OD vs. distortion pedal advice

Heya. I used to have a 3 channel DR that I'd configure with good clean, medium gain, and hi gain channels. I now have a Tverb combo. As it is a 2 channel, I'm really missing that 3rd channel. My thought is setting up a clean and high gain on the amp itself, and maybe finding a pedal for a good medium gain setting with high clarity. I'm primarily wanting it for modern rock rhythm guitar, maybe a touch of blues sound.

I'm curious what kind of ODs or distortions you guys use in your rectifier setups.

Edit: I should probably clarify a little more. I'm capable of getting every type of sound I could want out of this amp. It truly is an amazing, versatile amp. I'm just wanting a third in-between sound if that makes sense. The idea I have is running an OD in front of the amp (like a super overdrive, tube screamer, or blues driver) to dirty up the clean channel for a good rhythm crunch, but then kicking into the Tverb's red channel for the super crunch, if that makes sense. Sorry, just thinking out loud!

A lot of people use Tubescreamers or derivatives of one. I like the OD from the Nova Drive in the TC Electronics Nova System. It's a TS clone with the option of completely removing the drive and boosting the dB output.

The Nova Drive is also sold separately. It is an analog signal path with digitally controlled potentiometers. Multiple settings can be saved. It's really flexible as a boost, has good OD sounds, and has a chunky distortion mode if needed. The only downside is the tone control is primitive.

I also use a Boss EQ. I like it for getting really resonant sounds and cocked wah settings.

The Fulltone OCD is awesome, but I don't own one. The EHX OD Glove is based on an OCD and I want one.

I would think about setting the amp up for your mid gain tone and using a pedal to get you into the more distorted tone. That way, you can stack them and don't have to tap dance to turn one thing off and another thing on at the same time.

You've pretty much answered your own question already, and there's a lot of useful info above.

A clean boost would be good. With that, you could set up your channel 1 clean and channel 2 to mild crunch, then kick in the boost for more gain on channel 2 while retaining the same overall sound.

The OD route would also be good but slightly different. You could use it on your clean channel for bluesy crunch and set up a more gainy sound on channel 2 - but their crunch characters would be somewhat different. Or you could set up your channels like above (1 - clean, 2 - mild crunch) and use the OD on either or both channels. A TS-style OD boosting the Recto gain is good - it tightens up and focuses the sound by cutting excess lows, which metal players generally find desirable. (But I gather that might not be your cup of tea...)

As for actual 'distortion' boxes that you would use instead of your amp gain, I would steer away from them. Even the best analog distortion boxes do not hold a candle to the feel and sound of actual tube gain (and I own a few such boxes, including several by Wampler, Bogner, etc.). You don't want to replace the sweet sound your tubes give you, you just want to whack the preamp tubes harder for increased gain.

i set my 2 channel up with both channels set for high gain rhythm.

For clean to crunch I ride the volume knob on my guitar. Either channel will clean up fine.

For lead I kick on an overdrive (any Tubescreamer variant).

Optionally, you could add a clean boost to go from rock rhythm to metal rhythm (Maxon OD808).

Thanks for the advice guys! Right now I'm sampling a Blues Driver on the clean channel but I might try out a TS-9 to get a setting that can gently overdrive both the orange and red channel on this amp to get 4 channels of goodness.

noiseordinance said:

Thanks for the advice guys! Right now I'm sampling a Blues Driver on the clean channel but I might try out a TS-9 to get a setting that can gently overdrive both the orange and red channel on this amp to get 4 channels of goodness.

Click to expand...

I used to do that, then I got a Roadster, then I got a Road King. I still have a clean boost on the front end, just in case...

I run my ROVs channel 1 in clean mode, with the gain at about 9:30, for squeaky clean*, and punch in a MXR Superbadass distortion, disto set about 9:00, to get a nice twangy stubble, with some boost.
I set channel 2 on vintage, with the gain at about 12:30, and prefer that without the pedal, when I want a higher gain sound. With the pedal on in channel 2, is more of a fuzz, and isn't bad, just not my cup of tea.
All this gives me 4 distinct sounds to use.
BTW, this is with a standard Tele.

I'm ascared to switch it to modern :lol:
Really, it would be too much gain for me.

*What some folks call clean, I would not call clean at all. My definition means no break up.

"Okay then, let's start with a clean amp setting..." WHAT!!!!...you call that clean!!!

MKV 35 user.

This only has 2 channel also. I have Xotic SL Drive on Clean channel Fat Mode, I have drive real low I get kind of cranked up Plexi tone. With Pedal on I pull back guitar volume and it cleans up real good.

Some one had a good point.... I do do tab dancing when changing to dirty channel.. change mesa to channel 2 and turn SL Drive off...

umm....

gjohung said:

MKV 35 user.

This only has 2 channel also. I have Xotic SL Drive on Clean channel Fat Mode, I have drive real low I get kind of cranked up Plexi tone. With Pedal on I pull back guitar volume and it cleans up real good.

Some one had a good point.... I do do tab dancing when changing to dirty channel.. change mesa to channel 2 and turn SL Drive off...

umm....

Click to expand...

One of those midi loopers/controllers would fix that. With a midi amp switcher (or one built into the other), it becomes a one button affair with 128 patches to mix and match loads of configurations for effects out front and effects in a loop all changing at the same time as the channel (and additional switching on another amp, too).

If you have only two channels, only one amp relay is needed. There are a few midi loopers that could do that and provide another relay that could be used for the effects loop if you wished. The Decibel 11 "Switch DR" is what I want for my setup.

I use a Loopmaster/Switcher - changes the channel and loop simultaneously. I don't use the original Mesa footswitch anymore.

I run channel 2 - Modern - with nothing in the loop

I run channel 1 - Clean - with effects in the loop as well as a tube screamer. This effectively gives me 3 channels.

Clean
Clean + OD
Modern

Here's a link: http://www.loop-master.com/cleandirtychannel-switcher-wtuner-p-276.html

It works great with my Rectoverb head - which has a 1/4" jack in the back labeled "External Switching" .

Mark V:35 has DIN type channel switcher.. will this work with looper?

I mix it up occasionally. I love the sound of the head in general but I don't like being stagnate. That being said the pedals I use occasionally is an Electro-Harmonix OD Glove (OCD clone), a Black Arts Toneworks Oath, and a Black Arts Toneworks Pharaoh set for no diodes. The Black Arts Toneworks pedals can make any channel sound huge.

BikingVikingIn said:

I mix it up occasionally. I love the sound of the head in general but I don't like being stagnate. That being said the pedals I use occasionally is an Electro-Harmonix OD Glove (OCD clone), a Black Arts Toneworks Oath, and a Black Arts Toneworks Pharaoh set for no diodes. The Black Arts Toneworks pedals can make any channel sound huge.

Click to expand...

I want an OD Glove. Been gassing since it came out. I saw Baroness a few years back and Pete was using an OCD into the brand new Buddah 100W stack with Les Pauls. That's one of the best sounds I'd ever heard (and I was at the stage in front of him and that massive volume monster with Hearos in my ears). If an OD Glove can get me anywhere close to that, it would be awesome.