Amp and Pedal recommendations

LikeLukin
LikeLukin Posts: 29
edited August 2006 in Musicians and Gearheads
Hey guys, I'm looking for some amplifier and pedal recommendations as I'm looking to purchase a new amp and some type of distortion/gain pedal. There aren't many music stores where I live and those that are here carry a limited number of quality products for me to try, so I'm looking for some help.

I'm an experienced guitar player and have been playing for 14 years. I know the tone that I want, I just don't know what amp/pedal combo will give it to me. For the amp I'm looking for something really high quality, but a head and cabinet aren't practical for me right now since I don't own a car and therefore I need something small for transportation reasons (ie a combo). I play a Gibson SG standard that I bought a few years ago.

I want to be able to get two tones, one that's lightly dirty and gets dirtier the harder you play, and cleaner the lighter you play, something very similar Eddie's tone on the 2000 or 1998 tones. I know he got these tones from his hiwatt head and marshall cab (sometimes a 2203 head i believe), but like I said a head and cabinet is not practical for me.

I also want to be able to get an overdriven tone, I'm thinking most likely from a pedal. I'd like this to sound something along the lines of stone's overdriven tone from the 1998 tour.

Right now I'm thinking about buying a 59 Fender Bassman Ltd reissue. I like it because it's simple, gets dirty when you crank it, and is very portable, but I've never played one. I have no clue what to get for a pedal. Pedals I'm thinking of are a proco rat, boss ds1, boss ds2, ibanez ts9 tube screamer, and a fender blender.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • HailHailVitalogy
    HailHailVitalogy Posts: 6,020
    It all depends on the money that you want to spend. If you give us a range for the amp and the range for the pedal, that will help us all out to help you. Almost every pedal you mentioned aren't going to give you the tone you are looking for. If you are looking for Stone's tone from 98 you will probably be looking at a Maxon Sonic Distortion. To get that sound of the harder you play the dirty the sound, you will most likely be turning the volume up on whatever amp you decide to get. When you turn the volume up the clean channel starts to break up and that is probably the sound you will be looking for.

    In this case I think a Fender amp will be good for you because the clean tones from a Fender amp are spectacular. And when you turn the volume up (depending on the amp, about a volume of 6 or higher), it will break up to give you that sound. Then you can play the pedal over that to get a higher gain sound.

    My favorite Fender amps are:
    Blues Deluxe Reissue
    59 Bassman
    57 Tweed
    65 Deluxe Reverb

    It also depends on how loud you can handle. I personally live in an apartment and have a Traynor YCV40WR. The amp is 40 watts and it's tube. It's FUCKIN LOUD. The 65 Deluxe Reverb is 22 watts, the Blues Deluxe and Tweed are 40 watts, and the Bassman is 50 watts.

    As for pedals again the Maxon Sonic Distortion is a nice choice for that tone. The Fulltone Fulldrive-2 would be an excellent choice as well. There are so many pedals to choose from that can give you what you want. Check out Fulltone and Menatone. Go to http://www.musictoyz.com and click guitar pedals on the top left and check out the pedals by Fulltone and Menatone. BJF also makes amazing stuff but very very expensive.

    I hope that helped :)
    2003: Uniondale, MSG x2 | 2004: Reading | 2005: Gorge, Vancouver, Philly | 2006: East Rutherford x2, Gorge x2, Camden 1, Hartford | 2008: MSG x2, VA Beach | 2009: Philly x3 | 2010: MSG x2, Bristow | 2011: Alpine Valley x2 | 2012: MIA Philly | 2013: Wrigley, Charlottesville, Brooklyn 2 | 2014: Milan, Amsterdam 1 | 2016: MSG x2, Fenway x2, Wrigley 2 | 2018: Rome, Krakow, Berlin, Wrigley 2 | 2021: Sea Hear Now | 2022: San Diego, LA x2, MSG, Camden, Nashville, St. Louis, Denver | 2023: St. Paul 1, Chicago x2, Fort Worth x2, Austin 2 | 2024: Las Vegas 1, Seattle x2, Indy, MSG x2, Philly x2, Baltimore, Ohana 2 | 2025: Florida x2, Atlanta x2, Pittsburgh x2
  • enharmonic
    enharmonic Posts: 1,917
    So would my Greedtone pedal :D
    new music: http://www.myspace.com/blackbirdsymphonique

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  • HailHailVitalogy
    HailHailVitalogy Posts: 6,020
    enharmonic wrote:
    So would my Greedtone pedal :D

    Yes the Greedtone pedal would be perfect from what I've read on this board.

