Favored drive pedals w/Matchless Lightning.

[El Rey]

Have never been a big pedal user (in 50yrs). Only have one at the moment, an old Diamond Memory Lane. I use it a lot in the FX loop of my all my amps with a loop. It's either that, an (not a pedal) MPX1, or Eventide Eclipse I keep racked up for special things like my pedal steel rig.

I've got a room full of amps, but love the Lightning when I need something simple. Many times I can get enough grit out of the Lightning and just clean it up with the volume on the guitar. But many times I'll run the master wide open and control the amp with it's volume control. It's this situation where I'd like to have something I can just switch on the floor to goose the front end for some grit.

Anything that will add a nice classic rock type grit, not super saturated. There's probably a metric ton/$h!t load of things that will work.



Thank you for any knowledge you're willing to share.

 

[ry-guy]

Coming from a DC-30 i used light boost pedals. Ehx lpb-1 had a little grit and midrange and the xotic RC booster just added an extra touch of gain. Those were some of the best for me into the top boost section

 

[El Rey]

Coming from a DC-30 i used light boost pedals. Ehx lpb-1 had a little grit and midrange and the xotic RC booster just added an extra touch of gain. Those were some of the best for me into the top boost section

Excellent! Thank you. I was leaning that way even before I asked.

I'll have to try this with my C30, Laurel Canyon and Clubman as well.

 

[Grendel2000]

Kingsley Page.

 

[Veritas]

Excellent! Thank you. I was leaning that way even before I asked.

I'll have to try this with my C30, Laurel Canyon and Clubman as well.

I know you are specifically asking about the Lightning, but given that you also have a C30 and a clubman (I’ve had both), I would recommend a Klon type drive. The RC Boost is also cool, but for sure different.

 

[ry-guy]

Also to add, i was playing a Tele through mine. Lots of people said these amps took pedals well, but i had the opposite experience. I loved the bright jangly clean tones, but every drive i had messed with the upper mids and top end. Made me hate drive pedals haha. Maybe it was a combination of the brightness of my Tele. So i used the boosts and jumpered the EF86 channel with an aby switch on the floor instead. Later on i had someone remove the bright cap and it was much better.

But yeah, being less watts, i would imagine you wouldn’t need much to goose the Lightning.

Also anything with a clean blend might be worth a look too. Add grit and keep some dry signal.

Good luck!

 

[El Rey]

Also to add, i was playing a Tele through mine. Lots of people said these amps took pedals well, but i had the opposite experience. I loved the bright jangly clean tones, but every drive i had messed with the upper mids and top end. Made me hate drive pedals haha. Maybe it was a combination of the brightness of my Tele. So i used the boosts and jumpered the EF86 channel with an aby switch on the floor instead. Later on i had someone remove the bright cap and it was much better.

But yeah, being less watts, i would imagine you wouldn’t need much to goose the Lightning.

Also anything with a clean blend might be worth a look too. Add grit and keep some dry signal.

Good luck!

Thank you and the rest for the info.....I'm going to try the Xotic EP. Cheap, one knob & internal dip-sw's for response change.

My 64yr old ears suffer some high end loss. Probably the reason I lean more towards my Matchless and Wizard amps and EV speakers. I just have to be careful I'm not annoying other ears with that high end.

Thank you again. I believe you nudged me in the right direction.

 

[pronomenon]

For awhile I ran my Lightning pretty clean with a Mad Professor Sweet Honey for some grit. That pedal was responsive enough to not squish out the dynamics of the Matchless. Now its pretty much edge of breakup on the Lightning, roll off guitar volume when I need clean, and a Crowther Hot Cake when I need to push it.

 

[Acrobattico]

•Boss OD-3 for a touch of drive

•Also a Zendrive type, that’s how I tested it in a Lightning but a few minutes after I switched it off and enjoyed the tone just guitar and amp

•Klon type with gain at zero for boosting the front end

•Some fuzz with nice cleanup

•Treble booster

You have my dream amp, congrats

 

[El Rey]

•Boss OD-3 for a touch of drive

•Also a Zendrive type, that’s how I tested it in a Lightning but a few minutes after I switched it off and enjoyed the tone just guitar and amp

•Klon type with gain at zero for boosting the front end

•Some fuzz with nice cleanup

•Treble booster

You have my dream amp, congrats

For those that haven't tried it, you should at least once if you have the means. At the same time, using the LC for driven sounds.

For this evenings casino gig.

 

[frisco]

Tim v3 w/tele and c-30 is magic.

 

[sickboy79]

HC-30 here (so 12AX7 channel is what the Lightning is). A few that really have stood out to me:

- Crowther Hot Cake
- Skreddy Screwdriver
- AM Beano Boost (treble booster)
- Keeley Java Boost (treble booster)
- Clark Gainster

 

[zhivago]

I've used a Klon with my Lightning for years, sounds great!

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I'm a big fan of the new Source Audio ZIO boost pedal.

It does a great job of producing that classic rock break-up sound on lower volume settings. All 4 boost modes are incredibly useful. It would work great with an amp like the Lightning.

 

[j200]

i’ve had my lighting forever. a terrific amp (if not a bit heavy). typically ran it with one pedal for a boost (mostly just a volume push for leads for me). typically it was a Klon, Zvex Super Hard On, Page, or a xotic EP (in vintage mode) that id grab.

 

[haslar]

I use a Klone or a RC Booster with mine, used as a boost with slight grit.

 

[frisco]

I also like the Bearfoot EGDM. Very complementary.