What pedals/effects do you use?

Thanks again to all for your responses--so much to learn.

Here's a question that might show how little I know about this stuff: What exactly is the purpose of a clean boost pedal? I see that some of you have mentioned you have a pedal for 'clean boost'. I assume that it 'boosts' the signal without much if any distortion (maybe?). In a recent issue of Guitar Player, one of the distortion/fuzz/od pedals reviewed had a comment that it doubles as a clean boost. Do they all do this to some extent?

By the way, since listening a little bit better after investigating all these new sounds, I've noticed that my Hot Rod Deluxe amp with bass/treb/mid all set flat and no pedals involved still seems to be getting a little dirty. I figured that down the road I'd end up exploring different types of tubes to see how that shapes the sound differently.

Also--Alex, I was just looking at that Loop station the other day. After seeing your post I did some more research on it online and I'm thinking of going back for a second look. Seems it could be nice to have when you don't have any buddies playing along with you (almost like you're indirectly buying some friends), plus some extra features to have fun with.

gilligan

Hi G-Man; the HR Deluxe is 12AX7s and 6L6s isn't it? You can always get tonal differences switching old / new / different brand 12AX7s in and out ... and while you're at it, you ought to try a 12AT7 in the first stage, will tame the gain, make the amp a little sweeter, and increase the headroom. There are lots of new 6L6s on the market and there are always older (code for used) ones and occasionally NOS but you might want to consider the THD YellowJackets; major change in the tone of the amp using EL84s.

If you stick with 6L6s and your amp as separate bias controls and you aren't ready to calculate bias settings, you might want to consider a Bias-Rite of some kind: Ted Weber's offering. Plugs into the tube socket, put the tube in the Bias-Rite socket and read the bias voltage on a meter and adjust as necessary. Good luck! CJ

Hello Gilligan,
I am new to Playing electric, and I do not use an amplifier, since we go direct to the board through direct boxes.
The first thing I got was a Korg Pandora pocket sized modeler, then for Christmas last year I got the forerunner of the DigiTech RP90. They were both useful, but they both have a little bit of a "thin" sound.

This year I put down the bucks and got the Damage Control - Womanizer (a Peavey holding), which is what my Bluesbird has needed all along!!

This thing has an output to an amp as well as a direct out to the board. Controls are a Volume, Drive, Compressor, Pre-drive tone and post drive tone. It is fabulous!! It sounds like a full class A tube amp, particularly when blasting at my face through a JBL Ion 15 stage monitor.

It uses one 12AX7 tube for the overdrive and a second 12AX7 tube to drive the compressor. The pre-drive tone controls allow you to overdrive the bass, midrange or treble strings. Then the post-drive tone controls allow you to get that bottom end you get from a 4x12 cabinet (or more) or that treble like a railroad spike through the forehead.

My favorite feature is what they call dynamic distortion. That allows you to set up so that with light picking it is clean and the harder you hit it the more it distorts.

I say again, it is just fabulous.

Look what it did to my wife!!!

Look them up here.

http://www.damagecontrolusa.com/pedals_ind.php?pedal=1

Watch the video introduction for the Womanizer.

Thanks CJ,

Yes, the amp has 12AX7s and 6L6Bs. Sounds like I might want to give the 12AT7 a try, and the info you linked on the Yellowjackets makes them sound pretty appealing, too. Another option I was considering looking into was swapping out the speaker--I think some folks here have given the Celestion vintage 30 high marks. Is that possible? That speaker is rated for 60W capability and my amp is only a 40W amp.

And Mr. P--thanks for that info, especially the images! Your wife has lovely taste in leather.

gilligan

gilligan said:

Another option I was considering looking into was swapping out the speaker--I think some folks here have given the Celestion vintage 30 high marks. Is that possible? That speaker is rated for 60W capability and my amp is only a 40W amp.

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Yes, that's plenty of spare power-handling for the speaker and they are well-regarded. Speakers are like brands of guitar strings; there are as many favorites as there are brands out there and only subjective standards for 'good'. 12AX7s in the preamp will give you subtle changes, a 12AT7 - because it has a lower gain factor, will have a more noticeable affect; you may not like it but it will be more noticeable than swapping out a 12AX7.