    Another Maxon pedal I have been dying to get which I think you would like is the Maxon OD820
    2003: Uniondale, MSG x2 | 2004: Reading | 2005: Gorge, Vancouver, Philly | 2006: East Rutherford x2, Gorge x2, Camden 1, Hartford | 2008: MSG x2, VA Beach | 2009: Philly x3 | 2010: MSG x2, Bristow | 2011: Alpine Valley x2 | 2012: MIA Philly | 2013: Wrigley, Charlottesville, Brooklyn 2 | 2014: Milan, Amsterdam 1 | 2016: MSG x2, Fenway x2, Wrigley 2 | 2018: Rome, Krakow, Berlin, Wrigley 2 | 2021: Sea Hear Now | 2022: San Diego, LA x2, MSG, Camden, Nashville, St. Louis, Denver | 2023: St. Paul 1, Chicago x2, Fort Worth x2, Austin 2 | 2024: Las Vegas 1, Seattle x2, Indy, MSG x2, Philly x2, Baltimore, Ohana 2 | 2025: Florida x2, Atlanta x2, Pittsburgh x2
  • moster78
    moster78 Posts: 1,591
    If you don't need a lot of watts, I'll throw my two cents in for a Fender Blues Junior. I have one and its plenty loud for what I use it for.
  • keeponrockin
    keeponrockin Posts: 7,446
    Fender Twin Reverb... May be too loud, but the cleans are nothing short of amazing.
    Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
  • HardtoImagine
    HardtoImagine Posts: 48
    keeponrockin wrote:
    Fender Twin Reverb... May be too loud, but the cleans are nothing short of amazing.

    how does the 65 deluxe twin reverb compare to the 65 deluxe reverb apart from obiously the volume?
  • All Those Yesterdays
    All Those Yesterdays Posts: 2,723
    '59 bassman with a OCD pedal in front of it.

    Or replace the bassman with a JTM 45 or a 1974x.
    E. Lansing-98 Columbus-00,03,10 Detroit-00,03 (1&2),06, 14 Cleveland-03,06,10 Toledo-04, Grand Rapids-04,06 London-05, Toronto-05, Indianapolis 10, East Troy (1&2) 11, Chicago 13, Detroit 14

    https://www.facebook.com/aghostwritersapology/
  • keeponrockin
    keeponrockin Posts: 7,446
    HardtoImagine wrote:
    how does the 65 deluxe twin reverb compare to the 65 deluxe reverb apart from obiously the volume?

    I havent compared. All I know is the '65 is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. I want it.
    Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
  • HailHailVitalogy
    HailHailVitalogy Posts: 6,020
    All Those Yesterdays wrote:
    '59 bassman with a OCD pedal in front of it.

    Or replace the bassman with a JTM 45 or a 1974x.

    Another OCD lover!! :D

    yeah the marshall 1974x would be perfect too but you would have to crank it to get its "real" sound
    2003: Uniondale, MSG x2 | 2004: Reading | 2005: Gorge, Vancouver, Philly | 2006: East Rutherford x2, Gorge x2, Camden 1, Hartford | 2008: MSG x2, VA Beach | 2009: Philly x3 | 2010: MSG x2, Bristow | 2011: Alpine Valley x2 | 2012: MIA Philly | 2013: Wrigley, Charlottesville, Brooklyn 2 | 2014: Milan, Amsterdam 1 | 2016: MSG x2, Fenway x2, Wrigley 2 | 2018: Rome, Krakow, Berlin, Wrigley 2 | 2021: Sea Hear Now | 2022: San Diego, LA x2, MSG, Camden, Nashville, St. Louis, Denver | 2023: St. Paul 1, Chicago x2, Fort Worth x2, Austin 2 | 2024: Las Vegas 1, Seattle x2, Indy, MSG x2, Philly x2, Baltimore, Ohana 2 | 2025: Florida x2, Atlanta x2, Pittsburgh x2
  • LikeLukin
    LikeLukin Posts: 29
    HailHailVitalogy wrote:
    It all depends on the money that you want to spend. If you give us a range for the amp and the range for the pedal, that will help us all out to help you. Almost every pedal you mentioned aren't going to give you the tone you are looking for. If you are looking for Stone's tone from 98 you will probably be looking at a Maxon Sonic Distortion. To get that sound of the harder you play the dirty the sound, you will most likely be turning the volume up on whatever amp you decide to get. When you turn the volume up the clean channel starts to break up and that is probably the sound you will be looking for.

