Question:
i guess that i'm actually considering a distortion pedal. mainly, i'm interested in the Jekyll & Hyde pedal. i've read some good reviews, listened to some recordings, and really like the looks of it. what do y'all think about it?
my vox ad30vt has (had, rather- its been acting pretty odd lately... going to the shop ) a great distortion, but there are times a 'quick boost' would be nice. even some extra crunch on some of the amp models would be good (and you can only do so much with 2 savable channels). i have an EQ pedal that can be used as a signal booster, which is nice, but i'm looking for a little more. would this pedal be good for this?
has anyone already tried an OD pedal in front of valvetronix amps? results?
one more; whats the difference between the red and silver versions of this pedal?
i think thats all that wanted to ask. even if i decide to get one, it may be some time down the road. first, i've got to get my amp fixed... probably more on that later.
well, thanks in advance,
Tom
Answer:
ok...a quick rundown.
the Jekyll (OD) side can be run like a mostly clean boost. Think Ibanez Tubescreamer here...if you crank it, it can get dirty, but you can run is with the gain at minimum and it adds minimal drive. I actually use this in conjunction with the two drive stages of the HR Deluxe to get a variety of gain stages.
The difference between the red and silver version is this: The red version has a bass boost. This was added because of the mods that some third-party modders were doing (indyguitarist was one of them). Also, the red version has upgraded switches and capacitors. Basically Bob Weir (the guy at VS) took all of the things that modders were doing to improve the J&H and put them in the stock models.
i'll gladly do my best to answer any other questions you have.
Answer:
I, for one use a Hughes and Kettner Tubefactor infront of my AD30.. I found the stock sounds a little lacking. The cleans were nice (especially on the AC30TB channel), but the overdrive was lacking badly. The tubefactor give a nice more natural classic Voxish tone that I like for rhythm and even a decent lead tone. I find my ad30 too muddy for my taste and the high gain tones were too muddy or fuzzy for my needs, but a good overdrive pedal can breathe new life into it, but be warned, I've used a Sansamp GT2 into it but could only discover a few decent tones, but those were REALLY good, ie Santana-ish smooth leads to almost a Megadeth chunk. The thing about the AD30 is that i can't find a decent lead tone without a pedal! Hence i may change to a Laney LC-15R and use some pedals to overdrive it..
Answer:
I use the J&H. TheSteve nailed it right on the head. The J&H is a very versatile pedal. If you crank up the Jekyll side and the Hyde side and then run them both, it is going to be a HUGE amount of noise. I run my J side as a boost. I run the gain on my H side pretty hot. Sounds great. I have the Red.
Answer:
what do you guys think of using it with a 30w solid state amp?
Answer:
Originally Posted by hardcorerocker what do you guys think of using it with a 30w solid state amp?
with the settings i run, it probably wouldn't sound as good for you as it does for me. this is because i run the 'J' side as clean as possible (gain turned all the way down, volume only) in order to get a "clean boost" (it's still the slightest bit gritty) to push the tubes on my amp a bit. then i run the 'H' side on a slight crunch (bluesy) sort of sound. this combination is good for boosted, crunchy leads.
then again, if you're looking for something that is going to give you that extra "umph" for a clean guitar solo and just a slight crunch, then the settings would probably work great. i've ran this pedal through my little Crate GFX-15 and i thought it sounded much, much better than just the amp by itself.
Answer:
i used the J&H on a fender princeton chorus (SS) for a long time and it works great. the thing is you're going to have to turn up the "cheat" (drive) knob more for a SS if you want some more dirt. Even then, i don't turn up the "cheat" knob on the "J" side past ~11 o'clock.
one thing to keep in mind is that if you're already scooping your mids in your amplifier, scooping more mids on the "H" side with the EQ knob will create more mush and less presence. I like my cleans slightly scooped and i don't turn my EQ knob past 9 o'clock or else things turn muddy when i engage the "h" side.
unfortunately, i tried to mod the J&H with indyguitarist mods and i screwed up the "H" side (doesn't work anymore) and i actually like the "J" side more pre-mod. i'm seriously thinking of picking up another J&H soon. don't mess with what works right?
Answer:
the new (red model) J&H's already have the mods in them...and they're switchable.
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Well...what I really need is a pedal that will give me a Les Paul sound out of a Strat. lol. Either that, or a new bridge pickup. Like a SD hot rail or something. Or a new amp..I'm not sure. So many options.
Answer:
Originally Posted by hardcorerocker Well...what I really need is a pedal that will give me a Les Paul sound out of a Strat. lol. Either that, or a new bridge pickup. Like a SD hot rail or something. Or a new amp..I'm not sure. So many options.
now you're pretty much just asking for the impossible. those two guitars are the sum of their parts, and their parts are quite different.
what exactly do you mean by "Les Paul sound", and what's your current amp? there's alot of things you could do if what you're looking to do with "thicken" your tone, and the first is as simple as messing with your EQ...but i'm not entirely sure what you're wanting to do.
Answer:
Originally Posted by thesteve now you're pretty much just asking for the impossible. those two guitars are the sum of their parts, and their parts are quite different.
what exactly do you mean by "Les Paul sound", and what's your current amp? there's alot of things you could do if what you're looking to do with "thicken" your tone, and the first is as simple as messing with your EQ...but i'm not entirely sure what you're wanting to do.
I'm using a Fender american strat through a MG30DFX amp. I've messed with my EQ. Bass is at 6 and Treble is at 8. By saying Les Paul tone I mean like rock, a real thick meaty beefy tone..you know what I'm saying? Like melt your face off kinda thing. I'm just not getting that out of my Strat.
Answer:
Originally Posted by hardcorerocker I'm using a Fender american strat through a MG30DFX amp. I've messed with my EQ. Bass is at 6 and Treble is at 8. By saying Les Paul tone I mean like rock, a real thick meaty beefy tone..you know what I'm saying? Like melt your face off kinda thing. I'm just not getting that out of my Strat.
i'd invert your current EQ. An American Strat is going to have treble to boot, so i'd boost the Bass and Mids and cut back on your treble. this should at least round off your sound a bit.
it sounds like you're going for that 70s classic rock crunchy, distorted Les Paul tone. part of it might be your amp...the MG series just aren't really catered to that sort of sound, at least the one's i've played seemed to have had more of a nu-metal/pop-punk bearing on them.
i definitely wouldn't give up on your MIA's stock setup yet. try using the pickups in the 2 and 4 positions to get a little beefier tone.
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Can you recommend me any other amps? Maybe even tube? Like the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe or something? Thanks for all your help!!!
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for your needs...probably a Peavey Classic would do well.
still...you're not going to get Les Paul tone without a Les Paul...period. Strat + Humbucker =/= Les Paul...not even close.
Answer:
Originally Posted by hardcorerocker what do you guys think of using it with a 30w solid state amp?
i remember this discussion over here.
anyways, since this was resurrected, i may as well ask another question:
how does the J&H compare to other distortion pedals... there are tons out there, so whats this one have over the others, and why is it so cheap? at $140, its cheaper than the 'ts808' it emulates (at $170)... and it has another distortion built in. is there something that i'm missing?