Distortion pedal? needed for my Fender Champion - ideas?

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 2 Mar 2011 10:09 am

I currently travel with a Roland AC-33 battery powered acoustic amp. I plug my ukulele into one channel (sounds amazingly fantastic) and I plug my 1954 Fender Champion Lap Steel into the other channel (sounds just "ok").

This amp is primarily an Acoustic amp - meaning it has a very clean non-colored tone. Like I said - the uke sound is excellent. The steel sound is TOO clean. It needs something to fatten it up and add a bit of distortion (maybe) to the tone.

I have to use this amp. It weighs only 10 lbs and fits in my suitcase when I fly.

Any suggestions on a pedal I should get for the Fender?

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 2 Mar 2011 10:32 am

Personally I prefer the sound of an overdrive pedal to a fuzz pedal. The tone I want to emulate is the tone David Lindley gets playing through a Dumble amp.
The default overdrive pedal is the Ibanez Tube Screamer. Most of the other pedals are attempts to emulate this one.

I'm using a Nobels ODR-1 overdrive (based on a recommendation in the Electronics section of the forum) and like it very much.

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 2 Mar 2011 10:34 am

Thanks Brad - please clarify...

I don't want heavy metal distortion - just a bit of dirt and some more fullness.

Will these do it?

Do these eat batteries?

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 2 Mar 2011 10:34 am

Gerald the Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive is a nice pedal in the Tube Screamer vein that allows you to mix in the direct, clean signal with the overdriven signal. You can add a nice subtle bit of hair to it.

There are so may high quality pedals out there now, but some of them are very expensive.

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 2 Mar 2011 10:44 am

This may be an over-generalization. An overdrive pedal will emulate the sound of an amp that's been cranked up to 10, providing a more natural distortion. A fuzz pedal will give you more of the "metal" sound you don't want.

I have used the Boss SD-1 (their answer to the Tube Screamer), the Voodoo Labs pedal Mike mentioned, and this Nobels ODR-1 that I use now. I typically set the pedal so the tone is a bit more overdriven and the volume is slightly louder than the clean (unselected) setting.

I've also used the Boss HM-2 (Heavy Metal pedal) which was exactly the wrong sound for me.

Kelvin Monaghan · Post by **Kelvin Monaghan** » 2 Mar 2011 10:45 am

Sarno EARTH DRIVE was designed specially for steels .
This pedal goes from clean to just a tad of dirt all the way to Lindley Dumble tone.
The problem with most pedals I have used ,and I have had so many,is they kill your natural guitar tone,the Tubescreamer being one of the worst with it's huge mid range hump.
Anyway check out Brads site he has a few clips.

Cheers Kelvin

Stephen Abruzzo · Post by **Stephen Abruzzo** » 2 Mar 2011 1:43 pm

Gerald......since your amp is crystal clean and you want some hair, the BYOC OD-2 is a fabulous pedal.

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/overdrive2.html

You can dial in some dirt and you can even boost it too. However, if you get this, don't get the MOSFET (clean) boost, since you already have a clean amp sound to start with. Pick a different boost circuit.

I had mine made and modded and it is great. Well worth the price. There are guys on that Forum that will build it for you if you so desire.

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 2 Mar 2011 1:43 pm

Your challenge won't be to find an overdrive that works well with the Fender Champion, but to find one that works well with that amp.
Amps handles overdrive pedals differently, a pedal that sounds great on one amp may sound like sh*t on another, and that amp of yours isn't made for overdriven sounds at all.

So IMO it's kinda hit or miss, best thing would be if you could bring your amp to a store that has a good variety of overdrive pedals available for you to test out.

Lynn Oliver · Post by **Lynn Oliver** » 2 Mar 2011 2:11 pm

The ZenDrive is often characterized to have a Dumble-like sound. Apparently Dumble owners can be a bit sensitive about such things, so if you own a Dumble, please don't read this post.

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 2 Mar 2011 4:56 pm

Borrowed a Boss SD-1.

Does the trick.

I have Drive set to zero (or 7:00). Tone at 1:00. Level at 2:00.

Gives me a bit more ummmph and some nice overtones. Have to be careful though it is very sensitive to pick attack - can easily go into distortion territory.

Next to try it on my Fishman Loudbox 100. Another acoustic amp with similar issues.

Garry Vanderlinde · Post by **Garry Vanderlinde** » 2 Mar 2011 9:39 pm

Just for hearing the tones you are used to,(sweet hawaiian or gentle jazz comes to mind),I would suggest using reverb and/or delay pedals like the Boss Space Echo or the DD-3 or a chorus pedal to fatten up your sound and not try to distort it.

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 3 Mar 2011 6:01 am

This morning I listened to the Fender through the Boss SD-1 into my amp and didn't like the sound.

I can see using this pedal for one or two songs every ten years or so - but not in my day-to-day repertoire.

I'm returning it.

Funny... do you find that your "morning" ears are more precise than when you listen late in the day? I do. Whenever I record a new song and mix it I won't release it until I listen to it the next morning. And then frequently I need to tweak a few things.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 3 Mar 2011 6:14 am

See if they have a Sparkle Drive. I think you'll like it.

Matthew Carlin · Post by **Matthew Carlin** » 3 Mar 2011 7:27 am

Hey Gerald,

Sounds like you might want to try a "preamp" type pedal. I use the Tech 21 blonde for lap steel and love it. Dial it to stay clean or get a slight break up, it got a nice warmth to it.

http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansa ... eries.html

You might want to try Fender/Boss FDR-1 or FBM-1.. Boss's take on classic Fender sounds.. You can find em' pretty much anywhere.

http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetai ... rentId=254
http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetai ... ductId=854

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 3 Mar 2011 8:00 am

Also consider the Boss Blues Driver pedal. There are a number of different ways to get to the sound you want, but you'll probably have to experiment to find which pedal works best for you.