    In this case I think a Fender amp will be good for you because the clean tones from a Fender amp are spectacular. And when you turn the volume up (depending on the amp, about a volume of 6 or higher), it will break up to give you that sound. Then you can play the pedal over that to get a higher gain sound.

    My favorite Fender amps are:
    Blues Deluxe Reissue
    59 Bassman
    57 Tweed
    65 Deluxe Reverb

    It also depends on how loud you can handle. I personally live in an apartment and have a Traynor YCV40WR. The amp is 40 watts and it's tube. It's FUCKIN LOUD. The 65 Deluxe Reverb is 22 watts, the Blues Deluxe and Tweed are 40 watts, and the Bassman is 50 watts.

    As for pedals again the Maxon Sonic Distortion is a nice choice for that tone. The Fulltone Fulldrive-2 would be an excellent choice as well. There are so many pedals to choose from that can give you what you want. Check out Fulltone and Menatone. Go to http://www.musictoyz.com and click guitar pedals on the top left and check out the pedals by Fulltone and Menatone. BJF also makes amazing stuff but very very expensive.

    I hope that helped :)

    thanks alot for your input, as well as everyone else. Yeah, i was planning on getting something to crank like a bassman and use the pedal over that dirty sound. The 1974x is what i really want. When i went to halifax to see pearl jam, i played a goldtop reissue les paul through a 1974xat musicstop, and maxed out the volume and i pretty much creamed my pants, but it's a bit out of my price range. I'm looking for something around the price of a 59 bassman reissue, around $1500 give or take.

    as for pedals, i will definitely try to check out those maxon pedals mentioned if i can find some around here. how much do those run for typically?
  • HailHailVitalogy
    HailHailVitalogy Posts: 6,020
    LikeLukin wrote:
    thanks alot for your input, as well as everyone else. Yeah, i was planning on getting something to crank like a bassman and use the pedal over that dirty sound. The 1974x is what i really want. When i went to halifax to see pearl jam, i played a goldtop reissue les paul through a 1974xat musicstop, and maxed out the volume and i pretty much creamed my pants, but it's a bit out of my price range. I'm looking for something around the price of a 59 bassman reissue, around $1500 give or take.

    as for pedals, i will definitely try to check out those maxon pedals mentioned if i can find some around here. how much do those run for typically?

    The Sonic Distortion runs around $140 new...deffinantly check out the Fulltone pedals (Fulldrive, OCD)
    2003: Uniondale, MSG x2 | 2004: Reading | 2005: Gorge, Vancouver, Philly | 2006: East Rutherford x2, Gorge x2, Camden 1, Hartford | 2008: MSG x2, VA Beach | 2009: Philly x3 | 2010: MSG x2, Bristow | 2011: Alpine Valley x2 | 2012: MIA Philly | 2013: Wrigley, Charlottesville, Brooklyn 2 | 2014: Milan, Amsterdam 1 | 2016: MSG x2, Fenway x2, Wrigley 2 | 2018: Rome, Krakow, Berlin, Wrigley 2 | 2021: Sea Hear Now | 2022: San Diego, LA x2, MSG, Camden, Nashville, St. Louis, Denver | 2023: St. Paul 1, Chicago x2, Fort Worth x2, Austin 2 | 2024: Las Vegas 1, Seattle x2, Indy, MSG x2, Philly x2, Baltimore, Ohana 2 | 2025: Florida x2, Atlanta x2, Pittsburgh x2
  • Pacomc79
    Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    I absolutely love the Bassman LTD, I think you're in the right direction.

    The greedtone is probably a great option too.


    the bassman is such a good platform, lots of bass and foundation, big sound, and ready to rip your head off when you combine it with the right pedal in the front end.

    do you have a pedal price range you're looking ot spend? It's easier to narrow things down that way.

    one thing you might do is try to find sound clips of everything you're interested in, there's so much pedal hype out there it's difficult to discern what might be right from words alone.

    My amp is rather finiky sometimes, I play an orange, It likes some stuff and dosen't play nice with others, specifically pedals that work exquisitely in Fenders. Take a little time with your decision.

    Oh, and since you're looking at combos, check out Rivera while you're at it and also Clark amplification.

