I need a heavy OD that cuts

[Telecaster]

Help !
With my Les Paul R4 (w. P90's) I can't cut through the bandmix with my (keeley modded) Sparkle Drive and (keeley modded) BD2. My amp is a Z28. With my FatBoost I have no problems cutting through the mix but that's not an overdrive
Any suggestions ? I'm looking for something that has more gain than a TS.

 

[John Phillips]

RAT.

It works well as a harder/heavier overdrive if you keep the distortion fairly low, the volume up, and use the filter to adjust the amount of cut.

 

[jlagrassa]

I have know trouble cutting with the Fulltone OCD, half the battle is the amp you use and settings you use with OD or distortion.

 

[hipfan]

BJF Emerald Green will do it. The Rat is a great suggestion too.

 

[Telecaster]

Does the Emerald Green have more gain than the Menatone TBIAC ? I ask this because both pedals are supposed to be "Vox-like" I have a TBIAC but I use it for low gain only.

 

[hipfan]

Yes, IMO it has more gain. It's also less of an amp simulator and more of a true heavy OD/mild distortion, whereas the tbiac is kind of the opposite.

I haven't directly a/b'd the two pedals though. I'm going from memory of the tbiac that I had a couple of years ago. I have the EGDM on my board right now, and it gets a lot of play.

 

[Telecaster]

Ok, the EGDM is on my GAS-list

 

[erksin]

I'd look into a MI Audio Blue Boy or Tube Zone as well...

 

[Telecaster]

Originally posted by erksin
I'd look into a MI Audio Blue Boy or Tube Zone as well...

Good idea. Actually...I have a Blue Boy but it's set to a TS-sound. I think I should mess around with the trimmers tonight.

 

[G'OlPeachPhan]

Originally posted by Telecaster
Good idea. Actually...I have a Blue Boy but it's set to a TS-sound. I think I should mess around with the trimmers tonight.

YES. Mess with the trimmers. This is EXACTLY the pedal I was going to suggest for what you are describing. Set the gain around 12 o'clock or higher to taste (12 o'clock is basically like max gain on a tubescreamer, and the BB gets nastier from there), set the tone control around 12 o'clock, and set volume appropriately. THEN, pop off the back... set brightness first - either to match your rig, or even brighter as you suggested you want more cut. Once you get that dialed in, move on to the voicing knob and set that to taste. Finally set the character where you like it. Once you've done all that, go back through and tweak slightly until you've got it where you want, and then do your final gain/volume/tone adjusting via the controls on the outside of the enclosure. I'm convinced the tone you seek DOES live in that pedal as it's hugely versatile.

You know what? I just realized I just layed out the exact instructions that are in the BB manual for adjusting the trimmers!

I actually just sold an BJF Emerald Green as well. I liked the Blue Boy better for my tastes. I thought it was capable of a similar sound depending on how you set the internal trim pots, and I liked the way the Blue Boy interacted better with my guitars, amp, speakers, and other pedals...

To take the Blue Boy even further, I've found it really likes to be hit with a boost pedal as well, and it's certainly got enough headroom to do this well... I especially dig a germanium boost pedal in front of it.

 

[jonny guitar]

Check out the Foxrox Zim. Quality of build and sound are both excellent. Choice of cards makes this pedal cover a ton of ground. Too much to explain on here so check out the link.......here .

The cut and boost feature of the zim allow you to detail your sound to cut through anything. I frequently use mine to record double tracking everything with the same od levels except I change the boost/cut and it gives me a montrous sound.

 

[pacomc79]

why not use the Fat boost in conjunction with something like the Rat.

Rats are absolutely fantastic (especially the Keeley) as the number 2 in that kind of setup especially with a tubescreamer.

It takes a lot of fooling with and adjustments, some settings suck ass on a rat when you find something that works though, yeah, it cuts.

I'm currently selling my keeley's to upgrade to an Emerald Green Distortion Machine mainly because I want to own something from BJ the EGDM is the dogs testicles and I've had the Rat for a couple of years it's time to change up.

regardless if you have a good boost like the Fat Boost, usually they react plesantly with a bright OD or well defined distortion

 

[John II]

Easy. Tone Bone "Hot British". The amount of gain available can rip your face off. Plus, it is super tweakable so you can dial in plenty of mids.

The Tone Bone Hot British is it.

~John

 

[Marcello]

Originally posted by G'OlPeachPhan
YES. Mess with the trimmers. This is EXACTLY the pedal I was going to suggest for what you are describing. Set the gain around 12 o'clock or higher to taste (12 o'clock is basically like max gain on a tubescreamer, and the BB gets nastier from there), set the tone control around 12 o'clock, and set volume appropriately. THEN, pop off the back... set brightness first - either to match your rig, or even brighter as you suggested you want more cut. Once you get that dialed in, move on to the voicing knob and set that to taste. Finally set the character where you like it. Once you've done all that, go back through and tweak slightly until you've got it where you want, and then do your final gain/volume/tone adjusting via the controls on the outside of the enclosure. I'm convinced the tone you seek DOES live in that pedal as it's hugely versatile.

You know what? I just realized I just layed out the exact instructions that are in the BB manual for adjusting the trimmers!

I actually just sold an BJF Emerald Green as well. I liked the Blue Boy better for my tastes. I thought it was capable of a similar sound depending on how you set the internal trim pots, and I liked the way the Blue Boy interacted better with my guitars, amp, speakers, and other pedals...

To take the Blue Boy even further, I've found it really likes to be hit with a boost pedal as well, and it's certainly got enough headroom to do this well... I especially dig a germanium boost pedal in front of it.

the blue boy is amazing, so many tones !

hey which germanium boost did you try with it ?

 

[G'OlPeachPhan]

I've got both a Java Boost and a Hellbilly in front of it set up differently for different sounds. The way these pedals all interact with each other and the volume knob on my guitar gives me every shade of sorta clean but harmonically rich to dirty fuzz and everything in between I've ever hoped for. Bang for the buck factor on the Hellbilly can't be beaten. It may be my favorite dirt pedal hands down, and it's absolutely my fave bang for the buck... the Blue Boy ranks right up there in the bang for the buck category too... In this modern world of boutique dirt pedals selling far in excess of $200, I'd take these two over everything else I've tried. Only $200+ DIRT pedal (not talking about delay/modulation,etc.) that I've ever felt was worth it is the Java Boost; no other pedal has been able to match the singing musical quality of it's tone for my taste.

 

[pacomc79]

Originally posted by G'OlPeachPhan
I've got both a Java Boost and a Hellbilly in front of it set up differently for different sounds. The way these pedals all interact with each other and the volume knob on my guitar gives me every shade of sorta clean but harmonically rich to dirty fuzz and everything in between I've ever hoped for. Bang for the buck factor on the Hellbilly can't be beaten. It may be my favorite dirt pedal hands down, and it's absolutely my fave bang for the buck... the Blue Boy ranks right up there in the bang for the buck category too... In this modern world of boutique dirt pedals selling far in excess of $200, I'd take these two over everything else I've tried. Only $200+ DIRT pedal (not talking about delay/modulation,etc.) that I've ever felt was worth it is the Java Boost; no other pedal has been able to match the singing musical quality of it's tone for my taste.

Do you have the one with the Mullard OC 44's? or was it 81's I can't remember.

 

[G'OlPeachPhan]

44

 

[TheGrooveking]

My favorite distortion box is a Maxon DS830 Distortion Master, it has both treble and bass eq controls, you can tune it to go from a overdrive tone, to face peeling distortion all the while you can eq it to sit in or on top of the mix. NOTE: It will not do the noise distortion, were it is all fuzzy and sounds like a blanket over the speakers.

TheGrooveking

 

[Member 995]

Originally posted by John Phillips
RAT.

It works well as a harder/heavier overdrive if you keep the distortion fairly low, the volume up, and use the filter to adjust the amount of cut.

I agree with John on this one, though most of my experience is with the RAT II. I'm not sure how much gain you are looking for, but the RAT II does everything from slightly overdriven to over-the-top gain. If the EQ isn't quite right, then run it through an EQ pedal to dial in what you are looking for. Hard to beat, in my opinion. They are also affordable.

Bryan

 

[aquadog]

Originally posted by John II
Easy. Tone Bone "Hot British". The amount of gain available can rip your face off. Plus, it is super tweakable so you can dial in plenty of mids.

The Tone Bone Hot British is it.

~John

The tone bones would be no good, as it clearly states on the website, they're best through a clean amp. The cleaner, the better. At gig volumes, his Z28 is going to have at least a little hair, if not some natural OD.

I'd say the rat would also be a good choice.