2 channel amp. 1st channel clean, 2nd channel, set up for low-medium overdrive. Plumes -> Ages. Use Ages as light overdrive on clean channel, also works to add more gain to the 2nd channel. Plumes is set up for a clean boost but does a nice job adding more dirt to 2nd channel and just boosting the first channel.
Great tutorial. "Foundation overdrive" is a term you tend to hear a lot, but without much explanation. I feel inspired to see what I can cook up using overdrive pedals from my own collection.
I somehow managed to squeak by with just one good amp and one OD pedal for about 30 years. No one ever told me I couldn't get a killer tone unless I had a whole closet full of pedals :p
I hear you man. I gigged for 25 years with just a hot rod deluxe, a wah, tubescreamer and a fuzz face. Just about covered it all pretty well! Buying pedals becomes a deep rabbit hole that won't make you a better player, only practice will do that, the tone is in yer hands man!🎸
I use a Plumes, which is pretty close to the OD3 the way I run it, a MXR Super Badass Distortion, and a Spark Booster. These will take me from reggae cleans to a light blues crunch, right up to metal. I often consider trading the MXR for another Spark, IMO with the right setting it can push the Pumes into to better high gain tones than I can get out of the MXR... nice to have the option to go straight from clean to a higher gain tone without tap dancing though.
"If anyone tells you you have too many pedals". Who needs this kind of negativity? Seriously- I'm liking the practical, no nonsense format of these videos. They are an informative demonstration of the essential principles in the context of live performance, without adding to the already overblown marketing hype surrounding gear. Liked and subscribed.
Being someone who doesn’t even use alot of effects, it might seem overdone and cliche but the fact is that gain is still the most dynamic and useful of all the effects because it’s distinctively “guitar,” not the guitar attempting to sound like something else. When you’re just playing by yourself, you don’t realize how important and hard it is for your guitar to cut through and be heard, and to not inhabit the same space as the other instruments or vocals.
I can nicely hear difference between many overdrive pedals here. I think I have to watch a dozen of other videos to get the same insight. Thank you very much, your videos are really refreshing and inspiring.
I use 3 gain stages: Barber Gain Changer > Fulltone OCD > Thorpy Fallout Cloud which enable me to go from Spanky-clean to edge of breakup to Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Santana or Black Sabbath (all set to low-gain). My amp is always pristine-clean. Took years of experimentation. I play Suhr SSS with Lollar Blonde's.
Well I'll throw my hat in the ring. Starts with either a 90's Strat or Les Paul going into a 12 pedal board. Drives are all modded Alchemy Blues driver, homebuilt JHS Meat and 3 Soul Food, older 3 knob Butler Tube driver with a bias knob. Using a 12au7 tube and driving at 18v gives this pedal more headroom before getting real wild.
Very useful! I usually have a main overdrive, mid to high gain that I can control with the volume of my guitar and my trusty od3 as solo boost. If I need more dynamic I use a boss ge7 as volume boost and the od3 as a second od. Simple and effective
I use a OD-3 and a AT+ because one has a relatively flat frequency response and the other is more midrange focused. Of all the pedals I have used, the OD-3 is my favorite. I get the best sound into a tube amp clean channel with gain control. Adjusting the gain on the amp totally changes the personality of the pedal. Upping the gain on the amp to the point it still sounds clean unless really hitting the strings hard, and then lowering the gain on the pedal (like 9-10 o'clock on the pedal) gives the best sounding overdrive for me.
Thank you for your fantastic videos about using pedals, especially the BOSS pedals! I am watching your videos for more than 2 years now, and they are so informative! I have an all BOSS pedal board, and your information/suggestions are very helpful...
Another excellent pedal stack tutorial. I have three at the start of my board and use them in different ways to get all I need. You and Josh Scott are both great at showing settings and sound.
Thanks so much, man. Perfect video. Really clear, great comparisons and demonstrations, and not an hour long! I’ve kind of deduced my way here but it’s bloody great to have someone say “You’re right, welcome to the club, and, have you thought about this?” Thanks so much.
That was brilliantly and methodically explained. Thank you, i am in a similar quandry with wanting different tones for different sets and venues. This helped!
How many overdrive pedals one needs is entirely subjective, and dependent upon what guitar, what amp, what genre, and how you prefer to play. For me, the answer is "ideally four", if we are including clean boosts as overdrives. That is, I want my signal to go guitar -> boost -> distortion -> foundation overdrive -> boost -> other fx -> clean amp. Two clean boosts flanking two different drives, one low gain overdrive, one fairly high gain overdrive/distortion, into a clean amp. On my current pedal board, I don't actually have enough room for the higher gain drive, but that's workable, because the higher gain drive pedal is really more for having a different flavor than for driving the lower gain foundation overdrive.
They may say im an Stacker .... but im not the only one .... 🙊 . Usually my first pedal is a Fuzz (I really like the Bogner Oxford here 😃) then i use ODs as clean boost / light dirt ( Boss od1x , Boss Bd2 , Pigtronix Aria D. ) then into anothers OD and distors like Catalinbread RAH , Boss Ds1 , Marshall Guvnor 1&2, Blues breaker2 (i really like this one 🤗) , Mad professor Little Tweedy drive (it is so good 🤗) .... and finally all this go into Amp like pedals (into my amp effect loop ) : Mad professor Twimble (another beauty )and Catalinbread DLS . Reverbs and Delay all in between . Great video and I think you got it right: it is not too much if inspires you and makes you happy . Have fun ! 😃👍
I only need to watch your channel for 10 minutes...LOL! Now I just dont have time or patience to be watching other guys yapping for half an hour, trying to be funny, getting off topic, etc. I really like how you put in so much useful information in your video. Greatly appreciated, particularity for the BOSS OD3 which has a very crunchy sound I like. 😀😇😉😊☺💯👍💪🙏
Great, great video. From about 8:05 on is just gold. I play worship and thankfully have gotten out of the digital trap. Have been running a plumes od into ehx soul food, where the soul food adds a little boost to plumes for leads or on its own for dirtier rythm. Been feeling like it (my rig) needs a kick of some type, after watching this have equal amounts clarity and inspiration lol. Love the practical application aspect of your content.
