What makes the TS so cool is the way it interacts with an already overdriven amplifier. The Tube Screamer is not the only overdrive circuit of course, there are many excellent options, it is just clearly the most famous. The Tube Screamer TS808 was first released in the late 70’s and now catches a small fortune on the vintage market but fortunately there are reissues and many boutique clones out there. Kicked into legendary status by the late great Stevie Ray Vaughan. The Ibanez Tube Screamer is the industry standard for overdrive pedals. What was considered a heavy distorted tone in the 70’s is tame to the metal sounds of today. It is all actually the same idea is a general sense, these tones may be gotten with amps, pedals, or a combination of both but it is all the same idea, overdrive. The spectrum of overdriven tones is huge, from BB King’s slightly overdriven tube amp tones to Eddie Van Halen’s cranked Marshall, to Metallica’s thick distortion, to Smashing Pumpkins’ fuzz tones. Distortion is easy to see as simply more overdrive, these tones are more saturated and compressed. Overdrive can be subtle and produce warm slightly overdriven tones, think SRV. A common question is “what is the difference between overdrive, distortion, and fuzz as the terms have become interchangeable?” The short answer is not a lot, just one is more extreme as we go down the line. This is something we as guitar players have come to love and seek out. The term overdrive refers to when a tube amp is driven past its range to supply a clean tone. Recommended: Ibanez Tube Screamer Overdrive Pedal > Or like me, I’d get both.īoost Pedal Video Lesson > 2. If you want an old school sound, I’d check out a germanium based unit. For a general clean boost I would go for a modern one. Clean boosts that use silicon transistors are much more common and reliable, they can also boost your signal without effecting your tone too much. They also certainly color your tone to a large extent, which is something you may want. Germanium transistors are very inconsistent and are subject to temperature changes so they can be finicky. But I have played an old Bluesbreaker amp with a Les Paul and it sounded pretty darn close.īoth Brian May from Queen and Ritchie Blackmore did use treble boosters for sure in their rigs to get more gain out of their amps. This has never been confirmed to my knowledge but is the source of much Internet speculation. Allegedly he was using the Rangemaster to push the front end of the amp into more distortion. At the time Eric was using a Marshall JTM45 2×12 combo (commonly referred to as the Bluesbreaker because of this recording) and a Les Paul and man does it sound good. (This is because Clapton is reading a Beano comic on the record cover). The most famous treble booster is the Dallas Rangemaster which is rumored to have been used by Eric Clapton on the Bluesbreakers record, often referred to as the Beano record or Beano tone. The earliest boost pedals used a germanium transistor and was often in the form of a treble booster. This increased volume level will drive the input section of your amp harder and provide some more gain. Guitar players loved this because it allows us to hit the front end of our amp with more signal. All it essentially does is boost the signal of your guitar. The simplest effect pedal is the clean boost. On the other hand, if you own a pedal board upon which you trip the light fantastic, stick around - this list of guitar effects pedals you must have will validate what you might know, illuminate what you don’t know, and quickly help you generate a massive and highly versatile sound palette.įor more guitar effects pedals tutorials and information, check out Jeff McErlain’s full course, the Guitar Effects Survival Guide, which is a must-have tone almanac for electric guitar players. If you’re one of those “I plug directly into the amp and don’t need no stinkin’ guitar effects pedals” kinda dude, then godspeed and thanks for stopping by.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |