, plus added reverb, cool stuff.
Yes analog delay in front, digital in the loop is my rule! I love the sound of analog delay in front of high gain amps... digital gets a bit janky though.
Awesome practical topic! Love it blokes!
Still bottling in the dump?
Guy in the chair lost most of the company to VLT's, bud. Way she goes
Way of the road
Mick and the "tappy giggles". Love it. :D
Great video as always. I just started watching and I've gotta say it's by far the best music gear/pedal podcast out there. I love that you guys don't act like you know everything, I don't ever come away from your show feeling stupid. Also love anytime that I see Red and the Sun Face, awesome combo going into anything.
TPS day is the best day!
One fuzz that works somewhat well with high gain amps is Seymor Duncan Tweak Fuzz. The thinner modes with lower gains is the key. If helps loads if the preamp doesn't grab the bass so much.
edit:
This was interesting episode. Hope you'll do a sort of follow up (with some high gain -knowable guest?). Maybe just exploring what you can do tone shaping -wise with high gain amps and misc. pedals.
What I have learned from using delay and reverb pedals infront of a clean amp or into an effects loop of a dirty/clean amp is that you have to set the mix level completely differently in those two cases.And I have the fabulous Friedman loop you guys talked about.When running infront of a clean amp you have to set the mix level way lower to get the same effect, I found.And vice versa.Cheers from Slovenia!!
Thank you Guys for another great episode. It took me years to figure this stuff out on my own. If only there was TPS when I was young, it would certainly speed me up :) I always look forward to friday after work to see your show and I think I saw every one so far.
I use two amps - 1971 35W Vibrolux Reverb and 2017 60W Hot Rod Deville ML edition (mostly in stereo) and I always use all my effects in the front of the amps. What I found interesting is when I switch between the amps in mono - on the same settings of the delays, the repeats into the Hot Rod are noticably louder - which is a bit weird since it has a lot more headroom. A tiny detail, but interesting.
Cheers Guys, Love from Poland
That is indeed interesting. And what a killer setup! Maybe it's a midrange thing. The HRD has quite a bit more pronounced mid than the VL. So maybe you're hearing the delays more prominently because of that. Maybe. Cheers! Mick here
@@ThatPedalShow Thanks Mick, it might be that. And the amps together sound killer, their characteristics and speakers (2x10 and 2x12) combined together give a beautiful rich clean tone. Pedal platform to die for :)
I stumbled on the "knobs" chord one time!
I started chuckling as soon as Dan played it. Love Knobs demos!
I would love to see a video of one of you gents buying a new guitar! Not that you don’t have great collections, just would love to see a video of it. Or whatever your next gear purchase is in general.
Second this.
I'd like em to order custom ones or do the building course at crimson. It'd be great to watch em spec it, design, build and see and play it for the first time.
Really crazy how the volume would not go up on the Victory despite the massive change you made on the Filaments level. I've heard you guys cover this before but that was something a lot of guitarists should see if they want to find out why their guitar sounds mushy in a live band context. I thought for a gainy sound the Victory was perfect without any pedal at all. As usual, you guys are a riot...especially when I watch you first thing in the morning...puts a smile on my face!
I'd like a drive stacking episode. Always something I'd like to know more about.
Also odd pedal combos like micks delay into tremelo. Mainly the stacking thing though.
Here's to a happy new year of more great vids. Thanks guys
Knobs definitely is really cool, can he come on the show? Is he the one doing the ambient show?! AAAHHHHH
Surely.
His identity is a bit of a secret isn't it? Andy Othling would be cool too
Who else went 'that's the Knobs arpeggio!' the instant Dan played it?
That is an obscene guitar and I love seeing Dan play it.
Brilliant!!! Opened my eyes about my high gain amps. Going to experiment with my Mesa. 🤘🏼
Great week for TPS. Aweosme way to start the year, guys. And I'm glad to see that the Db meter is back.
Question for you, regarding this show and this weeks Pick N Mix- since pedals have no sound and simply react to what you feed them (and run them through), what are your thoughts on:
1- Running amp-based pedals through the amps they try to emulate - what to expect?
2- The amps used to test these pedals and how will they behave when run through something else entirely?
I'm thinking about dumble-style pedals mostly, btw... This came to me when I was watching this show and thinking about the DMBL (which was sawesome)- what amp(s) was it tested on and how would it sound through the kraken vs a V40D vs a 'Dumble-esque' amp, for instance? However, one could think about JTM45-type pedals and JTM45 and Silver Jubilee amps as well (or even The Kraken or a Hiwatt), which might fit this particular episode's scope better...
Hope I made myself clear. If not, my apologies.
