conky wrote:When you guys play around with different dirt pedals are you trying to get them all to sound exactly like the tone in your head (as in your main tone) or do you just see what nice sounds are in there and go with that? Seems like when I first has a Badascan I dug it, but I really didn't use it because I was into more amp distortion that was tight and chuggy at the time. I eventually sold it because I felt like there was a ton of overlap with it and the Pharaoh and I wasn't even using my Pharaoh that much. Just got assface's Badascan in the mail and noticed myself trying to immediately dial in the tone I have with my Quantum Mystic. Anyway, it got me wondering what everyone's approach to trying out new dirt pedals is.
The more I play in this group I'm with now (I hesitate to call it a "band" but we're getting there), the more I find myself trying to get a particular sound that puts me in a particular part of the live mix. Granted I haven't been buying and flipping every option under the sun, but I have tried a few things that just didn't stick and finally found something just about right. Could it be done with a plethora of other devices? More than likely. I'm glad I started looking more at the circuit designs of different things, as that actually helped MORE than just hearing a couple of sound clips. Versatility is always a wonderful thing IMO, but most of the "versatile" pedals I've owned in the past didn't have that "one" thing. Dialed in to you first, versatility second.
On the topic of what constitutes a useful/TOANZ/practical amp, since beginning to really get into dirt, I find the amp needs less distortion and more control over the voicing/eq/whatever. My AORs sound pretty aggressive straight in, but having a useable clean sound has always been important to me, which made having a distorted "base" tone less useful overall. I could probably get along with just about anything that shares DNA with the JCMs/Bassman style amps. Even if that amp is factory made overseas and only serviceable by a full replacement. It does what it does, right?
conky wrote:Florida doods. We liked your state so much that we're going back on a week long run this spring. Lets hook up and do some shows together (or at least hang out).
What parts of Florida? I'm not local there, but I may be able to swing a roadtrip out if you guys aren't playing in the deep of the pan handle.
