Gain boosting SS amp?!

[-Boris-]

I want to know your opinion on this subject. For example, if you feel there just isn't enough gain on your solid state amp head or rack preamp, would you use some gain booster? Will it help with more gain, or just add white noise to it and not help at all.

I have something specific in mind (with Boss SD-1), but I'm interested in your opinion in general. Thanx!

[Nazgul]

I tried metal zone on my crate gx130 head just for fun (head itself has enough gain - perfect for old school death metal ) and it added white noise even at lowest gain setting. I don't know which amp you have, but I think it's better to use a clean channel + distortion pedal.

[-Boris-]

I tried metal zone on my crate gx130 head just for fun (head itself has enough gain - perfect for old school death metal ) and it added white noise even at lowest gain setting. I don't know which amp you have, but I think it's better to use a clean channel + distortion pedal.

Not that kind of pedals, which are 'stand alone' pedals. I thought of gain boosters like boss sd-1, ibanez tubescreamer...transparent stuff, that doesn't change original sound, just make signal little stronger. That with SS amp.

[Nazgul]

Not that kind of pedals, which are 'stand alone' pedals. I thought of gain boosters like boss sd-1, ibanez tubescreamer...transparent stuff, that doesn't change original sound, just make signal little stronger. That with SS amp.

I tried DS1 once but it just made loud microphonic squeak..don't know why and I didn't bother playing with it anymore after that. I think the best thing for you to do is to borrow some pedals from friends or someone if they have them. That way you can try them yourself and see what works the best with your gear.

[jeff300]

I have used a ts-7 Tubescreamer on a solid state amp with good results.

[diablomozart]

a ts9 should work well...but...most solid state amps usually have more than enough gain...maybe you should try a different eq setting instead?...or maybe a hotter pickup...d.m.

[MetalMedal II]

Not that kind of pedals, which are 'stand alone' pedals. I thought of gain boosters like boss sd-1, ibanez tubescreamer...transparent stuff, that doesn't change original sound, just make signal little stronger. That with SS amp.

I use a TS-5 Ibanez soundtank to juice the crunch of a solid state Marshall Lead 12 with good results. I actually use the same pedal to juice a tube preamp too. I tried using the Boss DS-1 in place of the TS-5 and it sounded terrible.

[slayer]

What did Dime use on his Randalls to get that nasty tasty tone? I like that solid state sound. Jack.

[diablomozart]

i have always heard the secret to dime's sound was actually an mxr eq pedal...something about it being blue as well...cant remember right now but i'll go digging thru my old guitar worlds this week and see if i can find where he talks about it...d.m.

[MichaelLitvak]

i have a line 6 spider 2 112 and it has a gain boost option.. it says that the gain boost is the same as putting a dist pedal infront
it helps a lot sometimes.. and sometimes not

[IrfaanSE801]

Yah, Dime used an old Century 200 Randall, which I've owned, and sold for a reason. My RG150 (same as the 100 with a graphic EQ) is much more brutal and sounds incredible for a SS amp. I wanna try one of those Ampeg SS's, but I forgot which model it was that sounded great. As for gain boosting, any of the pedals mentioned above would work or just some sorta EQing would be good.

[DeathDaily]

Hmm, I had always heard that Dime used the Furman PQ-3 or 4 parametrics. I use the blue MXR 6-band in front of a Randall rg150es and it works great. The overall effect on gain is barely noticable, the amp doesn't sound dirtier, but it does add a nice "squish" to the tone. I've used a Digitech Hot Head as a boost with it too, and it gets the old-school Swedish death metal tone to a T, but that's pretty much all it does. I think the actual boost/perceived gain ratio is way different for ss than for tube, and it seems like ss responds better to a tone shape/mild boost than it does a hefty boost. If you think the amp has enough gain already, try an eq in front and it should open up your tonal options.

[diablomozart]

Yah, Dime used an old Century 200 Randall, which I've owned, and sold for a reason. My RG150 (same as the 100 with a graphic EQ) is much more brutal and sounds incredible for a SS amp. I wanna try one of those Ampeg SS's, but I forgot which model it was that sounded great. As for gain boosting, any of the pedals mentioned above would work or just some sorta EQing would be good.

probably the ampeg ss140c...thats the model i use...you can pry mine out of my cold dead fingers too...lol...d.m.

[Nazgul]

probably the ampeg ss140c...thats the model i use...you can pry mine out of my cold dead fingers too...lol...d.m.

he's probably thinking of vh140c. A lot of dm bands use it. If you cant find it - Crate GX130c is very similar to it they say.

[-Boris-]

Thanx for the answers guys. For pickups I have SD SH-6 Distortion and EMG 85 so output of the pickups is not an issue. I just want more sustain for leads...to make them sing, you know. And maybe a little more gain, although I'm not some gain freak to have everything on 10.