Seriously! I play every night, with a ton of pedals on my board, and having the variety of different types of clipping makes the show more fun to perform
Michael, you consistently come up with tremendously useful, practical topics. You remind me of one of my favorite characters from the Matrix movies: The Keymaker. Always opening doors for people. It's something I aspired to as a teacher during my career, and you're consistently achieving it. Thanks!
I love using both types of clipping, experimenting with the signal chain is also a lotta fun, I love putting soft clippers after hard clippers and using them both at the same time, it sorta dulls the signal but the crunchy character of the hard clipper remains i luv it
My favorite approach is the one Chris Buck uses: Compressor>OD>Fuzz. All pretty low gain. That's how you get that thick, creamy, yet still sharp enough sound.
Being a child of grunge: hard clippers the Rat is so versatile! DS-1 obviously is fantastic as well. But I’d have to pick the Rat. Soft clipping- SD-1 by far. Probably the most versatile pedal of all six! Seems it can replicate the sound of a Bluesbreaker, and the tube screamer can really sound like a wet blanket over a speaker with certain humbuckers- obviously it can sound great but I think it’s range of great tones is far smaller than the SD-1. With the right guitar and amp the SD-1 can do cliche edge of breakup all the way to 70s glam metal
Great video, great choices of pedals! The test at the end is just spot on, both because of the EQ matching and allowing the listener to hear the clipping decay. I think the hard clipping sounds more Marshall, when the soft clipping sounds more vintage, blues. FTR, the Bluesbreaker has a different type of soft clipping than the other two, utilizing the diodes in an inverting amplifier configuration.
The mxr sounds really strong and I love the way you changed your attack on picking. so you can hear the difference it really rains through on the boss pedal
Great comparison of hard and soft distortion. Now I understand the sonic difference. The funny thing is for me as I get older I use it less and dislike hearing it. I’m finding I want purer sounds from my guitar. Weird, huh.
I’m the same way. When I was young I loved distortion and fuzz; I have a pedal collection to prove it. I also thought overdrives were weak and boring Now I almost always have just an overdrive on to boost my signal just a bit and run an amp mostly clean to get a lot of different vintage clean and overdriven tones. My fuzz and distortion pedals are collecting dust but I can’t seem to part with them
My favorite is a voodoo labs sparkle drive into a boss BD-2 Blues Driver. Separately or stacked, you can't beat the tone, saturation, and overdrive...pure heaven.
I love my ts9dx. It’s the first pedal I ever got when I was a kid and I still use it on gigs! I’ve been experimenting with cranking the drive up all the way, almost pushing it into that hard clipping territory. Never really done that before until the last few gigs. I end up using it for dirty rhythm and then lead tone with a Jan Ray clone before it if I want even more juice.
So glad you are back ,Michael. You can travel far and always return to a TS9 or a SD1 The RAT is really versatile. I go for a boost now, either Eq, Spark or BB . I think my ears have changed(60 yrs) but I'm really adverse to compression in overdrives. You lose so much harmonics.
Interesting fact: ....the *Boss Blues Driver* is both a hard-clip and a soft-clip. It uses both in each gain stage. Maybe that's why it's so good & versatile.
I used the DS-1 for years at settings that would make me cringe now and eventually soured on it. I prefer the Rat more these days but I'm warming up to the DS-1 again after some experimental knob twisting. I've heard people say that 11 o'clock is the sweet spot for the tone knob but I set it at 9 o'clock. My ear for bright tones vs dark has changed a lot, maybe because of the Rat or the settings I use on modellers to get the most natural tone possible.
I like having 3-4 gain stages on my pedalboard, and get distention tones by not increasing the volume, but kicking in a new pedal for a gain stage. I got the ODR-1 for lowest gain, hot wax for the two medium gain settings and then an MXR Classic 108 mini fuzz for over the top lines!
I used the Boss pedals a lot. Now I am more into the Rat type pedals like JHS Distortion or the Catalinbread Katzenkönig for hardclipping. I can also recommend the Lichtlaerm Audio Altar Mk III, it is generally a fuzz, but it can do some nice lowgain also. Usually i get lowgain out of my amp or by turning down the volume knob on my guitar to get close. When stacking I usually go from high to low gain. Great video btw!
Isn't it weird (or at least I don't understand) that the new L6 Pod Express Black (high gain) has a compressor and the other one (red casing) does not? Got a DS-1 and RAT and if I could spend my money again would buy the SD-1 over the DS-1, the RAT is a keeper.
