What od pedals work best with the BMAN and SL2 mods?
- Thread starter jakeddy
- Start date
bbaug14
Active member
Pretty much any OD will work well with the BMAN. That module takes pedals very well. I've used an OCD and a TS with BMAN lately and they both sound great.
SL2 is a different story. I've yet to find a pedal that plays well with that module (distortion/OD that is). Honestly, SL2 has so much available gain that I really don't see the need for a distortion/OD to be put in front of it.
SL2 is a different story. I've yet to find a pedal that plays well with that module (distortion/OD that is). Honestly, SL2 has so much available gain that I really don't see the need for a distortion/OD to be put in front of it.
guitarslinger
New member
I fell into the trap of:
Overdrive = inherently good tone machines for non-noobs
Distortion = shitty fizz boxes for practice amp noobs who only play it into a clean channel
Then one day, I picked up an MXR Distortion III for $29 @ GC.
The MXR Distortion III is still the best dirt pedal I've ever encountered regardless of whether it's called Overdrive or Distortion. It works flawlessly with Eggy modules. NO NOISE. Liquid sustain, not too compressed, etc. unreal.
Overdrive = inherently good tone machines for non-noobs
Distortion = shitty fizz boxes for practice amp noobs who only play it into a clean channel
Then one day, I picked up an MXR Distortion III for $29 @ GC.
The MXR Distortion III is still the best dirt pedal I've ever encountered regardless of whether it's called Overdrive or Distortion. It works flawlessly with Eggy modules. NO NOISE. Liquid sustain, not too compressed, etc. unreal.
RockStarNick
Active member
guitarslinger":16pieud6 said:
This STILL holds true for the most part.
That MXR Distortion III (also called Classic Distortion) is more of a heavy overdrive box, which is why you like it Gene. I had one, and it's definitely a great pedal.
The only thing that it DOESNT do well, oddly enough, for me, was going straight into a practice amp clean channel "practice noob" style.
guitarslinger
New member
RockStarNick":2i5v9ed0 said:
Now, I'm not even sure anymore
Tubescreamers and clones are quickly going into my hate it list. They all seem to sound noisy and compressed with no bass. They suck.
If the Boss DS-1 didn't get noisy, and compressed it would be great.
The Distortion III (or Classic Dist. in my case, but I didn't want to confuse everyone since it was GC exclusive) really is the best pedal I've ever heard. It doesn't change the tone of the amp very much at all, yet it FEELS like I flipped on set of super hands.
RockStarNick
Active member
I can't even begin to tell you how many pedals I've bought and sold... and pretty much now, all I have are the OCD, and the Xotic RC booster.
Neither of which I use on a regular basis. I only use them when I'm using my RM20 as a single-channel amp, for occaisonal gigs with a singer songwriter I back up.
I basically use the RC booster as an end-of-the-pedal-chain volume booster for solos (which also adds some nice compression), and the OCD as my dirt.
But for all my live shows with my main band, my Mod50 handles everything I need. Clean, crunch, gain rhythm, gain lead.
Neither of which I use on a regular basis. I only use them when I'm using my RM20 as a single-channel amp, for occaisonal gigs with a singer songwriter I back up.
I basically use the RC booster as an end-of-the-pedal-chain volume booster for solos (which also adds some nice compression), and the OCD as my dirt.
But for all my live shows with my main band, my Mod50 handles everything I need. Clean, crunch, gain rhythm, gain lead.
Gino
Member
I must've missed something because I returned the Classic Distortion the next day. Sounded like a pointless pedal to me. To me, a distortion pedal should basically be a second channel to your amp. My "clean" tone probably wouldn't be considered clean to most people here. I guess we could call it "rock clean" as it's definitely got some dirt on it but when I'd hit the MXR CD, it did hardly anything. Then when I tried it on higher gain settings it was just a muffle box. Again, I could be missing something though...
Like Dan said, I don't think any OD/distortions sound that great on SL2 nor does SL2 really need an OD/distortion. What are you looking to accomplish with a distortion on SL2? Another channel in a box? Solo boost?