Finally, the YellowJackets will make your sound completely different; there are people who are crazy about them. You need to understand how to maintain the bias in you amp before swapping out power tubes; changing them will mean making sure they are operating the way they are supposed to; I just don't know how your amp is set up; single pot or two - do you know? CJ

Okay, this is where you lose me (I'm not that far along yet). Is there a way that you can explain how I might be able to find out if my amp is single pot or two--or can you just refer me to a "DIY tube amps for Dummies" website so I can start learning some of these basics.

gil

gilligan said:

Here's a question that might show how little I know about this stuff: What exactly is the purpose of a clean boost pedal? I see that some of you have mentioned you have a pedal for 'clean boost'. I assume that it 'boosts' the signal without much if any distortion (maybe?). In a recent issue of Guitar Player, one of the distortion/fuzz/od pedals reviewed had a comment that it doubles as a clean boost. Do they all do this to some extent?

Click to expand...

You assume correctly, a clean boost should just increase the signal without adding harmonics or changing the EQ or wave shape inside the pedal; the louder signal will then hit the amp harder and either just give you more volume for a solo, or make the amp crunch, depending on how much headroom the amp has available. So, the clean boost can definitely cause a lot of distortion, but it's amp distortion rather than pedal distortion.

Distortion, fuzz, and overdrive are all kind of different things, some pedals can double as a clean boost but certainly not all of them. Often you will have a gain knob which controls how much distortion is being added by the pedal, which you can turn down, but there is still an EQ being applied in the pedal when it is on, so it's not really the same as a clean boost but not that far from it either.

gilligan said:

... Is there a way that you can explain how I might be able to find out if my amp is single pot or two

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First I recommend that you contact Fender or somebody else and get either or both a schematic in hardcopy and electronic form for your amp. Schematics for stuff still in production usually have to be paid for one way or the other; the public domain stuff is ... just that, it's everywhere.

If you inspect in the area of your output tubes, you should find at least one pot or little white shaft sticking out; maybe two; or you might find one (or two) little slots where it's clear a screwdriver goes. Some older Fender designs like the Fender 75 have something closer to a 'bias balance' pot; that is, they have one pot but my guess is that the HR has one for each output tube. The best view would be to turn the amp upside down and look around. If you find them, don't screw with them ... we observe, note, and move on.

gilligan said:

... or can you just refer me to a "DIY tube amps for Dummies" website so I can start learning some of these basics.

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I wish I had somewhere to point you but I don't. In the 80s, I started messing w/ beater tube stuff from the 60s ... didn't cost much to buy so I either learned something or blew it up ... and maybe learned something that way too. I think the best answer is on-line electronics classes where you can learn the fundamentals. There wasn't any web back in the day and hobbyists (idiots?) relied on hardcopy books like Sams Electronics Vols 1 and 2 ... it's called learning the hard way and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Start with the schematic; you can google your model and scroll through the hits; might cost you $15-$20 ... only the old stuff is free :wink: CJ

Thanks Capn--

Good info to get started with!

gilligan

When I play for myself or with friends I plug my '65 SF III directly into my '72 Princeton Reverb w/Celestion G10. I have the tone pots all the way up and the volume pots set with one all the way and the other backed off about an eighth of a turn, then I set the tone I want using the controls on the amp, with the volume control set so I get just a hint of breakup on the leading edge of a sharply picked single note. I'm using flat-wound 11's and no pedals, with a Planet Waves two-conductor 10' cable. That's it. I consider that to be my sound.
With Midlife Crisis or The Obvious (2 bands I play guitar in), I use a really lightweight Tele with a Nocaster bridge, SD Seth Lover at the neck and go wireless into a pedal board with an array of different pedals, including, but not limited to, wah, compressor, chorus, OD/boost distortion, volume, delay, reverb, etc. and from there into a '73 Deluxe Reverb or '63 Vibroverb RI, both totally worked. This set-up allows me to get at least close to just about everybody else's sound.
I'm also playing two distinct styles, one for the bands, my own as a solo or accompaniest.

Hi Gilligan: I found this schematic but not noted as 'custom': Hot Rod Deluxe If this schematic applies to your amp, then it has one bias pot; indicated by the red box. The output of the bias supply is taken from the center leg (wiper) of the bias pot and is connected to the grids (little red circles) of the output tubes. The grids are where the signal 'goes in' the output tube. According to Note 5, in this model, design bias is achieved by turning the bias pot until 60mv dc appears at the test point that measures voltage on the cathode.




