Drive/boost into solid state help

What's Hot
Placidcasual79Placidcasual79 Frets: 977
Hello all - grateful for any advice/guidance here - I just want to check my thinking 

I trying to sell my Fender Tube amp and replace it with a solid state amp - mainly as I have a bad back, but also because I play ska/reggae - so nearly always clean.... I don't really need that edge of break up thing that is so sought after....

So 90% of the time i am playing rhythm.... I use an EP exotic for a clean volume boost if the guitar has a lead melody and a tube screamer for a little bit gain for the occasional solo.....

If I do go solid state I am assuming the EP exotic will still be ok for a small volume boost - but I am wondering if the tube screamer will still be effective for solo's? With the tube amp it gives me a nice bit of extra gain and some crunch from the amp - that wont be the case with a solid state amp will it? I am wondering if I'll need a new solo pedal - I don't want loads of distortion or anything - though maybe if the pedal has to do all the work maybe some vintage fuzz?

thanks 
James 
0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
«13

Comments

  • GrunfeldGrunfeld Frets: 4028
    edited July 2021
    Boss GE-7
    I got tired of lunking a JVM 410h around so got a SS Orange CR120 and most of the time it's clean,  everything I want comes from the board.
    And the Tubescreamer which was fine for the JVM didn't work with the SS.
    A Nobels ODR-1 works very well and I used one of these for a while.
    But the Boss GE-7 totally does the job:  clean volume boost with the ability to shape the tone.
    Just wish it was a nicer colour!
    PS I've also got a Boss JB-2 on there and that covers every base for OD/Distortion
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • DrCorneliusDrCornelius Frets: 7069
    I always found a RAT into an SS worked well . Has a nice eq filter and did the low gain stuff better than I expected too. Granted I’m talking about into a Jazz Chorus only - no other experience of SS amps
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • I always found a RAT into an SS worked well . Has a nice eq filter and did the low gain stuff better than I expected too. Granted I’m talking about into a Jazz Chorus only - no other experience of SS amps
    It was playing a JC120 that started this for me - It was in a rehearsal space we used before lock down and I loved the clean tone on it. When I read about it they were used on a lot of the 70's roots reggae and dub records that I love - I understand Mick Jones used one too.... the only thing was that it didnt seem much lighter than my tube amp - but this thing was OLD.... I am hoping the new ones are lighter or I'll be able to find something similar sounding - I think they do smaller Jazz Chorus amps now anyway - I might not need a 120....... 

    It just goes to show - I always thought of the RAT as a metal pedal - based on nothing other than my own biased and assumptions..... 

    thank you for the advice @DrCornelius + @Grunfeld - I am sure I once had the brief use of pedal that did was a nice cleanish boost and went into feedback if you held it down - I am sure it was grey BOSS pedal - but it was years ago and cant remember if I dreamed it....
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • DrCorneliusDrCornelius Frets: 7069
    Of the new ones I’ve only had the 22 , I’ve had 3 or 4 old JC120s which weighed around 65 lb each IIRC (enough to make you wince if you had to climb even a small staircase). I’ve now got an old JC50 which is a nice compromise and has a huge amount of low end for a 1 x 12. The chorus doesn’t quite sound as good being the one speaker but the cleans are lovely 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • Of the new ones I’ve only had the 22 , I’ve had 3 or 4 old JC120s which weighed around 65 lb each IIRC (enough to make you wince if you had to climb even a small staircase). I’ve now got an old JC50 which is a nice compromise and has a huge amount of low end for a 1 x 12. The chorus doesn’t quite sound as good being the one speaker but the cleans are lovely 
    thank you - that's really useful advice. Appreciate the share. I am really looking to lighten the load on my back. Have you used the JC50 on stage? 
    I am guessing I could DI into our PA for the mix - but I'd need some volume on stage as i typically don't have a monitor.... 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • GrunfeldGrunfeld Frets: 4028
    edited July 2021
    I am sure I once had the brief use of pedal that did was a nice cleanish boost and went into feedback if you held it down - I am sure it was grey BOSS pedal - but it was years ago and cant remember if I dreamed it....
    That's the FB-2.
    Lots of fun with that feedback function.  The cleanish boost can be tweaked into a TubeScreamer hump quite easily. 
    That pedal didn't work as well as the GE-7 for some reason -- maybe it was the pedal/ amp combination.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader
    Could you get a Fender Tonemaster?

    That would be light and loud and still respond like a valve amp.

    The same is also true of a Roland blues cube.

