Ultimate Rhoads

Hey all,

Im considering upgrading to a better compressor and distortion, currently im using a Marshall ED-1. Its a good compressor, especialy for the price, but im sure i could find something better. As for distortion, i have an MXR dist+ but rarely use it much, it has a nice 80s sound but doesnt quite cut the mustard.

To be honest, im not sure what im after exactly, im just testing the water to see whats about, if its not worth uprgrading, fuck it!!!

Im just looking for opinions on whatever people have been using lately, especialy Distortion/Overdrive, i think getting a real good one is something of an elusive sport.

Im quite interested in the Vox Satchurator and EHX White Finger, well priced and good quality, also had a look at Mad Proffesor (handbuilt in Finlandia), anyone got anything to say about them?

Rob

Howdy Rob , I also use a Marshall ED-1 and from what I can gather comp pedals in the lower price range seem to be very alike . As far as Distortion/OD pedals go I have a bunch of those , I was collecting them for awhile .. and I always come back to using the Boss SD-1 super od , I modded mine by replacing the std JRC 4558DD op-amp and putting in a IC socket so i could easily swap out different op-amps and I settled on a TL072 . I would recommend maybe getting a cheap Boss DS-1 or SD-1 and modding it to suit your requirements , a friend of mine here has put together a bunch of DIY mod kits for pedals , they're cheap and fun to do ! here's the link :


http://www.monteallums.com/pedal_mods.html


cheers

- R

DUDE u wants 80s? get a vintage rat or rat reissue...

What kind of amp are you using? If its a Marshall and you just want to push the front end, get a Majik Box Doug Aldrich Rocket Fuel overdrive, that pedal is just incredible, bear in mind it's not an overdrive like a ts808, the pedal was designed from the ground up to "push" the front end of an amp and, it was specifically designed for Marshalls (but it works great with other amps to-specifically Peaveys) it has both a clean boost and overdrive built in as well as a bass response switch to add bottom end. If you want an overdrive specifically for gain or distortion, Fulltone's OCD is a great pedal as is Xotic's BB, and there are always pedals like boss,ibanez, etc, which work good as well, digitechs Bad Monkey is a fantastic pedal and its only 50 bucks. As far as a compressor goes, do you want one that just compliments your sound or one that can really "squash" it like the Nashville guys do. My favorite is a Carl Martin, I leave it on all the time, of course with the Carl you need to be able to plug it in, as it is not 9v, but it is whisper quiet and studio quality, for that Nashville tele "chickin pickin' sound its hard to beat an MXR Dynacomp. If you want something that is 9v and a little cheaper, take a look at BBE'S stuff, its reasonably priced and there stuff has worked really well in my expierience. Speaking of Carl Martin, their "Plexi" overdrive/distortion pedal is a great pedal but again its 12v not 9. Granted my choices are a little pricey, but both the Rocket Fuel and CM compressor are top of the line stuff. If cost is a concern, check out the Fulltone and BBE stuff, and as Wareagle mentioned the Proco Rat is a great pedal also, just remember if its an 80's sound you're after, most of those guys also had a Furman PQ3 ( equalizer)in their rack, that's what the Rocket Fuel was designed after, a really good overdrive/boost with the e.q. built in.

Good Luck,
Ted
Off the top of my head- Rocket Fuel-279.99
CM Comp-250+, plexi also
The fulltone and bbe are in the 100-150 range
Again, off the top of my head, may not be exact

Oh, and also check out Outlaw Supply Companies pedals, they are boutique quality at really good prices.

Ritchie wrote:Howdy Rob , I also use a Marshall ED-1 and from what I can gather comp pedals in the lower price range seem to be very alike . As far as Distortion/OD pedals go I have a bunch of those , I was collecting them for awhile .. and I always come back to using the Boss SD-1 super od , I modded mine by replacing the std JRC 4558DD op-amp and putting in a IC socket so i could easily swap out different op-amps and I settled on a TL072 . I would recommend maybe getting a cheap Boss DS-1 or SD-1 and modding it to suit your requirements , a friend of mine here has put together a bunch of DIY mod kits for pedals , they're cheap and fun to do ! here's the link :


http://www.monteallums.com/pedal_mods.html


cheers

- R

Hey,

Cheers for the advice! I borrowed a Boss DS-1 before during a band practice and i have to say, for lead tones i was rather impressed I've always toyed with the idea of getting one, they are cheap after all...

And as you say a little solder here, a new op amp there...

Cheers

Rob

wareagle wrote:DUDE u wants 80s? get a vintage rat or rat reissue...

