Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

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Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by Molly »

Tell ya why I ask...

Decided to A/B my Friedman with the Two Rock set clean as ewt but with The Dude overdrive providing the dirt. Both sounded great with neither lacking in comparison to the other (as best I could tell at home levels). I've since bought a Friedman BE-OD with the idea that further overdrive tones could be achieved and I could flick the Small Box to pay for a sexy LP Custom.

So, what do you think? Overdrive pedals have come a long way so is it realistic to hope that a pedal could replace an amp?

Cheers.

Molly (fueled by the warm glow of brandy on this rainy Saturday evening).


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Re: Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by godgrinder »

Not 100% there for me yet, but a decent FET dirtbox into a great power amp section goes a long way.

The trick is that if you feel that the pedal isn't quite agreeing with your clean channel, plug it straight into the fx return.
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Re: Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by Slowy »

My 2c worth?
On stage, the best tones come from finding your amp's sweet spot and using the guitar volume as a clean to distortion control. At home, this often doesn't work; partly because of volume but also because the tones that sound magnificent in a band mix, often don't please the ear in isolation.

So I use an amp set clean and 3 OD's. The first is a J Rockett Archer. It does clean to mid boost. Then there's a ZenDrive which does fat, warm Dumbly OD. Magnificent with a Strat bridge pup. Lastly is a Rockbox Boiling Point. It does absolutely everything from clean to shred and while the Archer and Zendrive are warm, the Boiling Point has more presence. It's the live gig pedal but so versatile that I like it even at home.

With the 3, I have a really satisfying palette of dirt. Don't compare them with real Dumbles or Klons so to me, they sound excellent.
I have owned a nice Marshall and am reminded of it whenever I break out my Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret.

So do I think pedals can replace amps?

tl:dr

Absolutely! And at a fraction of the cost.
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Re: Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by Molly »

Slowy wrote:My 2c worth?
On stage, the best tones come from finding your amp's sweet spot and using the guitar volume as a clean to distortion control. At home, this often doesn't work; partly because of volume but also because the tones that sound magnificent in a band mix, often don't please the ear in isolation.

So I use an amp set clean and 3 OD's. The first is a J Rockett Archer. It does clean to mid boost. Then there's a ZenDrive which does fat, warm Dumbly OD. Magnificent with a Strat bridge pup. Lastly is a Rockbox Boiling Point. It does absolutely everything from clean to shred and while the Archer and Zendrive are warm, the Boiling Point has more presence. It's the live gig pedal but so versatile that I like it even at home.

With the 3, I have a really satisfying palette of dirt. Don't compare them with real Dumbles or Klons so to me, they sound excellent.
I have owned a nice Marshall and am reminded of it whenever I break out my Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret.

So do I think pedals can replace amps?

tl:dr

Absolutely! And at a fraction of the cost.
Thanks for the replies, chaps. Slowy, that's kind of what I was hoping to read. Also, some of what you said about an amp's sweet spot etc. is echoed in this Pete Thorn video where he's using his Strat's volume control to vary the drive / clean and to get a more full, and dynamic thing going on. From about 6:15



Also, I really like the clean on my Two Rock. It's an area my Friedman isn't designed to compete with.

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Re: Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by Dharmajester »

I'd say they can provide an adequate substitute rather than a replacement, if we are agreeing that a replacement is a can't tell the difference situation. To my ears the two sound and noticeably feel quite different so it's a matter of what is acceptable to the individual player in their particular playing context.
I enjoy playing with a mild ts style overdrive through a clean Fender amp. However there are other situations, usually involving Gibson's where only a cranked Marshall will make the cut and in that scenario pedals for me don't work but I'd be fucked without the Fryette. Fuzz of course is a whole other ballgame.
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Re: Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by Delayman »

Slowy wrote:My 2c worth?
On stage, the best tones come from finding your amp's sweet spot and using the guitar volume as a clean to distortion control. At home, this often doesn't work; partly because of volume but also because the tones that sound magnificent in a band mix, often don't please the ear in isolation.

So I use an amp set clean and 3 OD's. The first is a J Rockett Archer. It does clean to mid boost. Then there's a ZenDrive which does fat, warm Dumbly OD. Magnificent with a Strat bridge pup. Lastly is a Rockbox Boiling Point. It does absolutely everything from clean to shred and while the Archer and Zendrive are warm, the Boiling Point has more presence. It's the live gig pedal but so versatile that I like it even at home.

With the 3, I have a really satisfying palette of dirt. Don't compare them with real Dumbles or Klons so to me, they sound excellent.
I have owned a nice Marshall and am reminded of it whenever I break out my Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret.

So do I think pedals can replace amps?

tl:dr

Absolutely! And at a fraction of the cost.
Hey Slowy, in this set up are you stacking the ODs, or straight switching?
They keep telling me tone is in the fingers, but I have yet to see a "look at my fingers" thread.
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Re: Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by null_pointer »

Don’t ask me, I’ve always preferred clean platforms with pedals due to the versatility. Yeah you can’t get a dead ringer for the Shiva cranked on channel 2, but that singular tone isn’t enough to put up with all the downsides (not enough variance, VOLUME etc).

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Re: Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by Single coil »

Short answer is yes
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Re: Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by GrantB »

Clean? Whatever is this nonsense? I never want to hear another clean Strat in my life.

But OP, kinda...as outlined above. Yes a TS does good into a Fender amp, but I’d rather have my /13 making the dirt.
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Re: Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by StrummersOfThunder »

GrantB wrote:Clean? Whatever is this nonsense? I never want to hear another Strat in my life.
Fixed

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Re: Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by werdna »

I play with a guitarist who runs various dirt pedals through a Fender Deluxe. His clean to clean/dirty tones are great. But the rig sounds too polite for the dirty stuff. It sounds light years different from my rig which has Marshall circuits and EL34s into a closed cabinet. You could never close your eyes and not know who was playing. It's that different.
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Re: Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by HackSaw »

With the neighbour’s wall about a metre from ours, and tenants downstairs with a baby, I never get to hear a properly driven amp, so pedals have to do the job.

But in my view, strum guitar, does the noise it makes please, excite, inspire, titilate you? Then who cares what hardware is in the middle. Fuck conventional wisdom, if it rocks your socks do it!

(Right, back to my usual headphones and software modelling, thus nullifying any opinions I might have)

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Re: Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by bender »

I agree totally with Slowy’s comment about band vs home use. Totally different applications and contexts. Only way to judge is direct comparison at realistic (for normal use) volume. For my home and studio use, pedals into a clean(ish) amp are a completely acceptable substitute.

EDIT: ditto to Hacksaw

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Re: Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by jimi »

I gigged a Marshall TSL for years and just used the clean channel with pedals.

Hotcake cranking the clean channel pushing it to break up sounded so much better than preamp clipping in the drive channels. Always had 2 dirt pedals, one for rhythm chunk and one more as a boost.

Now I use a single channel amp, loud and dirty. Volume knob to clean up etc. Still have a couple of pedals to get different tones. Sounds good, but honestly can't say the tone hunt is over. For gigging covers it's more about versatility, convenience and good enough though.

So yeah, pedals can definitely work.

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Re: Can a 'clean platform' amp replace an overdriven amp?

Post by Slowy »

Delayman wrote:
Hey Slowy, in this set up are you stacking the ODs, or straight switching?
Usually straight switching. I play with stacking occasionally or accidentally when I forget there's already something on, but it's usually too much for my tastes. Also, I often have some guitar volume in reserve for a bit extra. Especially with P90s.
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