    If you want really cheap a Peavey bandit.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • Placidcasual79Placidcasual79 Frets: 977
    edited July 2021
    Grunfeld said:
    I am sure I once had the brief use of pedal that did was a nice cleanish boost and went into feedback if you held it down - I am sure it was grey BOSS pedal - but it was years ago and cant remember if I dreamed it....
    That's the FB-2.
    Lots of fun with that feedback function.  The cleanish boost can be tweaked into a TubeScreamer hump quite easily. 
    That pedal didn't work as well as the GE-7 for some reason -- maybe it was the pedal/ amp combination.


    Ah - it was real - the FB-2 - do they still do them? some quick googling suggests they have been discontinued - so I am guessing expensive to find a second hand one.... interesting pedal..... I wonder if I am remembering that through rose tinted specs
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom

  • Could you get a Fender Tonemaster?

    That would be light and loud and still respond like a valve amp.

    The same is also true of a Roland blues cube.

    If you want really cheap a Peavey bandit.
    I haven't looked into a Tonemaster - but I will do thank you @monquixote - on the list were the Roland Jazz Chorus and Blues Cube as well as the Boss Katana - not ripping up any trees in terms of original thinking I know... at this point I just want light and reliable when we get backing to gigging - I am not a good enough guitar player to be a real tone purist nor does the role in the band I play call for it.... thank you 

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • steamabacussteamabacus Frets: 1258
    Sounds to me like the forum favourite/bête noire* - the Boss Katana - might do the job for you. Choice of all the Boss built in effects and, being as it's a Boss/Roland product, I assume there's a JC120 amp model in there somewhere.

    You probably wouldn't even need the EP Booster with a decent dual footswitch (there's even a 6 button option for the Katana 100).

    I think you're right in your assessment of the Tube Screamer into a clean amp.




    *delete as appropriate :)
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • I mainly play low wattage solid state amps. I only play it home and it gets loud quickly.

    I find that in general amp in a box type drives work better on ss. I do like the rat, big muff and silicon fuzzes. I dont like germanium fuzzes on my ss amps.

    If you want one dirt box to go from clean to mean to scream on solid state, then the Ethos TWE was one that impressed me most. Quite expensive but very nice.
    Perhaps the Mooer preamps and Harley Benton and Tech21 pedals can offer you cheaper solutions.
    But my experience when playing at home, the more expensive boxes do deliver. Really liked BJFE and Trombetta on my solid state. The minibone is a really versatile pedal but very difficult to find and most of the times very expensive. Ethos TWE was very very nice. Liked it better than the Ethos preamp.

    But I'll mention it again, amp in a box types worked best for me. Rat, muff and silicon fuzz are very nice as well. (I use a big muff and silicon fuzz myself these days).

    My ss amps are a double clone of an Ibanez GA10, ZT Lunchbox Acoustic, unknown cheap brand ss amp build into a can in the shape of a car.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Reggae band here too, (well, mutant reggae), so the same criteria.
    I use a Quilter Problock, because I don't like carrying stuff. I use the guitar's volume knob (cheaper than a boost pedal!) and a Mooer rat clone (Black Secret?) for those occasional noisy bits.
    I've used a Katana 100 and a Tonemaster in rehearsal rooms, both can be fine for what you're after. The JC and Bandit too, though they weigh a bit.
    (Digitech Freqout for fake feedback?) 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  •  Hi

    Quilter head, neo 1x12 cab, + a Wampler Belle or Nobels ODR1.
    alternatively, Fender tonemaster+ Wampler Belle or Nobels ODR1.
    I've used the latter and it does pushed clean/light gain very well.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    Hello all - grateful for any advice/guidance here - I just want to check my thinking 

    I trying to sell my Fender Tube amp and replace it with a solid state amp - mainly as I have a bad back, but also because I play ska/reggae - so nearly always clean.... I don't really need that edge of break up thing that is so sought after....

    So 90% of the time i am playing rhythm.... I use an EP exotic for a clean volume boost if the guitar has a lead melody and a tube screamer for a little bit gain for the occasional solo.....

    If I do go solid state I am assuming the EP exotic will still be ok for a small volume boost - but I am wondering if the tube screamer will still be effective for solo's? With the tube amp it gives me a nice bit of extra gain and some crunch from the amp - that wont be the case with a solid state amp will it? I am wondering if I'll need a new solo pedal - I don't want loads of distortion or anything - though maybe if the pedal has to do all the work maybe some vintage fuzz?
    It will work fine - in fact that’s what the Tube Screamer was designed for, contrary to popular belief - but it won’t sound the same as using it to push an already overdriving valve amp.

    Pushing solid-state amps with pedals doesn’t always give the results you expect - although if the amp itself has a decent overdrive channel it can - so you’ll probably need to use the pedal for all the extra distortion, and a TS can sound a bit boxy like that... the designers seemed to think that ‘valve amp overdrive’ meant ‘nothing but mids’.

