.

kt66

.

stimpsonslostson

It's a pretty low rent option, but I've been very happy with my Bad Monkey. It just gives a bit more drive & to my ears works well. 

kt66

thanks, I am am not a brand snob, happy to look at anything affordable

ICBM

Not sure how well it will work into an AC30, but for the Champ I would look at the Boss Fender Deluxe Reverb pedal. It's discontinued now and may be starting to go up in price, but not all that rare. It does that Fender amp light break-up sound very nicely, which is what I use it for - at home into a non-master-volume valve amp. It also adds reverb and tremolo if you want, which is useful.

They also do a Bassman version which may be better for the AC30, or for both if you don't want the reverb and tremolo.

You don't want a boost pedal, that will just make the amps louder without overdriving them.

jimmyguitar

Try a second hand DOD looking glass, really great transparent drive. I use mine with the gain completely down but with the level knob at 12/1 o’clock.
https://www.andertons.co.uk/dod-looking-glass-overdrive-dod0010?LGWCODE=DOD0010;56375;6335&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInbHJ7OHF2AIVg7vtCh1y1Ql2EAQYASABEgK3dvD_BwE

poopot

Electro harmonix soul food... basically a klon... they kloned a klon!... does clean boost up to quite gainey... and cheap!!

Grocer_Jack

+1 on the Bad Monkey. I've used it on AC30s and Fender Amps and it's fantastic. It sounds good at any level of gain, but if you want to get a very amp-like light overdrive set the bass and treble on full and the drive almost off. This removes the pedal's mid-hump pretty much, which is good for the AC30 in particular. 

guitars4you

my preference is still a ProCo Rat - volume up for boost and gain tweaked as required, but often works best as 'less is more' - I've used 2 x Rats before on the same board - 1 with less gain for more subtle overdrive and 1 with more gain for scorching whaiiiiiling lead then choose as required

Lots of choice I know but Rat for me 

bgmartinsbridge

OCD or Rat pedal

rico

My stock recommendation for touch sensitive drive - the Mad Professor Sweet Honey. Fuzzdog do a clone called the Bee Juice if you are handy/fancy a project!

DarnWeight

The Way Huge Red Llama works well with Vox and Fender amps, and is voiced a little on the bright side, so might give you a bit of that bite you're looking for at lower volumes.  Gain range goes from a clean boost to a slightly fuzzy overdrive, so not sure if it's crunchy enough for you.  I wouldn't call it transparent, but it doesn't add much colour other than a slight brightness/presence boost.

I never run the drive control on mine much beyond 12 o'clock, and like this, it's a great drivey boost that doesn't smother your base tone.

poopot

rico said:

My stock recommendation for touch sensitive drive - the Mad Professor Sweet Honey. Fuzzdog do a clone called the Bee Juice if you are handy/fancy a project!

Lee (fuzzdog) will even build it for you...

bgmartinsbridge said:

OCD or Rat pedal

Folk love those tubescreamers!!! The rat is a great shout tho’...

kt66

thanks everyone, I'll do some research on the above

kt66

ICBM said:

Not sure how well it will work into an AC30, but for the Champ I would look at the Boss Fender Deluxe Reverb pedal. It's discontinued now and may be starting to go up in price, but not all that rare. It does that Fender amp light break-up sound very nicely, which is what I use it for - at home into a non-master-volume valve amp. It also adds reverb and tremolo if you want, which is useful.

They also do a Bassman version which may be better for the AC30, or for both if you don't want the reverb and tremolo.

You don't want a boost pedal, that will just make the amps louder without overdriving them.

as most of my playing is at home the Champ gets a lot more use.

Bucket

Nobels ODR-1. This should tell you all you need to know.

Matt_McG

Tone City Sweet Cream. I have one in the classifieds, or, if you want the boutique option the Sweet Honey (or fuzzdog clone as per above) is a really good option.

i built an Aion Procyon (which is another Honey Bee clone) and love it.

Matt_McG

Zendrive or a clone is also nice.

Gassage

For those amps, you want a Rangemaster style treble boost.

Grocer_Jack

Gassage said:

For those amps, you want a Rangemaster style treble boost.

Wouldn't that be better with the amp breaking up already? Might work with his little Fender but for home use the AC30 will never get in the zone. 

p90fool

Bucket said:

Nobels ODR-1. This should tell you all you need to know.

These are fantastic, and cheap. They were the Nashville session player's overdrive of choice for decades, because you can set them to mimic your clean tone and slowly dial in the dirt, without the artificial mid-hump of most overdrives. 

A must-have for black or silverface Fender players. 

Bucket

p90fool said:

These are fantastic, and cheap. They were the Nashville session player's overdrive of choice for decades, because you can set them to mimic your clean tone and slowly dial in the dirt, without the artificial mid-hump of most overdrives. 

A must-have for black or silverface Fender players. 

Indeed. It and my silverface DRRI are best friends.

Especially when the Klon comes out to play as a solo boost...