Hey,

Im not especialy after any sound, in fact these days i try to be more unique - having said that, the 80s sound always claws me back

The Rat always has a great reputation, and i know it was widely used back in the day, but to be honest i've never heard a test soundbite that i really like

Rob

tedeeoo wrote:What kind of amp are you using? If its a Marshall and you just want to push the front end, get a Majik Box Doug Aldrich Rocket Fuel overdrive, that pedal is just incredible, bear in mind it's not an overdrive like a ts808, the pedal was designed from the ground up to "push" the front end of an amp and, it was specifically designed for Marshalls (but it works great with other amps to-specifically Peaveys) it has both a clean boost and overdrive built in as well as a bass response switch to add bottom end. If you want an overdrive specifically for gain or distortion, Fulltone's OCD is a great pedal as is Xotic's BB, and there are always pedals like boss,ibanez, etc, which work good as well, digitechs Bad Monkey is a fantastic pedal and its only 50 bucks. As far as a compressor goes, do you want one that just compliments your sound or one that can really "squash" it like the Nashville guys do. My favorite is a Carl Martin, I leave it on all the time, of course with the Carl you need to be able to plug it in, as it is not 9v, but it is whisper quiet and studio quality, for that Nashville tele "chickin pickin' sound its hard to beat an MXR Dynacomp. If you want something that is 9v and a little cheaper, take a look at BBE'S stuff, its reasonably priced and there stuff has worked really well in my expierience. Speaking of Carl Martin, their "Plexi" overdrive/distortion pedal is a great pedal but again its 12v not 9. Granted my choices are a little pricey, but both the Rocket Fuel and CM compressor are top of the line stuff. If cost is a concern, check out the Fulltone and BBE stuff, and as Wareagle mentioned the Proco Rat is a great pedal also, just remember if its an 80's sound you're after, most of those guys also had a Furman PQ3 ( equalizer)in their rack, that's what the Rocket Fuel was designed after, a really good overdrive/boost with the e.q. built in.

Good Luck,
Ted
Off the top of my head- Rocket Fuel-279.99
CM Comp-250+, plexi also
The fulltone and bbe are in the 100-150 range
Again, off the top of my head, may not be exact

Thanks Ted,

Great to hear your expieriences

As far as compressors go im looking for something that could be left on all of the time, or maybe just for solos to bring out the sound a bit more. In other words something a bit subtle. The marshall compressor i have is good, but its a bit too extreme for my taste.

My amp; currently a 5 watt Blackstar. I have the ISF all the way round to the british sound. So basically its not too different from a Marshall JCM800

Rob

Again thanks to all for your advice I take my hat off to you!

Between everyone on this site, there must be a heck of a lot of knowledge

Rob

my favorite distortion pedal is the tonebone hot british, or its more expensive dual channeled big brother, the plexi-tube.

here is a nice plexitube demo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go-ilMukOT4

Ive gone through tons, The only one that has lasted in the Fulltone OCD (V3 i have). Goes together very very nicely with my 78 JMP, I pretty much nail Randy's live tone better than the clips ive heard of the 1959RR with it Crank up the distorsion on it and its gets more of a modern sound to it.

As far as compressors, The best you will find cheap is the Barber Tone Press, they can be had for under $100 used usually. Anything from there on up your looking at $175+ for the better compressors. The barber does me just fine though.

A really nice idea.

i use a '79 mxr dist+ w/ my Marshall 2204 for 80's stuff and stack an sd-1 w/ the level cranked & drive around 9:00 for leads or crank the drive for more modern stuff.

i'm playing a les paul w/ low output pups. what kind of guitar are you using? that has a lot to do w/ it.

blues_n_cues wrote:i use a '79 mxr dist+ w/ my Marshall 2204 for 80's stuff and stack an sd-1 w/ the level cranked & drive around 9:00 for leads or crank the drive for more modern stuff.

i'm playing a les paul w/ low output pups. what kind of guitar are you using? that has a lot to do w/ it.

Hey,

'79 dist+ huh!

It's been a long time since I posted this thread, and to be honest, I've long since solved and stopped caring about my set-up. Compression/distortion was the last real puzzle and I got there in the end tweaking this and that.

Having said that i'm still interested in what people are using! Distortion pedals can often seem the same at first glance, so its always nice to hear the thoughts of owners who've played them for a while. Gear talk is always welcome.

To answer your question, I use two different guitars for electric these days. 80% of the time my Fret King Super 60HB (strat), the rest of the time I use a remarkable Epiphone LP Custom with Seymour Duncan Pearly gates Bridge and 59 neck.

The LP is basically always played straight into the amp, minus any other effects i'm playing with of course. it doesn't require anything else, it just works

The strat needs a little more effort. I use a Rothwell Love Squeeze (absolutely incredible pedal, best I own.) and a MXR Distortion plus just to tweak the bass and treble response and add a tiny amount of mids. (Certain bass frequencies are an issue for an alder bodied guitar IMHO) As I say it takes a little tweaking, and the vintage spec humbucker is not perhaps the most ideal solution when I play more modern material, but the guitar is very rewarding. It sounds amazing for almost all styles straight into the amp, which is why I bought it. But for some curious reason my preffered drive tone proved a little illusive for a while...

One thing that has made a huge difference is my choice of strings. I switched to Ernie Ball for a while out of laziness, and they do sound good. But I recently went back to GHS Boomers and Nickel Rockers for the LP, my God these strings suit me down to the ground, why did I ever change

Rob