Clean Channel with Pedals or Amp Distortion

Argon · Post by **Argon** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 2:31 am

Some players primarily use a driven clean channel with a boost or overdrive / distortion pedal....while others only use the amps distortion.

Seems both camps are pretty passionate about their preference.

Like to hear from the forum what your preference is and why.

Jondog · Post by **Jondog** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 4:09 am

Both, why limit yourself?

jason41224 · Post by **jason41224** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 5:13 am

agreed. I think pedals->clean amp can sound GREAT, just as good as amp distortion. the trick is making sure you have the right amp and the right pedals. i used to be terribly biased against pedal distortion until a lot of expensive trial and error. i went from not owning a single dirt pedal (using the rocker 30's two channels for everything), and now i have 4 dirt boxes and i'm just using the clean channel of the Rocker 30.

but my two different methods served two different purposes. when i was just using my amp, i was playing more simple music--indie punk rock that really didn't require a big variety of dirt sounds--just a really great dirty sound and a nice clean tone to compliment it. now, i play in a progressive metal band, a more modern indie rock band, a couple church worship bands, and more recently a funk cover band. so, i run pedals into a clean amp with a variety of pedals to get a variety of sounds.

i really like this setup with the Rocker 30's natural channel (which i'm coming to find is an absolutely WONDERFUL pedal platform):

JHS Morning Glory: low gain, vox type drive. chimey and clear, but not harsh. stacks with every other pedal to smooth it out a little
JHS 808: Medium gain, sounds like a well wound up marshall or vox. very versatile
ZVEX Distortron: Marshall-in a box, but actually sounds more Orange to me than anything else i've tried. it's definitely present in the low-mids like an orange, and emphasizes low end and midrange more than top end like most marshall/orange pedals i've tried (EQD Monarch, Catalinbread SCOD, Fultone OCD, Wampler Pinnacle)
MXR Classic 108 Fuzz: Si Fuzz Face circuit with a switchable buffer, sounds great.

GummiTZ · Post by **GummiTZ** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 8:11 am

I used distortion pedals with my first amps, back when solid state amps or low-drive valve amps was what I could afford. After aquiring more "proper" amps that have drive that suit me better, I have ditched the pedals. Believe me, I have tried a bunch, but none of them felt right, compared to the amp itself.

I get why people use pedals though, fuzz in particular. But I get what I need from a gained-up Orange.

TESLA_EL34 · Post by **TESLA_EL34** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 9:15 am

Personally i have yet to find an overdrive or distortion pedal which makes me happy.
Maybe someone here can convince me here but to me all my amps sound better with boost pedals.
If you have a good cleanboost like the MXR MC401, you get a lot of drive out of an amp.

So the driven sound of an amp is just great for me but i also use fuzz/wah and other stuff, which stacks great.
But i dont use them all the time. I prefer fuzzes that "clean up" a bit so you can stack the amp sound with the fuzz sound.

a.hun · Post by **a.hun** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 12:02 pm

Jondog wrote:Both, why limit yourself?

That!

Andy.

Jondog · Post by **Jondog** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 1:28 pm

Jondog wrote:Both, why limit yourself?

If I'm to elaborate, I'll use my current set-up with dirt pedals running through my Rocker 30. On my dirty channel, mostly I keep the gain around 1-2:00 and kick in my BB pre-amp or my Earthquaker Monarch to bring it to the next level, I love my amps gain and use it alot, my main gain sound. On the Natural channel, is where I like to use my fuzz pedals, they sound better there and offer a completely different texture and character. Also on my Natura lchannel, I might use my Monarch overdrive as well because it has this crisp grinding overdrive sound totally different then the dirty channel. I can also use my BB preamp here as well to push the amp for a completely different sound. All my dirt pedals sound very different and offer different textures and harmonics which I find desireable for different things. Then I've got my guitar loaded with two different pickups and a volume knob and toggle switch to further change things up. The further I've come along, the more I've realized you have to look at your entire rig for your sound. I've gotten rid of some nice gear just because it didn't sit well in my set-up. Now that I've been inside amplifiers and understand how they work, I don't buy the whole "I plug straight in because it sounds better" excuse. Your amp is nothing more then a bunch of components that can sound just as bad as the pedals before them. Quality is the most important for me.

