recommend an overdrive for use with a clean solid state amp

I think I liked my OCD better on my solid state than my tube amp. Try that out.

 

Ethos
Kot
Zen
Minstrel/jester

 

Great suggestions.

Anything tubed... or anything menatone. The kotb would be great.

 

A TS-9 (with its increase in distortion/grit vs. the smoother TS-808) was designed for use (not exclusively, but to sound better than a TS-808) with SS amps.

As a TS-808 was designed (at low Drive/High Level) was made for pushing an almost overdriving tube amp into distortion, SS amps which could nor really breakup on their own, needed more of a Gain push from something, therefore the grit of a TS-9 @ higher Drive settings...I had a SS Peavey Bandit 75 that sounded great with a TS-9

 

My JC-120 liked the Ethos.

 

Boss - Blues Driver, Super Overdrive.

 

For this application the "Amp in a Box" pedals are very good. Menatone has lots of great ones, as does Catalinbread. Just my opinion, but I would suggest some of the other c-breads (Formula 5, DLS, SFT) over the WIIO or RAH WIIO. I really like the WIIO, but it's very hard/uncompressed/unforgiving...it works great with some tube compression to even it out, but a SS amp would probably work better with one of the others.

 

I had good results with a Radial Tonebone Classic Overdrive/Distortion. With all the voicing switches, you are able to "tune" the pedal to the amp and get some warmth in there. I know some have proclaimed that tube does nothing - I am not going to touch that with a 10ft pole. All I know is that it seemed warm to me and it bonded really well with other overdrive units in front of it (i.e. stacking/cascading). But for me, when I went to a tube amp, all the voicing switches and features had to be dialed-back in order to stop it from imparting too much character over my tube amp's tone. In the end, I simply thought it as redundant.

To say that the Radial is redundant when using a tube amp is in itself quite a high compliment.

 

RIOT, RAT..the riot is killer like this