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Topic: Overdrive/Distortion Gear? |
Michael James
From:
La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 22 Mar 2015 1:00 pm |
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Hey Folks,
I use overdrive, distortion pedals and Fender tube amps when playing rock,blues and R&B on the lap steel. I have a wide variety of great sounds. But I'm wonder what everyone else here uses?
My favorite overdrive pedal is "Full-Drive 2 Mosfet". I also have a TC Electronics "Dark Matter" distortion pedal. The "Dark Matter" is a little to over the top. But it sounds great. I often chain the two pedals together to get a really fat tone. I love Steve Cunningham's sounds!
Looking forward to hearing from some of you! |
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James Hartman
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 22 Mar 2015 2:06 pm
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I don't like heavy distortion that completely masks the sound of the guitar I'm playing or alters the attack/decay envelope in an unnatural way. Sustain and enriched harmonic content are the goal.
My preferred rig for moderate distortion is to stack a BJF Model H into a Mad Professor SHOD. It sounds like this (after 0:50) - https://soundcloud.com/stringworks/freaker-funk That clip is slide on a Strat, but I use the same rig with a lapsteel. Stacking the pedals in this way - OD placed after the heavier distortion tends to give a more focussed sound.
The other distortion pedal I like with lap steel is the Bixonic Expandora, the one that looks like a tuna can. I have a 1st generation speciman; don't know if the new ones sound quite the same. |
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David Spires
From:
Millersport, OH
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Posted 22 Mar 2015 2:15 pm
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Michael,
I use the same - Fulldrive 2, on the Mosfet setting - to a Fender Blues Jr on the road. I do have to admit though, that I REALLY loved playing my lap steel through that same Fulldrive, to the drive channel on my Fender Supersonic Twin.
David Spires
_________________
2021 MSA Legend XL 10&7; Asher Electro-Hawaiian Junior Lap Steel; '79 OMI Dobro 66 w/ Scheerhorn cone and setup; '64 Hand-wired Re-issue Fender Princeton Reverb |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 22 Mar 2015 6:49 pm
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For subtle overdrive I like the Sparkle Drive.
But usually when I want fuzz, I want my Boss Tone.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 22 Mar 2015 8:47 pm
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I use two different ones depending on the situation.
Brad Sarno's Earth Drive. It gets a natural overdrive. Its real strength to me is in its more subtle sounds. A pretty amazing and somewhat essential tool to have ready. One very smart aspect of it is that the volume remains consistent as you change the overdrive level. Super handy while in battle conditions.
My other is a Durham Crazy Horse. It starts at ridiculously gnarly and goes to sputtering blown out speaker. It is not subtle at all. If you are feeling like Godzilla and in the mood to stomp on Tokyo it will do the job. It will wake up the bass player, crack up the drummer, annoy the guitar player and frighten the singer.
_________________
Bob |
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Michael Hartz
From:
Decorah, Iowa, USA
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Posted 23 Mar 2015 6:36 pm
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| I use a clone of an Analogman "King Of Tone" pedal that I etched and built last summer. It is a dual overdrive where one side is a light overdrive and the other side has a little heavier gain to it. After building it I can see why there was a 2 year wait to get a real one built for you. It is the most transparent sounding overdrive I've ever heard. |
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Darvin Willhoite
From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
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Posted 23 Mar 2015 6:43 pm
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I use a Proco Rat, and have for several years. I went through several boxes before the Rat, it gave me the sound I wanted, so I quit looking.
_________________
Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, a restored MSA Classic SS, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Also a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored Rose S10, named the "Blue Bird". Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also have a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks, and a showroom condition Sho-Bud Super Pro. |
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Michael James
From:
La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2015 8:10 pm
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| Wow, I'm Googling all your gear. Nice! Thanks for the great responses! |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2015 8:21 pm
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| To my chagrin, I have never played thru a dirt pedal that sounded nearly as good as an overdriven tube amp. |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 25 Mar 2015 11:47 pm
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Michael, I did a little demo of the Mahoney Buzz Tone (direct son of Boss Tone), I posted a link in the other thread. I plan to do one on the Sparkle Drive.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Richard Wilhelm
From:
Ventura County, California
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Posted 26 Mar 2015 9:31 am
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Hardwire Valve Distortion — with it 2 settings, I get smooth not choppy light overdrive or smooth harder fuzz type distortion. The true bypass lives up to it promise. Digitech greatly improved their pedals with this series.