    Some solid-state amps work better with distortion and boost pedals if you use the overdrive channel set to a clean sound, rather than the clean channel - even if you want a purely clean sound and get all the dirt from the pedal - the clean channel can sound typically ‘solid state’ and buzzy, but the overdrive channel sounds warmer.

    If it doesn’t work well then as already said you might want more of an ‘amp in a box’ pedal - something less midrangy, and/or with better EQ than the TS. You can still use the TS stacked into this if you’re used to using a small amount of amp overdrive.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader
    Sounds to me like the forum favourite/bête noire* - the Boss Katana - might do the job for you. Choice of all the Boss built in effects and, being as it's a Boss/Roland product, I assume there's a JC120 amp model in there somewhere.

    You probably wouldn't even need the EP Booster with a decent dual footswitch (there's even a 6 button option for the Katana 100).

    I think you're right in your assessment of the Tube Screamer into a clean amp.




    *delete as appropriate :)

    I would stump up a bit more for the Blues Cube 

    I like the Katana, but the clean channel isn't the best (though it takes pedals very well). It wouldn't be my choice for a Ska gig.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • thomasw88thomasw88 Frets: 2316
    edited July 2021
    Quilter Pro Block or the tone block 202.  into a Neo speaker sounds great.  

    They also take pedals really really well.  I've been a pedal junkie for years and have found as mentioned that a lot of ss amps  (and valve amps tbh)  can be quite fussy with some drive pedals.  However, the Quilter's have worked with everything I've ever chucked at them well.

     I'm quite happy using a problock and now tone block for rehearsals/festival gigs etc.  


    As for pedals something like a timmy, barber gain changer or a revv G2 would do the trick.  Very versatile and work well into a solid state amp.

    I'm selling a Revv G2 at the moment if interested, but the recommendation is  not based upon that! it is a very good pedal indeed
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    There's just going to be a lot of 'it depends' but as everyone says essentially most SS amps are going to respond differently to overdrives although it might just be about tuning them in differently.
      

    There is a section of this where they mess around with a JC40 plugging in some posh overdrives, they don't go down the MIAB route but just dial in the sound they want. They are using both sides of the DandM Drive which something like the equivalent of a Tubescreamer into a Bluesbreaker (?).





    A Tubescreamer by itself might be a bit boxy so without going down the stacking pedals route maybe something like the EQD Plumes which is a bit more of a fatter tubescreamer and the three way switch means you can make it less tubescreamerish. Also has a momentary mode so you can just stand on it whilst playing a short solo/ fill and it goes off when you take your foot off it.   



    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • LastMantraLastMantra Frets: 3822
    With my ss fender roc-pro I got some nice sounds with a low gain od pedal (diy job) and a compressor (orange squeezer clone) in front of it. The od was about unity volume and I used the comp volume for more gain. I thought it sounded really good. At the time I was looking for chilli peppers type sounds. Great for funky stuff, clean with just a touch of grit.

    With an old tranny amp (Wem er40) I used a boss os-2 for light dirt and a fuzz face in front of it for solo boost.

    This is the trannie with both guitars and bass recorded through it and those pedals. 

    https://m.soundcloud.com/davemc-2/crowbar-bues
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • I don't love the sound of a tubescreamer into a clean amp, but it is what SRV used, so if you like that sound you will probably love it. I think he maybe stacked a couple?

    Anyway, I really like my solid state amp (an old Marshall) with distortion pedals and gain lower - think rat, boss df-2 etc. I tend not to love mid-focused ones unless it's stacking into a dirty Marshall. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    I don't love the sound of a tubescreamer into a clean amp, but it is what SRV used, so if you like that sound you will probably love it. I think he maybe stacked a couple?

    Anyway, I really like my solid state amp (an old Marshall) with distortion pedals and gain lower - think rat, boss df-2 etc. I tend not to love mid-focused ones unless it's stacking into a dirty Marshall. 
    I think, from hanging around on forums, that SRV used his TS at fairly low levels generally but his Dumble had so little natural overdrive he had the gain on his pedals whacked up for them. So, multi $thousand rare valve amp and the gain came from a $30 pedal.  

    I was looking up what I'd said on a previous not dissimilar Discussion where I'd mentioned Aaron Barrett from Reel Big Fish who does the ultra clean to crunch to lead gain. He has a Guvnor for crunch and a tubescreamer into that for more gain and runs the amp completely clean. Almost exactly what the DandM drive is doing in that video I posted on here earlier. 
    So, probably of no use but it's an excuse to post some RBF anyway...


        
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.