Worth mentioning that impulse response devices like the Strymon Iridium or Kemper are how many guitarists now are getting saturated lead sounds at comparatively low volume.
You hit home w/ this one - fellow stacker here - I play at church, all pedals into clean amp (sim) IR to PA, can cover all what you mentioned here. Same pedalboard goes to bar gigs, no changes, into a clean Mesa Boogie combo. Stacking, and knowing what order, is where it's at. Thanks for very informative video, well demonstrated!
I need 4 base sounds and use 3 pedals to get there. 1) Slight dirt: Just the amp, moderate gain, mids cranked 2) Pushing it: Bad Monkey, gain at 0, lows and highs cranked. 3) Heavier: DS-1, tone at 9, gain at 11. 4) Leads: Boss FZ-5. I've been using this setup forever now and I am happy that I don't need to change anything, I just love it. However, in order to get there I had to talk myself out of using a clean amp. Once I let the amp do more of the work, I had my sound and use 3 pedals just to accentuate patterns.
I use several gain pedals in a very similar way: MXR DynaComp -> MXR Sugar Drive -> Boss DS-1 -> Fulltone Octafuzz. I can get literally any OD/distortion/fuzz sound by using various combinations of these.
I was mulling this whole question recently, about having enough variety on function gigs with just stomp boxes... I hadn't realised it was possible to get such robust sounds by combining pedals, but you've inspired me to have a go (and maybe just collect some more pedals!)
Instead of all these OD pedals, get one (e.g. a Marshall Guv'nor or a Tube Screamer) and a multi-memory EQ pedal (e.g. BOSS EQ-200). The different EQ settings combined with the level control allows you to emulate _most_ OD pedals. Sorted.
I'm having a good time with 3 : Digitech hot rod distortion (basically similar to a ds 1, but can act more like a fuzz if cranked)> jhs morning glory (I've never turned this pedal off since the day I bought it)> frequp anasounds ( a clean boost with more options then your regular clean boost regarding both gain and eq)> clean amp. The idea is that the morning glory is never off and acts like a slightly overdriven/edge of breakup amp, the digitech (which is a bit lifeless if you run it into a clean channel) is at its best when can kick the front end of and amp (or pedal in this case) that already has a little bit of grit. I'm debating if I want to try a proper fuzz in its place. The anasounds frequp Is the pedal that mostly sounds off whenever you are playing by yourself, you feel like you don't need that much gain and the eq controls are really powerfull, kicking the midrange makes a lot of stuff sound really nasally, however in the context of a mix or a band is too important. Also, the morning glory has a "more gain" switch, It basically counts as 2 pedals... and my main guitar Is a 2010 limited run Gibson nightawk with HSH configuration, 5 way switch and splitbuckers. I often feel like I have too many options, lol.
I would say 3, a klon style a blues breaker style and a tube screamer style your last option about volume I would use either am EQ pedal set flat with the volume down slightly or a volume pedal😏In terms of overdrive pedals I think the three I mentioned cover just about everything if you need heavier than those 3 combined surely that's edging into distortion pedal territory🤘 Love your channel very informative (I will try your last option it did sound good👍)
Very interesting to explore new things/combinations , I got many pedals,unfortunately used to do what others do/did ,,thanks for your inspiring tips,,,new subscriber 👍☕️
I like to go with a very clean amp sound with an overdrive, distortion & fuzz pedal. That gives 4 basic sounds, then use the overdrive for boosting the distortion & fuzz pedals. If I really want crazy all three pedals on. That gives me 7 sounds, which is plenty for me. It's fun to dial them all in to play nice together too, very satisfying.
The best option is to dedicate an entire large size pedal board to overdrives and distortions and to have a second pedal board for the rest of the effects.
I have 21 and use them all. Up to 3 in a tune with a different one for verse, chorus, mid 8 etc. I like the Amp in a box pedals. I have ones to give me JCM 45, Plexi, JCM 800 Soldano SLO, Peavey 2120, Orange, MESA Duel/Rec and a Laney. I also have a few of the modern low gain transparent to use for clean sounds or just before breakup.
Lately I've been thinking of using the newer Boss EQ-200 as a limiter/booster with a nice EQ for low gain and different EQ for high. For boosting the amp. I can set channel a as a limiter and b as the booster with an OD-3 being the main distortion. That would solve a lot of issues you mentioned. Also a compressor is perfect for being able to sit further back in the mix with high gain. It's also another limiter/booster pedal but lacks EQ control.
I use two, an OD-3 as the main, and an Emerson Goldenface (Klon) before. But I also have two fuzzes and a Keeley Filaments for heavy dirt. That said, I can get a whole lot of tones from clean to heavy saturation with just the OD-3 and the Goldenface.
I think fundamentally, you should find the one you like the best and then the one that stacks best with that. Here I'd have the BB first into the OCD but I'd also sit a clean boost in front to goose the BB I'm still use my bought new original BB it's had a lot of friends. A Boss SD1, then a Tim, an OCD, and currently a Noble ODR1 and a Riverside in a switcher so they can re reordered. Fulltone 2B in front. There's so many ways to go about this, that's half the fun I guess.