Briefly, the output tube works when the voltage on the grid is more negative than the voltage on the cathode. The bias supply produces a negative voltage that is injected onto the grids through the pairs of resistors in between the supply point and the grids. The resistors reduce the voltage further - it doesn't have to be very high. This design also puts a small 1 ohm resistor between the cathodes and ground; the effect of this resistor is to cause a small + dc voltage to appear on the cathode.

Using both a negative grid voltage and a positive cathode voltage guarantees that the voltage on the cathode will always be more positive than the grids. You'll note that the test point is on the cathode side of the cathode resistor so you can check to see that the positive voltage is present. If you change output tubes, you'll need to use your meter to confirm that the cathode voltage is 60mvdc. Since there is only one bias pot, this amp is going to want matched output tubes; easy enough to pay the extra money for new ones - finding matched 'vintage' (used) tubes is more troublesome. CJ

gilligan said:

Okay, this is where you lose me (I'm not that far along yet). Is there a way that you can explain how I might be able to find out if my amp is single pot or two--or can you just refer me to a "DIY tube amps for Dummies" website so I can start learning some of these basics.

gil

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I just found my old copy of this in the basement.

How To Service Your Own Tube Amp
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Books,_plan ... ml#details

Mine came with a vhs tape. I have no idea if it's still good, but pm me your address and I'll make a dvd copy of it.

Hi Gilligan; was thinking about your comment earlier and suggest the following:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthre ... adid=38278
This link is to a DIY Audio thread that is a sticky containing dozens of links to technical and informational sites on vacuum tube theory and design; not sure how much of it you might find interesting but it's comprehensive.

http://www.el34world.com/schematics.htm
This link is to the Hoffman Amps Library and Kit pages; pages contain all manner of information on tube amps and, if you can solder and follow directions, Hoffman kits are as good as anything out there; Mission, Weber kits very good too; and they give you 'connect wire #4 to pin #3'-type directions. Regardless of source, these kits aren't cheap ... OTOH; they aren't cheap kits either; get them right and you have your own new Fender Deluxe at 1/3 the price of vintage.

http://music-electronics-forum.com/home.php
Link to an amp forum that has a kit-building section; some of the member / posters are fairly advanced, others more like yourself looking to get started somehow. Posters there include many pro-grade amp techs including Bruce from Mission Amps and it's a place with a high tolerance of beginners.

Can't help with effects; haven't done much research on them. CJ

Thanks again CJ--I didn't even consider looking for forums to read, but that's how I learned most of what I know about Guilds, by joining here.

Default--I'll pm you shortly.

gilligan

gilligan said:

... forums to read, but that's how I learned most of what I know about Guilds, by joining here.

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You do us way too much justice ... :wink:

In hardcopy; Sams Basic Electricty/Electronics Vols 1 and 2 or Here's a Howard Sams Book on AC/DC circuits on Amazon

Usually just a 10' cable from a '66 T100D or a '76 stratocaster into a '74 Peavey Classic. This amp is one of the first products manufactured by Peavey and has exceptionally good clean tone with a decent solid state preamp into a pair of 6L6GC's in the power section. I can get a nice OD tone from just driving the tubes hard with the preamp but at 50 watts through a pair of EV 12's, well, it can be pretty loud. If If I want more overdriven tone at less volume I'll use an old but dandy Ibanez Supertube STL. I like the Guild mickey mouse pickups through this pedal - they have a more full sound and better sustain compared to the Fender.

I've been playing through this setup off and on since about 1986 and had become sorta tired of lugging it around. Put it away for a couple of years and thought of getting a Blues Jr or Super Champ XD but playing around with it again I still like the sounds quite a lot and I'll probably stick to it.

the mxr carbon copy is one of the best delays going, nice choice.
im using voodoo lab trem, holy grail plus, tech 21 xxl, and a guyatone dig delay at the moment

PJ--
Your T100D must sound great with that set-up...a holow-body with a little edge added to it, I'm looking forward to a future Starfire purchase with that combo.

And gusto--
yes, I love the MXR carbon copy delay--it's my first and sounds great.

Thanks for the input,

gilligan

Hi G-Man; thought you might find this thread interesting. CJ

http://www.webervst.com/vstbbs/bbs.html On the left, click Amps, scroll to;

Resources for learning to work on amps?

CJ

Hi G-Man; thought you might find this thread interesting. CJ

http://www.webervst.com/vstbbs/bbs.html On the left, click Amps, scroll to;

Resources for learning to work on amps?

CJ