    Dr. Z might also have something up your alley.



    oh and here's one from Lovepedal in Detroit, this is the Magneto.

    http://www.lovepedal.com/lovesquare.htm

    http://lovepedal.com/magnetoBassmantest.mp3


    It depends on how many knobs you want to tweak and the style you want. generally I love cascading a boost pedal or two with a Bassman, I especially do like the RAT as a #2 behind some kind of boost. Lately I've been in love with BJFE. Specifically the Emerald Green, depending on your application though you may prefer something else.


    here's one that might interest you. The Dyna Red

    http://www.custom-sounds.com/epages/customsounds.filereader?44dfec7302cb56a42741d94dcd0106ae+EN/products/12002

    Good luck with the search.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • All Those Yesterdays
    All Those Yesterdays Posts: 2,723
    LikeLukin wrote:
    thanks alot for your input, as well as everyone else. Yeah, i was planning on getting something to crank like a bassman and use the pedal over that dirty sound. The 1974x is what i really want. When i went to halifax to see pearl jam, i played a goldtop reissue les paul through a 1974xat musicstop, and maxed out the volume and i pretty much creamed my pants, but it's a bit out of my price range. I'm looking for something around the price of a 59 bassman reissue, around $1500 give or take.

    as for pedals, i will definitely try to check out those maxon pedals mentioned if i can find some around here. how much do those run for typically?

    Yeah I remember the day of the 1974x getting cranked for the first time at the store. Looked over at my buddy and shook my head.

    You can build one for around $800, it will have a much better transformer in it too. Marshal's have been having transformer problems in the 1974x.

    http://www.ceriatone.com/productSubPages/marshall18w/marshall18wComplete.htm

    cabinet here

    https://shop.headstrongamps.com/categoryNavigationDocument.hg?categoryId=23

    I'm going the JTM 45 route thru ceriatone when I finally get some things taken care of at the house, get my bass rig finally set straight and the wife finally says it's okay.
    E. Lansing-98 Columbus-00,03,10 Detroit-00,03 (1&2),06, 14 Cleveland-03,06,10 Toledo-04, Grand Rapids-04,06 London-05, Toronto-05, Indianapolis 10, East Troy (1&2) 11, Chicago 13, Detroit 14

    https://www.facebook.com/aghostwritersapology/
  • All Those Yesterdays
    All Those Yesterdays Posts: 2,723
    HailHailVitalogy wrote:
    Another OCD lover!! :D

    yeah the marshall 1974x would be perfect too but you would have to crank it to get its "real" sound

    OCD and the '69 fuzz all the way. Roll the guitar volume back some crank the fuzz, and kick in the OCD to smooth out the fuzz. Emmmmmmm.

    You know I agree with the 1974x being perfect when cranked, but it's still extremely useable @ about 4 or 5. Of course the way the pot's are on that 4 or 5 really means about 7 or 8.
    E. Lansing-98 Columbus-00,03,10 Detroit-00,03 (1&2),06, 14 Cleveland-03,06,10 Toledo-04, Grand Rapids-04,06 London-05, Toronto-05, Indianapolis 10, East Troy (1&2) 11, Chicago 13, Detroit 14

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  • All Those Yesterdays
    All Those Yesterdays Posts: 2,723
    Speaking of which, my buddy who won a '59 bassman reissue chassis on the bay for $200, who put it in a 2x12 (aged vintage 30's) (offset) combo finally has go the thing running. I was over yesterday checking it out for the first time. You know that entire era of amps is just amazing. That '59 bassman, the JTM 45, 1974x etc are all just amazing. Thats the way tone should be. slam a OCD in front of it, and just hang the guitar a little lower to cover the wood that showing thru
    E. Lansing-98 Columbus-00,03,10 Detroit-00,03 (1&2),06, 14 Cleveland-03,06,10 Toledo-04, Grand Rapids-04,06 London-05, Toronto-05, Indianapolis 10, East Troy (1&2) 11, Chicago 13, Detroit 14

    https://www.facebook.com/aghostwritersapology/
  • JofZ
    JofZ Posts: 1,276
    Victoria with a Honey Bee is all you need!
    Any Vicky will sound tits, it just depends on your budget and vol. needs.

    I could live on a desert island with that rig, actually I know a few guys who do :)
    WHAT IS THAT NOISE?
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    Playing Les Pauls, Teles, Hubers, Gustavssons, Kolls through a Mad Professor amp with a Bob Burt Cab.
    BJF powers my Pedal Board

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