_________________
"Be Kind to Animals, don't eat Them"
"If you know music, you°ll know most everything you°ll need to know" Edgar Cayce
"You're only young forever" Harpo Marx
Fender 400, Fender FM212, G&L ASAT.
Was part of a hippie-Christian store in Cotati, California (circa 1976) called THE EYE OF THE RAINBOW. May God love you. |
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Tom Wolverton
From:
Carpinteria, CA
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Posted 26 Mar 2015 10:33 am
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My favs are: Earth Drive, SDTT and Simble
_________________
To write with a broken pencil is pointless. |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 26 Mar 2015 3:23 pm
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SDTT?
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 26 Mar 2015 3:31 pm
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| Darvin Willhoite wrote: |
| I use a Proco Rat, and have for several years. I went through several boxes before the Rat, it gave me the sound I wanted, so I quit looking. |
I also like the Rat. I think it's an excellent pedal. I don't need distortion to do my classical thing, but I will use one if I ever do another rock gig.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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Paddy Long
From:
Christchurch, New Zealand
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Posted 26 Mar 2015 3:38 pm
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Earth Drive for me, I'm not a fan of really heavy distortion on steel - the Earth drive is a lot smoother which is what I like
_________________
14'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
08'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
94' Franklin Stereo D10 9+8
Telonics, Peterson, Steelers Choice, Benado, Lexicon, Red Dirt Cases. |
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Kevin Mincke
From:
Farmington, MN (Twin Cities-South Metro) USA
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Posted 26 Mar 2015 8:56 pm
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Seymour Duncan Twin Tube pedal Lane... |
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Tom Wolverton
From:
Carpinteria, CA
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Posted 27 Mar 2015 9:01 am
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Sorry Lane. I got lazy. : )
_________________
To write with a broken pencil is pointless. |
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Glenn Suchan
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 1 Apr 2015 11:00 am
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I don't use it too often, but when the mood or the occasion calls for it, I use an original Jordan Electronics, 'Boss Tone'.
Keep on pickin'!
Glenn
_________________
Steelin' for Jesus |
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Justin Jacobson
From:
Rochester, MN
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Posted 1 Apr 2015 4:13 pm
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I've used/still use a lot of od/distortion/fuzz boxes with my steel.
Things already mentioned here that I've used and loved are the Rat, King of Tone, and the Earth Drive.
I couldn't bond with the full drive 2, it just didn't give a sound I liked.
I use Earthquake devices Iron Bell and Hoof repeater,love them both.
Still using the Earth Drive, have been constantly for 4 years now, that's easily the best psg od pedal.
My secret weapon is the WMD Geiger counter, that thing really lets me explore sound in ways I love.
Other pedals I've used and really enjoyed are
Boss HM-2
Sampler velvet fuzz
EHX double muff
_________________
http://soundcloud.com/tower-4
ShoBud Pro2 - Strobostomp - POG2 - mojo hand iron bell - WMD Geiger Counter - EHX Freeze - Earth Drive - catalinbread pareidolia - fender volume/tone - boss dd-3 - behringer vibrato - boss bf-2 - boss dc-2 - neo ventilator - catlinbread echorec - strymon timeline - eventide space - fender blues deluxe |
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Les Cargill
From:
Oklahoma City, Ok, USA
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Posted 1 Apr 2015 5:50 pm
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The Behringer Vamp I use in the F/X loop of a clean, solid state amp (Quilter Steelaire) is pretty useful to make it not sound quite so solid state*, when that's appropriate. I am sure a PoD would be equally interesting.
