Good boost for two things?

  • Thread starter Thread starter richedie
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richedie

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Hi guys, I am looking for a boost or OD that is very low gain. Right now I use the Sonic Edge J&J OD. I look for two things.

1) use the boost into my amp's clean channel to add some grit. I don't always like a super Fender clean, and would rather have some grit on the clean.
2) next would be to send the amp into a higher gain territory, just a slight boost over the edge when playing the amp medium crunchy. So, you can see the pedal needs very, very little gain.

Right now the J&J Overdrive is very natural, smooth and warm, sounds alot like an amp! So far so good but it is rather dark and I have to keep the tone all the way up. This is more for my Electradyne. Right now I keep the gain low enough to provide grit on my cleans when I want it, without it effecting my gain channels if I leave it on and it is also fine at sending crunch channels into heavier gain. Part of why it is good at this is the very low gain and dead silent.

So, I am not against trying other pedals. Xotic RC? Tone Freaks Naked?

Up for suggestions.
 
BB Pre maybe? Can be used as both, and the OD is very tasty when it goes to dirt.
 
I might try the Xotic again but when I replaced my BB with the Sonic Edge J&J, it was a huge step up in tone and feel.
 
Hi LP Freak, my two amps are 20th Shiva and PWE Event Horizon. I am also picking up a Mesa Electradyne. Today the J&J Overdrive worked really well with my Shiva, it sounded like an aditional gain stage on the amp. I am using as a little more saturation here and there on all my amps and then I use it to add grit to the clean tones which can be too clean. On the Electradyne it can be used to add gain for heavier styles. But these days I try to use less gain. One thing I really am liking about the J&J is that is is extremely natural, fat and warm, very, very amp like and very low gain which is what I want. I get the majority of my gain from my amps. This pedal sounds so natural and is so, so quiet. Amazing pedal. I have not had a BB in a while but don't recall ever enjoying a pedal this much.
 
The BB worked OK on my 20th but I like my Timmy and a Tube Screamer that I modded better. The clean on the 20th doesn't take pedals very well at all and I tried many. :no:
 
I don't really need a pedal with the 20th Shiva but I do like my clean to not be so squeaky clean so the J&J does that for me and by he way, the J&J OD works very well with the Shiva and any amp I tried it with. Ben Fargen is a genius.
 
I know what you mean but it's still nice to use a boost for a different flavor. :thumbsup:
 
And the J&J works well with the Shiva. Try it. :). I bet even better when I get the Electradyne.
 
have you tried an ep booster? those do not add much at all.
 
LP Freak":202lmu4t said:
The BB worked OK on my 20th but I like my Timmy and a Tube Screamer that I modded better. The clean on the 20th doesn't take pedals very well at all and I tried many. :no:
Click to expand...

Thanks man! Yep, that is what I am finding. I was going to use another pedal for another flavor...but nothing comes close to the goodness of my Shiva's gain channel nor my PWE's gain channel.

Maybe I will revisit this when I get my Mesa Electradyne and for that I will mostly need something to take the gain into a higher gain region...probably an Xotic pedal or their EP Boostero r something similer. For the Dhiva and PWE, I might stay away and accept that the cleans will always be super clean and for gritty cleans I just roll back the volume on my guitar when on the gain channel.

Thanks for the input! :)
 
At this point I just want something that can dirty up the clean channel a bit to give me a Marshall type broken up clean and something I can use to add saturation to the Electradyne when I get it. I might go back to the Xotic RC!

A big problem is balancing volume. Lets say I have my clean and dirty channels balanced. Then I hit my clean boost or OD pedal to add grit to the clean channel...when I switch to my gain channel with the pedal still on, the volume is too low, hence the problem. Soooo, I may just do away with all dirt and clean boost pedals for now and stick to super clean channels, two levels of dirt since my amps have vintage and modern and then use my volume controls for cleaning up to get a gritty clean. :)
 
I think I am sticking to my J&J OD, it is the best I have used to date! I use it to add some grit to the PWE clean and the Chiva clean and when I switch to the gain channel, it doesn't impact much other than add a touch of saturation, but zero noise! What a quiet pedal! Love this thing! Sometimes I really need a bit of grit on my clean like an old Plexi dialed back and this does it and sounds natural like I am using a gain control on the amp's clean channel! I can also use it for my gain boost on the Electradyne. Works as a perfect clean boost, or OD! Wow.
Sounds fatter than the Xotic RC I had. With the Tone maxed, it is totally flat, no impact. I keep the gain below 9:00 and the volume at about 10:30.
Funny thing is, Ben Fargen told me the Tumbleweed would work better for me but it lacks a volume. And I find to get the right balance for any boost or OD, I need volume and gain.
http://www.sonicedgeinc.com/
 
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