Cheers
With the dB meter issues, an alternative would be an app called Audio Tools. It has a Real Time Analyzer, with a dB meter as well, which allows you to see what frequencies your producing. I use mine with an iPad when I do FOH, a very useful tool. You can also slow down the response so it’s a little bit smoother then an average dB meter.
interesting, cheers Ryan
This is the beauty of the Klon style pedals (for me and my ears) - They sound great into a clean or a gainy amp, usually with minimal adjustment.
What he said. Mick here. :0)
I use my diy klone with guitar, bass, into a clean amp, into a dirty amp, into the diy ocd, into the muff...
I run my AC15 (an amp that breaks up quickly) pretty close to break up and then keep my Tumnus on with minimal gain. It gives me a terrific light OD rock rhythm tone that with a boost can work for some lead stuff.
Db metre immediately makes sense when the Kraken sounds louder than God but is visibly creating less sound pressure in the room. Fascinating! Great addition!
This episode, I think, is a really good example of what Dan once said (recently? might have been an old show I watched?) about how TPS is really more about *concepts* of how pedals work, rather than demonstrating specific pedals. That statement really changed the way I think about what's going on in each episode, especially when I find myself thinking, "I really wish Dan & Mick would schwang on Such'and'Such pedal, or show some specific feature." I sold off my Voodoo Lab Proctavia earlier this year, but I'm going to get out my Boss FZ-3 and give it another try, after watching this episode. Thank you for another insightful episode!
I run a wet (DSL40)/dry (AC10) rig & my favourite rock sound out of it is a Les Paul and the Marshall OD1 channel with the Vox fairly clean, both pushed by low gain/medium-high volume TS808 (and an always on Spark Booster). I’m still early in this video so don’t know if you covered this ground yet, but I’d be interested in your thoughts on 2 amps at differing gain levels together.
And Mick, if the volume knobs being the other way around on that PRS bends your mind, you should try a Brian May signature, it’s the tone and volume that are reversed.
I run an ac30 clean and a Hughes and kettner dirty. On my board I have a soul food>OCD >mxr distortion+. I sometimes add my homemade fuzz. But those 3 usually do me. The soul food is always on. It just adds a little something. Drive set way low. Volume set to unity. OCD used to add dirt. As is the mxr. Always through both amps........
Oh.....and delay into the front of both. Reverb on ac30, none on my h&k
T-shirt: “I wish I could honk him!” 😄👍🏻
Actually, just a “HONK!” T-shirt would be great.
TPS is just getting better and better, and this particular episode explain so much why my amp sounds in a particular way with certain pedals. My amp is a Orange TH30 Combo, and most of the time I run i on the dirty channel due to I love that distortion. Keep it up lads
I use a deluxe memory boy into a relatively dirty amp. Just keep the delay level low enough for it not to be piercing in front of your dry signal. I happen to love the sound but probably in part due to that it's all I have to use now. Great show!
Been waiting for this one! Useful for Orange owners.
I happened to try running my laney boost in the effects loop of my Randall rd40c. As I was using it to tighten the sound rather than add gain I found it to be much more affective than in the front. Just a thought.
Interesting... a bit counterintuitive, but I find when it comes to testing where things go and in what order it is always best to test things out and see what you like, it can change with different amps and different pedals. Rules of thumb aren't set in stone and what you like may not be what others do.
One of your best shows, thanks.
Great info guys! I have a JVM 410 and use the amp for most my gain settings, I do have a mini TS (level max/gain min) and Big Muff in front, but only to drive the clean channel. I run a Keeley Caverns and TC Echo Brain in front as well, but all digital modulation effects must go through the loop or they get crushed by the gain on the OD channels. I find Keeley pedals behave very well with drive pedals before them and running in front of high gain amps.
Hopefully this will answer the burning question; does Mick djent?
Hahahaha. Mick here. I Djent in the same way tractors use motorways.
@@ThatPedalShow that yellow Ibanez is something I never thought I'd see here, so surely an 8 string is next :D
So from time to time he does? XD
@@ThatPedalShow So Mick djents slowly, while taking up too much room, and making lots of noise and emitting a lot of foul-smelling gases. Wait, what?
@@ThatPedalShow In true West country style!!
The ppl that I know who use really high gain amps, use a tube screamer in front to define the mids. It's not to get more volume or boost.
Yep - big part of the discussion in this vid. Cheers Fred!
It's to tighten up the low end as well
That Pedal Show I use a tube screamer in front and the way I’ve got my amp set gives me just enough lift and boost. The amp is set to a heavy crunch. If I want more of a lift I use a clean boost in the effects loop.