I use a Rat, a BD2 set to low volume and low gain, a second BD2 set to higher gain and higher volume, and then a Klone as boost. I get a lot of stick for having two BD2s on my board 😂
I found using more than 1 overdrive together was just more of a nuisance. And wouldn’t necessarily work in the same way, in a live setting. I’ve found using a tube screamer and the gain channel on an amp to be the perfect match for me. Nice, simple and effective.
I play both a Strat and a Les Paul into a Princeton. Jhs Morning Glory-OCD-Big Muff. Lately though I’ve been trying to cut down to either the ocd or the Morning Glory. Still not sure if I’ll be able to but I’d prefer less pedals. So I can focus on what really matters. Ten different delay and reverb pedals. 😀
All you need is a low to medium - and a medium to high gain. The amp can take off or add anything for the eq, and your drive pedal can be a boost to. A RAT can do everything and fuzz to.
I wouldn’t bother to have a two channel amp or two amps with two channels and switch them and in between.,) But these od pedal hacks are always on point.
Michael, since you are very knowledgeable, I’m hoping for some advice. My two current drive pedals are Plumes and BD2. I’ve not been super psyched about Plumes and I’m not sure why. Considering the OD3 and swapping the BD2 for the DS1. I only have room for two drive pedals 😬. I play everything from Incubus to Zeppelin to Cory Wong. I’m ok not sounding exactly like those artists!
Thanks! Not sure I could properly do a silverface vs blackface as I've not any models of each that are the equivalent. My silverface is the Pro Reverb which sort of sits in between my blackface Deluxe and Twin in terms of power... Maybe just a run down of my Fender amps and how I use them for different things if people would be interested in that?
This is all very good info. Once I started playing in a gigging band, the songs we play forced me to expand my pedalboard. It's more about problem-solving than tone-chasing in my case: how do I make myself heard in this part? How do I make this part more/less distorted? Etc.
So now in my gain section I use an overdrive, a distortion, a mid boost and a flat boost. I also use Boss ES8 loop switcher where I can change the sequence of pedals. That gives me convenient access to a few levels of gain, each at two levels of volume.
Love the channel. Good information and well organized. Question though, for the volume control instead of adding that third blues driver pedal why not a volume pedal?
I wanted to hear a TS boost an OD-3 that solves all my problems. I was using just a TS pedal to boost a single channel then got a Rat distortion but I need less gain because those two together are insane.
Thanks for all the good tips. Do you think the Boss BD-2 and Fulltone OCD pair well together? I'm debating between an ODR-1 for a board with a bunch of pedals or just getting a BD-2 to pair with an ocd for a smaller board to use anywhere.
Im running (4) Ej Fuzz ....Warm Drive.... TC Dk Matter...... TS-10...the sounds i can get outa these combinations into clean channel of a very spec amp is UN blvble I can set up amp to go BIG but it will only do that one thing, w/pedals i can approximate it n so much more...
Seven is safe, less is more affordable 😉 I like the OD-3 and BD-2 so far best, yet haven't tried them in the wild. Got a Boss GT-1 so I am hard to convince that I "need" a pedal.
very interesting that you are using BD2 as "Clean Boost". Love this setup in conjunction with OD3. thanks for the inspiration! are you also using a compressor pedal in this setup?
great vid. bit confused by the "boosting after foundation" with the bd-2 to add more volume to balance with loud clean. why wouldnrt you just do that with the od-3 output volume, with the amp set for a loud clean tone (assuming some headroom) don't see why the foundation od wouldnt be loud enough, eith by itself or with other od stacked into it (which would be louder still)
Thanks! I know, it's a bit confusing, it's not really to balance it with the volume of your clean sound when the pedal is off, that should already be relatively balanced like you say. When boosting after the OD-3, It would just be for situations where you need a louder signal but you don't want too much extra saturation. For example a solo in a song where you want to play the sound of just the foundation overdrive alone, so not too distorted and saturated, but you need an overall level boost just for that solo part in the song so that you can be heard over the band and also let's you play a little softer and still be heard. Different OD pedals in that spot will impart a slightly different EQ too, I find the BD-2 is really nice and clear and adds a delicate top end which is why I chose that one. Alternatively you can use it with the clean channel alone so you could solo or play more prominent parts with a very clean tone without being too quiet. I hope that helps.
I use the BD-2 and OD-3 in a similar way, they work wonderfully together. I just set all knobs at noon on both pedals. OD-3 alone is my basic rhythm sound, BD-2 alone is a slightly louder and bigger sound typically used for the chorus of a song, and then for leads or heavier riffs I turn on both pedals (OD-3 boosting the BD-2). It really works best on a totally clean amp though, the BD-2's full frequency range can lead to a flubby and fizzy sound otherwise. When playing a slightly dirty amp I use two OD-3s instead, with the volume on the second one turned up to about 2 o'clock.
I use a mini Fuzz Face (GTR pot to taste) > miniEGO compressor > Tumnus Deluxe overdrive > Lehle volume pedal > UAFX Ruby (as the amp set on light breakup) SSS Strat. All gives me a great range of sounds but I'm thinking of putting a Rat between the comp and the overdrive. Has anyone done anything simliar?
