Drive Block Status

Fuzz?

And I thought it was 2019 or something.

Most guitarists still finds fuzz useful in 2019. Here's just one example. See from 14 minutes in...

Sort of the odd man out here, but I've not really had much use for fuzz since the '70s, when I got my very first guitar effect box, a Maestro Fuzz Tone. In the '80s when I was using real amps, I used an MXR Distortion II and Boss OD-1 to add distortion or overdrive (or both). With the AFX, I'm in much the same camp as Cliff...I'd rather get the results from the amp model itself. I do have a few live presets where I'll add overdrive to a cleanish amp model for solos and such, but for the most part, the drive blocks are a non-starter for me.

As much as I admire and respect Dweezil, most of the tones he gets (and that his dad got back in the day) really don't float my boat. Those sounds are just something I don't have a use for in the music I play.
 
Sort of the odd man out here, but I've not really had much use for fuzz since the '70s, when I got my very first guitar effect box, a Maestro Fuzz Tone. In the '80s when I was using real amps, I used an MXR Distortion II and Boss OD-1 to add distortion or overdrive (or both). With the AFX, I'm in much the same camp as Cliff...I'd rather get the results from the amp model itself. I do have a few live presets where I'll add overdrive to a cleanish amp model for solos and such, but for the most part, the drive blocks are a non-starter for me.

Never had much use for fuzzes either. I do put a FET boost drive block in front of the amp in most presets though.
 
I'm with Cliff, the whole pedal thing boggles my mind. People cry about the warmth of tubes, and then proceed to put 200 pedals in front of it with miles of cable. My jcm800 i had to boost with an EQ to get any kind of gain out of it. Then I went to the Boogie stuff, studio, quad, triaxis. I prefer gain from the amp. But hey this is why there are so many options right?
The tubes are still there and getting used. You are overloading the input with a Drive pedal... That pushes the tubes, too.

I'm not typically a user of "distortion" pedals, only "overdrive" or "boost".
 
I’m the same ....amp distortion! ...Mesa Mark, Marshall....

But before those ...I was 16 and ran a Guyatone Distortion box into a Super Reverb!! Wow

The settings was just level and distortion (gain).

The “pushed” sound and tone was incredible!

The saturation tube characteristics was chewy and sweet ...

When the sound turned bad ,....I had no idea it was time to change the tubes ... lol
 
just different ways of doing things, neither is "right", just what works for the user. I DO think you see a definite difference in styles from the responses. Those that say they don't see a need for them use higher gain amps, where those that do use and enjoy pedals are usually from the edge of break up/low gain crowd who use pedals not only for more gain but for different flavors from their amps.

If I were just playing rock and roll through a JCM 800 or metal through a boogie I'd only need a boost or 808. Doing what I do in worship I prefer pedals...because just amp gain doesn't give me what I need.
 
I'm trying to keep and open mind but so far, nope, still not digging drive pedals. I've matched five pedals so far and the only ones I kinda like are the TS-808 and SD-1. Just finished the Hermida Zendrive which is supposed to be so great and that thing sounds like cr@p IMO.
I have to agree with this. For the last few months I've been using Pedal Genie Pro and a well-stocked local shop who allows lending to try out drive pedals. I've tried the real-world counterparts for most of the pedals modeled in the Axe and the majority were... let's just say they weren't to my taste. Tube screamers are a classic thing, and they certainly have their place. My favorite of that family were the JHS Bonsai and the Wampler Clarksdale, both of which I was able to imitate satisfactorily by adjusting existing models in the Axe-Fx. Personally I don't like fuzz at all, and I've now confirmed that with extensive testing. With distortion pedals, the only ones I seem to like are "amp-in-a-box" circuits - JHS Angry Charlie, Aleks K Maple Leaf, a few of the Amptweaker pedals, etc. These don't make any sense with an Axe-Fx though because I can literally just use an amp [block] as a pedal and get similar, often better, sounds.

For me the exception seems to be overdrives and/or preamps. I've tried many that I didn't like, but the good ones got me playing for hours. I already mentioned the Tumnus Deluxe, which I had to own after hearing. Another standout for me was the Kingsley Page (or Harlot for higher gain). Aside from the year-plus waiting list, I'm pretty sure this is the perfect subtle overdrive pedal. Something about the sound and/or feel of these just doesn't come through when I try to get them with the Axe-Fx. Really looking forward to this drive block update - hoping it gets that last mile.
 
Sort of the odd man out here, but I've not really had much use for fuzz since the '70s, when I got my very first guitar effect box, a Maestro Fuzz Tone. In the '80s when I was using real amps, I used an MXR Distortion II and Boss OD-1 to add distortion or overdrive (or both). With the AFX, I'm in much the same camp as Cliff...I'd rather get the results from the amp model itself. I do have a few live presets where I'll add overdrive to a cleanish amp model for solos and such, but for the most part, the drive blocks are a non-starter for me.

As much as I admire and respect Dweezil, most of the tones he gets (and that his dad got back in the day) really don't float my boat. Those sounds are just something I don't have a use for in the music I play.


I'd say in fairness, a lot of those "old" fuzz tones you grew tired of are still probably somewhat "new" to a good number of guitar players who weren't even alive in the 70's, or 80's, or dare I say even the 90s lol


For every person who complains how they are burned out on classic rock, how they've heard those same songs 1000 times before, there is probably someone who's just hearing that stuff for the first time. Believe it or not, there was a young medical assistant at my work who was talking about how she's never heard Pink Floyd. In a way, those folks are kind of lucky, because there is a vast catalog of some really amazing music out there they can discover, and its all readily accessible.
 
At one point I tried using a clean amp block (Band-Commander, Sag@0) as a clean/trebble boost for an amp model (Plexi 100W NRML). After a bit of tweaking that actually sounded better than what I was getting with drive blocks. I got the idea from the Kingsley tube-based pedals. It was a fun experiment, but realistically I couldn't give up an amp block for that purpose on a regular basis.
 
Nothin like a Rat pedal cranked all the way into a JC120.. that’s where the magic lives.

I used to keep a preset on my II call "Oh God It Sounds Like High School" with the Metal Zone model and a bunch of effects all strung out in series into the JC120 model. I made it to try to remind myself how bad I used to have it when I was a kid, and all I had was a bottom shelf Peavey SS amp and a couple crappy effects. The thing is, no matter how bad I tried to make it, I'm pretty sure it still sounded better through the Axe than it did through my old high school rig! I think I should revive that preset the next time I am on the sauce.
 
For me overdrives are all about shaping the input EQ, the slight compression and really goosing the front end. Fuzz - I use for very specific tones that change the characteristics totally and have that slightly broken feel and large amounts of compression with drastic EQ shifts.

Never got into very saturated distortions or amp in a box pedals especially with all the available amp models. I tried amp in a box pedals to, say, make Fender sort of have that Marshall flavour in the analog realm but with the Axe; completely unnecessary for me.
 
So I've encountered a couple I like: BB Preamp and Timmy. The BB is more of a clean boost though it's just pushing the amp (model).

I just sold my Timmy last night. Not in anticipation of your reworking the drive blocks. So, looks like I'll get a new and improved modeled version of it back soon!
 
So I've encountered a couple I like: BB Preamp and Timmy. The BB is more of a clean boost though it's just pushing the amp (model).

BB Preamp is the only pedal I use at the moment in the axe Fx, usually just to push the front end of the amp a bit.

Eager to mess with the updated drive pedal models to see if I can use others!
 
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