I have a Peavey XXX head. What overdrive pedal would you suggest?

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JohnnyGtar

JohnnyGtar

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Hi everyone,
I have a Peavey XXX 120 watt head. The 2 distortion channels are not very articulate and they have a lot of fizz in the highs. I want to tighten it up, make it crunchier and get rid of as much fizz as I can, but still retain some high end. My cabinet is an Egnater Armageddon with G12-T75's and K100's. What overdrive pedal would you suggest? Lots of people seem happy with the Boss SD-1. Should I try lower gain preamp tubes? I'm going to buy from Sweetwater so I can try different pedals if needed and return them if I don't like em. I'd be grateful for your advice.

Thanks!
 
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To tighten up the amp, I'd suggest any overdrive pedal that also cuts bass. Something like a Tubescreamer or Boss SD-1 like you mentioned would be great for doing exactly that. Personally I use an EQ pedal like a Boss GE-7 for this kind of thing though. You can use it to boost the input while also getting surgical with the bass frequencies you want to cut for tightness. I don't think the XXX needs an additional gain stage, and most people who boost high gain amps with the overdrive pedals mentioned above keep the Drive on or close to 0 anyway, so imo a clean boost or EQ pedal should be more than plenty here.

For the fizz, anything you'd do to remove fizz at the amp's input stage would mean cutting highs, which is only going to kill your articulation. To tame the fizz, you're probably going to want an EQ in the loop. I'd suggest something with a low pass filter so you can let everything below a certain frequency of your choosing through while cutting out everything above that frequency. I'd start with something that can apply a low pass filter around 5-6 kHz or so and start adjusting from there.
 
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TheGreatGreen said:
To tame the fizz, you're probably going to want an EQ in the loop. You'll just want something with a low pass filter so you can let everything below a certain frequency of your choosing through while cutting out the highs. I'd start with something that can apply a low pass filter around 5-6 kHz or so and start adjusting from there.
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Thanks for the advice! You recommended a GE-7. Would you use this before the signal hits the amp? Also, will a GE-7 work in the loop as a low pass filter or do you suggest something else?
 
Yeah, I don't think a boost is going to work as effectively for removing the fizz. I honestly think the fizz is part of the XXX tone. I like it, personally, but that's how Peavey amps are in general, IME.

As far as boosts, I'd recommend something standard like a Maxon OD808, Ibanez TS9, or Boss SD-1 and start from there. I used an Ibanez TS808 with mine, and it worked alright. You can go all fancy with the boosts, but at the end of the day, I think a Tube Screamer is a good starting point to figure out what you like, and what you don't like, and take it from there. That, and a Tube Screamer is "that" sound.
 
JohnnyGtar said:
Thanks for the advice! You recommended a GE-7. Would you use this before the signal hits the amp? Also, will a GE-7 work in the loop as a low pass filter or do you suggest something else?
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Yep, I use a GE-7 between the guitar and amp. Love it. However, the GE-7 doesn't have a low pass filter. I'm not sure it would be the best tool for the job of putting it in the loop and cutting out fizz.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
Yep, I use a GE-7 between the guitar and amp. Love it. However, the GE-7 doesn't have a low pass filter. I'm not sure it would be the best tool for the job of putting it in the loop and cutting out fizz.
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Do you have any suggestions for a product that would work well in the loop?
 
TheGreatGreen said:
Yep, I use a GE-7 between the guitar and amp. Love it. However, the GE-7 doesn't have a low pass filter. I'm not sure it would be the best tool for the job of putting it in the loop and cutting out fizz.
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I fell like I’m weird . I love eqs straight in and not in the loop . Good to hear it’s not just me
 
I put a tight gate on my students XXX and it tighten it up and cut some fizz
 
Holy crap I can't imagine needing an overdrive pedal in front of this amp. Turn the gain down a bit, turn the volume up a bit. EQ is a little tricky since it's active, so it compresses the sound quite a bit. These are monster sounding amps, and really sound great when turned up.

Edit: V30 speakers would be a better choice for that amp versus what you're currently using IMO
 
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JohnnyGtar said:
Hi everyone,
I have a Peavey XXX 120 watt head. The 2 distortion channels are not very articulate and they have a lot of fizz in the highs. I want to tighten it up, make it crunchier and get rid of as much fizz as I can, but still retain some high end. My cabinet is an Egnater Armageddon with G12-T75's and K100's. What overdrive pedal would you suggest? Lots of people seem happy with the Boss SD-1. Should I try lower gain preamp tubes? I'm going to buy from Sweetwater so I can try different pedals if needed and return them if I don't like em. I'd be grateful for your advice.

Thanks!
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Personally, I don't think those speakers are doing you any favors. Sure, they punch hard, but are fizz central at moderate volumes.

I've owned several XXX's, and JSX's. A 5751 in V2 is a good start to tame them a tad. Loved JJ KT77's in the power section, and CHECK THE BIAS. Could be running too cold.

Another strong suggestion is run the master volume high, and channel volumes lower. Opening up that power section will warm things up. These amps are all about insane preamp gain - work the power section, and ease up on the channel volume to even things out. This will go a long way to eliminate fizz.

Another excellent choice is an EQ in the loop. Cut the high frequencies a tad.

As for boost, I'd go with a TS9 type for warmth. An SD-1's clipping will be too abrasive/gritty IMO. A TS9, an MXR GT-OD, Green Rhino, Maxon OD808.
 
sahlomonic said:
Holy crap I can't imagine needing an overdrive pedal in front of this amp. Turn the gain down a bit, turn the volume up a bit. EQ is a little tricky since it's active, so it compresses the sound quite a bit. These are monster sounding amps, and really sound great when turned up.

What speakers/cab are you using? Surprised this wasn't mentioned yet.
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He mentioned it in his first post.

My cabinet is an Egnater Armageddon with G12-T75's and K100's.
 
JohnnyGtar said:
Do you have any suggestions for a product that would work well in the loop?
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Well typically, low pass filters are found in parametric EQ's. However I googled around and found this guy:

https://www.broughtonaudio.com/product-page/low-pass-filter
Md6j8r2.png



If you want to get a bit more spendy, you could go for this thing that's about to get released at the end of this month. I'll be preordering one.

https://empresseffects.com/products/paraeq-mkii-deluxe
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It has a low pass control too, it's the knob on the lower right.
 
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Techdeth said:
I fell like I’m weird . I love eqs straight in and not in the loop . Good to hear it’s not just me
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I've said it before but if I could only have two pedals on my board, I'd have two EQs. One between the guitar and amp, and the other in the loop.
 
sahlomonic said:
Yeah somehow I just skipped right over that part. I = idiot
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I just did it on another thread, asking a guy to post a picture when he already did previously in the first post. I'll join you!
 
IMO the trick with using a boost on the xxx and the jsx's, is to set the output of the boost at noon and not boosting the signal as much. both of those amps have tons of gain and respond better to the filtering of the pedals to tighten them and control the high end. set the tone knob to noon, or a little lower, depending on your tastes.
 
mchn13 said:
IMO the trick with using a boost on the xxx and the jsx's, is to set the output of the boost at noon and not boosting the signal as much. both of those amps have tons of gain and respond better to the filtering of the pedals to tighten them and control the high end. set the tone knob to noon, or a little lower, depending on your tastes.
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Keep in mind, a Tube Screamer doesn't have that much output to begin with. I think the level cranked is barely unity gain with mid output pickups.
 
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