Is there such a thing as too much drive on one board?

[poloislegend]

I have several drives and i can't decide which ones I want on my board... I definitely want 2 fuzzes, 1 overdrive and 1 boost... Is this uncommon? I dont want to lose too much signal... will this affect my clean signal dramatically? All the pedals are true bypass if that means anything at all...



help me!!!

BIG PP

 

[Nork]

if each pedal gives you something useful and different and you like/can use each sound, etc etc....then why the heck not keep'em! theorectically if they're true bypass you should be good for signal loss - that's not that many pedals really.

 

[CharAznable]

I'm wiring a board right now. I have to choose between OCD, Hermida Distortion and vintage Rat. I also have the dirts from the M9 and the amp.

My goal is to keep it light.. damn.. to many choices!

 

[keto]

I'm just a home hack, but I have a real big board full of dirt and more on the way. Lessee, currently 5 fuzzes and 7 OD/dist/comp boxes. I play thru amps that are fairly bright (Vox, Hiwatt) and in addtition favor a bright tone....I don't find I have any loss of top end, which is most typically where *I* hear signal loss. I'm not saying my signal is as good as guitar->amp, but it's sure good enough for me. If any thing gets funky/bad during recording, I can EQ it or put a line booster up front but typically don't have to do either.

In addtion to the dirt, I have MicroPog, old non-tbp phaser, trem, tuner, delay, reverb....I have to mess with order occasionally as certain combos do yield big signal loss. So, if you find you're losing signal beyond acceptable, move a few things around and see what you get.

 

[splatt]

this is confusing.
if you like all the sounds,
if you don't feel the guitar-signal is too degraded,
if all the sounds are musically useful to ya, and
if you don't mind wiring & carrying/having carried the thing?

decide for yourself: try it.
it's your decision; there's no right or wrong in this,
and many possible workarounds to keep it personally functional.

of course:
you didn't mention which amp(s) you're using.
???
i've noticed that, sometimes, a wackload of drive/boost/grit/fuzz pedals
can be due to an amp simply lacking in suitable sounds & functionality.

dt / spltrcl

 

[Lolaviola]

^^^
I was gonna say something along those lines, but splatt says it so well.
I would think there's a point where I wanna let the amp do more of the work; like if there is a good sound, you wanna play on that sound all night, right?
Live, I have always prefered less sh%t to haul around, in addition to the above reason. I would love to hear folks who use a lotta gear live discuss their experiences.
I don't really know what you want ot use these dirt boxes for? That is always the firstmost question? I'm sure there is a difference between a board for recording/enjoyment/live gig playing.

 

[DavidLopezJr]

Buy a board nothing bigger than a Pedal Train Jr. It'll make think small.

 

[jmoose]

In my experience... after a certain number of dirt boxes in any application there is indeed a point of diminishing returns.

What I find happens is that at least live, when someones got 3 fuzz boxes and 5 different distortions... all we hear, even at FOH where I know the players rig is at best, a couple of distinctly different sounds.

Many years ago I was producing a record & was good friends with the guitarist... in the studio we could easily hear the differences between overdrives, boosts & different combination's of his half-dozen pedals & amps.

But live, in a club with a few hundred rowdy fans he had maybe 3 tones.

The "big" board I'm wiring now has a fuzz and an overdrive, and I'm gonna see if I can squeeze on the proctavia but that's it. Between those two & what my amps can do, stacking things... its more then enough to get any level of grind I need, especially if I swap those two dirt boxes out for different dirt boxes.

 

[JeffOlson]

Tiger Woods doesn't think so...

Personally, I suggest having no more than three at a time (light, medium, and heavy). That way, you can really get to know them...

 

[JRBain]

I echo the sentiment of 'If you like it, keep it'. However, I think that the answer to this question is 'yes', because for me, there comes a point at which you need to just get on and play. Not trying to be a pompous ass; I could use lots of boost and OD pedals, but it would drive me up the wall. No pun intended.

 

[utterhack]

 

[Strat]

as someone else has said. It really makes no difference because your the only one who can hear it,( maybe ) and no one else ( in the audience or band mates ) cares...really.

 

[bseamus]

Never enough!

 

[Cap'nMayhem]

It's true, you may be the only one who can hear the differences or at least the only one who cares but if it makes a difference to you and you care then go for it. Your tone is exactly that YOUR TONE. I play better with tones I love and I love variety. Follow your gut.

 

[Last Nerve]

Paging Flying V.
You outta see his board. I will NEVER feel bad about mine!

 

[dmczern]

Paging Flying V.
You outta see his board. I will NEVER feel bad about mine!

I would like to see yours

 

[Last Nerve]

Ugh. Not much there right now.
Got my Matchless Chieftain and my Suhr Classic in the last 30 days and I'm loving life!
Gonna pick up a Suhr Riot when they get in stock again.

 

[dmczern]

Ah, that's all good news!

Happy New Year!

 

[poloislegend]

Ha!!! This is crazyness... I will experiment, and once I've decided I will post my board for all to see!