Why use a Fuzz or Distortion pedal with Vallve amp?

PermanentWaves

I watched a video recently where Joe Bonamassa was going through his rig.

He has some iconic valve amps and yet he had some distortion pedals and fuzz pedals in his pedal board.

Why?

Some of you more experienced players can probably tell me why a gain/distortion/fuzz pedal is also required when you have a decent valve amp.

Do you use it on the clean channel or does it have some benefit when used on the dirty channel?

Cheers
Mike

ICBM

Because a valve amp can't sound like a fuzz or distortion pedal. They're different things, not substitutes. Valve overdrive is not the only kind of musically useful distortion.

You can use them both into a clean channel or into a dirty channel, either for an alternative distortion sound or to push the dirty channel in a way that it doesn't do itself. In particular, some types of pedal into an overdriven amp seem to bring out a sort of harmonic response touch-sensitivity that you can't usually get from a valve amp alone.

Corvus

^ that. Just to add, when the power stage is cooking something special starts to happen, and a little extra tickle from a pedal can really bring the whole thing alive.

EricTheWeary

Huge amount of iconic guitar tones ( especially of the blues rock variety favoured by Joe) are a combination of pedal and valve amp : Clapton on the Beano album, lot of Rory Gallagher, Hendrix using fuzz, Gary Moore's blues comeback stuff. Surprisingly few of JoBo's influences who didn't use something ( I assume Kossoff went straight into his Marshalls?).

hugbot

Boost pedals are paticularly good when you like the sound of your amp, but just want a bit more push.

Dave_Mc

What ICBM said.

Also more options- say you have a Fendery amp (or even a non-Marshally distortion-orientated amp), you can use a Marshally distortion pedal to get a wider range of tones. For example.

PermanentWaves

Thanks everyone. Looks like I need to leave space on my pedal board for a distortion pedal (or two!).

I've loaned a Blackstar LT Boost to test this weekend. I actually intended to use it in the FX loop after the preamp and in front of the power so that I could give my solo's a volume boost. However, based on what's being said here, I'll also try it in front of the pre amp.

randomhandclaps

Good luck sir, it's going to be fun.

Come Monday -

http://i.imgur.com/jmyEuFQ.gif

samzadgan

it all depends on the type of music you play...some music cant be done with amp gain.

also, the best thing about pedals is, you can easily change your sound by changing pedals - which are relatively cheap and easy to move- where as an amp is a bigger decision.

i always look for an amp that has a great base tone and then just build on it.

Heartfeltdawn

randomhandclaps said:

Come Monday -

A sticky version of Black Friday? 

Jez6345789

Funny really 

For many years I never used one, as a teenager in the 70's I bought something very nasty and fuzzy plugged it into my even nastier tranny amp and I hated it, I also bought Harmonix original hot tubes into a tranny amp sounded horrendous. 

Even though I moved onto valve amps later I always chased that overdriven rock sound thinking it would come as I got better amps and then an american mate of mine who had everything, lent me a tube screamer and at the time it was  somewhat of an epiphany as I really just thought the tones I was hearing back then came from an amp teetering on the edge of destruction. 

Seems silly now but took me a long time to join the dots back then :-)

But then we did not have the wealth of information thats on the web today Ha HA

hubobulous

samzadgan said:

i always look for an amp that has a great base tone and then just build on it.

When's that philosophy gonna kick in?

samzadgan

hubobulous;435749" said:

samzadgan said:

i always look for an amp that has a great base tone and then just build on it.










When's that philosophy gonna kick in?

Same time you become a man and ditch that 30w thing you call an amp and get a proper amp

shaunm

In another video JB says he uses the tube screamer pedal just to push his amp so that it he gets a bit of feedback and extra harmonics. Looking and shopping for pedals is so much fun, you're going to love it!