OD pedal to tighten up Jet City JCA50H

  • Thread starter Thread starter ChetD
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ChetD

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Hi

Looking for a pedal to tighten up the sound and maybe add a few extra sounds and options but mainly I want to tighten everything up.
I play alt rock, as an easy reference I'd say Colour and Shape era Foos. I know they used Boogies and my JCA is more Soldano and that's cool, I like my JCA, I just want to build on my existing sound by tightening it up so it's nice and crisp!
Thinking of a light Drive pedal that can push the valves and add some sound shaping options. Maybe a Blackstar Drive (really like them in the YouTube Andertons review clip), a Boss SD1, a Marshall Blues or maybe a Guvnor or Jackhammer (on OD mode).

I know the sound a pedal makes varies wildly from amp to amp so ideally I'd pop to the shop and try a few out but most of the ones Ive listed are on my local Gumtree and I was hoping to pick something up second hand if poss...

Alternatively should I be looking at an EQ pedal or something altogether different?

Thanks!
Dylan
 
I highly recommend the Joyo Vintage Overdrive. It's very tight and crisp as a boost.
 
All good choices^. But spend 25 bucks on a Danelectro fish n chips eq pedal first. Might be all you need. Bump the mids up.
 
I have the Fish N' Chips as well, and while it's a good eq for the price, the Dano buffer softens the highs a bit. The Joyo is a cheap and easy solution and will work better than an eq IMO. I've noticed that graphic equalizers introduce some weird colorations when used with guitar and I try to avoid them. The best one that I've tried and own is the MXR 10 band.
 
Filter500":3112g8ec said:
I have the Fish N' Chips as well, and while it's a good eq for the price, the Dano buffer softens the highs a bit. The Joyo is a cheap and easy solution and will work better than an eq IMO. I've noticed that graphic equalizers introduce some weird colorations when used with guitar and I try to avoid them. The best one that I've tried and own is the MXR 10 band.
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Huh..completely different experience for me. The FnC colored the tone way less than the Boss or both MXRs I've tried. Very transparent and I like my treble/presence, would have noticed that? But I do like Joyo stuff, I have an ultimate drive that I use often. Had a vintage also, good pedal.
 
Push the mids a little more and you may not need a pedal at all. Get some quality tubes in there as well to help tighten up your sound. Also, what speakers are you using? That makes a huge impact as well.
 
Hi thanks for the posts everyone! Speaker wise its a mixed bag, we are often stuck with whatevers in the backline so I cant depend on the speakers helping...having a pedal adds some flexibility to handle various cabs. And yeah changing tubes is always a good idea.
 
Try a 12AT7 in V1 position. It will tighten and clean in up a lot. You'll need to turn the gain knob higher but the Soldano type circuitry has a lot of gain so you'll still get enough gain out of it.
 
Im personally a fan of natural overdrive through the tubes, but Swell makes some cheap tube OD pedals that u can probably pick up for about $100 if you look.
 
psychodave":cmhwdnui said:
glip22":cmhwdnui said:
Cussack Screamer V2
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I've never heard of this pedal... Wonder what it would do to a recto?
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Been around awhile. It works great with high gain. Very quiet.
 
I've been through a lot of OD pedals over the past few years and I've sold all except the Seymour Duncan 805. It's very versatile with the 3 band EQ.
 
Another vote for the Cusack Screamer V2, love that thing.
 
My singer uses a Bad Monkey with his and it seems to work pretty well
 
Have been wondering the same about my Legacy 3. Running it through my stock Uberkab. I have the FnC EQ but have never used it. Thinking about putting 6L6's in it as well. Like the tone but would prefer tighter low end.
 
Thanks again for all the input!

I suppose one of the things I hadn't really considered is the pickups in the guitar. I have an Epi standard Les Paul with Gibson Burstbuckers (not sure which ones). The natural sound is fat and dark which is good but it doesn't lend itself to the tight, detailed, cutting sound I want.
Am I more likely to see an improvement in sound by just getting a decent bridge bucker? If so any recommendations? I've seen lots of love for Pearly Gates...
 
I use the TC Electronic Spark Boost into my Splawn SS and Friedman SB . I use it as a clean boost with the toggle in mid mode , works great
 
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