Like Dan said, I don't think any OD/distortions sound that great on SL2 nor does SL2 really need an OD/distortion. What are you looking to accomplish with a distortion on SL2? Another channel in a box? Solo boost?
bbaug14
Active member
I don't think you are going to find a pedal that is going to work well as a solo/gain boost with SL2. At least, not unless you have SL2 set up with a really low gain setting. SL2 is a pretty high gain module as it is, and doesn't take boost pedals well, at least from my experiences.
I am surprised Eric hasn't chimed in. I know he loves the Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive for just this purpose. For example, when i use the SL2 - I have channel A, my JCM800 type channel, I keep the gain dialed down. My channel B is my high gain Marshall tone so the gain is at about 1:00 at volume. There is a big difference in the two channels to my ears so I like them for different purposes.
Now, when it comes time for a solo while playing rhythm on channel B - I need somewhere to go. I have a Creation Audio Labs MK volume boost in the loop that works for this well. The best clean boost I have found. However, there are times I want that over saturated, compressed, lead tone over top of my channel B rhythm tone. I can't get that same tone unless I crank the gain on channel B up higher, but then it ruins my rhythm tone.
After talking to people and Eric, he and some other strongly recommend the Sparkle Drive.
I thikn a tube screamer type pedal is best for this purpose. I have also been told the BBE Boosta Grande is great too.
Now, when it comes time for a solo while playing rhythm on channel B - I need somewhere to go. I have a Creation Audio Labs MK volume boost in the loop that works for this well. The best clean boost I have found. However, there are times I want that over saturated, compressed, lead tone over top of my channel B rhythm tone. I can't get that same tone unless I crank the gain on channel B up higher, but then it ruins my rhythm tone.
After talking to people and Eric, he and some other strongly recommend the Sparkle Drive.
I thikn a tube screamer type pedal is best for this purpose. I have also been told the BBE Boosta Grande is great too.
aeroic
Active member
richedie":2ysmcgid said:
I know guys don't like the TS or TS clones because it compresses, adds mids, rolls off a bit of low end. But for me, I like it because of those reasons. The SD with the clean knob really gets rid of the last issue (rolls of the low end) if you have it set higher. The clean knob is like a "mix" knob. For soloing, I like a bit more "mid-range boosted" tone, with a bit more compression to it. I want my tone to cut through the mix, with a tone different than I use for rhythms. I don't use the SD all the time, but it has definitely been the MAINSTAY on my pedalbard right next to my Microvibe. Other pedals have come and gone, but those two haven't. I use the SD in front of clean tones, low-mid gain tones, and higher gain tones and I like them all.
It's not a distortion pedal though. I use the SD at about 10-11 gain, 9-10 tone, 8-9 clean, and 3 oclock - dimed for volume. I don't find it noisy, fizzy, thin, or anything. It gets better as you crank your amp's volume too!!
That's me...YMMV. Some like it...some hate it. I definitely would give up my BB preamp before I gave up my SD. Especially with my guitars having a EMG preamp booster on it.
Eric
Hectic Watermelon
Member
http://www.xacttone.com/xactabout.html
My favorite hitting the B'Man! - recommended to me by David Philips at LA Sound Design while doing my pedal tray last summer.
My favorite hitting the B'Man! - recommended to me by David Philips at LA Sound Design while doing my pedal tray last summer.
I think another great choice would be the AC Booster. Try this one Eric? It has more mids than the other Xotic pedals and has a bass control so you can add in all the bass you want! 
muudrock
Active member
I agree 100% with Aeroic on the the Sparkle Drive. I've been using this pedal for a while and I would not give it up. To me, it's the perfect OD/Boost. The clean control is perfect to dial out the pedal from coloring the sound too much. In front of the SL module, it kills. By comparison, I have a modded TS which serves it's purpose, but is a one- trick pony.
The love the BB on the cleaner sounds, but don't really dig it on anything mid gain or higher. Too compressed to my ears.
I also agree the SL2 is just too hot on the front end to take an od pedal unless you really rolled back the gain. I find the SL2 too strident with the gains rolled back, especially on ch B.
The love the BB on the cleaner sounds, but don't really dig it on anything mid gain or higher. Too compressed to my ears.
I also agree the SL2 is just too hot on the front end to take an od pedal unless you really rolled back the gain. I find the SL2 too strident with the gains rolled back, especially on ch B.