Thinline_slim · Post by **Thinline_slim** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 2:33 pm

Now that I think about it I don't really own an amp with a "clean" channel. I have an AD30htc, but I don't really think of that as a dirt/clean more of a base tone/solo boost.

I usually set my amps to either a hairy clean or mild dirt, where if I really dig in with the pick I can get a passable early classic rock crunch. I do have 4 dirt pedals on my board though for various tones.

OCD - Mid dirt or just a different dirt than my natural Orange dirt
Catalyst - ugly sweet fuzz tones
Hardwire SC-2 - heavy hard rock dirt
Zendrive - saturated solo dirt boost

4.5 hours of music throughout the typical gig night and we cover everything from classic country/western to 90's hard rock.

fiveightandten · Post by **fiveightandten** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 8:30 pm

Whatever sounds best to your ears.

I want to like pedals. I really do...it would make my life so much easier. But, although I've heard some pedal/amp combinations that sound good, I have yet to come across a pedal that even comes close to the dynamic response or feel of just having the amp on itself.

Some amps do need a pedal to sound passable overdriven. Silver faced Twin or Ampeg V4 would be classic examples of that. Some view them as good pedal platforms. Some view them as amps that only sound good clean, but can be used with an overdrive pedal to get both worlds.

But personally, any amp that has a decent sound when overdriven naturally is an amp that I'll take on its own rather than with a pedal. So far the only pedal I've actually used semi long term is the Seymour Duncan pickup booster, simply to drive the front end a little hotter for leads or solos.

I guess I'm a pedal hater. But I'd still love to find one that works for me so I'm not struggling with natural amp overdrive all the time. Sound guys don't like when you show up with a Hiwatt and tell them it's gonna be loud. Haha

baytamusic · Post by **baytamusic** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 8:52 pm

I use both. Specifically I use a pedal on the clean channel when I need an overdriven lead sound during a quieter part of a song.

I also run a Barber LTD on all the time with barely any gain just to beef up the clean channel sound some.

DiabloS · Post by **DiabloS** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 9:27 pm

I usually tend to just use the amp's distortion for my main sound. I like using a clean boost for leads though since it adds more sustain. Pedals are definitely better for versatility and getting different tones out of your amp, but I almost always find they add some unwanted fizz to my sound unless it's a clean boost.

OU818 · Post by **OU818** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 9:49 pm

I'm definitely in the 'clean amp and pedals in front' camp. I like being able to set up different flavours of crunch and distortion and have them available at the press of a button. I also like the simplicity of being able to run all delays and modulations in front of the amp by placing them after the dirt. It basically means I can more or less sound like me if I have to play a gig with a borrowed backline as long as I travel with my strat and pedalboard.

hellagnar Brosevelt · Post by **hellagnar Brosevelt** » Wed Nov 14, 2012 3:47 pm

I have said it before but the Cmat signa drive is amazing. stacks well on other pedals. stacks on a hairy clean as well.

It is the basis of my sound.

Tweed Bassman clone run clean with the signa on all the time. It attacks like amp drive and is very touch sensitive.

I used to be in the no pedals ever camp but now my board goes everywhere.

Woodsie · Post by **Woodsie** » Fri Nov 16, 2012 12:29 am

I use both. With my AD30HTC, Ts808 and my new Green Rhino. I can get a bunch if tones. I set channel 1 clean and kick on the OD for some low gain crunch. Kick on the dirty channel alone for some classic OD, add the OD on that and get into hard rock and lead mode. I love the Green Rhino so far, BTW.

Dark Helmet · Post by **Dark Helmet** » Tue Nov 20, 2012 8:42 pm

I greatly prefer on-board gain/OD controls... but I'm totally a neanderthal when it comes to this stuff...