Pedals for the AD30VT

[WelcomeBack]

Looking for tips on amp models and pedal combinations.

I have found the Boutique Clean o.k with pedals, but my Keeley mod' Boss BD-2 doesn't seem to sound good.

Any recommendations?

Thanks
Paul

Les Paul, Vox AD30VT....Rhythm player

[warren0728]

my digitech bad monkey sounds good through the ad30vt and so does my old (90's) danelectro cool cat chorus pedal.

ww

[MagicBaller21]

my digitech bad monkey sounds good through the ad30vt and so does my old (90's) danelectro cool cat chorus pedal.

ww

yeah, i use either tweed 4X10 or uk70s with my bad monkey. i turn down the gain on the amp, and i use the pedal for the gain. what are some of the ways you guys do it? i can describe exactly where the dials are if needed, i can get a good gov't mule/lynyrd skynyrd tones with my LP.

[WelcomeBack]

I guess I should have been more specific....as far as pedals, I'm interested in OD/Distortion....I mostly play rhythm (mostly classic & 90s rock) on a Les Paul.

My BD2 sounds horrible in front of the fender blackface model, but then again I'm new to this. Had the most luck with the Boutique. I have a Boss DS-1 and it seems to fall near the UK Modern.

I've heard alot of good about the Bad Monkey...I may have to fork out the $40

Thanks
Paul

[Spudman***]

WB
I've been using my Bad Monkey in front of my DS 1 and really like it. You can get more bottom end from the ds1.
That DS1 can also have some easy to do cool mods done to it either by yourself of some one else.
Check this link. http://www.indyguitarist.com/mods.htm
There are sound clips as well for most of the mods available.

[Tone2TheBone]

For the most part I've never gotten a good overdrive sound with any pedal using the 2x12 blackface model. It's modeling a Fender Twin and the overdrive on Twins is big and round and muddy (think Eric Clapton with distortion pedal and his midboost guitar knob). You won't get a tight overdrive on the blackface model, be advised, although the blackface model is a wonderful sounding amp (sans pedals) once you get good volume output from the amp knobs. Big round smooth cleaner sound.

You can get killer sounds from a Blues Driver on the AC15 and 30 models and most definately the UK70s which is my favorite model to use with pedals. The BD-2 will hit the amp harder and the gain is bright and tight so compensate with the tone knobs on the amp to your liking. A Bad Monkey sounds really good with the Vox as it's more smoother in gain if you like smooth overdrive...but the Blues Driver really smokes as a gain stage on most of the models especially if you decrease the amp's gain knob like MagicBaller21 suggests and use the pedal's gain knob for overdrive. Usually straight up on the Blues Driver's dials is how I have mine set. All the knobs on the pedal at 12:00...and adjusting the output tone on the amp to my liking. Both Monkey and Blues Driver pedals work equally good on the Boutique OD amp model as well. Use low settings on the amps gain using this model and use the gain knob on the pedals more.

[Tim]

Tone – As always you give excellent information to help those with less playing time and experience. It never occurred to me to try the Bad Monkey on the AD30VT AC-15 model and the rest of the models around the dial. I figure those like the UK70 and such are already distorted, why add more??? But as you stated, turn down the amp’s gain and volume for a cleaner sound, then and the pedal’s characteristics.

You mentioned the Blues Driver’s dials are all set straight up at 12:00. How about the Bad Monkey? Do you use the same settings?

[Tone2TheBone]

Tim - On the Bad Monkey my settings are

level - 12:00

low - between 12:00 and 3:00 depending on model used (UK70s has A LOT of low end so I'll use 12:00 on that model...higher settings for other models)

high - about 2:00 or 3:00

gain - at 12:00...more if I want more overdrive.

These are my personal settings but give them a whirl and tweak to your own ears.

Yeah using the pedal's overdrive oftentimes yields sweeter harmonic distortion...but it depends. The reasoning is that the gain knob on the amp itself varies it's personality based on the amp it's trying to emulate. Some amp models don't actually utilize a pre-amp gain knob because they weren't originally designed that way (like the Fender and AC models) so on those models the gain is another added volume boost of sorts. Same thing on the UK70s as the plexis only had one volume knob. So being able to tweak the input gain on the pedal will give you much more versatility than using the amp's gain. It just depends on what your ears are hearing its kinda hard to explain that in terms of a verbal description. Just know that it's going to produce different overdrive sounds...and that is a good thing.

[Guitar-Chris]

Looking for tips on amp models and pedal combinations.

With the amp models up to UK 70s you can use a booster as a very versatile pedal. I like the Marshall Bluesbreaker BB-2. You can use it as a booster or a overdrive.

