Overdrive for Strat and Marshall?

kswilson89

Any suggestions for an overdrive for my strat and Marshall 1974x? I've been considering a tubescreamer but would this be a little bit too midrange-y for a 1974x? Would a klone be better suited maybe? Educated me people! 

bbill335

Surely the only answer is either a rangemaster or a fuzz face, depending on how distorted you like things?

simonk

Treble booster and a Dr Z BrakeLite is all you need with that amp. Or a Timmy if it must be an OD.

TateFX

Been really digging a Boss SD1 into a JCM800 recently. 

Ro_S

I'm selling a Timmy clone

tone1

I’d seriously check out the Thorpyfx SI Veteran 
Booster and FF....I’ll dig out the YouTube demo of it through a Marshall 

https://youtu.be/6YOfOHiQwdo

kswilson89

simonk said:

Treble booster and a Dr Z BrakeLite is all you need with that amp. Or a Timmy if it must be an OD.

I've been considering this option for a while! 

Ro_S

tone1 said:

I’d seriously check out the Thorpyfx SI Veteran 
Booster and FF....

much more affordable versions of a silicon Fuzz Face are available.    i didn't realise the OP was seeking a fuzz, though.

hotpickups

Or the Warthog I'm selling but maybe I'm biased

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/115953/fs-thorpyfx-warthog#latest

Ro_S

A Strat will work fine with any OD imo (as a rule of thumb)

ICBM

Marshall Guv'nor, preferably the Mk2. It has full EQ, and the 'Deep' control on the Mk2 will give a nice 4x12" thump to it.

kswilson89

Thanks for the replies. If I opt for an attenuator does anyone have any recommendations? The Rivera rock crusher and radial headload seem like good options

Voxman

ICBM said:

Marshall Guv'nor, preferably the Mk2. It has full EQ, and the 'Deep' control on the Mk2 will give a nice 4x12" thump to it.

Beat me to it! 

simonk

kswilson89 said:

Thanks for the replies. If I opt for an attenuator does anyone have any recommendations? The Rivera rock crusher and radial headload seem like good options

Seriously, the BrakeLite is perfect with the 1974x. I have one that lives permanently in the back of my amp.

setyourselfonfire

If we're talking pedals, I'm not even close to a 1974x on my setup as I currently have a Strat going into a JCM 900 and the nicest one I ever had was Keeley Mod BD-2 (like Dan's from That Pedal Show). Trouble is my first one got stolen and the second BD-2 I got didn't sound as good.

Attenuator-wise, I agree with simonk above, my friend has a BrakeLite on a similar amp to yours and it's an essential now. Heard good things about the EHX East River Drive which is essentially a TS-9 analogman mod in an EHX box – also remarkably cheaper.

kswilson89

simonk said:

kswilson89 said:

Thanks for the replies. If I opt for an attenuator does anyone have any recommendations? The Rivera rock crusher and radial headload seem like good options

Seriously, the BrakeLite is perfect with the 1974x. I have one that lives permanently in the back of my amp.

Does the BrakeLite attenuate down to comfortable bedroom levels if the 1974X is cranked?

simonk

kswilson89 said:

simonk said:

kswilson89 said:

Thanks for the replies. If I opt for an attenuator does anyone have any recommendations? The Rivera rock crusher and radial headload seem like good options

Seriously, the BrakeLite is perfect with the 1974x. I have one that lives permanently in the back of my amp.

Does the BrakeLite attenuate down to comfortable bedroom levels if the 1974X is cranked?

Bedroom levels might be a bit of a stretch... but if that’s what you’re after you might be better off with a MV amp in the first place. What the BrakeLite allows you to achieve is that lovely phase inverter breakup at more manageable volumes. Really heavy attenuation never sounds that good to my ears, and I only ever used the BrakeLite on the first couple of notches.

kswilson89

simonk said:

kswilson89 said:

simonk said:

kswilson89 said:

Thanks for the replies. If I opt for an attenuator does anyone have any recommendations? The Rivera rock crusher and radial headload seem like good options

Seriously, the BrakeLite is perfect with the 1974x. I have one that lives permanently in the back of my amp.

Does the BrakeLite attenuate down to comfortable bedroom levels if the 1974X is cranked?

Bedroom levels might be a bit of a stretch... but if that’s what you’re after you might be better off with a MV amp in the first place. What the BrakeLite allows you to achieve is that lovely phase inverter breakup at more manageable volumes. Really heavy attenuation never sounds that good to my ears, and I only ever used the BrakeLite on the first couple of notches.

Thanks for the input. The Marshall's impedance is 15 ohms, will this be a factor when choosing an attenuator?

ICBM

kswilson89 said:

The Marshall's impedance is 15 ohms, will this be a factor when choosing an attenuator?

Yes if it's a reactive load, less so if it's a purely resistive one, as long as it's at least 8 ohms.

The Brake Lite is purely resistive - I admit I still find it massively overpriced for what it is, but it does work well with these amps. (Though not with all amps.)

The Jet City (and almost identical Harley Benton) is also good, and purely resistive.

TimmyO

Germanium Rangemaster - I used one with a 18wattter and it was glorious 

Ro_S

If you use that Marshall at home and you can't attenuate it or it doesn't have a master volume, I'd avoid a treble booster for home use.