I love this show!!!! I really want you guys to do “Pro Sound on a Budget” video with solid state (non-valve) amps and software amps and pedals .... It should be an excellent challenge for you guys and a multiple part series since there are so many options now for amp and cab simulation...
In my current rock gig I'm running everything in front of the amp. I only use delays on leads. I use the clean channel plus pedals for leads. The Recto's Modern High Gain channel is my rhythm channel. The gain channel in a live mix has more balls dry though I may use a touch of verb depending on the room or hall or if outdoors. Great show.
Where's the treble booster and klon/clone? Those are the tools for high gain amps.
9:54
"You probably better put that down"
WHYYYYYY?
That Kraken sounds absolutely killer! (Just on its own!) Well done lads 👍 improved with the booster for those treble booster type tones.
This video would’ve been especially helpful to me when I was buying my first tube amp and pedals. Great video!
Gotta love Dan swinging that wangbar :D
The Schwangbar ?
Gotta love Mick tossing it away :)
I was waiting for u to say chalk and cheese mick!!
Great demo...very useful info! Thanks!
Keep the Jem! As an Ibanez/Dimarzio player it's super useful as a reference point. Thanks again guys.
Sorry boys. Best sound you had all day was plugging straight into the victory. With that red Tele.
Cool! This is the trick of adding loads of bass and gain and everyone thinking it sounds awesome. Which it does!
Yeh it certainly did haha that red tele is a thing of Beauty! It’s versatility is insane! Still a strat guy but I’m being swayed more and more each video I watch.
Two words, Sun. Face.
I picked an NKT one of these up recently... is 'always on' fuzz a thing?
I have an NKT red dot from AM and use it just like that for hours at a time. Rolling back your volume gives you a gorgeous, harmonically rich clean(ish) tone, and just roll it back up when you need something more. Has to be into an amp that’s just starting to cook though. That’s the key.
Proper. Transistors.
Poisonthesalt
I have a BC109 Si Fuzz Face, that is wonderful for stacking.
I put my amp to a barely crunching, clean tone. Then once the Fuzz is on, roll back the volume to where it's a thick, lovely clean. From there, I can use a tube screamer style pedal, to boost that clean tone, while getting a nice bottom end, with those mids and highs. Or I use a Superlead in a Box Pedal, after the Fuzz, for a thick Hendrix like sound. Crank the guitar volume up, and get the Fuzzy lead tone, or a good rhythm sound, depends on the genre one is playing.
But I even will turn the Fuzz down on the pedal, and stack it with a Black Arts Toneworks Pharaoh, which has a lo/hi switch, for more or less headroom, which gives more range with the guitar volume knob. It has a 3 diode option switch, which give Germanium, Si, or diodes out, options.
I like to use the Asymmetrical Germanium to get a clipping sound, that stacks very well, with the Silicon Transistors, of the Fuzz Face.
So there are endless possibilities, as an always on pedal. The only time I have problems is with high gain OD, unless I'm dialing the Fuzz knob nearly all the way down.
And, it stacks beautifully with all my modulation pedals, and time based effects.
Sorry for such a long reply, but I've been stoked, since figuring out how to stack the Fuzz Face and Pharaoh Fuzz, to get new tonal shspes.
Michael Scheiner
Do you have the high gain version, or the regular Red Dot?
I'm wondering how clean the higher gain version actually gets, and I don't live near a store that has one.
Love that you have the decibel meter! All those videos where they say you crank the amp to get it to drive - I always find that makes them mind-buggeringly loud and totally unusable in the real world. Being able to get a handle on just how loud the playing is in a video is SUPER handy 🙂
Great episode. I learn so much from your show.
For me, it depends on the type of gig I'm playing. I'll set my up amp with some drive for a rockier gig and push it with a TS or my Tumnus, where I don't need really clean tones. In a gig that requires 'clean' cleans, I'll set up the amp with loads of headroom and just stack drive pedals to get the best drive tones I can where needed. Seems to work for me but open to ideas.
simon french good take simon. Options are never a bad thing.
Wish I could give a second like for referencing Knobs
First time commenter LONG time watcher!!
My card has ‘accidentally’ swiped itself at many music stores after watching your videos 🤣
That whole video is exactly why I have been using a Hiwatt for years. Most Pedals sound great (pretty much) from quiet to amazing on the edge or breakup (which is usually too loud to use in most venues these days anyway) but you definitely have to tweak gains etc depending on volume (it’s almost pointless running up sounds, for gigs, not at stage volume). Also what sounds great by itself is quite often not so great in a mix.
Love the show guys
The sun face into the hiwatt with the empress reverb is a perfect live mix/track sound