Light OD for SS amp?

Catthan

Hey guys,

I have an AER A40 for jazz and was wondering what I could use to dirty it up a bit for more modern jazz leads.

I currently own an AC and a RC booster but, after moving house, it's faster to type here asking for opinions than pulling wires and trying stuff out in all that unpacking mess..

Many years ago I remember an orange Boss dirt box working well with my 15W Crate amp so with a quality amp like the AER I'm sure there are options too (at least I'd hope so).

Thanks,

T.

Megii

I also play jazz with solid state amps (Polytone, Roland Cube, Yamaha G50112) and recently got myself a Zen Drive clone from the forum ads - and it's really great for those modern jazz/fusion kind of tones - smooth and controlled, and without muddying the notes or anything. So maybe something in that vein - someone was selling a Mooer Rumble Drive I noticed...

John_P

I'd also say zendrive.  I love mine for low gain leads,  but there are a few similar smooth low/mid gain drives - the timmy is a popular option.

Sassafras

Strange. I would've said that the RC and AC would be ideal for what you describe.

ICBM

If it's going into a full-range acoustic amp like the AER, you need a pedal with speaker emulation or it will sound like a wasp in a kazoo.

So no plain overdrive or distortion pedals. The Tech21 Sansamp and 'character' pedals should work well though, or anything else that's designed to be used DI'd. The Digitech Bad Monkey and Screamin' Blues also have a very basic emulated output so they may work too.

Also, don't be tempted to crank up the amp (I know this isn't likely if you're playing jazz ) - amps like the AER will not like it and you may blow something. Use it at the same sort of volume as you would normally with an acoustic guitar and it will be fine.

citizen68

I've seen a few pro jazz guitarists over here saying that they're using the humble (but good!) Joyo American Sound to 'warm up' the tone of their AER's - not really using the overdrive on it though but might be worth considering with drive pedal of choice..

EricTheWeary

I went to see a folk band in December and the one guitarist plugged a strat into a Boss Blues Driver and into his Trace Acoustic. This was the first time I can ever recall MrsTheWeary taking an interest in guitar tone.'That sounds bloody awful' she said.
I'm still trying to persuade someone on here to spend a fortune on importing a DV Mark Guitar Tube Marker which is a jazz-blues oriented pedal but I suspect you would be better off with something with speaker emulation, using the AER like a mini PA. So, +1 to @ICBM really.

steamabacus

I'm a long-time user of the Award-Session JD-10, both as an overdrive and as a direct pre-amp. It has switchable speaker emulation (ideal with your AER), does squeaky, edge-of-breakup, classic crunch, higher gain. They're not made anymore but can still be picked up second-hand for £50 or so. They can suffer from scratchy pots with age but this can usually be sorted with a squirt of switch cleaner.

[edit] I forgot to mention, I also have an Xotic AC+ Booster which stacks really well into the JD-10 for a kind of 'Tubescreamer into cooking amp' setup.

JohnPerry

the Sansamps are great through an SS amp. I had a Liverpool and Blonde and they were both terrific. Can't imagine an RC Booster doing what you want other than making it all louder. It's a wonderful clean boost - mine's always on - but it won't sound like an overdrive

Catthan

Thanks all!!

@Sassafras, as I said, it will be a while until I'll be able to wire up the Xotics or anything else as I'm in the middle of unpacking after a house move. So, yeah, the AC may work but I thought that in the meantime I could ask if there is anything better suited for SS amps and @ICBM confirmed there are indeed things to consider that I wasn't aware of. 

I'd be interested in a Zendrive though the tube-driven Zendrive II I had wasn't great. I guess if the AC doesn't work and I need to spend money on smth I should probably try Tech21 first..

Branshen

Do report back when you try the xotics, I'd love to know if they work.

Scofield uses a rat. But he uses normal tube guitar amps so not the same as your situation.

DesVegas

If y ou want to go cheap listen to the joyo ac tone demos. Its supposed to be a Liverpool clone

Sassafras

There's always AMT.

I've got the F1 which just does nice Fender tones but they do all kinds of speaker emulated preamps. The AMT V1 preamp is very good too for Voxy tones.

sticker

citizen68 said:

I've seen a few pro jazz guitarists over here saying that they're using the humble (but good!) Joyo American Sound to 'warm up' the tone of their AER's - not really using the overdrive on it though but might be worth considering with drive pedal of choice..

I use a Joyo American sound into my AER Compact 60 when noodling at home .

Works well and sounds great .