Alternative to dirt pedal... would this work?

ruralfrance

Just wondering whether instead of using a dirt pedal I could attenuate the cranked amp and then use a volume pedal to clean it up.  Sort of like a reverse boost.  

Anyone ever tried this?

english_bob

In theory it should work.

Whether it will give you the sound you want, or the same level of control you'd get from using the amp at your normal level with a dirt pedal is another matter.

Lebarque

Yeh, works the same as rolling down your guitar volume

ICBM

Yes - and if you're using an attenuator to control the speaker volume you can put the volume pedal in the FX loop, if the amp has one, so the volume pedal then controls the amount of power amp overdrive alone - whereas the guitar volume would still control the amount of preamp drive (and also power amp drive, since one is feeding the other).

And you can still use a dirt pedal in front of the amp too, if you want.

ruralfrance

Right, time to experiment then! 

chrisj1602

The Electro Harmonix Signal Pad is worth a look for this idea.