Your MXR Distortion + sounds great! I had one years ago, sold it, I think I want to get another one of these. It seems to sound more gnarly than my rat pedal
Hard clipping drive pedals into fender amps just don't work for me. If tried dozens and the only one working for me was the klon but even that's an outlier
I like your channel very much, but unfortunatly it is technical not correct, what you say in your explanation at the very beginning. How hard or soft it goes into saturation depends on the characteristic of the clipping diode, the internal resistant of the amplificator that drives the diode in its output- or feedback-circuit, and also on the resistant in row to the diode {if there is one). For example take a hard clipper like the proco rat an put a 10k pot between the clipping diodes and ground an rise the resistent. As bigger it gets as softer it clips even though it is a hard clipping circuit. Or as another example, Big Muffs are soft clippers, but go very hard in to saturation. The Opamp Big Muff has more in common with the tubescreamer than to the clone centaur which is a hard clipper. . Big muffs nevertheless go such fast into saturation tht there is no real cleanup, if you put down the volume of the guitar, but the proco rat has such a cleanup, even though it is a hard clipper. Or the OCD drive. It is a hard clipper very similar to the boss ds-1 but has a much smoother saturation.
def the hard clippers. however i have always loathed the SD1 DS1 and tubescreamers anyway - worst drive pedals ever. the DS1 is simply the worst pedal ever. very pleasantly surprised by the blues breaker, but the winners are the distortion+ and the rat. i've never owned or played either - i think this vid may have persuaded me to acquire them both one day. don't bob mould and neil young use the +?
your channel is proving undispensable, always great explanations
Seriously! I play every night, with a ton of pedals on my board, and having the variety of different types of clipping makes the show more fun to perform
Agreed 👍
Michael, you consistently come up with tremendously useful, practical topics. You remind me of one of my favorite characters from the Matrix movies: The Keymaker. Always opening doors for people. It's something I aspired to as a teacher during my career, and you're consistently achieving it. Thanks!
I love using both types of clipping, experimenting with the signal chain is also a lotta fun, I love putting soft clippers after hard clippers and using them both at the same time, it sorta dulls the signal but the crunchy character of the hard clipper remains i luv it
My favorite approach is the one Chris Buck uses: Compressor>OD>Fuzz. All pretty low gain. That's how you get that thick, creamy, yet still sharp enough sound.
I can't wait to try this ls-2 clean blend idea with my big muff! thanks!
How could you give the Rat such a good riff and not expect us to gain a bias?
nice
Lol.... Great Word Play There 😎👊💯💯
Being a child of grunge: hard clippers the Rat is so versatile! DS-1 obviously is fantastic as well. But I’d have to pick the Rat.
Soft clipping- SD-1 by far. Probably the most versatile pedal of all six! Seems it can replicate the sound of a Bluesbreaker, and the tube screamer can really sound like a wet blanket over a speaker with certain humbuckers- obviously it can sound great but I think it’s range of great tones is far smaller than the SD-1.
With the right guitar and amp the SD-1 can do cliche edge of breakup all the way to 70s glam metal
Great video, great choices of pedals!
The test at the end is just spot on, both because of the EQ matching and allowing the listener to hear the clipping decay. I think the hard clipping sounds more Marshall, when the soft clipping sounds more vintage, blues.
FTR, the Bluesbreaker has a different type of soft clipping than the other two, utilizing the diodes in an inverting amplifier configuration.
The mxr sounds really strong and I love the way you changed your attack on picking. so you can hear the difference it really rains through on the boss pedal
Great comparison of hard and soft distortion. Now I understand the sonic difference. The funny thing is for me as I get older I use it less and dislike hearing it. I’m finding I want purer sounds from my guitar. Weird, huh.
I’m the same way. When I was young I loved distortion and fuzz; I have a pedal collection to prove it. I also thought overdrives were weak and boring
Now I almost always have just an overdrive on to boost my signal just a bit and run an amp mostly clean to get a lot of different vintage clean and overdriven tones. My fuzz and distortion pedals are collecting dust but I can’t seem to part with them
Love the SD1...
Great vid Michael!
You need to do an entire video on the capabilities of that line selector pedal!!!
I’ll go with the BB and the Rat
My favorite is a voodoo labs sparkle drive into a boss BD-2 Blues Driver. Separately or stacked, you can't beat the tone, saturation, and overdrive...pure heaven.
Thanks for sharing! Will try.
@@stevengonzalez2518 you're welcome. I think you'll love it.
Nice video, i use a Boss SD1 in to a Marshal Shredmaster. seems to do the trick!
