Are these good pedals for heavy rock/metal

Chris 90

Hi I want to get some new gear as my Marshall MG100dfx and Squier Jagmaster ain't doing it for me, I want a heavier sound. First of would these be good pedals for a heavier sound MXR fullbore metal, Dunlop Crybaby GCB95, MXR M109, Boss OC-3 and a Digitech Hardwire hw cm2 tube overdrive. Also what be a good guitar and amp for a heavier sound in between the 250-600euro mark. Thanks for your time, Happy Xmas!

Shakti

I'd get the amp sound I want before I started looking for pedals as I think your ears maybe telling you to get rid of your solid state in favour of tubes in which case this person may take your Marshall+cash then all you'll need from your pedal list is the crybaby or similar wah,
http://www.adverts.ie/guitar-amps/mesa-boogie-f50-with-custom-flightcase/1234801

Celly Smunt

Some of the new charvels are nice for your price range,especially the ones with the natural finish necks.I'd swap the pups out though if they're emg.I always found EMG pups to be a little artificial sounding at higher volumes.

MrECameraman

Sorry about the late reply, but it sounds to me like you'd want a bugera 6260/2. Basically a clone of a peavey 6505, it's brutally heavy.

I'd be surprised if you need OD after that. Just dime that amp and enjoy

Chris 90

Actually I was thinking about getting a tiny terror orange amp with 2x12 harley benton cabs, would that set up work, as in for live basically pubs and clubs.

MrECameraman

The tiny terror's a great little amp alright, but really depends on the type of music you're playing. It's quite high gain, but not insanely so. Very very British sounding. What sort of music are you playing?

Chris 90

Well kind of aerosmith/led zeppelin/black sabbath so basically that kind of crunch, heavy without being insanly so ,apologies for my attempts to describe.

MrECameraman

Nah I get you The Orange isn't bad for that, but to be honest you're describing vintage Marshall. Something like either http://www.adverts.ie/602018 or (my preference) http://www.adverts.ie/2485318 would certainly fit the bill. Be warned though, these things are friggin LOUD. I have one and it's just a monster. Sounds like rawk though. You can also mod them really easily (take out power amp tubes to bring it down to 50W, hot rod etc)

Another alternative, but a bit more expensive, is Ceriatone amps (www.ceriatone.com). They make clones of the marshalls, but IMO improve on them. Check out the site, they have clips.

With all that having been said, the orange would do the job on all of those bands well, for sure, but the Marshall would be a bit more authentic

Chris 90

Yeah have a marshall combo at the moment but think it's a bit flat, it's the MG100dfx it doesn't do the job.If you can explain to me I have another concern I keep seeing the word headroom in relation to amps and cabs, and how people say if the headroom isn't right you get a flat, dull sound

MrECameraman

Ah you can't compare an MG and a JCM It's like comparing a VW Golf to a Lambo Murcielago. Sure, they're made by the same company, but they aren't the same thing Maybe try one of those guys out from the ads? Or rent one - always a good option.

Headroom is really just how much capacity you have. So in terms of the amplifier, it's how loud it can go, and in terms of the speakers it's how much power they can handle. Now, in terms of it sounding flat or dull, that's not really a function of the headroom. If you push good gear and push it (ie nice tube amp, quality speakers etc), you'll find that as you approach the limits of what it can do, you'll get the best tone. That said, it doesn't last long and tends to blow up often, at great expense to you

Just one caveat as someone who's spent his whole guitar life as a tone chaser - this stuff gets expensive quickly, but you can minimise that expense by really researching what you like and trying different gear, and also spending up front (cos you'll just wind up spending it in the long run anyway)

Chris 90

Cheers for the suggestions, honestly the clearest anyone explained this stuff to me without getting overly techie. Time to trade in the battered old VW Golf methinks

MrECameraman

Best of luck with the amp shopping! Feel free to run anything by me by PM!

NwRepairman

Quick one Chris - maybe you've tried it, maybe not.
Really play around with your amp. Turn those knobs - try extreme positions (Ooer, Matron).
Probably the best advice I ever got was to to turn down the gain and up the master. Mess around a lot with it before you decide to send it down the swanny.

Havent played a Marshall MG though so maybe im talking out my rear

Best of luck in the hunt

Ravelleman

NwRepairman wrote: »

Havent played a Marshall MG though so maybe im talking out my rear

Personally, I think they're terrible but you can get decent tones out of most amps if you fiddle around with them. Regardless, I'd spend the money on upgrading the amp rather than getting pedals. It's much more important to get a solid core sound first.

