Boost/Gain Pedals

[Morbid]

I'm going to try and make this as brief as possible! lol

My amp is a Mesa Boogie Mark IV, and I love it, however, the Rhythm tone has left me wanting more.
My leads are nice, smooth and liquidy, just like I want, but without trading my nice lead sound for a Rhythm sound, I'm left with a Rhythm tone that lacks some crunch.

So I went ahead and made the mistake of buying an MXR ZW-44 Wylde Overdrive pedal to accompany my amp and add some crunch.
Well, it worked, and I got some additional crunch, BUT, I also gained endless feedback. I could actually walk out of my room, and still have feedback until I turned the pedal off. I looked up some reviews and have noticed that apparently, this is a common problem, along with noise.

So now I'm going to ask all of your opinions on some pedals. I'm not a rich man, so I can't go out and drop $300.00 on a pedal, however, I'd still like opinions on various pedals and prices.

I'd like to buy one pedal to add some extra gain/crunch to my rhythm tone, and I think in the future I'd also like to buy another pedal to boost my lead tone a little bit. Maybe fatten it up just slightly, and make it stand out a little more.

Thanks in advance for the help guys Let the opinions commense!

[elcid]

Fulltone Fulldrive 2, end of story.

[Morbid]

Looks like a nice little pedal, and looks like it would work for both rhythm and lead, with the exception of the fact that when my rig is finished, I'll be using a GCX Switcher and Axess FX1 Pedalboard to do my bidding, and I don't think I could swap between boost and on/off, lol.

I'll do some research Thanks

[elcid]

I dont know if it would do that, but its still a great pedal.

[Salamander In The Sun]

I use an MXR M-133, and it's just awesome. I've never used a better overdrive in my entire life. Ever.

Try one of those out.

[Morbid]

There was a realization I just had that I wanted to mention.
One of the problems I was having with the MXR, is that because it's a distortion pedal (and I imagine this is inevitable)it amplifies any hum or ground noises I may have, but to an extreme. So much so, it would literally be IMPOSSIBLE to record using that pedal.
Naturally I would like to be able to record using any pedals suggested, so how badly would the Fulltone or M-133 amplify the BAD sounds?

Thanks again guys

[RSVampire]

back the gain and volume down until you don't get any more feedback.

you don't have to have the gain very high to get great results. Try using lower settings and slowly raise them until you're happy. If it feedbacks with everything close to zero then you have a problem with your pedal and you need to exchange/repair it.

[Morbid]

Originally Posted by RSVampire

back the gain and volume down until you don't get any more feedback.

you don't have to have the gain very high to get great results. Try using lower settings and slowly raise them until you're happy. If it feedbacks with everything close to zero then you have a problem with your pedal and you need to exchange/repair it.

Actually, I think I discovered it's a problem with my guitar.
Well, not so much a problem, but I believe the DiMarzio Evolutions are too hot for the pedal, strange as that sounds. Because I noticed if I plug in another one of my guitars, the feedback problem isn't near as bad, and is far more controllable. The noise problem still remains though...the hum is twice as bad, and again, for recording, that is not acceptable

[Salamander In The Sun]

Originally Posted by Morbid

There was a realization I just had that I wanted to mention.
One of the problems I was having with the MXR, is that because it's a distortion pedal (and I imagine this is inevitable)it amplifies any hum or ground noises I may have, but to an extreme. So much so, it would literally be IMPOSSIBLE to record using that pedal.
Naturally I would like to be able to record using any pedals suggested, so how badly would the Fulltone or M-133 amplify the BAD sounds?

Thanks again guys

That seems to be a problem with MXR, but it's never been bad enough to bother me. Like vampire said, back your gain off a little. You'd be surprised how little a difference the gain knob actually adds to your distortion once you get up past 7 or 8, so just back it down a bit.

The M-133 will definitely amplify any hum from an improperly grounded guitar, or noisy pickups, but that's going to happen when you boost the signal going into the amp no matter what. If your guitar is properly grounded, and your pickups are potted well, you shouldn't get any excess noise aside from feedback (the good kind ).

I can't see why your Evo's would be buzzing. Is your guitar properly grounded and wired? Are any wires crossed in your electronics cavity?

The M-133 made my amps come alive, though. It really drives your tubes.

Glad to help.

[Morbid]

I'm sure that whoever owned this guitar before me did a poor job with the circuitry, given the fact that the volume knob won't turn all the way down, lol.
So I intend on taking the guitar to the shop within the next couple of weeks, regardless, to get it setup, looked at, and to have the piezo crystal on the b string fixed. With any luck, it was just wired poorly. I'll be sure to update this thread after I get it back though.

Thanks again for the suggestions, it's really appreciated. I"ll hold on to the ZW-44 for now and keep my eyes out for a Fulltone or M-133

[Salamander In The Sun]

Originally Posted by Morbid

I'm sure that whoever owned this guitar before me did a poor job with the circuitry, given the fact that the volume knob won't turn all the way down, lol.
So I intend on taking the guitar to the shop within the next couple of weeks, regardless, to get it setup, looked at, and to have the piezo crystal on the b string fixed. With any luck, it was just wired poorly. I'll be sure to update this thread after I get it back though.

Thanks again for the suggestions, it's really appreciated. I"ll hold on to the ZW-44 for now and keep my eyes out for a Fulltone or M-133

I can tell you, pretty much beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the problem is with your wiring. Have it rewired, and you should be as good as new. I really don't think that a high quality hotrod pickup like the Evo is going to be the source of your hum, though I have been wrong before.

When you touch any metal part of your guitar (bridge, strings, tuners, etc.), does the humming subside, or stop altogether? If so, it's a grounding issue.

I was going to say that it could be the outlet you're plugging into, or maybe even your cable, but then I remembered that you said it was just the one guitar that did it.

Sure, no problem.

[StevenMikel]

This is what I did to get good lead and rythm sounds.I have a 2 channel amp,I set my dirty channel up for a good crunchy ryhtm sound then,I ran a MXR 10 band eq through my effects loop for my lead sound.

[AirGuitar]

Originally Posted by StevenMikel

This is what I did to get good lead and rythm sounds.I have a 2 channel amp,I set my dirty channel up for a good crunchy ryhtm sound then,I ran a MXR 10 band eq through my effects loop for my lead sound.

This is good advice! I use the same EQ, and you'd be surprised how well a few tweaks work.