Sick of my amps distortion help?

[Bluedinky]

i own a crate halfstack (got it for free and cant afford a new amp right now) im trying to find a solution to make a better amp tone with what i have. i been thinking about getting a line 6 pod and running it through my head maybe that would make me enjoy playing guitar a little more since i'd have more tone to chose from than what i do now.

is this going to be the solution im looking for or if its not can any of you Veteran tone chasers offer up a little more advice as to how i can get a better distortion sound out of my amp.

[Newc]

It's a Crate, sorry, that's what it sounds like. Only thing I've heard worse was a solid state Randall head I used to have.

Got tired of jerking around with various pedals and whatnot (though running two separate distortion pedals into two Gorilla amps sounded awesome) and got myself a rack unit.

Not only did I gain literally hundreds of different sounds, but I also gained headphone-ability so I could play without hearing about it from the rest of the house.

Trade/sell the Crate and get a POD or something similar to that and enjoy the variety.

[toxikdeth]

if you dont have an effex loop its going to sound horrible I would suggest selling it and combining the money thats supposed to fund the pod and get a better head possibly 5150

[jgcable]

What Crate do you have? In anycase.. it most likely has the Crate patented FlexWave distortion. Its a love it or hate it type distortion. Personally.. I think its great for home noodling around. If you hate it.. you need to bail out on the amp.
Either that... or use the clean channel on the amp and put a distortion pedal in front of it like a Metal Zone or one of those Line 6 Uber Metal pedals.

[skintaster]

I've never had any first hand experience with Crate amps. Is it tube or solidstate? If it's ss you might try a tube based preamp or distortion pedal like a mesa v-twin or something similar. If funds are an issue and you can't upgrade to a better amp, you can buy all sorts of great distortion units these days.

[jdr94]

i'd say throw a sonic stomp in the loop if you got one. if you can afford to, put a ge-7 infront of the sonic stomp and you'll be in business. although a better amp would be my goal.

[skintaster]

i'd say throw a sonic stomp in the loop if you got one. if you can afford to, put a ge-7 infront of the sonic stomp and you'll be in business. although a better amp would be my goal.

The sonic stomp makes a lot of difference with some amps. If you like the overall sound of your Crate, but not the distortion, a stomp box like the metal zone (Or something similar) might help, but if you don't like the amps sound at all, the only real remedy is a new amp.

Fortunately, there are quite a few good and relatively inexpensive amp options these days... Especially if you don't mind buying used.

[jdr94]

he's right the sonic stomp is only for certain amps. but with an eq in the loop you'll get a better distortion tone and the sonic stomp would give it a little more cut. gain to the max isnt the best solution for brutality. it only causes muddiness. mid to high gain w/ proper eq-ing can do wonders. just my 3 cents. LOL

[themisfit138]

It is time for a tube amp. I don't do distortion I prefer crunch. Might I suggest a Mesa Mark series amp. I love my both my Mark amps. Marshall makes a fine product as well, as long as it has tubes.
Or if you want a little lower budget the Peavey Windsor, of 5150/6505 might be what you are looking for. Just get away from Solid State!

[Spivonious]

Well, first off, do you or do you plan to play in a band?

If yes, then start saving your money and get a good quality used tube amp. Something from Marshall, Mesa, Peavey, etc. Look at what the bands you like play and start from there.

If no, then get a POD or something similar. Lots of different tones you can experiment with, and sounds fantastic for at-home noodling and recording.

[DonP]

i own a crate halfstack (got it for free and cant afford a new amp right now) im trying to find a solution to make a better amp tone with what i have. i been thinking about getting a line 6 pod and running it through my head maybe that would make me enjoy playing guitar a little more since i'd have more tone to chose from than what i do now.

is this going to be the solution im looking for or if its not can any of you Veteran tone chasers offer up a little more advice as to how i can get a better distortion sound out of my amp.

The POD is a good suggestion, but sometimes the POD can be picky on the power amp used to amplify it.

I have a pair of PODs and they work great through headphones (I prefer the 2.3 over the XT), but I haven't had great success otherwise. I've mostly tried PC speakers, but I haven't tried a subwoofer setup.

I haven't tried through my bigger amps because I just use the POD in apartment settings. The big amps I can crank up and don't need the POD.

[Bluedinky]

i was going to run the POD through my clean channel and just set my own distortion/crunch tone through the pod.


i have bee in some bands and the amp has done fine i just am getting tired of the same old sound these days.

[straycat]

A Fulltone OCD is a great OD stomp box.Just run it in front of the amp on the clean channel.
When you upgrade to a tube head keep the OCD you'll love it.