I love my ts9dx. It’s the first pedal I ever got when I was a kid and I still use it on gigs! I’ve been experimenting with cranking the drive up all the way, almost pushing it into that hard clipping territory. Never really done that before until the last few gigs. I end up using it for dirty rhythm and then lead tone with a Jan Ray clone before it if I want even more juice.
Sounds like a cool setup. I've heard good things about the TS9DX I'll have to try one some time.
The MXR and the the Tube Screamer Distortion were best to my ears
So glad you are back ,Michael. You can travel far and always return to a TS9 or a SD1
The RAT is really versatile.
I go for a boost now, either Eq, Spark or BB . I think my ears have changed(60 yrs) but I'm really adverse to compression in overdrives. You lose so much harmonics.
Interesting fact: ....the *Boss Blues Driver* is both a hard-clip and a soft-clip. It uses both in each gain stage. Maybe that's why it's so good & versatile.
I used the DS-1 for years at settings that would make me cringe now and eventually soured on it. I prefer the Rat more these days but I'm warming up to the DS-1 again after some experimental knob twisting. I've heard people say that 11 o'clock is the sweet spot for the tone knob but I set it at 9 o'clock. My ear for bright tones vs dark has changed a lot, maybe because of the Rat or the settings I use on modellers to get the most natural tone possible.
Your videos are super useful to me because I just so happen to have the same amp and guitar as you, weird.
I like having 3-4 gain stages on my pedalboard, and get distention tones by not increasing the volume, but kicking in a new pedal for a gain stage. I got the ODR-1 for lowest gain, hot wax for the two medium gain settings and then an MXR Classic 108 mini fuzz for over the top lines!
I used the Boss pedals a lot. Now I am more into the Rat type pedals like JHS Distortion or the Catalinbread Katzenkönig for hardclipping. I can also recommend the Lichtlaerm Audio Altar Mk III, it is generally a fuzz, but it can do some nice lowgain also. Usually i get lowgain out of my amp or by turning down the volume knob on my guitar to get close. When stacking I usually go from high to low gain. Great video btw!
Food for thought
Isn't it weird (or at least I don't understand) that the new L6 Pod Express Black (high gain) has a compressor and the other one (red casing) does not?
Got a DS-1 and RAT and if I could spend my money again would buy the SD-1 over the DS-1, the RAT is a keeper.
Your MXR Distortion + sounds great! I had one years ago, sold it, I think I want to get another one of these. It seems to sound more gnarly than my rat pedal
Try the SD1 at lowish gain and a high level into the Bluesbreaker.
My tone stack from the 90's.. still use it often
Is there a pedal that soft clips under a certain frequency and hard clips over that frequency?
Hard-clippers all the way! 🎸
SD1 and RAT. funny enough, keeley has that 'super rodent' pedal, which is a combination of them both...
Not sure how you’d choose just one over the other. Both are good for different applications.
I like em all. 😅
I can't focus on differences as I'm listening to your playing 😅
SD-1 & ProCo RATT 2
Hard clipping drive pedals into fender amps just don't work for me.
If tried dozens and the only one working for me was the klon but even that's an outlier
I like your channel very much, but unfortunatly it is technical not correct, what you say in your explanation at the very beginning. How hard or soft it goes into saturation depends on the characteristic of the clipping diode, the internal resistant of the amplificator that drives the diode in its output- or feedback-circuit, and also on the resistant in row to the diode {if there is one). For example take a hard clipper like the proco rat an put a 10k pot between the clipping diodes and ground an rise the resistent. As bigger it gets as softer it clips even though it is a hard clipping circuit. Or as another example, Big Muffs are soft clippers, but go very hard in to saturation. The Opamp Big Muff has more in common with the tubescreamer than to the clone centaur which is a hard clipper. .
Big muffs nevertheless go such fast into saturation tht there is no real cleanup, if you put down the volume of the guitar, but the proco rat has such a cleanup, even though it is a hard clipper. Or the OCD drive. It is a hard clipper very similar to the boss ds-1 but has a much smoother saturation.
2....
First!
def the hard clippers. however i have always loathed the SD1 DS1 and tubescreamers anyway - worst drive pedals ever. the DS1 is simply the worst pedal ever. very pleasantly surprised by the blues breaker, but the winners are the distortion+ and the rat. i've never owned or played either - i think this vid may have persuaded me to acquire them both one day. don't bob mould and neil young use the +?
Thanks for sharing! I definitely want to start using the dist+ more after doing this video. I've always liked the rat sound.