Let's discuss OD/Fuzz/Distort pedal in front of amps......

Tremonti

Tremonti

Fractal Fanatic
I typically don't know what I'm doing, in this regard, and would love insight of what may produce a certain sound and why. I usually use amps only and would love to know why some like a pedal in front of a clean or mid gain amp, versus cranking something within amp instead? Thank in advance!
 
I tested my MI Audio Neo Fuzz in front and works well. Not so many differences with the fuzz face block. At room level in my home studio.
 
trb said:
I tested my MI Audio Neo Fuzz in front and works well. Not so many differences with the fuzz face block. At room level in my home studio.
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I'm sorry...I meant the OD/Fuzz/Distort blocks...not real pedals.
 
The origins of using dirt pedals in front of amps comes from a time before amps had channel switching, boost switching, hi gain preamp circuits, etc.

So it was a way to go from clean to dirty with a single foot press. Or boost your volume and dirt at the same time for a solo.

Some of the records made using these pedals became iconic. That started the craze where other people started using the same thing.

For me it ultimately boils down to the resulting tone and personal taste. In a box like the Fractal, there are multiple ways to change the apparent amp gain with or without using a virtual dirt pedal. You can control every aspect of volume vs. gain too. So really its about what you prefer.
 
barhrecords said:
The origins of using dirt pedals in front of amps comes from a time before amps had channel switching, boost switching, hi gain preamp circuits, etc.

So it was a way to go from clean to dirty with a single foot press. Or boost your volume and dirt at the same time for a solo.

Some of the records made using these pedals became iconic. That started the craze where other people started using the same thing.

For me it ultimately boils down to the resulting tone and personal taste. In a box like the Fractal, there are multiple ways to change the apparent amp gain with or without using a virtual dirt pedal. You can control every aspect of volume vs. gain too. So really its about what you prefer.
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Sorry I didn't preface this better. I understand origins....just wanting to know why some prefer this over just a high gain amp? I'm sure there are differences...want to know what, why, and how of things. Tweaks that produce a particular sound. Thanks Mate! ....oh wait, I'm not English.....
 
Just different flavor a. Can also be jarring bouncing from one core time to the next, as opposed to pushing your one basic core tone with a pedal. Some songs you might need three levels of gain...would sound very weird having a different amp/ir combo for each part.
 
I think the origins explain the what why and how.

With a box like the Fractal, it boils down to personal preference. It is just as easy to change the amp gain as it is to engage a virtual drive pedal. Pick your poison.
 
There are a couple reasons to use a drive in front of an amp block.



One reason is to tighten up a high gain rhythm sound. A Tube Screamer (or varient) has a big high pass which makes the bass a lot less flubby and also adds volume into the amp which will increase the gain. To get this effect you will want to run the gain knob very low and crank the volume knob.



You can also use a drive or boost pedal to increase the volume into a tube amp to cause it to break up more. This is great if you have an edge of breakup tube amp tone and want to give it a little bit more grit or saturation.



A lot of people also use drive pedals (blocks) as their main source of drive and distortion, running the pedal into the front of a clean amp. This will sound different than a tube amp because it uses solid state clipping vs tube clipping for the distortion.

Fuzz falls in this catagory, I think, but I dont have much experience with fuzz pedals.



There are probably a thousand other reasons but these are the ones off the top of my head.
 
^^^ this. I like to have my high gain amps at medium gain so it cuts through the mix. But when I need it to have more balls/sustain/crunch, I find that hitting it with a boost is much tighter sounding than just cranking the gain on the amp even with reduced bass. When I used to own a Mesa Stiletto, the guys on that forum would chastise me for using a drive pedal in front of it (tone purists), but to me it just sounds and feels better and it's like adding an extra channel to the amp. And the tone purists can bite me :)

I think the key for using a pedal in front of a high gain amp is keeping the amp gain at a reasonable level. If the amp is already balls to the wall, you're just going to make a mess if you add more. You'll likely get washed away in the band mix as well.
 
I think Fuzz can sound very different from most anything you can do with a tube amp.

On my Axe 8, I will sometimes need three 'channels' /gain levels within a preset. I will get two from x/y on the amp block, and the third one will be a dirt box (most likely tube screamer) in front.
 
For me:

Tube screamer-Esque pedals take away the low end and high end. That classic mid honk. Smooths out the tone as well, if the amp is breaking up or distorted. To me these are the Ac booster, ts808/mod, eternal love, and other assorted over drives in the AxeFx

Clean boosts take an amp that's clean or edge of breaking up and pushes them further into breakup depending how much they are already near the edge. Also depends on wattage and amp type. They don't really "EQ" the tone unless you adjust the knobs. These are the FAS boost, rC booster, sdd preamp etc

Distortion is just the classic distorted compressed sound. Stacking them with an already distorted sound defeats the purpose. I use these mainly with clean amps or amps on edge of breakup just for a different flavor. Ruckus drive, rat, Bb preamp.

Fuzz - same as above. But just that classic fuzz flavor. Each one is slightly different. Works both in clean and grinder my amps.

Just my opinions.
 
Smittefar said:
I think Fuzz can sound very different from most anything you can do with a tube amp.

On my Axe 8, I will sometimes need three 'channels' /gain levels within a preset. I will get two from x/y on the amp block, and the third one will be a dirt box (most likely tube screamer) in front.
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If you are using scenes to control the X/Y, you might want to try using a scene controller on the input drive of the amp block. You can get a different drive level between each scene without using a drive pedal block.
 
The new FAS Boost is my favorite right now. great boost with minimal coloring the tone of the amp and tightening up the front end.
 
StickMan said:
If you are using scenes to control the X/Y, you might want to try using a scene controller on the input drive of the amp block. You can get a different drive level between each scene without using a drive pedal block.
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I was not aware of this feature, I'll have to check into it. Can you point me in the right direction to find it quickly when I get home?
 
for the high gain thing The old 808 in front has really started to grate on my ears a bit .

I have started using a filter block set to band pass instead and think its allot more neutral. takes away what you don't need but doesnt add that 808 flavor
 
IMO, most players dont realize that almost every OD, Fuzz, and Distortion pedal is clipping the signal to some extent, even when the drive/gain is at zero. This causes the signal to have at least some compression, affecting the transient peak of the guitars signal leading to a number of sonic as well as feel side effects. This is independent of the frequency filtering that most have. Boost pedals in general dont clip the signal until you get to extreme settings, so the feel effect is different from the OD class pedals allowing the guitar transient to remain intact and driving the first tube stage of the amp into clipping.
 
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