GET MORE FROM YOUR DRIVE PEDALS
15 TUBE AMP SATURATION USING A BOOST
This is the oldest tone trick in the book. Tube amps sound best when they’re being pushed. Using a gain pedal in front of an amp results in additional breakup and compression. This works best with smaller tube amps, as they run out of headroom quicker, and trip into power tube saturation. For higher-wattage amps, add some preamp gain at the amp, too.
16 DON’T USE TOO MUCH GAIN
Most of the time, distortion and overdrive pedals don’t sound great when maxed out. Start at a low setting, and gradually raise the gain until you’re happy with the sound. Even for metal, most bands are using less gain than you think. As discussed above, into a tube amp, the level control is the one you want to push as high as possible to thicken your sound.
17 DJENT WITH A TUBE SCREAMER
Overdrive pedals add compression of their own, as well as a distinct EQ profile – and the Ibanez Tube Screamer, with its mid hump, is excellent placed in front of a high-gain amp. With a valve amp on its drive channel, turn the Screamer’s gain down low, then bring up the level until it djents. Many other companies have Tube Screamer type pedals in their catalogues.
18 DON’T OVERLOAD THE LEVEL
So far we’ve only discussed tube amplifiers, but what if you’re going into a solid state piece of kit, or an audio interface? Simple – you don’t want to push the level, as that will result in audio clipping of the kind you don’t want. Instead, always push the level up to the point where clipping occurs – usually the red light on an interface, then back off the input trim slightly. This will give you the thickest sound.
19 DECIDE IF YOU ACTUALLY NEED A FUZZ
For players that remember ’90s albums like Smashing Pumpkins’, fuzz is the thickest distortion tone. Right? Well, even a lot of fuzz-obsessed bands – including SP – recorded using other gain devices in studio. For extreme saturation, RAT-style distortions and flatter-EQ pedals often record better. Open the gain right up, and it can sound pretty