Great video! I have a question regarding pedals. What is the effect of using multiple pedals set to high level, vs the same but with the gain instead. Say you have 4 pedals in a row, what would happen if you max the level on all of them. And what would happen if you set the last to low/normal level? And what would happen if you do the same with the gain? Stacking level vs stacking gain. I struggle to get good sounds and sometimes it gets reaaaaally muddy, and sometimes the volume really drops when i pluck, if i have alot of distortion with the ds-1. I am however unsure why the volume sort of drops, it feels as something is overloading, but i do not know if it is the level stacking, or the gain stacking, that does this..
I have this stupid obsession with OD pedals, I know that I just need one and I never really use more than one at the time. Also I have found my perfect od pedal, but I keep getting more of them
Guess we all have different ears. I find hard to pick from a stock tele with a fender amp, wich i find shrill & ice pickey! But think it would sound much warmer with les paul or sg type guitar. 👍but good to hear it this way. Just find that fender products & marshall's have a painfull sound. But also knotice most musicians like to inflict pain since these guitars & amps are one of the most popular music products out there. Guess i never understood that part of the music world. Or just musicians just need to be heard despratly 😮
Yes thanks Michael, I really enjoy these types of videos. Well explained. Just a question, what were your reasons for getting a 68 princeton over a 65? Just curious cause I'm currently looking at a good amp for a good pedal platform. Thank you
Thanks! The amp I'm using is the 68 Pro Reverb (not Princeton). If I was trying to choose between the 65 and 68 Princeton, I'd likely decide to go with the 65 if I wanted to use it for mainly clean sounds and light breakup. Those American voiced speakers and the original circuitry seem to really suit cleans in my experience, but it can start to sound a bit trashy as you add more gain. I'd lean towards the 68 if I needed to use it for heavy overdrive and distortion sounds as well. Just because I'd expect the Celestion speaker to handle high gain better as well as the fact that the amp breaks up a little sooner so you'd get genuine tube overdrive more easily, if that's what you're into (remember no fx loop though). This is only my suspicion based on my previous experience with the Fender 65 and 68 amps and looking at the Princeton specs. The best way is always to find a way to test them side by side. Hope that helps.
I definitely run a few gain stages. My signal is: Guitar>wah>tuner>SD-1 overdrive>klon clone>Empress germ drive(always on)>compressor >Mel 9>joyo ultimate drive> clean effects.
Then, you could reduce the number of pedals that you are using for leveling the volume, and choose pedals based on the sound you like. From 1 pedal, you could get clean by rolling back the guitar volume and increasing the foot pedal volume, dirty by doing the opposite. Then, for different types of distortion sounds (transparent, mid boost, fuzz, hard distortion), add pedals for the sound you want as you see fit. I don't play live, but that's basically what I do in my living room. If you try this, I would be interested in seeing a video on your results and thoughts for live performances.
Is there any single pedal out there that covers the sweet full range between Overdrive and Distortion.Or is stacking always better ? I ask because I'd like to find one pedal that works with a strat. Thanks. I love the 5f6 and RAH Catalinbread.5f6 especially.
![How Many Overdrive Pedals Do You Need? [Pedal Order & Gain Stacking Like A Pro] - That Pedal Show](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nwbu9x8vUTw/mqdefault.jpg)
![BabyChiefDoit - Wonderful Time (Official Music Video) [Shot By @Rxllo]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_Bfqt3zV2KE/mqdefault.jpg)
My fav of the bunch is the BD-2 Blues Driver. Just a terrific blues rock versatile pedal.
Your knowledge of using multiple pedals together is always so helpful. Really enjoy these types of videos. Thank you.
Glad you like them!
This channel is becoming my favorite, really fantastic work Michael Banfield. A lot of usefull information. Thank you for those videos.
Wow thank you!
2 channel amp. 1st channel clean, 2nd channel, set up for low-medium overdrive. Plumes -> Ages. Use Ages as light overdrive on clean channel, also works to add more gain to the 2nd channel. Plumes is set up for a clean boost but does a nice job adding more dirt to 2nd channel and just boosting the first channel.
Great tutorial. "Foundation overdrive" is a term you tend to hear a lot, but without much explanation. I feel inspired to see what I can cook up using overdrive pedals from my own collection.
Glad it was helpful! Good to see you in the comments as always.
@Michael Banfield cheers mucker!
I somehow managed to squeak by with just one good amp and one OD pedal for about 30 years. No one ever told me I couldn't get a killer tone unless I had a whole closet full of pedals :p
Bassman 50 and an SD-1. Nuff said
I hear you man. I gigged for 25 years with just a hot rod deluxe, a wah, tubescreamer and a fuzz face. Just about covered it all pretty well! Buying pedals becomes a deep rabbit hole that won't make you a better player, only practice will do that, the tone is in yer hands man!🎸
You need 2 for basic stacking to make the clip of the waveform more complex, just pick 2 that stack well together.
I use a Plumes, which is pretty close to the OD3 the way I run it, a MXR Super Badass Distortion, and a Spark Booster. These will take me from reggae cleans to a light blues crunch, right up to metal. I often consider trading the MXR for another Spark, IMO with the right setting it can push the Pumes into to better high gain tones than I can get out of the MXR... nice to have the option to go straight from clean to a higher gain tone without tap dancing though.
Nice to see very well produced videos about pedals that aren't 2 hours long! Well done!
"If anyone tells you you have too many pedals".
Who needs this kind of negativity?
Seriously- I'm liking the practical, no nonsense format of these videos. They are an informative demonstration of the essential principles in the context of live performance, without adding to the already overblown marketing hype surrounding gear.
Liked and subscribed.