Good luck!

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 3 Mar 2011 8:04 am

Thanks all.

I'm starting to think I'll experiment with pickup height. The only real problem I have is on the high E string (C6). It doesn't have as big of a sound I want.

And I don't like the idea of dragging a pedal around with me to lose, forget to bring along and having to worry about dead batteries.

I think my Champion has pickup adjustment springs - I don't know - easy to find out.

Eric Dunst · Post by **Eric Dunst** » 3 Mar 2011 1:15 pm

You could try a Fulltone Fat Boost. It's very versatile and natural sounding. It's my "always on" pedal. It's not really an overdrive, but you can definitely get some hair around the edges with it. I have the 1st version which can be found for $75 or so. The current (3rd) version is good as well.
And for what it's worth, before getting this (and an Analogman King of Tone - best boost/overdrive ever), my Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive was indispensable.

Garry Vanderlinde · Post by **Garry Vanderlinde** » 3 Mar 2011 10:50 pm

What is a "Sparkle Drive"?
I would really like my drive to have a little more sparkle

Steve Ahola · Post by **Steve Ahola** » 4 Mar 2011 12:23 am

One pedal that seems to work well in practically any situation is the Fulltone OCD. It is very responsive to your playing and cleans up really nicely when you back off the volume on your guitar. I like it because you can still hear the sound of your guitar and amp.

The Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive has a clean boost that you can mix in with the overdrive signal- or dial out the OD signal if you want just the clean boost.

I would not recommend the two Boss Fender pedals (the Bassman and the Deluxe Reverb) since they are digital emulations and not analog circuits. And the FDR-1 has the strangest reverb which will "boi-i-i-i-ng!" purely at random to simulate someone kicking your amp.

Steve Ahola

P.S. For Dumblesque sounds the Barber Electronics Small Fry works fairly well, with 4 internal trim pots to dial in the sound that you want. But the Zen Drive is considered to the most authentic of them all. For $400 you can get an Ethos TLE which is like a "Dumble in a can" with the ODS Clean and OD channels in a floor mounted preamp. You can run it direct into a mixing board or PA if you don't have a guitar amp handy. Very versatile. And pricey.

Clete Ritta · Post by **Clete Ritta** » 4 Mar 2011 12:23 am

I like my old MXR Distortion+.
Its been reissued and not sure if the new ones sound the same, but set at all output, no distortion adds a little warmth without much coloration at all.

Clete

Bill Leff · Post by **Bill Leff** » 4 Mar 2011 8:59 am

Hi Gerald:

Try some "boost" pedals and see if that helps.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 4 Mar 2011 9:10 am

Garry Vanderlinde wrote:What is a "Sparkle Drive"?
I would really like my drive to have a little more sparkle

Sparkle Drive is Viagra for your guitar.

Fred · Post by **Fred** » 4 Mar 2011 3:09 pm

Gerald,
If your pickup adjustments don't get you what you want I suggest trying a Tech 21 Sans Amp. I've used one for years just to get the sound of an amp when
I'm playing into a PA or bass amp or any clean sterile sounding amp. If you can't find the classic Sans Amp you might try the GT2, but the ones I've tried are very noisy.

Good luck!

Fred

Steve Ahola · Post by **Steve Ahola** » 4 Mar 2011 5:53 pm

Fred wrote:Gerald,
If your pickup adjustments don't get you what you want I suggest trying a Tech 21 Sans Amp. I've used one for years just to get the sound of an amp when
I'm playing into a PA or bass amp or any clean sterile sounding amp. If you can't find the classic Sans Amp you might try the GT2, but the ones I've tried are very noisy.

Fred: I picked up the now-discontinued Tech21 Trademark 10 amp last year for a great price, which is like a GT2 mounted in a combo cabinet with real spring reverb. I never tried the Sans Amp Classic but this amp gets the best blackface emulation I have heard, and the Marshall and Mesa Boogie modes are pretty cool if you want more distortion.

I understand that the GT2 gets basically the same sounds as the Classic, but that the interface is much simpler to operate, with three 3-position slide switches instead of the 8 on/off DIP switches and the Lead/Normal/Bass input switch.

While digital amp modeling is very common today I believe that the Sans Amp line uses strictly analog circuitry for the audio signal path. I think that the Classic or GT2 would be great, as would the Blonde Character Series pedal. Besides the distortion modes, all three pedals would produce a really nice clean sound as well.

Steve

Roman Sonnleitner · Post by **Roman Sonnleitner** » 6 Mar 2011 4:28 am

For adding just a tiny bit of tube character, right on the edge between clean and overdriven, to a completely clean amp, I like those two pedals:

-) Barber LTD: the most natural, amp-like OD pedal for really low-gain tones (and I've had at least 20-30 OD pedals over the years...); slightly "sweet", singing character (which means, it would not be my first choice for nasty, raunchy rock tones), sounds like a good tube amp that has been turned up just to the point where it starts overdriving. Internal presence and bass controls allow to match it perfectly to your amp. Very solid construction, and low price for a handmade "boutique" pedal.

-) Award-Session JD10 (this one was also sold as the Morley JD10 in the US): a full-fledged preamp in pedal format; 3-band EQ, switchable speaker-cab emulation (which might be useful with an acoustic amp or PA); has much more gain on tap than the LTD, if you need it. Jerry Donahue has used this one extensively for recording whole albums directly into the mixing desk with his Telecaster.

The JD10 is more flexible, with a wider range of tones and gain, but for the really low gain, barely-breaking-up kind of tones, the LTD is still the king.