Got Overdriven Marshall. Got Fuzz. Need Distortion?

[Jesse]

I run my 50W Marshall into a Hotplate to get nice crunch tones, and use a Soulbender to get rich, high gain fuzz tones. I swear, the two were born to go together.

The problem? I can never find a distortion that fits nicely in the middle. What I've tried either sounds like thin, buzzy 80's cheese, or too much like my fuzz to bother with.

Can any distortion fit nicely in between the dream team, or should I just be thankful for what I have? (I guess I play "indie/college" type rock).

 

[aziltz]

"distortion" boxes are mostly designed to work with cleaner amps. i say mostly.

if you're already at a crunch tone, maybe you need too look at lower gain OD's as more of a boost to send the marshall into distortion, but not quite where it is with the fuzz.

 

[Jesse]

"distortion" boxes are mostly designed to work with cleaner amps. i say mostly.

if you're already at a crunch tone, maybe you need too look at lower gain OD's as more of a boost to send the marshall into distortion, but not quite where it is with the fuzz.

Yeah, I guess you're right. Distortions just seem to cheapen the sound.

As far as ODs, I've only tried a Fulldrive 2 on my Marshall, and it was terrible. I definitely want something that asserts its own character, so I can have a different flavor than my Marshall OD. Any suggestion?

Thanks!

 

[aziltz]

i like the subdecay liquid sunshine, both for its own sound, and for boosting. its lower gain FETs, so very different from every other TS/Fulldrive copy.

however, i run into a clean fender. i'm not sure how much your going to be able to change the sound if you're leaving the marshall set to crunch, any low gain OD will probably act like a "more" boost.

 

[JB Eckl]

You might want to check out a Silver Kiss or a Fulltone Distortion Pro. Or an OCD. Or a Keeley DS-1...

 

[Jesse]

i like the subdecay liquid sunshine, both for its own sound, and for boosting. its lower gain FETs, so very different from every other TS/Fulldrive copy.

however, i run into a clean fender. i'm not sure how much your going to be able to change the sound if you're leaving the marshall set to crunch, any low gain OD will probably act like a "more" boost.

Thanks. I actually had one years ago, and it didn't really assert itself enough with the Marshall. Cool pedal though.

 

[aziltz]

Thanks. I actually had one years ago, and it didn't really assert itself enough with the Marshall. Cool pedal though.

i really enjoy it because its so different.

 

[Jesse]

You might want to check out a Silver Kiss or a Fulltone Distortion Pro. Or an OCD. Or a Keeley DS-1...

Thanks. Yeah, I tried to like the DPro, but it was cheesy sounding thing. I keep hearing about the OCD and its big sound. I'm afraid it will sound like mush through an attenuated Marshall. Anyone using one in this way?

 

[bluesdoc]

Talk to Chad at cmatmods about his Signa Drive. Great, great pedal.

jon

 

[Zenon7]

I had great success with a Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive going into my Silver Jubilee, you could try that. It has a blend control that lets you mix clean into the gain to give more articulation. I used it as sort of a 'one more' pedal. On the clean channel it gave a great boost that was inbetween the clean and dirty, and on the dirty, well...it went to 11!

Graeme

 

[LowWatt]

If you like Fuzz and Marshall and find most distortion pedals cheesy and fake, I've got to agree with guys that say a boost is the way to go.

I run a Bumbox Lead 50 (modded Plexi style amp) and feel the same as you about distortion pedals. They either go fake or turn to mush in an amp that's already cooking. If you like the Soul Bender (awesome pedal that I used to own), I think a good germanium boost like an Analogman Beano Boost would do wonders. Everything gets more harmonic and focused and it will fit in with the tones of the Soul Bender without duplicating it in any way. Even when it's not set to boost, the grit that it adds sounds way more natural and meaningful than any other pedal.

For a cleaner boost that will just thicken what you already have and make it bigger and more distorted, I can't recommend the Farifield Barbershop enough. I use mine as a slightly gritty clean boost and it just puts more muscle on my tone. Takes what I love and makes it meaner. Works phenomenal after fuzz boxes to tighten them up and lift them in the mix too.

 

[Willdance]

having the same set up, my other pedal is a beano boost. fuzz>beano>Marshall. sometimes a Cot50 red joins the party.

 

[shngn7]

How about a treble booster like a Beano Boost? That adds its own character and doesn't go near fuzz territory. If you're running it into an amp that's already overdriven you can get a whole bunch of different sounds by just using your volume knob on your guitar.

 

[Jesse]

Thanks for the replies. I guess I should look into a Beano boost. I have the BYOC tri-boost, and always thought the germanium boost sounded too much like my Soulbender. I'll have to play with it some more.

 

[spentron]

A clean boost increases gain with the most chunk, an OD thins the sound out comparatively, to my ears. Quite a few "cheesy" distortions can add a thick, smooth sustain good for leads, at least, set right. Alternatively, you could shoot for more character, almost countering the amp, but different than the funky/cool vintage fuzz vibe you're getting. You may be limiting your conceptions to fuzz-based, rather than Marshall-based.