Being someone who doesn’t even use alot of effects, it might seem overdone and cliche but the fact is that gain is still the most dynamic and useful of all the effects because it’s distinctively “guitar,” not the guitar attempting to sound like something else. When you’re just playing by yourself, you don’t realize how important and hard it is for your guitar to cut through and be heard, and to not inhabit the same space as the other instruments or vocals.
I can nicely hear difference between many overdrive pedals here. I think I have to watch a dozen of other videos to get the same insight. Thank you very much, your videos are really refreshing and inspiring.
I use 3 gain stages: Barber Gain Changer > Fulltone OCD > Thorpy Fallout Cloud which enable me to go from Spanky-clean to edge of breakup to Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Santana or Black Sabbath (all set to low-gain). My amp is always pristine-clean. Took years of experimentation. I play Suhr SSS with Lollar Blonde's.
That sounds like one sweet setup you got there!
Well I'll throw my hat in the ring. Starts with either a 90's Strat or Les Paul going into a 12 pedal board. Drives are all modded Alchemy Blues driver, homebuilt JHS Meat and 3 Soul Food, older 3 knob Butler Tube driver with a bias knob. Using a 12au7 tube and driving at 18v gives this pedal more headroom before getting real wild.
Very useful! I usually have a main overdrive, mid to high gain that I can control with the volume of my guitar and my trusty od3 as solo boost. If I need more dynamic I use a boss ge7 as volume boost and the od3 as a second od. Simple and effective
Bingo!,i use my ge7 before od3,any crunch sound from slight blues to metal chugg,fantastic.
I use a OD-3 and a AT+ because one has a relatively flat frequency response and the other is more midrange focused. Of all the pedals I have used, the OD-3 is my favorite. I get the best sound into a tube amp clean channel with gain control. Adjusting the gain on the amp totally changes the personality of the pedal. Upping the gain on the amp to the point it still sounds clean unless really hitting the strings hard, and then lowering the gain on the pedal (like 9-10 o'clock on the pedal) gives the best sounding overdrive for me.
I loved this video. Made me feel better about my life choices. Great channel, man.
Thank you for your fantastic videos about using pedals, especially the BOSS pedals! I am watching your videos for more than 2 years now, and they are so informative! I have an all BOSS pedal board, and your information/suggestions are very helpful...
Wow you were there from the start then. Thanks for staying with me, there's more to come!
Another excellent pedal stack tutorial. I have three at the start of my board and use them in different ways to get all I need. You and Josh Scott are both great at showing settings and sound.
Thanks so much, man. Perfect video. Really clear, great comparisons and demonstrations, and not an hour long! I’ve kind of deduced my way here but it’s bloody great to have someone say “You’re right, welcome to the club, and, have you thought about this?” Thanks so much.
That was brilliantly and methodically explained. Thank you, i am in a similar quandry with wanting different tones for different sets and venues. This helped!
How many overdrive pedals one needs is entirely subjective, and dependent upon what guitar, what amp, what genre, and how you prefer to play. For me, the answer is "ideally four", if we are including clean boosts as overdrives. That is, I want my signal to go guitar -> boost -> distortion -> foundation overdrive -> boost -> other fx -> clean amp. Two clean boosts flanking two different drives, one low gain overdrive, one fairly high gain overdrive/distortion, into a clean amp. On my current pedal board, I don't actually have enough room for the higher gain drive, but that's workable, because the higher gain drive pedal is really more for having a different flavor than for driving the lower gain foundation overdrive.
Awesome video! My drive chain is Compadre, SL, tumnus deluxe, súper phat mod and the last is a morning glory
They may say im an Stacker .... but im not the only one .... 🙊 . Usually my first pedal is a Fuzz (I really like the Bogner Oxford here 😃) then i use ODs as clean boost / light dirt ( Boss od1x , Boss Bd2 , Pigtronix Aria D. ) then into anothers OD and distors like Catalinbread RAH , Boss Ds1 , Marshall Guvnor 1&2, Blues breaker2 (i really like this one 🤗) , Mad professor Little Tweedy drive (it is so good 🤗) .... and finally all this go into Amp like pedals (into my amp effect loop ) : Mad professor Twimble (another beauty )and Catalinbread DLS . Reverbs and Delay all in between . Great video and I think you got it right: it is not too much if inspires you and makes you happy . Have fun ! 😃👍
I only need to watch your channel for 10 minutes...LOL! Now I just dont have time or patience to be watching other guys yapping for half an hour, trying to be funny, getting off topic, etc. I really like how you put in so much useful information in your video. Greatly appreciated, particularity for the BOSS OD3 which has a very crunchy sound I like. 😀😇😉😊☺💯👍💪🙏
Yeah, I've never been very good at chit chat... Good to hear the format and pacing is okay for you. Thanks for commenting!
I have one overdrive pedal .. it’s all I need.
It’s the Boss “Angry Driver.”
Great, great video. From about 8:05 on is just gold. I play worship and thankfully have gotten out of the digital trap. Have been running a plumes od into ehx soul food, where the soul food adds a little boost to plumes for leads or on its own for dirtier rythm. Been feeling like it (my rig) needs a kick of some type, after watching this have equal amounts clarity and inspiration lol. Love the practical application aspect of your content.
Worth mentioning that impulse response devices like the Strymon Iridium or Kemper are how many guitarists now are getting saturated lead sounds at comparatively low volume.
The answer is obvious. One more.
Great video. Well explained. Liked and subscribed.
This video made me love my Boss OD3 that I own so much more!
You hit home w/ this one - fellow stacker here - I play at church, all pedals into clean amp (sim) IR to PA, can cover all what you mentioned here. Same pedalboard goes to bar gigs, no changes, into a clean Mesa Boogie combo. Stacking, and knowing what order, is where it's at. Thanks for very informative video, well demonstrated!
