Amp gain vs. distortion

Sorry, but what is the main difference between gain and distortion?

 

Amp gain vs. distortion

urkoman on 3:28 pm on Mar. 29, 2002
That´s it. For me it´s crystal clear, nothing like a good distortion through a valve amp. Gain just for some rythms. What´s your oppinion?:argue:

Are you talking about a distortion pedal through an amp ? If you are then i have to disagree cos' if your amp is a good one like the Bogner Ecstacy, Rivera Bonehead, Carvin Legacy or Mesa Boogie Mark IIC, then why would you need a pedal to generate your distortion ? Yes, i admit that i do use a Boss DS-1 pedal with my Ecstacy and Legacy heads to overdrive the input but not to get distortion. Whatever, makes you happy i suppose cos' tone is subjective.

 

Amp gain vs. distortion

I´m meaning to that ds-1, dmx distortion, a lot of other distortion peedals, multi FX distortions,etc...
For me they are very different. I´ve used a lot a triple rectifier(and some other high gain amps,but maybe this is the most representative), do you think this amp´s gain is the same than a distortion?Not for me. Gain are less focused, good for some rithms but not even near to a disto in soloing specially.

 

Amp gain vs. distortion

I prefer an amps gain over a pedals distortion most anyday. It really depends on what kind of amp youre using though. I have a Mesa DC-5, and I love the lead channel. It has a great rhythm sound, and its good for leads as well (although i do use a pedal to boost my signal for leads).

You just cant get the same saturated tube tone out of a distortion pedal. Its just a bunch of diode clipping, and simulated tube tone. Distortion stomp boxes are cool for some stuff, but when it comes right down to it, the amp is where its at

 

Amp gain vs. distortion

Guitarlos2 on 3:13 pm on Mar. 30, 2002
I prefer an amps gain over a pedals distortion most anyday. It really depends on what kind of amp youre using though. I have a Mesa DC-5, and I love the lead channel. It has a great rhythm sound, and its good for leads as well (although i do use a pedal to boost my signal for leads).

You just cant get the same saturated tube tone out of a distortion pedal. Its just a bunch of diode clipping, and simulated tube tone. Distortion stomp boxes are cool for some stuff, but when it comes right down to it, the amp is where its at

Of course if you're using a soldano G.T.O supercharger it sounds quite a bit better...but for a 400 dollar distortion pedal it sure as hell better! I thought about using one in a legacy on the lead channel when i want to get kinda crazy... :silly:

 

Amp gain vs. distortion

urkoman on 3:28 pm on Mar. 29, 2002
That´s it. For me it´s crystal clear, nothing like a good distortion through a valve amp. Gain just for some rythms. What´s your oppinion?:argue:

I strongly disagree...listen to Jeffrey's track. If Im correct he's just using his amps gain and it sounds pretty heavy to me. Same with amps like bogners and VHT's. If you're using a 50 watt plexi maybe the overdrive isn't heavy enough for leads, but any good modern high gain amp should have ample gain in the distorted preamp channel. I use ds-1's and such for db boosts for lead work, but it sure as hell isn't for the gain. But like I said, a tube driven o.d pedal like the supercharger should be good. But or course the supercharger is basically the gain section of the slo 100's if Im correct.

 

Amp gain vs. distortion

Amp distortion all the way. I don't even like processors for my sound. They are usually too brittle and harsh. Nothing will ever beat a nice tube amp distortion in my eyes

 

Amp gain vs. distortion

Definitly Amp distortion

 

Amp gain vs. distortion

A good quality amp distorion will allow you to clean up your tone somewhat by rolling back your volume control, I have yet to try a distortion pedal that does that well, I only use Overdrive pedals in front my Boogie DC-5 or Marshall 1987XW.

At the end of the day valve amp distortion has dynamics, pedal distortion doesn't.

 

Amp gain vs. distortion

I've never had an expensive amp so I just about always use a distortion pedal for my leads. Like urkoman said, it's seems more focused that way.

 

I use ds-1's and such for db boosts for lead work, but it sure as hell isn't for the gain.

Why do you use the ds-1 to boost your signal for solo work? Why not use an EQ pedal of some sort?? Wouldn't ds-1 affect the nice distorted tone from your amp ??

 

A fuzz pedal combined with amp distortion is the way to go... and vol pot on the guitar works!

 

anybody ever pop pedals in front of a Line 6 Flextone or POD?