*it sounds nice and warm anyway without it - just very precise and "fast" in a way tubes are not.
I do not like the thing for full-on distortion, but rather for a bit of crunch and EQ. |
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Clete Ritta
From:
San Antonio, Texas
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Posted 2 Apr 2015 1:06 am
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| Ive got two, a Fulltone OCD and an old MXR Dist+. For pedal steel I occasionally use the MXR Dist+ which is in the effects loop. I set it for full output and minimum distortion so its more of a subtle boost with just a little dirt. 6 string guitar goes direct into wah, boost/compressor, eq, OCD to amp. |
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Michael Hummel
From:
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 3 Apr 2015 3:00 pm
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I don't know how to recommend a "dirt box" to anyone. In my experience everyone expects something different from plugging in to one. One person might want David Lindley, one guy might want Larry Carlton, one guy might want Jimi Hendrix...
But with my Sho~Bud, I use an Earth Drive. Keeps the sound of the guitar with some grind.
Mike
_________________
MSA Classic 5+4
Too many 6-strings and amps to list |
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Richard Wilhelm
From:
Ventura County, California
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Posted 3 Apr 2015 7:24 pm
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I'm looking to refine my "dirt" sound. I plan to check out the Fulltone Catalyst. I'm looking for a smooth fuzz with clear note definition. Sneaky is my fuzz idol. I'll have to drop by the Amp Shop in Sherman Oaks (Los Angeles). They have ALMOST every good pedal on the market. Does anybody use the Catalyst for steel?
_________________
"Be Kind to Animals, don't eat Them"
"If you know music, you°ll know most everything you°ll need to know" Edgar Cayce
"You're only young forever" Harpo Marx
Fender 400, Fender FM212, G&L ASAT.
Was part of a hippie-Christian store in Cotati, California (circa 1976) called THE EYE OF THE RAINBOW. May God love you. |
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Alex Cattaneo
From:
Quebec, Canada
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Posted 3 Apr 2015 8:10 pm
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Pedals come and go. These days, my favorite is the Wampler Pinnacle. It's advertised as a "brown sound" pedal, but it dos so much more than that. I've yet to meet a Wampler pedal I didn't like. I als strongly recommend the Wampler Ecstasy, which I think Is now called the Euphoria. it's an overdrive with three very useable types, and each type can be tweaked via the 4 knobs.
I also had tremendous results with the Keeley Fuzz Head on both lap stel and pedal steel. It's very transparent and has a distinct "cranked amp" flavor that really complements the slide. It has many different sweet spots, if that makes any sense.
But I must point out that I mostly use vintage Blackface amps, and most pedals sound great with them. You need to figure out what works with whatever amp you're using. |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 6 Apr 2015 5:57 am
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| Quote: |
| Pedals come and go... |
The editor of Premier Guitar did a pretty funny riff on this a while ago. Something like, "how is it possible that a Durham Sex Drive & a Timmy OD actually go back and make a Tube Screamer and a ProCo Rat sound worse?  Jealousy?
I have "some" pedals, and the Fulltone Fulldrive 2/mosfet does me pretty good. That, and the Sparkle Drive, are essentially Tube Screamer offspring, but the Fulldrive lets you switch different values into the circuitry and some of the opamps and... the MOSFET! Whatever that may be. The Sparkle Drive lets you dial some clean signal back in; as does every modeler on the planet. Because individual stompboxes are always better than a multi-effect, Digitech took the same chip from the RP__50 or __55's, and developed their excellent-sounding "Hardwire" series of pedals. Each one does about a tenth of what the multi-effects do - people just lap that stuff up. Buy all ten!
The single biggest aspect is to attenuate your signal down to the point that it's not overwhelming a box built for a guitar with 1/3 of the output. If you don't do that right off the bat, it become easy to see why many steel guitarists dislike effects. With a volume-dependent effect like overdrive, it kinda matters. |
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