Hey thanks! Yep, stacking is where it's at. Sounds like a sweet setup you got there.
@@MichaelBanfieldGuitar your version of 'Hallelujah' is beautiful. Nice touch , inversions, all.
Thnx for great inspiration. I will change the batteries in my old Roland,- and other pedals, and start to experiment again. It's about time :-D
I need 4 base sounds and use 3 pedals to get there. 1) Slight dirt: Just the amp, moderate gain, mids cranked 2) Pushing it: Bad Monkey, gain at 0, lows and highs cranked. 3) Heavier: DS-1, tone at 9, gain at 11. 4) Leads: Boss FZ-5. I've been using this setup forever now and I am happy that I don't need to change anything, I just love it. However, in order to get there I had to talk myself out of using a clean amp. Once I let the amp do more of the work, I had my sound and use 3 pedals just to accentuate patterns.
I use several gain pedals in a very similar way: MXR DynaComp -> MXR Sugar Drive -> Boss DS-1 -> Fulltone Octafuzz. I can get literally any OD/distortion/fuzz sound by using various combinations of these.
I found your channel a few weeks ago and have really been enjoying your videos! Awesome stuff
I was mulling this whole question recently, about having enough variety on function gigs with just stomp boxes... I hadn't realised it was possible to get such robust sounds by combining pedals, but you've inspired me to have a go (and maybe just collect some more pedals!)
More pedals Phill, always more pedals!
Clean boost for me. Xotic make some great pedals.
Instead of all these OD pedals, get one (e.g. a Marshall Guv'nor or a Tube Screamer) and a multi-memory EQ pedal (e.g. BOSS EQ-200). The different EQ settings combined with the level control allows you to emulate _most_ OD pedals.
Sorted.
So usefull and focused on the music!! Thank you so much!!
I'm having a good time with 3 :
Digitech hot rod distortion (basically similar to a ds 1, but can act more like a fuzz if cranked)> jhs morning glory (I've never turned this pedal off since the day I bought it)> frequp anasounds ( a clean boost with more options then your regular clean boost regarding both gain and eq)> clean amp.
The idea is that the morning glory is never off and acts like a slightly overdriven/edge of breakup amp, the digitech (which is a bit lifeless if you run it into a clean channel) is at its best when can kick the front end of and amp (or pedal in this case) that already has a little bit of grit. I'm debating if I want to try a proper fuzz in its place.
The anasounds frequp Is the pedal that mostly sounds off whenever you are playing by yourself, you feel like you don't need that much gain and the eq controls are really powerfull, kicking the midrange makes a lot of stuff sound really nasally, however in the context of a mix or a band is too important.
Also, the morning glory has a "more gain" switch, It basically counts as 2 pedals... and my main guitar Is a 2010 limited run Gibson nightawk with HSH configuration, 5 way switch and splitbuckers. I often feel like I have too many options, lol.
Sounds like a good setup, thanks for sharing this.
I would say 3, a klon style a blues breaker style and a tube screamer style your last option about volume I would use either am EQ pedal set flat with the volume down slightly or a volume pedal😏In terms of overdrive pedals I think the three I mentioned cover just about everything if you need heavier than those 3 combined surely that's edging into distortion pedal territory🤘 Love your channel very informative (I will try your last option it did sound good👍)
Thanks for sharing this with us all!!!
Very interesting to explore new things/combinations , I got many pedals,unfortunately used to do what others do/did ,,thanks for your inspiring tips,,,new subscriber 👍☕️
I like to go with a very clean amp sound with an overdrive, distortion & fuzz pedal. That gives 4 basic sounds, then use the overdrive for boosting the distortion & fuzz pedals. If I really want crazy all three pedals on. That gives me 7 sounds, which is plenty for me. It's fun to dial them all in to play nice together too, very satisfying.
That sounds like a great approach, very similar to some setups that I've had in the past but more streamlined. Thanks for sharing!
The best option is to dedicate an entire large size pedal board to overdrives and distortions and to have a second pedal board for the rest of the effects.
I have 21 and use them all. Up to 3 in a tune with a different one for verse, chorus, mid 8 etc. I like the Amp in a box pedals. I have ones to give me JCM 45, Plexi, JCM 800 Soldano SLO, Peavey 2120, Orange, MESA Duel/Rec and a Laney. I also have a few of the modern low gain transparent to use for clean sounds or just before breakup.
Cool cool.
I actually just picked up a Pro Reverb. Great little amp.
Lately I've been thinking of using the newer Boss EQ-200 as a limiter/booster with a nice EQ for low gain and different EQ for high. For boosting the amp. I can set channel a as a limiter and b as the booster with an OD-3 being the main distortion. That would solve a lot of issues you mentioned. Also a compressor is perfect for being able to sit further back in the mix with high gain. It's also another limiter/booster pedal but lacks EQ control.
I use two, an OD-3 as the main, and an Emerson Goldenface (Klon) before. But I also have two fuzzes and a Keeley Filaments for heavy dirt. That said, I can get a whole lot of tones from clean to heavy saturation with just the OD-3 and the Goldenface.
I think fundamentally, you should find the one you like the best and then the one that stacks best with that.
Here I'd have the BB first into the OCD but I'd also sit a clean boost in front to goose the BB
I'm still use my bought new original BB it's had a lot of friends.
A Boss SD1, then a Tim, an OCD, and currently a Noble ODR1 and a Riverside in a switcher so they can re reordered. Fulltone 2B in front.