 

anybody ever pop pedals in front of a Line 6 Flextone or POD?

I thought about it once...but i haven't. Only guitar and my wah pedal before the pod. i find that doing some tracks with the pod can get really muddy...so i would never do that.

 

All amp distortion, all tube. When you have your amp cranked, there's nothing else like it... Then again, I am lucky to have got my hands on a piece of kit (on recommendation of a drummer 8O ) that can provide me with as much gain as I want.

The thing with pedals is that they seem to leave your sound less focused if you're using them for all your distortion. Using them as boosts for the preamp (low gain pedals) does seem to work very nicely though

 

Distortion / Fuzz boxes tend to open my sound up. It's not really something that I like. I much prefer my amp to be overdriven and then use a quality overdrive pedal (Tubescreamer) to squeeze it even more for solos etc.

 

I Much prefer amp gain to pedals. I have a Budda Superdrive 30 that just smokes, but I'm getting tired of the my rack effects stuff, so I started experimenting with distortion pedals a few months ago. (the idea being if I find a killer pedal, I can go to all pedals on the floor and stay away from the FX loop...ie rack) I have yet to find a pedal that reacts like my amp.
Yesterday I ordered a Budda Phatman pedal (two 12ax7's in a stomp box). I'm hoping this will be similar in dynamics to my amps gain channel.
Seems to me pedals don't respond to your playing like a tube amp. If you guys want i can give you a report on the Phatman after I get it in.

 

Whatever works

I'm currently using amp distortion only - I bought the amp specifically because of the type of distortion it could attain... yet my previous setups have involved pedals. They certainly have a different dynamic, which can be good or bad, depending on the day of the week and your personal preference.

 

I use ds-1's and such for db boosts for lead work, but it sure as hell isn't for the gain.

Why do you use the ds-1 to boost your signal for solo work? Why not use an EQ pedal of some sort?? Wouldn't ds-1 affect the nice distorted tone from your amp ??

No...it doesn't hurt it. I usually put the level above 12 o'clock for a little boost. It helps drive the preamp tubes more to get a little more compression and saturation. I'm not really using the gain knob...its usually all the way off. (unless im going for feedback...etc.) As far as an eq pedal vs the ds-1...$80-$100 e.q pedal vs. $40 ds-1 that does the job perfectly well. HMMMMM?? (hey, vai does it) AND, a ds-1 or other lower gain pedal can help control your tone on stage to compensate for environmental effects on your tone. (ie...floor material, walls...people...etc etc etc.) :0

 

Ok,ok.Let´s try a real example:Skid Row. I know some are you are old enough to know them.What happened with SR??My oppinion is they were a great group with killer rythms and solos when they played with digitech processors and distortions. In their third CD they changed and used rivera amps and its gain. Result?Not bad rythms (but not as good as they were) and the solos were S**T. That´s what i mean, you need a pedal for soloing. With just the gain the sound is dirty and out of bright.
Well, that group-killer called Bob Rock helped too (he destroyed Metallica, Skid and some others...).

 

For me it's simple.

If you can't get a good solid sound (tone, distortion, basic eq) with just a guitar, amp and a cord, you need to change something.

 

I´m not looking for a good tone. I try to fin the perfect (know it´s difficult and depends on everyone´s ears)tone. :wink:

 

Hey guys,
Is it really possible to get a distortion tone for lead playing (lots of sustain) without a pedal overdriving the amp?
:?: :?:
PS : I'm new to tube amps

 

Hey guys,
Is it really possible to get a distortion tone for lead playing (lots of sustain) without a pedal overdriving the amp?
:?: :?:
PS : I'm new to tube amps

Yes it is absolutely possible. There are lots of high-gain amps out there that will accomodate that very need. It's just that it's nice to have an overdrive pedal set for a clean boost to fatten up the lead tone with a swipe of the foot.

 

I´ll tell you what a friend told me (he is luthier and reapirs amps-well known here in Madrid). The difference between gain/overdrive and distortion is the way the modify the sound wave. The gain/overdrive does it square (hope you understand my explanation) and the disto makes it not that regular. So maybe you prefair one or the other.
Agin I have to say that Satch, Vai, Zakk, etc ALWAYS use a pedal for soloing, as booster in most cases. I have just bought a ds-1 modified with the Japanese specs and when combined with a little gain of my 800 it blows away any gain i´ve heard. Probably i´ll buy a modified Sd-1 too or an old tubescreamer (or japanese original boss pedals).