Pedals or amp?

[Grandturk]

So I'm sitting here in "wish I had a..." land and I'm really wishing I had a Marshall again. Don't get me wrong, I love my Boogie, but... it ain't a Marshall, ya know?

Which brings me to my dilemma - I can go out an buy a Marshall & I've been looking at the Vintage Modern or an old JCM 900 MK III - combos - 2x12 probably. If I bring a new amp home, that means the Boogie needs to go, since, you know, the wife is in charge.

Anyway - a lot of people really seem to get by with distortion/overdrive pedals. There's obviously pedals everywhere that apparently will give you any type of sound you want. Me? I've always been an amp-man. Sure I've got stomp boxes, but they're for effect - i.e. I've never had my main "sound" originate from a pedal - I've always just worked with what I get from the amp, and then add onto that.

So my question is this - what do you get your primary sound from - an amp or a pedal?

My second question is this - is there a pedal out there that will give me a high-gain modded 800/900/Vintage Modern Marshall sound through my Boogie? Here's a list of pedals I know won't do that:

- Tubescreamer
- MXR Classic Distortion
- MXR Dual Distortion
- BBE American Distortion
- BOSS Metal Zone

How about that Radial Tone-Bone Plexitube or something like that?

[Grandturk]

So further - here's why I don't think a pedal is the answer:

- The pedal is always going to go through the Boogie preamp and poweramp section. Its going to sound like 6L6's.

[tomanyjacksons]

I feel you here I've just changed from old an solid state Peavey with a digital processor which worked perfect for anything 80's, to an all tube peavey with pedals. The onboard gain channel isn't to bad but when I go to the clean channel and turn on my scooped mid distortion pedal it's totally the wrong sound. I would think with a ten band EQ in the FX loop this wouldn't be an issue but what makes my gain channel and my clean channel sound great now sounds terrible with the added distortion pedal. So I had to make some compromises and a bunch of eq changes only to come to the realization that different tubes and speakers are in order I'm sure once I get done I will have an amp with the sound I like but versatility has been a challenge, especially on a budget. I understand why alot of the newer players that use the scooped mid sound run 2 seperate systems for the distotion and clean channels. Playing this new style of music is getting expensive.

[markD]

i prefer the "hot-rodded" marshall tone and found it quite nicely in the river M/S series amps. i have an S120 head, M100 head, M100 1x12, and a couple of different rivera cabs and a mesa 2x12. i use NO pedals in front for gain at all. i find the stock gain options on the rivera are more than enough.

plus, with the rivera, you get the output options like mesa uses - pentode/triode, half/full power (those work similar to how boogie uses their simul-class on the MK amps). you also get an extremely versatile clean channel that will take you from clean to classic overdrive based on the settings. it also has a variable send and return effects loop that can work as another gain stage in needed....

with the EL-34 tubes and the right settings it can sound like a great marshall. hahaha, right now i have mine set-up to where it sounds nearly identical to my friends '77 JMP 100 head. he was blown away!!!

[ulijdavid]

I will probably get blasted here, but I really prefer my Marshall TSL60 through some old ADA 2x12 cabs. I have a rack on top with an ADA MP-1 and a Digitech GSP1101 (among) others. I actually prefer the Marshall dry. Yeah, it does not have as much gain as it would with the ADA or Digitech. And you can only dial the amps gain to about 6 or 7 before it gets into "buzzy" territory. But, I prefer the distortion straight from the amp - even at bedroom levels. I feel I have to work a little harder, but I prefer the sound. The clean sound is nothing to write home about. Personally I find pedals to make an amp sound generic. I tend to go for the classic Schenker tone.

[VitaminG]

check out the MI Audio Crunch Box. Marshall in a can. So you can have your Boogie and your Marshall too

[Grandturk]

Marshall in a can.

Intriguing. But what kind of Marshall? Lawyer-burst Plexi or Aquanet 800?

[bombtek]

Biyang Metal End brother. You just cannot go wrong with it. Buy one. If you don't like it I'll buy it off of you . There are endless tonal possiblities distortionwise with that pedal. I could always use a backup.

[Grandturk]

Biyang Metal End brother.

Is this just like a Metal Zone?

[Psh511]

I have a Lovepedal Purple Plexi/800 pedal that I think does the Marshall thing...since you are local you can borrow it if you want, but you have to retun it in one piece

[Grandturk]

I have a Lovepedal Purple Plexi/800 pedal that I think does the Marshall thing...since you are local you can borrow it if you want, but you have to retun it in one piece

Dig it - great offer. I'll check out some youtube clips of it when I get home. Folks on thegearpage say it goes really well with a Fender clean, so the Boogie I have is right there. Not having heard it yet, would you say its a high gain Marshall sound, or a "plexi" sound?

[DonP]

First Question: Amp only. I have a few pedals and very, very rarely use them. TS-10, MT-2, Crybaby, EQ.

Second Question: No, it's not going to sound like a Marshall, it's going to sound like a pedal through a Mesa.

Final Answer: Just get a DSL100 1/2 stack and be done with it already.

[Psh511]

I am using it through a silverface princeton and I would say its more in the Plexi family...but it does get dirty. I also have a Keeler Push which I like. Its not a distortion pedal (more of an overdrive) but when I put infront of a dirty amp it just sound "more"...

Dig it - great offer. I'll check out some youtube clips of it when I get home. Folks on thegearpage say it goes really well with a Fender clean, so the Boogie I have is right there. Not having heard it yet, would you say its a high gain Marshall sound, or a "plexi" sound?

[Psh511]

While we are on the topic...there is a great store on the Queens/Nassau border called Pedal Geek. Dan the owner (and I think a forum member here) has always been spot on with pedal advice and they offer a seven day return policy as long as its the same shape. It may be worth a visit or even a look on their website...

[Grandturk]

Second Question: No, it's not going to sound like a Marshall, it's going to sound like a pedal through a Mesa.

Final Answer: Just get a DSL100 1/2 stack and be done with it already.

a - That's what I'm thinking. Any pedal is going to sound like a pedal through an amp - its just a question of how good that combination sounds.

b - I don't like the 2000 sound. Its got this like "deep" sound to it that's very... I don't know... not what I like. Also - too many fucking knobs and buttons.

I am using it through a silverface princeton and I would say its more in the Plexi family...but it does get dirty. I also have a Keeler Push which I like. Its not a distortion pedal (more of an overdrive) but when I put infront of a dirty amp it just sound "more"...

Yeah - I've got overdrive out the ying/yang. I want that "JCM 900 on 20" sound (that's right, they go to "20").

While we are on the topic...there is a great store on the Queens/Nassau border called Pedal Geek. Dan the owner (and I think a forum member here) has always been spot on with pedal advice and they offer a seven day return policy as long as its the same shape. It may be worth a visit or even a look on their website...

That's really cool. I'll have to take a spin out there. I'm going to check out there website.