I've got a TSL100...tweaking the knobs is about my favorite pastime..I mostly play Satriani (attempt, that is)...I'm usually playing a JS100...don't know if this is "heavy" enough for you
don't know if your amp has a crunch channel, but this works best for me, although I've used the clean channel a lot as well...I have the bass at max, mid @ 4 & treble @ 4...I experiment with the treble a little higher, say 6 to 7, but I always go back to 4...volume/gain @ 2, which is plenty loud enough for my house...deep switch is in, tone switch out...presence @ max & reverb about 8 (most articles say Satch doesn't use reverb, which is fine with me, but I like how it sounds in my house)...I'm telling you, you don't need a lot of gain, but then again, I do run a Boss DS-1 with tone @ 9 o'clock, level & distortion @ 3 o'clock (most articles say Satch has the distortion setting full tilt - maybe he needs to on the JSX or for higher volumes, but most of his tone isn't all that distorted if you think about it - he must not be using any gain to speak of, but I don't know)...I also run a Digitech Whammy, always turned on, with a 1-octave up setting & the pedal "off" or fully down (except when I actually use it on such tunes as Raspberry Jam, then I work the pedal)...the Whammy being on gives the sound a bit more of a mellow quality to me...mellow distortion?...I'm running a delay through the FX loop & chorus is available too, but I don't use chorus much...sorry to ramble on about Satch stuff...haven't found the lead channel to be of much use - yet!
I like old Black Sabbath...here again, I'll simply adjust the DS-1 a little...basically, I just set the tone to about 11 o'clock as some of their older tunes are more trebly to me & maybe I push the distortion up all the way, maybe not...I tweak the delay to get more of doubling sound (this setting is in the Boss delay manual)...I switch to an SG guitar...I basically don't have to touch the amp - the crunch channel shines again to my brain
The Boss DS-1 just gives you a lot more flexibility to me...I also like Rush & the Allman Brothers - tweaking the DS-1 to taste just about covers it all...you need to try one & they aren't that expensive - mine was under $40...sounds like I'm a saleman for Boss, but I ain't
I use a flanger & wah as well as required..will be trying a Fulltone DejaVibe next...anybody got one?
I've also got a 12-year old Marshall 8040 that still works fine, but the tone doesn't compare to the TSL100 & it isn't supposed to anyway...all in all, the day I got the DS-1, as far as basic effects go, was my best purchase