Chris 90

Hey I've decided to get an orange tiny terror with harley benton cabs.

TroutMask

Just did the Keeley mod on my Boss DS-1 - very nice heavy distortion. It's in front of a Marshall 1959 JMP with a master vol mod

Chris 90

Hey troutmask (captain beefheart reference?) yea been looking at pedals think I might get the boss and ibanez tube screamer, I think that's a SRV trick. This is my only issue at the moment is what kind of amp head I want. I want something with a bit of kick, doing research I think the tiny terror might be to one dimesional, I might be wrong. I'm pretty sure of getting an amp head between 15-20 watts, the cleanest sound I would want is Jimi Hendrix 'little wing' and then the heavier sounds of say Hendrix,Page, SRV and Rory Gallagher. I think Marshall might be out of my price range. I might be asking too much from an amp head, but I'm going to get pedals to embellish my sound. Hope that all makes sense

TroutMask

Chris 90 wrote: »

Hey troutmask (captain beefheart reference?) yea been looking at pedals think I might get the boss and ibanez tube screamer, I think that's a SRV trick. This is my only issue at the moment is what kind of amp head I want. I want something with a bit of kick, doing research I think the tiny terror might be to one dimesional, I might be wrong. I'm pretty sure of getting an amp head between 15-20 watts, the cleanest sound I would want is Jimi Hendrix 'little wing' and then the heavier sounds of say Hendrix,Page, SRV and Rory Gallagher. I think Marshall might be out of my price range. I might be asking too much from an amp head, but I'm going to get pedals to embellish my sound. Hope that all makes sense

It is Beefheart for sure! Kind of a 'road to damascus' is TMR for me. Tube Screamers are pretty cool out of the box, no? Maybe try the Boss DS-1 stock pedal before you buy as I think it's sad without the Keeley mod. Depends what it's in front of. TBH - i would go amp first, pedals second. The amp is the heart of the sound. All of those players you mentioned used point-to point wired valve amps: Hendrix was Marshall; Page ?? not sure; SRV used custom amps Dumble and the like; Rory was a Vox AC 30 driven by a 'top-boost' guy though he used other amps as well. Those 60's 'top-boosts' are more like 'high-midrange articulators' - they voice that frequency range and drive the amp into distortion a bit too. The germanium transistor variety TB will break up in a cool way that adds a little extra. I wouldn't cheap out on the amp as it's false economy - you'll always be able to pick up pedals here and there. The wattage will depend on the size of the venue and how loud the stage sound of your act is. Here's some examples: I was using a Vox AC 30 then one show it was totally lost once the band started up; then i went to a Marshall 100W - but it had 2 settings: 0 or 11 - it was hard to dial in live. I took the same amp and gave it the Master Volume mod - the one that allows you to overdrive the pre & driver stages. That works perfectly: I can turn it to any level and get the same cut. It has a cap mod on the Bright channel too, so you can have a glassier tone, or a more harsh 'stock' Marshall tone. I use one or two 1x12" cabs - depending on the size of the venue and the stage area. So, basically I'm using a 100W head with lots of tweak options and cab options so that I can fit different situations. The people I play with would kick my a$$ if I was drowning them out, so I have to fit in. The Vox has the valve top boost add-on & I have a Germanium TB as well. For distortions: as aforementioned the DS-1 Keeley mod, and an Expandora.

If you live in Dublin, you could check out Some Neck Guitars - he has loads of cool amps. Also, Music Maker is having a sale next weekend. I think I saw a Laney Lionheart on Adverts too - not sure if they are any good? Engl are pretty crunchy & loud - a pedigreed well-built sort of valve sound - plenty of grunt. Marshall & Fender I'm sure you know. Old Marshall are great, esp. when set up or modded right. Newer Marshall can be pretty horrible - depends on the amp. A lot of newer amps are hard to service.

Chris 90

Cheers for the help, I think at this stage I'm getting overly fussy. But as you said it's the heart of your sound. I guess I rather crank up a small amp (head), than have a big amp that I don't really need. Plus something that's easily transportable .The venues I'd be playing to would be a place with no more than 100-150 people at a stretch. In the past I've played in groups it can turn into a volume war and nobody is listening to each other. As far as pedals, they look tempting but yeah I'm not the type of player who relies on them you can't cover up bad playing, also people with a ton of pedals sometimes can look like Irish dancer tap dancing along the rig .