There's so many ways to go about this, that's half the fun I guess.
This is excellent. Tx for sharing!
I use a Rat, a BD2 set to low volume and low gain, a second BD2 set to higher gain and higher volume, and then a Klone as boost. I get a lot of stick for having two BD2s on my board 😂
I found using more than 1 overdrive together was just more of a nuisance. And wouldn’t necessarily work in the same way, in a live setting. I’ve found using a tube screamer and the gain channel on an amp to be the perfect match for me. Nice, simple and effective.
I play both a Strat and a Les Paul into a Princeton. Jhs Morning Glory-OCD-Big Muff. Lately though I’ve been trying to cut down to either the ocd or the Morning Glory. Still not sure if I’ll be able to but I’d prefer less pedals. So I can focus on what really matters. Ten different delay and reverb pedals. 😀
Keeping the Russian muff fyi. I used to have a rat but I prefer the ocd and a fuzz for a saturated sound.
All you need is a low to medium - and a medium to high gain. The amp can take off or add anything for the eq, and your drive pedal can be a boost to. A RAT can do everything and fuzz to.
Cool vid. Very helpful! Thanks 🤟
I know I don't need 30-40 OD pedals but I have them none the less.
Very good Advices. Thank you.
The Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret is similar to the OCD. Both very Marshall like. I really like the 5F6. Really good for Stones style songs.
Yeah the 5F6 is one of my favourites too, works particularly well with my strat.
I would love you to do a video on order of chaining pedals. What do you prefer? And why?
Great tones!!! And such a great guitar!! Which model/specs is it?
Would like to see this whole video but with a Strat in mid or bridge position 😊
A compressor in your FX loop were you have one is a good way to smooth out that volume issue
Great tones and cool pathways on how to stack overdrive pedals 👍 I am wondering what mic/preamp did you use for getting it to tape 🤔
Great video...Thanks!
I wouldn’t bother to have a two channel amp or two amps with two channels and switch them and in between.,)
But these od pedal hacks are always on point.
Michael, since you are very knowledgeable, I’m hoping for some advice. My two current drive pedals are Plumes and BD2. I’ve not been super psyched about Plumes and I’m not sure why. Considering the OD3 and swapping the BD2 for the DS1. I only have room for two drive pedals 😬. I play everything from Incubus to Zeppelin to Cory Wong. I’m ok not sounding exactly like those artists!
Hi! Great video as always.. :) Could you compare Blackface VS Silverface amp? And see if you use the same speakers if they sound closer?
Thanks! Not sure I could properly do a silverface vs blackface as I've not any models of each that are the equivalent. My silverface is the Pro Reverb which sort of sits in between my blackface Deluxe and Twin in terms of power... Maybe just a run down of my Fender amps and how I use them for different things if people would be interested in that?
@@MichaelBanfieldGuitar that would be great!! In which situation you use the Twin VS the Deluxe... Compression, headroom.. :) thanks!
Greer lightspeed is my always on which I boost with an earthquaker arrows.
This is all very good info. Once I started playing in a gigging band, the songs we play forced me to expand my pedalboard. It's more about problem-solving than tone-chasing in my case: how do I make myself heard in this part? How do I make this part more/less distorted? Etc.
So now in my gain section I use an overdrive, a distortion, a mid boost and a flat boost. I also use Boss ES8 loop switcher where I can change the sequence of pedals. That gives me convenient access to a few levels of gain, each at two levels of volume.
Love the channel. Good information and well organized. Question though, for the volume control instead of adding that third blues driver pedal why not a volume pedal?
I wanted to hear a TS boost an OD-3 that solves all my problems. I was using just a TS pedal to boost a single channel then got a Rat distortion but I need less gain because those two together are insane.
Thanks for all the good tips. Do you think the Boss BD-2 and Fulltone OCD pair well together? I'm debating between an ODR-1 for a board with a bunch of pedals or just getting a BD-2 to pair with an ocd for a smaller board to use anywhere.
Try a clean BD-2 into a slightly dirty DOD-250, it is very good
Im running (4) Ej Fuzz ....Warm Drive.... TC Dk Matter...... TS-10...the sounds i can get outa these combinations into clean channel of a very spec amp is UN blvble I can set up amp to go BIG but it will only do that one thing, w/pedals i can approximate it n so much more...
I really like overdrive pedals that can mixed it with clean.
Seven is safe, less is more affordable 😉 I like the OD-3 and BD-2 so far best, yet haven't tried them in the wild. Got a Boss GT-1 so I am hard to convince that I "need" a pedal.
Yeah the GT-1 is a lovely little unit. Thanks for commenting!
10 if you include boosts !
very interesting that you are using BD2 as "Clean Boost". Love this setup in conjunction with OD3. thanks for the inspiration! are you also using a compressor pedal in this setup?
Thank you, glad you like it! No compressor in this setup, however technically I suppose overdrive is a type of compression in itself...
great vid. bit confused by the "boosting after foundation" with the bd-2 to add more volume to balance with loud clean. why wouldnrt you just do that with the od-3 output volume, with the amp set for a loud clean tone (assuming some headroom) don't see why the foundation od wouldnt be loud enough, eith by itself or with other od stacked into it (which would be louder still)
Thanks! I know, it's a bit confusing, it's not really to balance it with the volume of your clean sound when the pedal is off, that should already be relatively balanced like you say. When boosting after the OD-3, It would just be for situations where you need a louder signal but you don't want too much extra saturation. For example a solo in a song where you want to play the sound of just the foundation overdrive alone, so not too distorted and saturated, but you need an overall level boost just for that solo part in the song so that you can be heard over the band and also let's you play a little softer and still be heard. Different OD pedals in that spot will impart a slightly different EQ too, I find the BD-2 is really nice and clear and adds a delicate top end which is why I chose that one. Alternatively you can use it with the clean channel alone so you could solo or play more prominent parts with a very clean tone without being too quiet. I hope that helps.