Digitech Bad Monkey is a good tip from other members.

In my opinion, the pedal should only emphasize the amps sound not override oder build a new one.

[warren0728]

tone,
i am always amazed at how indepth your analyses are. What great information!

ww

[Tim]

The reasoning is that the gain knob on the amp itself varies it's personality based on the amp it's trying to emulate. Some amp models don't actually utilize a pre-amp gain knob because they weren't originally designed that way (like the Fender and AC models) so on those models the gain is another added volume boost of sorts. Same thing on the UK70s as the plexis only had one volume knob.

Yea Tone - I knew about the no gain and two volumes on some amp models. I just never thought about putting any kind of OD pedal in front of these amp modelers.

Hey! What can I say. I'm still a newbie at all this electronic stuff.

[Tone2TheBone]

Hey! What can I say. I'm still a newbie at all this electronic stuff.

Me too! Modeling amps are crazy fun. Just another cool way of expressing yourself. There are a lot of things I'm learning myself and the internet is just chock full of information. Word of mouth still works too.

[Nelskie]

Tone - You were talking about those Danelectro mini-pedals the other day, and I saw one that would be perfect for your Vox. It's a distortion pedal called the "Grilled Cheese" . . . !

[Tone2TheBone]

hahaha Yeah a Grilled Cheese for my Cheesatronix!

[duhvoodooman***]

I've had an AD30VT for a couple of months, and play a Strat Plus and an Epi Elitist LP Std through it. Since I lean mostly to blues & classic rock, I tend to stay on the lefthand side of the amp model dial. I particularly like the Boutique CL, Black 2x12 and Tweed 4x10 models, but found it difficult to get the overdrive tone I was looking for with these cleaner models.

What has worked well for me is a used Digitech Tone Driver stomper that I picked up on eBay for $33. I like the "morph" knob feature of this pedal since it allows you to change the character of the distortion, as well as the usual level-tone-gain controls. They even give you some specific settings to emulate the DOD 250, Tubescreamer TS-9 and TS-808 pedals. While I'm a relative rookie with all this pedal stuff, I've been very pleased with the results, especially when trying to get an SRV tone with my Strat on one of the above clean amp models. Now, if I could only PLAY like him....

[Tone2TheBone]

Hey Duhvoodooman,

I think you have good insight into finding ways to coax some sweet sounds using your system. When I first got the AD30VT I had a hell of a time dialing in a believable semi-clean overdrive for SRV stuff. It was either too much or not enough. Since then I've experimented with the Blues Driver pedals and the Bad Monkey and it's gotten better. What I've done is come from the other direction and cleaned up the dirty models to get juicy SRV tones. That works ok too. All in all the Vox's are fun and reading about how we all achieve tonedom is even better.

[Nelskie]

Ah yes, Tone's "Cheesatronix" avatar is back! Tomato soup, anyone?!!

[tot_Ou_tard]

Hey, I'm new here. I heard about this site on the patchtronix forum.

I am also a new at playing the guitar (2 & 1/2 months), but not new to this world.

I have an AD30VT that is unfortunately in the shop for warranty repair for a bad pot. Arggghhh! In the meantime I am playing through my son's Roland Cube 30. It works but I miss my VOX.

I have a Celeston G10 that I haven't installed yet as I am waiting for all the warranty issues to work out first.

I am thinking about getting one or two pedals for my amp & boy am I confused.

I want to increase the ability to shape the tone. Man I love good tone, it makes me grin from ear to ear even through all my mistakes.


I am thinking about an EQ-pedal, clean boost & OD.

Confusion # 1) Are tube based pedals worth the price of admission? For example, do tube based clean boosts "engrave tubey warmth and sparkle on your signal" before it hits the A/D converter in the VOX preamp. Or is that sort of stuff marketing hype. I have also heard that the preamp is the easiet to model with solid state, hence VOX's use of the tube in the power stage.
Some of these pedals are as expensive or even more than I paid for the VOX. But if one of them did turn playing into an orgasmic experience I *might* entertain the idea.

Confusion #2) If a pedal has an EQ built in does it still help to have a dedicated eq pedal before it? Amptone.com claims so, I wouldn't know.

Confusion #3) Somewhere else in this form someone (Nelskie?) mention a zoom pedal. That pedal has built-in amp modeling. Does that work? Sounds like it might be a confusion of riches to send one amp model into another model on the VOX.

More confusions are sure to follow....

[tot_Ou_tard]

Oh, & I forgot to say hi to duhvoodooman, who has installed his Celestion G10 long ago, even though I received mine first!