How do you use your OD

[Tone2TheBone]

Obviously the effect most people want to achieve with most OD pedals is a creamy smooth tube amp overdrive. There are many ways and many different kinds of pedals to achieve this though and there are also many uses for an OD pedal for anything other than "overdrive". What kind of user are you?

1. You use an overdrive pedal on a clean one channel amp and try to get the most distortion from it that you can.

2. You use an OD pedal on a clean one channel amp and only use the pedal to get slightly broken up sounds...more like for drive.

3. You use an OD pedal on an already overdriven amp (2 channel amp) to produce even more singing distortion and drive.

4. You use two or more OD pedals to achieve different levels of OD.

For those that are either #1 or #2 users...do you try and balance out the sound output on the pedal so that when the OD pedal is not is use you have the same overall volume (clean) as it is when it's overdriven (dirty)? Or do you nix that and turn the pedal level all the way up or at least past halfway without regard to balanced volumes. Understandably I would think just a little bit more volume on an OD pedal would be the goal. What do you think?

For those that use more than one OD pedal...what goals are you trying to achieve? Different levels of gain? Different tones? Treble boosts or Bass boosts? Tell us how you use this technique if you are one of these multiple OD pedal users.

[Spudman***]

I use my OD in a variety of ways. All of them you described.

On the clean channel it brings in crunch when I need it and to an already distorted channel it makes it creamy and smooth mainly for soloing.

I usually have the output on the pedal a little hotter than the plain guitar signal. That way I can back off the guitar volume and clean up yet still have the overall volume plenty loud enough to cut through. Then I roll it back on/up for solo time.

I also have multiple OD boxes hooked up and can drive them with each other for more variety of silky solo tones or crunch variety. For instance: Tube Screamer>Boss DS-1 makes the mid hump of the TS diminish, adds sustain/compression and square wave. DS-1>Tube Screamer utilizes the mid hump of the TS to cut through and warms up the DS-1 while coming out a bit smoother than just the TS by itself.

I don't think there is any set way to use the OD. Just follow your ears.

[Tone2TheBone]

....I don't think there is any set way to use the OD. Just follow your ears.

Thats why I started this thread. We all use them differently and I wanted us to post how we do it.

I'm known to be a "just the amp" purist as I love the way an amp compresses and overdrives naturally or even with a gain stage added...preamp/master volume sound. Having said this I have gotten into using pedals more often lately and appreciate their qualities. One thing that seems to be the concensus among players is that there isn't just one pedal that can do it "all". Thats why most people have more than one OD pedal. I've approached the idea of using pedals as if my amps did not have a preamp gain stage. If I were forced to use a clean amp to do lots of styles of music using pedals for certain things. Both my amps are of the preamp/master volume types but I'm able to experiment using the clean channels and it's been a lot of fun trying many different pedals.

It's interesting to hear about you putting the same pedals in different orders to achieve different results.

[marnold***]

I mainly use my OD as an "11" switch to boost the gain on my AD30VT's UK70s model.

[SuperSwede]

2,3 & 4... I wont admit to number 1.

[Tone2TheBone]

Seems that most people use OD pedals as a boost to an already dirty signal. I also read of other people using it exclusively as their only source of gainy sound. I guess it depends on what pedal you have and how it responds to what you want it to do. I feel a little funny talking about OD because I am so used to the sound of the equipment I have when they work by themselves. I really don't need any OD because I get plenty of drive with both amps and I much prefer them that way. I am not saying I don't like to experiment with pedals though.

1. The new Marshall Guv'nor pedal I got recently recreates the drive of my Jubilee very well. Full gain it smokes. Backed off it does an overdriven clean amp extremely well. And HEY it's a pedal who'da thought!

2. The Bad Monkey makes me happy as a drive boost on an already overdriven amp. By itself on a clean amp it's not as dramatic although it is a sweet sounding pedal and does what it does good. Makes a neat simulation of a clean amp breaking up.

3. The MXR Micro Amp is my clean boost. I use that with the Gibson anytime I want "more" of my already existing drive signal. It really isn't an OD pedal though per se but it does clean/treble boosts nicely.

[duhvoodooman***]

I'm mostly a #2 guy, with occasional #3 and 4 use. I especially like to use the OD pedals to get some break-up when I have to keep the volume down--which is most of the time, being a home player in a small room! The Bad Monkey and the Tonebone Classic are great on clean amp sounds (either the clean channel of my Delta Blues or the cleaner models of my AD30VT) for dialing in exactly the character and extent of OD that I want. My Tone Driver is pretty much "married to" my Valve Jr combo now, and performs admirably as well.

I'm not a metal guy at all, so really heavy distortion is a non-need for me....

[SuperSwede]

Metal man?

[Leonidas]

I'd have to say i use my bad monkey for reason #2, and reason #3. Can't do #4, i only have one . and i rarely use my bad monkey for a full out distortion like #1.

I'm mostly an at-home player, and I use my ad50vt on some of the cleaner channels most of the time, then i use my bad monkey to give an extra boost. Sometimes leaving the drive below 12, and pushing the amp with the level knob up high. This works really well with the blackface and tweed models of the vox.

[Spudman***]

Option #4 is my personal favorite because I have enough pedals to do it and it really is a versatile set up.

[250Keith]

I'm mostly a #2 guy, with occasional #3 and 4 use. I especially like to use the OD pedals to get some break-up when I have to keep the volume down--which is most of the time, being a home player in a small room! The Bad Monkey and the Tonebone Classic are great on clean amp sounds (either the clean channel of my Delta Blues or the cleaner models of my AD30VT) for dialing in exactly the character and extent of OD that I want. My Tone Driver is pretty much "married to" my Valve Jr combo now, and performs admirably as well.

I'm not a metal guy at all, so really heavy distortion is a non-need for me....

+1

[sunvalleylaw]

I don't really know that much what I am doing, but I try to do 2 and 4, using my ears. Since I play by myself a lot, what I do then is different than if I am playing out. Sometimes I am in 2 mode, and switch to 4 with it preset to a volume boost I like to play a lead. I have the Boss DS-1 ahead of the Monkey, to use the Monkey to smooth out the DS-1 (Learned that from Spud), and if I want to do the boost from rhythm to lead, I have th Monkey on, then switch on the DS-1 for a boost. I intend to experiment more with both on and using volume boosts with my volume knob on my guitar instead.