The Formula 55 is a superb sounding pedal
I use the BD-2 and OD-3 in a similar way, they work wonderfully together. I just set all knobs at noon on both pedals. OD-3 alone is my basic rhythm sound, BD-2 alone is a slightly louder and bigger sound typically used for the chorus of a song, and then for leads or heavier riffs I turn on both pedals (OD-3 boosting the BD-2). It really works best on a totally clean amp though, the BD-2's full frequency range can lead to a flubby and fizzy sound otherwise. When playing a slightly dirty amp I use two OD-3s instead, with the volume on the second one turned up to about 2 o'clock.
I use a mini Fuzz Face (GTR pot to taste) > miniEGO compressor > Tumnus Deluxe overdrive > Lehle volume pedal > UAFX Ruby (as the amp set on light breakup) SSS Strat. All gives me a great range of sounds but I'm thinking of putting a Rat between the comp and the overdrive. Has anyone done anything simliar?
Great video! I have a question regarding pedals. What is the effect of using multiple pedals set to high level, vs the same but with the gain instead. Say you have 4 pedals in a row, what would happen if you max the level on all of them. And what would happen if you set the last to low/normal level? And what would happen if you do the same with the gain? Stacking level vs stacking gain.
I struggle to get good sounds and sometimes it gets reaaaaally muddy, and sometimes the volume really drops when i pluck, if i have alot of distortion with the ds-1. I am however unsure why the volume sort of drops, it feels as something is overloading, but i do not know if it is the level stacking, or the gain stacking, that does this..
Great video ! Do you think I can use a booster like Mxr Micro Amp at the end of the chain to reduce (or increase) the volume to sub your Marshall ?
SD-1 > OD-3 is all I need.
I don't have a problem with ODs, I use one, maaaaaaaaybe two depending on the situation, fuzz however, that's a different story.
Tube screamer into formula 55 here are the best combination for me
I have this stupid obsession with OD pedals, I know that I just need one and I never really use more than one at the time. Also I have found my perfect od pedal, but I keep getting more of them
Guess we all have different ears. I find hard to pick from a stock tele with a fender amp, wich i find shrill & ice pickey! But think it would sound much warmer with les paul or sg type guitar. 👍but good to hear it this way. Just find that fender products & marshall's have a painfull sound. But also knotice most musicians like to inflict pain since these guitars & amps are one of the most popular music products out there. Guess i never understood that part of the music world. Or just musicians just need to be heard despratly 😮
I need two fuzzes, one distortion _and_ then seven overdrives. Wait… and a boost. But an EQ, clean or a mid boost?
Hmm…
😵💫
Yes thanks Michael, I really enjoy these types of videos. Well explained.
Just a question, what were your reasons for getting a 68 princeton over a 65? Just curious cause I'm currently looking at a good amp for a good pedal platform. Thank you
Thanks! The amp I'm using is the 68 Pro Reverb (not Princeton). If I was trying to choose between the 65 and 68 Princeton, I'd likely decide to go with the 65 if I wanted to use it for mainly clean sounds and light breakup. Those American voiced speakers and the original circuitry seem to really suit cleans in my experience, but it can start to sound a bit trashy as you add more gain. I'd lean towards the 68 if I needed to use it for heavy overdrive and distortion sounds as well. Just because I'd expect the Celestion speaker to handle high gain better as well as the fact that the amp breaks up a little sooner so you'd get genuine tube overdrive more easily, if that's what you're into (remember no fx loop though). This is only my suspicion based on my previous experience with the Fender 65 and 68 amps and looking at the Princeton specs. The best way is always to find a way to test them side by side. Hope that helps.
@@MichaelBanfieldGuitar yes that's great thank you for your reply. Helps alot cheers!
What if you were to compare a fender deluxe reverb amp with a pro reverb amp?
Why did you choose the pro reverb?
Over explaining not necessary the pedal speaks for itself sir
I definitely run a few gain stages. My signal is:
Guitar>wah>tuner>SD-1 overdrive>klon clone>Empress germ drive(always on)>compressor >Mel 9>joyo ultimate drive> clean effects.
Marvellous
Is there a particular reason that you choose not to use a volume pedal at the end of your pedal chain?
Then, you could reduce the number of pedals that you are using for leveling the volume, and choose pedals based on the sound you like. From 1 pedal, you could get clean by rolling back the guitar volume and increasing the foot pedal volume, dirty by doing the opposite. Then, for different types of distortion sounds (transparent, mid boost, fuzz, hard distortion), add pedals for the sound you want as you see fit. I don't play live, but that's basically what I do in my living room. If you try this, I would be interested in seeing a video on your results and thoughts for live performances.
Is there any single pedal out there that covers the sweet full range between Overdrive and Distortion.Or is stacking always better ?
I ask because I'd like to find one pedal that works with a strat.
Thanks.
I love the 5f6 and RAH Catalinbread.5f6 especially.
The Catalinbread 5F6 with a classic strat is such a brilliant pairing.
Look into the Barber Gain Changer SR - it's incredible. David Barber did a phenomenal job when he created this one.
Dan electro Daddy O.
PRO...
Two, One clean and One dirty.
3🤟
4? 5?
“How many distortion perlados do you need?”
Me: YES