OD Recommend For Matchless Chieftain

[spakuloid]

My Matchless Chieftain 212 Combo really dislikes overdrive pedals. Actually it dislikes MOST pedals - what I mean is - everything I have tried so far seems like a compromise in tone compared to just guitar - cable amp - blast off. I need some stomp in there to mix it up. Here are the pedals I have tried with it and failed - and I know these pedals sound great on other amps:

TS9 - 808 RI - Barber LTD - Xotic AC Comp - Maxon OD820 - Little Green Wonder - Lovepedal E Burst

Actually the Lovepedal sounds OK - but has more of a liquid lead vibe - I need a more open voiced rhythm tone. Any takers here?:bow

[theanalogdream]

All the pedals you've tried have a bit of a mid hump, maybe something a little more transparent would work? timmy does this in spades

[spakuloid]

Timmy - of course - I'm on the list. I think November is when they said it would ship. Thanks!

[Grizz_Lee]

you should check out a guy names James Duke. He plays a chieftain. it sounds amazing and he runs a ts9 constantly on it. he also uses a timmy and a divided by 13 joyride. his tone is amazing. he plays for a guy named john mark mcmillan and has his own band called "all the bright lights." check it out. i've seen him live and opened for john mark. his tone is one of my favorites.

[henke]

I play a DC30 - not the same amp but I share your experience. I sold off my Maxon OD808, T-Rex Alberta, Fulldrive 2 Mosfet, OCD, Zendrive etc when I got this amp. I kept my Mad Professor SHOD and I really liked the Zvex Boc of Rock. But this is still a new thing for me, so I haven't found "it" yet. I'm going to try some more british pedals (Lovepedal Englishman, Wampler (Super) Plextortion/Plexidrive, Cranked AC) because the middy TS-pedals just doesn't sound good with this amp... But the amp itself sounds so freaking good I'm better off without.

[landru64]

this is so strange because i always hear that the chieftain is a great pedal platform... hmmm!

[spakuloid]

I think most Fenders are much better pedal platforms. The Matchless Chieftain has way too much of it's own thing going on - so that every thing you put in the chain tends to sound inferior. But you want some variety in there without killing the main vibe of the amp which is big, bold and complex. You want an enhancement - not a detraction from the tone. And the amp is massively loud - so even on 2-3 the amp is probably too loud for most clubs. But when you get it to the 4-5 levels is where you really hear the magic happen. So - it is a tough one. One of the best reverbs out there as well. Just stunning.

[blueprint]

What kind or tone do you want?
Single or humbuckers?
I actually have a Matchless 210 and a lot of pedals, so I think I can help you...

[spakuloid]

Humbuckers mostly - I am looking for a low gain drive that will not turn to fuzz/fizz - which is what I am finding happens to varying degrees with the drives I listed above. They all tend to make the guitar sound brash and trebly to me and lose the girth of the sound. I think the Timmy will work - and I think the other poster mentioned the mid hump issue of the other pedals - which I was thinking as well. I plugged a Tech 21 Liverpool pedal in today just for kicks and it sounded pretty damn good. Got the overdrive really smooth and kept the tone at moderate volume. Had the treble totally off on it and the volume knob really low.

[EuroCool]

My favorite Od with my Chieftain head is a Proanalog Dual Drive V1. I also use a Klon as a boost.

[Stevi]

I have a Chieftain 1x12. I have used:
Suhr Riot
Keeley RAT
Keeley 808
90's TS9
90's SD-1
80's OD-1
90's OD-2
90's RAT2
Fulldrive 2 (not mosfet)
OCD v4

I'm currently using the Fulldrive and the OCD with the best results, but the unmodified RAT and TS9 are also good. Depends on a lot of things. With the TS9 and RAT combo, I need to dial out a lot of mids as the TS9 is really heavy in the midrange. Actually, the TS9 is hard to use with other drive pedals because of the heavy midrange, but as a single overdrive, it is really good.
The OCD/FDII combo I use now, works better with the Chieftain because of the flatter frequency response of the two pedals.

[teleking36]

My 2x10 Chieftain is my main amp. I have a small utilitarian pedalboard with an Analogman Sunlion for my fuzzface tones and treble booster, and a Timmy for my low gain stuff and/or clean/gritty boost. Both of these pedals work very well with my Chieftain.

I honestly think that this amp is probably the best model for a pedal platform because of its ability to effectively control mids. I love the amp on its own, but when I need to run my board through it, I'm able to tweak the settings on the amp to find the sweet spot with pedals.

[harryjmic]

this is so strange because i always hear that the chieftain is a great pedal platform... hmmm!


I agree. I have great success with these - Gaspedal's Dumbbell - Just stunning, ProAnalog Dual Drive or a Lumpy's Tone Bender. I also like the Timmy.

I had a SC30 and gave up on it as it didn't sound good with most everything, the Chieftain is the opposite in this regard.

[melvins]

FWIW - I have a Matchless SC30 and was having the same issues, finding a pedal that worked well.
I just picked up an Allums OD308 which is modeled after a Rat, sounds pretty good. I've played a late 90's Proco RAT and it sounded good as well. I would assume either of these would sound well with your Chieftain.

[rmconner80]

I need a more open voiced rhythm tone. Any takers here?:bow

So... why can't you set up the amp to provide this itself? It seems the straight stock sound of any Matchless excels at open "voiced rhythm tone" - they are articulate, chimey, and extremely open sounding, with incredibly intuitive gain structure and beautiful, seamless transition into breakup.

I'd dial this tone up using the amp itself using the master and volume controls, and the guitar volume set on 10.

Then if you need a clean sound, turn the volume on your guitar down about 2 notches. It will clean up beautifully, and you will lose hardly any volume.

Then for lead sounds, use another lead pedal and the guitar volume on 10.

If you need yet another sound, work a clean boost in. For me, a Matchless is as much, if not more, about working the gain structure of the amp with your guitar volume / boosts as it is about provding a "pedal platform" for dirt added by boxes.

[cwcashiniv]

+1 Timmy/Tim. Really keeps an open voice while pushing the amp into a natural overdrive. You've got all the tone in the world from the amp, just use these guys to push it into sweet overdriven heaven. :drool I'm completely envious of your Chieftain by the way. Someday... :love:

[Blanket Jackson]

I have a Chieftain 2x12, and have had great sounds from Keeley fuzzhead and Xotic AC. Both are on the more transparent side of the color wheel, and both give less mid hump.