That Trey Anastasio Tone, Some Assembly Required

This is a good place to start - includes some pics of Trey's compressor settings, which are a little counterintuitive.

http://thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=547455

 

I'd move the comp to after the crybaby.

 

I don't think the Metal Zone will help you sound like Trey. You really should use 2 ts-9s if you want more of his sound. Also, Trey is using a Ross Compressor (your dyna comp should be fine b/c they are very similar). I think a blues driver is similar to ts-9, so maybe it will work. Put the blues driver before the ts-9 and crank the volume on both. Use the ts9 as your cleaner "always on" pedal. Set the drive around 9 or 10 o'clock, tone probably around 1 or 2, volume maxed. Set the blues gain around 3 or 4 o'clock, volume maxed, and tone to where you like it to sound when both the ts9 and bd are engaged. Try keeping the sustian of the comp around 9 or 10 o'clock, and you'll probably have to bring down the volume to noon or even lower to offset the maxed volume on the od pedals. Definitely keep your wah before the overdrive pedals.

What amp are you using? Maybe its the recording you made of Roses, but your tone did not sound very good. Some serious adjustment of the amp's knobs might be in order as well. Start with just guitar into amp and dial in the sound you like. Then add the ts-9 and comp to similar settings I mentioned above. Adjust the ts9's tone knob and your amps tone knobs to get back to the sound you want. Then add the blues driver and adjust the tone knob so you like it when both pedals are on. Then add in the rest of the effects.

 

Read the Trey tone thread and check out Strange Design Forum.

Don't move the compressor before the dirt pedals though, 1/2 of the variation in Trey's tone (assuming you have the right gear) is having the compressor after the dirt to help maintain the volume (and add smoothness) while using his guitar volume knob to fine tune the amount of distortion.

The other part of the variation in his tone is his pickup configuration and which (or both) of the 2 TS9's he uses. He often uses his humbuckers as single coils, controlled by the switch on his guitar (series, parallel, single coil switching). As far as the TS9's I think it is necessary to have two (you can get a lot of the tones with one, but not everything), he usually switches between the two, though he uses both sometimes for soaring, sustaining leads and for very few rhythms parts (Chalkdust). In other words, definitely sell the Metal Zone, probably sell the Blue Driver unless you use it for other styles, pick up another TS.

Trey also uses more reverb than delay, I suspect you might have it on your amp though.

Also, the final touch, IMO, on Trey's leads is his amp switching. The lead channel is more midrangy, so I use an EQ to boost the mids.

As far as the Feedback, it might be the guitar - the Languedoc is smaller than most Jazz Boxes. Trey's guitar feeds back a tone as well, but he uses it or controls it by keeping his hand touching the strings he doesn't use. I just got an Artinger hollowbody (which is also bigger than a Languedoc) and I didn't have much more feedback than a solidbody guitar honestly. It was more mellow, resonant and controlled rather than squealing (which was more common with my solid body).

These final thoughts feel out of order with what I wrote previously, but a compressor can often add to feedback (thats pretty much how it works, lifting quiet sounds and squashing peaks). It might make it more controlled and might help if the volume of your pedals is getting too loud when stacked. Trey went through a no-comp phase, but people didn't like that. I think the Retro-Sonic is a great one and more affordable than comparable ones - he didn't use a Dyna (per se) but rather a Ross.

The amp makes a huge difference too. The Eminence Red Fang is a great speaker, as is the Weber Blue Dog. I have one of each, the Blue Dog is new and I haven't had enough time to fully break it in yet. A good Fender tube amp is my favorite, but some people are fans of his Mesa era.

 

This is ever changing I'm sure but check it out http://thefifthcorner.com/2009/06/18/trey-anastasio-pedal-set-up/

 

I have a good chunk of Treys gear and find that the wah-> AM TS9 -> Early Jap TS9 -> Ross Compressor -> Deluxe Reverb gets me a great Trey Tone. I am using an Equator Standard for my axe. I use a Japanese TS9 for the second one because it is not as smooth as the AM version, seems to add the grit I am looking for.

IMO, these are the only pedals that count, as the others are hidden behind the bypass (the Whammy2 and Boomerang make a TON of noise).

C