What ODs Are You Guys Using in Front of Your Marshalls

[MonstersOfTheMidway]

Don't use distortion/overdrive/dirt pedals with my current amp, but when I did these were some of my favorites:

*Empress Heavy: bad-ass pedal with great tone shaping controls!
*T-Rex MudHoney2: Simple yet effective; produced distinct overdrive that served me well.
*Ibanez TS-9: the classic.
*Boss SD-1: wonderfully throaty tone characteristic right out of the box.

 

[tallcoolone]

Don't really use any pedals.
I just concentrate on getting the overdrive from the amp itself.
And if I can't get a decent tone from the amp, I figure I need a different amp that works better.
Don't really like the sound of transistors in boost pedals at all.

Hey to each their own. I find preconceptions like that to be limiting. I love trying new things and sharing the results on forums like this. For the most part I get unanimous praise for my tone and how I sit in the mix both here and IRL so something is working right!

 

[paul-e-mann]

Thought about this when reading the Tubescreamer thread...I love dirt boxes in front of all—but especially Marshall amps. Bought and sold dozens and dozens of them and I think still have at least a dozen lying around. Love to hear experiences of others...here is what I have at the moment

Maxon OD820—honeymoon period but I love this guy. Like the TS9 but more treble, more headroom...just BIGGER. Also physically larger so keep in mind
Timmy—love this, got replaced by the new Maxon OD820 but will be back. The original ‘transparent’ od
TS9–benchmark mid hump od best run low in front of an already overdriven amp
Secret Preamp—my ‘always on’ pedal at the end of the board. Not really an od, more of a compressor? I dunno—try one out, you’ll thank me.
SoloDallas Storm—like the SP, more of a compressor/boost than an OD but where the SP is subtle the Storm is like a cock punch. Tons of boost on tap and something else that changes your tone more drastically than the SP.
Archer Ikon—best ‘Klone’/Klon Cline I’ve tried. Pretty unique—not a ton of boost but I really liked it run like a TS—low gain, tone up. Great in front of my SC20 when it’s breathing a bit
Naga Viper treble booster—Rangemaster circuit apparently? Sounds ‘Sabbath-y’ to me in front of my Marshalls. I like a lot of high end to my tone and this is lacking a bit in that Dept
Tone Job EQ/booster—replaced the Detox as my ‘clean channel’ pedal. Set low it works just like your guitar volume the way it cleans up your tone. But better and actually tweakable
OCD—if I were going to a gig not knowing what I was going to have as a backline I’d bring the OCD. At home in front of anything really—played a hard rock gig once with a 100w Hiwatt in a small room and only an OCD and a wah

I have my amp set to edge of breakup as my core tone and use various pedals to get low, medium and high gain. I use a Boss GE7 EQ to push it into low gain. For medium gain I use a RAT distortion set on the low side. If I want to go heavy I have an MXR ZW OD I kick in on top of the GE7 to get a thick high gain.

 

[mirrorman]

I use a Bad Monkey, OCD or SD-1 in front of my DSL40C to give it a little extra push sometimes.
Also I sometimes use an MXR Super Comp to thicken things up a bit and give a little extra grit.
MXR 10 band equalizer in the loop for lead boosts.
I also have a DS-1 and a Jackhammer but don't use them with the Marshall.

 

[LRT#1]

Been playing with the sd1 but have found I like how the boss 7 band works in the loop of my 4100

 

[jmp45]

I use a Bad Monkey, OCD or SD-1 in front of my DSL40C to give it a little extra push sometimes.
Also I sometimes use an MXR Super Comp to thicken things up a bit and give a little extra grit.
MXR 10 band equalizer in the loop for lead boosts.
I also have a DS-1 and a Jackhammer but don't use them with the Marshall.

Everyone should have a Bad Monkey, the eq works well with any amp. Now, I use an OCD, Archer IKON or TubeDriver w/bias. Distorties I use either a V-Twin or BE-OD.

 

[paul-e-mann]

Everyone should have a Bad Monkey, the eq works well with any amp. Now, I use an OCD, Archer IKON or TubeDriver w/bias. Distorties I use either a V-Twin or BE-OD.

I have a Bad Monkey I dont use all that much any more it was good at the time when I needed it, everybody always said it was a TS9 clone, I finally got a TS9 to compare side by side and I was like no way the TS9 is way better!

 

[GuitarIV]

Boss SD-1 in front of my 1982 JCM 800 2203. I have to yet hear and play an OD pedal that feels and sounds better for the type of music I play. Super cheap too. They got it right from the start with this one!

 

[Kutt]

 

[johan.b]

I'm using my trusted old 1987 boss SD1...
... and funny story..I had completely forgotten that it had a mod.... mid nineties I did a lot of thing's to it, but I thought I'd returned it to stock...I friend pointed out how good it sounded. I told him it was stock and he said no way... it is much clearer and puncher with a lively sparkle.. he said. so after arguing about it we opended it up... and there it was..a simple mod that makes a world of difference.... and NOW I remember.... it's really simple...I wanted the noise floor to drop, so I had replaced the diodes with green LEDs to triple signal to noise ratio, then changed a resistor to get it back to stock output level... thereby dropping the noise floor... if you have one of these and want to tinker, it's a 2$ 15 minute job if you do it yourself ... and after comparing to one that IS stock, Well worth it..
J
EDIT; I just learned that the new ones use a tiny surface mount component pcb that is a pain to work on. So if you plan on modding, track down an older one

 

[SRD]

Ibanez BB9
Fatter/Thicker tube screamer basically

 

[grainman]

try this germanium based big muff pie ...with 2 gain stage ..made by joe doc music "JDM" ..a must have if you want overdrive with lots of attitude and if you like the tube screamer youll be in your territory but this kicks ass way more if wanted..but in front of a marshall super lead its perfect at ¨green¨ setting which is less gain and germanium transistor based..sound a bit like a ff...if you want clapton cream solo tones at ¨mean¨youll be there ..its more big muff style gain with more mids .. think nirvana , or ¨fell on black days ¨guitar tone

 

[Kookaburra]

During the early 80s, I was using a early/mid 70s 50 watt NMV metal face Marshall. I used an Ibanez Tube Screamer. A couple years later, I switched to an early JCM 800, no box, just plugged straight in. Same with a 900 some years later.

I have clones now, no dirt boxes with those either, although a treble boost can be fun.

 

[Sustainium]

Just order my first pedal ever, MT-2 Metal Zone.

 

[WellBurnTheSky]

Okya, did 3 gigs in a week with the OCD into the SV20H and EVH cab...and it sounds F.....G GREAT !!!! Deal done, I'm sold, never was happier with how my rig sounds in the PA.
It pushes the amp in the right way, getting it from mild crunch to full-on distortion, with largely enough gain to do legato/tapping/sweeping/pinch harmonics shenanigans (you still need some volume of course, but gotta compete with the drummer anyway). Sounds big, chewy, raunchy, just perfect.
Interestingly, it didn't sound quite as good in front of the DSL set in a similar way, but into the SV...damn does it sound good !
Between this and the OD9, I have the perfect range of gain levels from pretty clean (using single coils) to mid-80s hard rock/metal and everything in-between.
Even my drummer commented on how good the rig sounded, which kinda says a lot
Now I get why lots of people recommended it, again, super happy with it !

 

[Metroman]

2 stacked 2004 Analogman White Dot NKT275 Sunface/Sundial
Roger Mayer 4644 Drive
5 knob Butler Tube Driver
89 Marshall The Guv'nor
Mayer Concorde+ Treble Booster
1458 Timmy
Castledine Colorsound
Mayer Voodoo Blues

I don't run them all though. 4 at most



Main amp is LTD ED Metro GMP45 head x 4 Pulsonic G12M

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

Just order my first pedal ever, MT-2 Metal Zone.

To the forum.
Let us know how it works out for you!
Cheers Mitch

 

[Sacalait]

I'll have to try the OCD. I have one but have been using the Wampler Tumnus Deluxe as my main overdrive pedal with my SV20H. I like it a lot. My 'secondary' od pedal is the the Xotic EP Booster. I may try the OCD instead of it as I get lots of crunch from the SV20 naturally.

Okya, did 3 gigs in a week with the OCD into the SV20H and EVH cab...and it sounds F.....G GREAT !!!! Deal done, I'm sold, never was happier with how my rig sounds in the PA.
It pushes the amp in the right way, getting it from mild crunch to full-on distortion, with largely enough gain to do legato/tapping/sweeping/pinch harmonics shenanigans (you still need some volume of course, but gotta compete with the drummer anyway). Sounds big, chewy, raunchy, just perfect.
Interestingly, it didn't sound quite as good in front of the DSL set in a similar way, but into the SV...damn does it sound good !
Between this and the OD9, I have the perfect range of gain levels from pretty clean (using single coils) to mid-80s hard rock/metal and everything in-between.
Even my drummer commented on how good the rig sounded, which kinda says a lot
Now I get why lots of people recommended it, again, super happy with it !

 

[Rozman62]

I've been using a Naga Viper treble booster on half the time into an Orange or Marshall. Great Priest or Iommi tones. Next to it is usually a Maxon 808. I will also swap out for an OCD, Fulltone 2, SD-1 or a Soulfood. The OCD provides the biggest boost and most transparent tone. No pedals on and rolling down the volume gets me a pretty decent clean tone so I've come to utilize single channel amps. The Naga stays on my board. I have a Mesa Mark V-35 and find myself not using pedals with that rig too much. OD pedals, despite how they are used, tighten up amps in a good way IMO.

 

[SkyMonkey]

Just order my first pedal ever, MT-2 Metal Zone.

Hi @Sustainium, welcome to The Forum.

I don't know if you have followed the latest YT vids about the Metal Zone. Basically do not use it in front of the amp. Try it directly into the FX return jack of your amp (bypassing all the pre-amp and EQ sections of the amp). As the MT-2 is designed to be a standalone pre-amp in itself it seems to work best this way. I have tried mine both ways. and in the FX return is definitely the best. Also if you have a looper (or a mate to play a riff for you) you can repeat the riff whilst you are hands-free to dial in the MT-2 EQ (it's tricky - wildly sensitive!).

Enjoy.