Which OD to crunchify a clean channel?

[alexwald]

I have a EVH 5150 III S and I'm trying to use the clean channel with an OD from my FX8 to get a nice crunchy tone; any recommendations towards this? I've tried TS808 + Fulltone OD dialed in different ways but not 100% happy with the results

 

[mr_boggie]

I really like the zen drive, or the 3 knob Tube Driver. For my metal tones, I've been reaching for the shred distortion from the tip by manxmusician in a previous quote. Works great!!

 

[Manxmusicman]

For my crunch I tend to use the Timmy with the gain ramped up. I loved the zen drive but it was a little too compressed for what play, for a blues band it would be great!

 

[Sonofiam]

It all depends on your definition of "crunch". Some say it's simply low to medium gain, others have a certain gain structure in mind regardless of the gain level. For my crunch, I like the Fat Rat with gain @.5 - 1.0 and tone @ 3 - 4. I also set the Mid Freq @ 400Hz and boost it about 3dB.

 

[4406cuda]

I have been using the Zen Drive, 3 Knob Tube, and the Micro Amp.

Adjust the gain to taste. Also adjusting the the lo cut and hi cut filter make a huge difference.

 

[Sonofiam]

adjusting the the lo cut and hi cut filter make a huge difference.

+1. BIG factor, especially the Hi Cut.

 

[GtarLover]

For my crunch I tend to use the Timmy with the gain ramped up.

Been using the "Timothy" pedal in front of my plexi as well. Great pedal without too much. Low gain settings for crunchy amp, higher gain for cleaner amp settings.

 

[Atmospheric]

I love the Timmy for low gain stuff. It remains very articulate with the drive set as low as 1.

 

[marshall2553]

I had a 5150 III 50W for a while and I never had any luck with OD pedals in front of the clean channel. This was with my FX8, a real Timmy and a real TS9. It could be that I never found the right OD, but I just don't think the clean channel on those amps takes drive pedals very well. I love the FX8 ODs (TS, Timmy, Eternal Love, Esoteric ACB/RCB) in front of my other amps.

 

[Sonofiam]

I had a 5150 III 50W for a while and I never had any luck with OD pedals in front of the clean channel. This was with my FX8, a real Timmy and a real TS9. It could be that I never found the right OD, but I just don't think the clean channel on those amps takes drive pedals very well. I love the FX8 ODs (TS, Timmy, Eternal Love, Esoteric ACB/RCB) in front of my other amps.

Good point, the amp has a lot to do with how pedals react, my JSX clean channel didn't take overdrives well either. With these amps though, overdrives aren't really necessary anyway.

I've tried TS808 + Fulltone OD dialed in different ways but not 100% happy with the results

You might try experimenting with the Bias and Sample Rate in the Advanced parameters. Lowering the Sample Rate to @20,000 Hz has helped the feel of a couple of the drives for me. Lowering the Mix can help the feel as well. I'm presuming you've tried other Clip Types, if not give others a try.