Help me solve my guitar output balancing dilemma

[dirtyfunkg]

I'm playing through a Roadster for right now until my Pittbull gets new tubes/bias. I need a good clean and I need a brutal distortion, and I need an in between distortion/overdrive tone. The Roadster and Pittbull provide these. The problem is that I have guitars with pickups of varying outputs. Love them all, don't want to change them. I've set the rig with my main guitar (Jackson SL3 with BK Mothers Milk singles--very low output--and an VHII bridge--also low output for a HB). I also use a MIJ mid '80's Fender Strat with stock pickups, a Frankenstrat with EMG SA's, and an Edwards LP with JB/Jazz combo.

My pedal chain is as follows:

Guitar->EH Hum Eliminator (rarely used)->Boss TU-2->GE-7->POG 2->Whammy->HF-2->CH-1->Marshall Regenerator->amplifier

The graphic EQ is mainly there to cut out 100Hz completely, and give myself a slight boost in the mids and cut the highs slightly. Standard frown face with a with the right most slider (level) boosted ever so slightly to compensate for the overall cut the EQ is taking.

If I set the rig for the Jackson, it sounds great. Amazing cleans through great brutal distortion in a band setting. Cuts without piercing. When I switch to my Edwards though, the cleans break up and the distortion is just too compressed. Even the Jap Strat breaks up on the cleans.

FWIW, I had been having trouble with the Roadster cleans staying clean and loud enough for band rehearsal until I really cranked the master output and dialed down the gain/master for that channel.

I want to keep my dynamics and versatility. I also know that, when I set the amp for any of the other guitars, it can sound great. I gig out though and this has been an issue. If the Jackson breaks a string or I need to do a song in drop D, I have to switch guitars, and my tone goes to shit.

I'm sure a bunch of you have dealt with similar issues. Enlighten me on your solution.

Thanks!

 

[RG955TT]

Source Audio programable EQ pedal in front to balance better the gains and make up for any tonal changes from the different guitars. The Source Audio Programable eq pedal has 4 presets and adjustable gains that you can store so you could set a preset for each guitar, problem solved for $150!

 

[maddnotez]

Interesting, I have the same problem with my Pitbull. (the only problem this amp will give you besides being too brutal)

 

[racerevlon]

MIDI EQ...

 

[dirtyfunkg]

Interesting, I have the same problem with my Pitbull. (the only problem this amp will give you besides being too brutal)

it's not a problem with the amp. Any amp would cause the same problem when your pickups' output impedance is more than doubling when you switch guitars. Even though I'm switching between only passive guitars, the lowest pickup output on my Jackson is about 6k, whereas on my Edwards the JB pickup is closer to 15k. Trying to find any semblance of balance between such extremes doesn't rest on the amp unless I'm totally missing something here. In other words, the problem ain't the amp, it's me. If I were cool with all of my guitars being similar, I wouldn't have this problem. Thing is I like all of the pickups I have in my guitars right now and do not want to change any of them.

I'll check out the Source Audio. I've tried a couple of their Soundblox pedals and tbqh the construction scares me. Plastic and pedals just doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies, but the specs and capabilities of the programmable EQ are super appealing. I've wanted something like that for a while anyways and was waiting/hoping someone would finally make it. Looks like they have.

 

[steve_k]

Maybe try removing that EH hum debugger and replacing it with a quality input buffer, or two or a simple clean boost pedal (CAR/MXR) at the end of the chain. If some of your guitars that you use for certain things have drastically different characteristics, maybe throw a looper pedal in where you can bypass all those FX and go straight in to the amp. There's a couple things you can do.

 

[dirtyfunkg]

Maybe try removing that EH hum debugger and replacing it with a quality input buffer, or two or a simple clean boost pedal (CAR/MXR) at the end of the chain. If some of your guitars that you use for certain things have drastically different characteristics, maybe throw a looper pedal in where you can bypass all those FX and go straight in to the amp. There's a couple things you can do.

Not quite sure I understand. I think the clean boost at the end makes sense.

I believe a great deal of my pedals are already buffered or true bypass. What would adding more buffers do?

 

[steve_k]

Maybe try removing that EH hum debugger and replacing it with a quality input buffer, or two or a simple clean boost pedal (CAR/MXR) at the end of the chain. If some of your guitars that you use for certain things have drastically different characteristics, maybe throw a looper pedal in where you can bypass all those FX and go straight in to the amp. There's a couple things you can do.

Not quite sure I understand. I think the clean boost at the end makes sense.

I believe a great deal of my pedals are already buffered or true bypass. What would adding more buffers do?

True bypass and buffers are two different things. The buffers (and they aren't all the same) will put some of the signal loss through wire/pedals back into the mix. The MXR Microboost sort of does the same thing in a roundabout way. I guess what I was driving at is to start out with an even playing field and get things out of the signal chain that you may not need. The only reason to run that Hum pedal at the beginning is if you are running wireless. I haven't used one, so I am talking out of my ass a bit here, but it has to attenuate the signal to remove hiss and hum. But, back to your original question, using the Microboost sounds like what you may need to make adjustments in your signal input to compensate for different pick up configurations. They are cheap and will allow you to experiment.

 

[dirtyfunkg]

Maybe try removing that EH hum debugger and replacing it with a quality input buffer, or two or a simple clean boost pedal (CAR/MXR) at the end of the chain. If some of your guitars that you use for certain things have drastically different characteristics, maybe throw a looper pedal in where you can bypass all those FX and go straight in to the amp. There's a couple things you can do.

Not quite sure I understand. I think the clean boost at the end makes sense.

I believe a great deal of my pedals are already buffered or true bypass. What would adding more buffers do?

True bypass and buffers are two different things. The buffers (and they aren't all the same) will put some of the signal loss through wire/pedals back into the mix. The MXR Microboost sort of does the same thing in a roundabout way. I guess what I was driving at is to start out with an even playing field and get things out of the signal chain that you may not need. The only reason to run that Hum pedal at the beginning is if you are running wireless. I haven't used one, so I am talking out of my ass a bit here, but it has to attenuate the signal to remove hiss and hum. But, back to your original question, using the Microboost sounds like what you may need to make adjustments in your signal input to compensate for different pick up configurations. They are cheap and will allow you to experiment.

Ah. Yeah I use the Hum Debugger for single coils whenever I switch to my Strat or when I switch to the singles in my Jackson for distorted sections. It works incredibly well though adds a weird phasey thing, but its benefits outweigh negatives.

I may try one thing: I have an EH Signal Pad pedal that I used to use when I used single channel amps to make it easier to switch between "clean" and "dirty. Maybe use that to bring the signal down on hot guitars, then use an EQ to bring back some of the treble that gets lost.

I actually run wireless for most gigs since I am pretty much the front man and like to be mobile when I'm not singing. My bassist works for Shure so we get a hook up on borrowing stuff.

I've been considering the VHT/Fryette Valvulator buffer but never really got a firm grasp on what exactly it would do to improve my tone, plus pedal board space is at a premium for me. Lucky (or stupid) I've got two boards I can use and chain together with a bunch more effects at my disposal that I don't currently use. I'm kind of trying to make loading in/out of gigs (not to mention soundcheck and overall sound set up) a bit easier on myself though.

More and more, I think about Kemper or Axe-Fx and how it would solve all of my problems. But now I'm talking out of my ass--never had the opportunity to try either.