Distortion pedals and signal loss

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 16 Feb 2003 10:11 am

Hi everyone. I'm playing with a band and it's really rockin' so I need to use distortion on a lot of the tunes which is not what I normally do. I have an ancient Ross distortion pedal that sounds ok when it's on but when I play clean it's sounds muddy. I don't have an effects loop in any of my amps. Are there any foot pedal units on the market that don't cause this problem? Should the unit be plugged in before or after the volume pedal and Matchbox? Has anyone tried the distortion/Matchbox all in one unit made by Goodrich? Maybe that's what I need. I would really appreciate any advice on this.

TRhanks, Dave Z

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 16 Feb 2003 10:49 am

Buddy Emmons runs all of his effects after the volume pedal but I always use most everything including distortion before the volume pedal.

I have used and still have the Goodrich distortion/MatchBox you asked about and it worked great. I don't use it anymore as I use the distortion in my Boss GX-700. I don't know what they're going for these days, but I might be tempted to sell it if you're interested.

------------------
Jim Smith jimsmith94@attbi.com
-=Dekley D-12 10&12=-
-=Fessenden D-12 (coming soon)=-
Stereo Steel rig w/Boss GX-700
IVL SteelRider w/JV-880

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 16 Feb 2003 10:56 am

Hi Dave,if your amp has 2 inputs, you could try a boss AB box, a little stomppedal that really is a switch, but without the plop, you should get with a wallmart switch.
I prefer going or: without volumepedal on distortion, or distortion after the volumepedal, gives you the possibillity to really crank up the volume and the distortion. so :
<pre>

/ distortionpedal> amp
steel>ABbox
\volumepedal > amp

or:

/amp
steel> volumepedal>AB Box
\distortion> amp
</pre>

------------------

Click on the pic!

[This message was edited by Johan Jansen on 16 February 2003 at 10:57 AM.]

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 16 Feb 2003 11:11 am

A Boss LS-2 will solve your problem.

It an active A-B switch and much more.

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 16 Feb 2003 11:22 am

There's a 'bedroom' box maker I've mentioned in this same context before (Joey says Boss, I say loooper.
Had a good transaction with him. I have no comparison with the Boss. But if the price is similar, Boss certain has a great rep.

As to sequence, you will get the best tone out of the pedal going direct into distortion, then into volume pedal. But if you put the volume pedal first, then you can drive the distortion the way you would overdrive an amp---the distortion will clean up as you back off the volume, get thicker as you increase. The guitarists #1 trick of coloring his tone--the volume pot and a tube amp. So it depends on your playing approach. Also, I don't know if your particular unit is responsive in this way. The modern OD pedals are designed with this model in mind---Sparkle Drive, FullDrive2, etc.

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 16 Feb 2003 1:04 pm

My favorite is the Fulltone fulldrive II.
For what you are talking about it should be perfect with no muss no fuss.

Bob

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 16 Feb 2003 1:12 pm

Thanks for the replies everyone. Like I said, the distortion tone is not a problem. It's when it's switched off and the clean tone sounds muddy.

Bob H, the Fulltone looks interesting. How is it when the overdrive is off and you're playing clean? Do you notice any signal loss?

Thanks, Dave

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 16 Feb 2003 1:18 pm

I forgot to mention--and this is in answer to your question--that the term "true bypass" means that when not engaged, there is no tone loss and most of these newer pedals (I believe including the Full Drive) have it. This design is directly in response to the tone robbing characteristic of pedals in the signal path.

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 16 Feb 2003 1:47 pm

Dave,
There is no signal loss at all. This is a studio quality gizmo. Also it can act as a compressor/booster that can work in conjunction with your amp. If you are using any tube amps it can work wonders with them. It has the sound of a vintage Ibaneze Tube Screamer only it is made well. It has been pretty much the standard pro level overdrive stompbox for a while now.

Bob

[This message was edited by Bob Hoffnar on 16 February 2003 at 01:48 PM.]

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 16 Feb 2003 1:56 pm

Hey Dave, I have a tube distortion pedal in my garage, if you want to try something different. No signal loss problem. I don't use it anymore, for other reasons. Give me a call.

------------------
<img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9), Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6), Roland Handsonic

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 16 Feb 2003 2:03 pm

I use the Fulldrive II also. With the true bypass when you turn it off, your signal goes from input jack to output jack.. You can get the "True Bypass" swicth from Fulltone and retrofit most effect pedels to do the same.

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 16 Feb 2003 2:38 pm

Thanks for the offer b0b. Email your phone# and I'll come up and try it and buy more strings while I'm up there. If I like the pedal, would you be interested in selling it?

Hey guys, about how much $$ are those Fulltone pedals going for?

Thanks again, Dave

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 16 Feb 2003 2:47 pm

I got my Fulldrive for $159.99
I've seen them go from $150 to $175 even for used ones.

Mark van Allen · Post by **Mark van Allen** » 16 Feb 2003 3:31 pm

Back in the 80's when I was first playing with John Berry he loaned me an original Tube Screamer that had the creamy David Lindley on steroids sound... I've tried just about everything since and a great one I've found is the Maxon OD-808. $75 on ebay. Overdrive is a most personal sound, perhaps even more varied than "a good clean tone". A lot of folks prefer true distortion, like the goodrich boxes or the BossTone. (a la Buddy Cage). It all depends on the sound you're going for. Definitely different placed before or after the volume pedal.

------------------
C'mon by and visit!- <A HREF="http://www.markvanallen.com
" TARGET=_blank>www.markvanallen.com
</A>