antipodean wrote:
My other guitar stuff is Mesa Boogie (a V-twin pedal/preamp and a Mk II 1x15 combo) and whilst they can get really dirty, they sound a bit "hi-fi"/refined. More Santana than Nirvana...
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Funny enough, Kurt actually used a Mesa Boogie preamp head- Strategy 400 Stereo (but apparently didn't like it - watch until the end!):
Anybody heard of a Sansamp? Kurt Cobain used one for distortion, as well as an MXR D2 and a small stone.
I used to have a Sansamp GT2, a great, versatile pedal, and highly recommended. A friend of mine has it now, as I was using more for bass than guitar at the time until I got my Sansamp VT Bass pedal for the basses. I recently bought a Digitech Hardwire SC-2 Valve Distortion pedal for the guitars, which is also a great sounding unit, if not as versatile as the GT2, however.
Ok, try getting an old Peavey Renown 2x12 combo, louder than an atom bomb, great shapeability of sounds, and dirt cheap wherever you can find them. All of the older Peavey(80s or so) gear is built like a tank and will last.
Pedals I would definitely check out(but not limited to) are,
-Tech 21 XXL-great fuzz type distortion that allows you to adjust the even and odd order harmonics in the signal. Great for grungy, liquidy sounding distortion that that doesn't get all whispy and lost in the mix. Tech 21 makes the sansamp, and these new series of pedals, are all worth a plug in at the local store. Their knobs are extremely sensative, so spend a litle time with them. Jeffrey has the VT, and I have the Liverpool, and we are both quite happy with what they do.
-ProCo Rat, a staple in all distorted music, and a very usefull and versatile pedal. Worth checking out.
-Marshall Jackhammer, very convincing JCM800 tone if you set it up right. Good bottom end available for that low end knock.
-Dod OD 250, great little overdrive/distortion box. The best 35 bucks you can spend to dirty up an amp. Plug 1 of these puppies in to a fender super and you have exactly the Sex Pistols tone(at least 1 of the many guitar overdubs on that album-haha).
I don't like Tubescreamers, but that's just me, I would check one out and make up your own mind on it.
If you want the sound of the early 80s SF band "Flipper", you must consume large amounts of alcohol(hahaa)
I would try to stay away from dedicated, 1 sound fuzzboxes. I've got loads of different ones, but they all have a specific character that only sounds good on limited things. If you want that Black Flag meets Blitz sound, you must get a fuzzbox.
I'm sure someone will scream if I don't mention the Electro Harmonix Big Muff. They are great for what they do, but IMHO, work much better for solo type stuff than blazing out barre chords. Much closer to a grunge than a punk sound.
-Boss DS-1, a staple as well, one of the oldest, and now about 40 bucks. Tone control range is not bad, and you either like the distortion or not. Oh, and it's orange!
Last but not least, is the Digitech DF-7, distortion factory. Very versatile and usefull, and is priced right for what it is. This thing is solid and heavy, and pretty good sounding.
These are just a few, but a good place to start, and pretty much are what most dirt boxes are variations of. There are 300 dollar, hand wired overdrive boxes out there that are just Tubescreamer clones, so be carefull.
As far as delay, get a used Danelectro Dan Echo. Great for Dead Kennedys and other stuff like that, and a great value used. Unless you are playing big stages with a FOH soundperson and a killer PA, don't waste big bucks on one. The sad fact is that most people can't hear the difference 300 bucks or more can make with a delay unit, and certainly not live with a punk/grunge band.
Watch the volume controls on any pedal, start at 3 and move up(amp on concert volume)and you will hear a drastic change in tone as the signal hits your amp harder. Tube and solid state will react differently, and ss can clip if hit too hard. One reason that ss amps get a bad rap is that people have the volume of their pedals(especially distortion)up too high and the amp farts out and/or gets that nasty quality that turning up a channel on a mixing board will give you. Tube amps can sound great with a pedal hitting the preamp hard, but have other variables. This is why you dial it in at the volume you will be playing at, as tubes sound different as you turn them up. If you have the input volume too loud to the amp, you will choke your tone, lose its dynamics, and squeal like a stuck pig when you stop playing. It's all a balancing act, and hopefully my experience can save you a lot of headaches and money.
Yep! +1!!! I was lucky enough to have a Fender Blackface Showman head as my first amp; I used it for bass, then for guitar when I switched instruments. I used to run it through a 2x15 cabinet with JBLs.
Soon I'll make a list and show you guys what I have to work with. Oh, correction: The Fender head is a Showman, not a Bassman.
There is an old saying: "Want to make the owner of a small club nervous? Just show up with a Showman amp..."
You are going to need some sort of overdrive pedal alright, Showmans [in good nick] stay clean to almost ear-splitting levels.
Super piece of equipment, now what are you going to use for a cab? Better make sure whatever it is, that it can handle the 4 X 6L6 level of pure tube fed power that baby packs...
Playing a Dual Showman for the last two years or so, I am spoiled on clean tube sound. With 100 watts of tube grunt, clean and clear is no problem up to silly levels.
Since getting the Showman, I've purchased a number of vintage tube amps in the 30-45 watt range, and none is anywhere as clean with single-coil guitars. A less radical second place goes to my Maggie M10, a very mellow 38 watts.
There are a number of modern amps, I understand, but I don't own any of them, so can't speak from experience. And I've got two candidates in vintage SS that do single-coils justice: the RIC RG90 and Baldwin Supersound.
The amps are all great, I'd say jeff (my band partner) has got us covered. I'd love to hear you guys' experience with the gear on the list if you have any to mention.
Jeff's got to go off to work for a few days but we'll soon set in to A-B everything with respect to our new goals. I wish I was 19 again, starting over at this age ain't easy. But we're doing OK. Gotta be patient for a while for the money for pedals. Meantime it's practice practice, practice ...
My only experience with guitar amps include Marshalls (Really big ones) and Seymour Duncan Convertibles. Although I have been partially deafened by a wall of Fender Dual Showmans and, more recently, Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifiers.
"They make great f***'n basses". - Lemmy, NAMM 2009
- watch until the end!):
This is great.
