Tube Screamer in front??

[Mailman1971]

I was reading some place where guys are running a Tube screamer in front of the rig with the level at max, drive at 0 and tone at 0. They are swearing buy it that it gives the rig a Kick. I never done this and am always open on new ideas for tone. Anyone here try this and if so what tube screamer you using? Ibanez? BBE? what models? Any info is greatly appreciated!!

 

[LUKATHERFAN]

Yeah, it does have an effect on the front end of the amp- I've
used Ibanez TS-9's on Marshalls for quite awhile and,depending on
how you set the levels on the amp and on the pedal you can go
from a good Marshall chunk for rhythm to a boosted level with
more gain for solo's.......I even have a friend that uses the Tube
Screamer on a Blackface Fender Super Reverb and the tone kills...

 

[guitarslinger]

IMO, Egnaters are already awesome, saturated, forgiving, etc.

OD's have only added noise and compression to my M4 and IE4.

just my opinion.

 

[aeroic]

I was reading some place where guys are running a Tube screamer in front of the rig with the level at max, drive at 0 and tone at 0. They are swearing buy it that it gives the rig a Kick. I never done this and am always open on new ideas for tone. Anyone here try this and if so what tube screamer you using? Ibanez? BBE? what models? Any info is greatly appreciated!!

I use a Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive in front of my M4 and Mod50. I use it w/ gain at 11 oclock, level at 1 oclock, tone at 10 oclock, and clean at 8 oclock. I use it to push the Deluxe some and the COD some, and as a slight gain boost here and there. I've used TS-9s, etc etc. and I like the Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive the best. I don't use it all the time,as the M4 and Mod50 sound awesome by themselves, but as an option to use here and there I think its a must have at least for me!



Eric

 

[Hectic Watermelon]

I'm not a being pedal guy, but that being said, I do like to occasionally boost or color the pre with some stuff. Recently, i have been using a Tonefreak Albunai booster on the B'man B for some slide stuff and a Keely comp to boost the VOX a hair to get a semi-Dumble thing out of it. I used an original Tube screamer on the rhythm guitar track on Bionic Hillbilly on the Hectic Watermelon album. When going for a smooth and creamy fuzz tone, I have used the COD B all by itself lately, instead of my tried and true Fulltone 69 into the SL. I have all the Egnater modules, so it's just more flavors. I've been recording Mike Keneally's new album over the past month and he's digging these same tones with his guitars and playing style as he's been using my studio rig.

On the TS, I think it has a characteristic hi pass filter thing goin on in there. It always feels like it cuts some of the very low bass, so even if the gain is off all the way, it seems to focus the tone somewhat. If the pickup and amp combination you are hitting has gobs of bass already, then this can be very desirable, it can also sound thin and puny on other pu's and amps.

 

[Mailman1971]

SO it seems they are only used for a voltage boost right? Keeping the tone and drive to a minimum but the level high?
That makes sense. I just never tried it out before. But I think I am going to give it a shot. At least maybe for solo boosts.

 

[aeroic]

I'm not a being pedal guy, but that being said, I do like to occasionally boost or color the pre with some stuff. Recently, i have been using a Tonefreak Albunai booster on the B'man B for some slide stuff and a Keely comp to boost the VOX a hair to get a semi-Dumble thing out of it. I used an original Tube screamer on the rhythm guitar track on Bionic Hillbilly on the Hectic Watermelon album. When going for a smooth and creamy fuzz tone, I have used the COD B all by itself lately, instead of my tried and true Fulltone 69 into the SL. I have all the Egnater modules, so it's just more flavors. I've been recording Mike Keneally's new album over the past month and he's digging these same tones with his guitars and playing style as he's been using my studio rig.

On the TS, I think it has a characteristic hi pass filter thing goin on in there. It always feels like it cuts some of the very low bass, so even if the gain is off all the way, it seems to focus the tone somewhat. If the pickup and amp combination you are hitting has gobs of bass already, then this can be very desirable, it can also sound thin and puny on other pu's and amps.

John:

You might want to try the Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, as the "clean" knob is basically a "mix" knob so you keep the low end of your signal. Its by far the best "tube screamer" type pedal I've used.

Eric

 

[aeroic]

SO it seems they are only used for a voltage boost right? Keeping the tone and drive to a minimum but the level high?
That makes sense. I just never tried it out before. But I think I am going to give it a shot. At least maybe for solo boosts.

I use it mostly to increase tube saturation mostly. On the DLX / COD, I use it to make it a bit more "creamy" and add a bit of gain. I don't use it to drastically change the tone.

Eric

 

[Mailman1971]

That sounds about perfect. Not looking to change the tone drastically, but always looking for more "edge" I guess?
But for about 100 bucks I cant go wrong.

 

[mctallica1]

I occasionally use my 808 in front of my high gain modules.


I keep the gain at 0, level around 2 oclock and tone around 9 oclock. Just kinds gives it a little extra oomph factor.

I particularly like to do this with any of the recto based modules....

 

[3 Mile Stone]

An Xotic RC Booster would KILL at the application you are going after. AC Booster and ... well hell the BB too for that matter. Way better pedals IMHO.

 

[Resonant Alien]

That sounds about perfect. Not looking to change the tone drastically, but always looking for more "edge" I guess?
But for about 100 bucks I cant go wrong.

If all you want is to boost without adding a lot of drive, I would go for an Xotic RC boost or Fulltone Fat Boost or OCD. Tube Screamer is going to add gain/drive in most cases

 

[jkdsteve]

All of these discussions remind me why I have 4 boosts plugged in and haven't managed to whittle it down..lol

Although I've pretty much stopped stomping on pedals with the Egnater...just occasionally on the COD or Vx module.

 

[Mailman1971]

I was watching a killer demo on the Maxon 808 pedal on Youtube. It sounded just KILLER.........
Might have to snag one!!

 

[aeroic]

All of these discussions remind me why I have 4 boosts plugged in and haven't managed to whittle it down..lol

Although I've pretty much stopped stomping on pedals with the Egnater...just occasionally on the COD or Vx module.

i hear ya man. i've had modded ts-9's, voodoo labs sparkle drive, fulltone fat boost, etc etc.....i finally just whittled it down to the Voodoo Labs Sparkle drive w/ the Fulltone Fat Boost in a close second!.

Eric

 

[MichaelG]

I use a boost on the gain modules most of the time; A boost tightens up and adds a sort of clarity to the distortion that I really like. I've tried many boosts/OD and the ones that have worked the best for me in this order are Xotic BB+, Cusack Screamer and Bad Monkey from Digitech. Gain is typically set to 0, Level set to anywhere from 12:00 to 15:00. Add a bit of treble to taste. With these pedals and settings I get very little, if any, additional noise.

If I was using higher output pickups like EMG actives I'd have to re-examine my need for a boost though.

 

[Mailman1971]

Ok,
just got back from the music store and tried about 6 different pedals. From the 808 to the TS 9 and varies of them. I chose the Boss SD-1. It just sounded KILLER with the modules I was using. Really Cutting but very CRUNCHY HEAVY distortion on the modules I used. Just the right amount of BOOST needed. Didnt change the voice of the module but to me just made it more edgy. Used very little gain on the pedal as well. And all that for 50 bucks, I couldnt go wrong. If you guys havent tried the OD you need to. THis is coming from a ANTI PEDAL user too!! I am hooked on that tone now.

 

[3 Mile Stone]

Super COOL!