anyone putting an eq pedal in front of a tube amp ?

[mauryrutchyahoo.com]

that is, to get the amp to overdrive sooner? i ordered a fender pro jr and i love the sound with my strat when the amp is past halfway. could i get there sooner (say, under halfway) if i stick my boss eq in front of the amp & set it so i'm just sending more guitar to the amp? i have a cheap plastic tube screamer but i don't expect that will sound so good. btw- i won't receive the amp till wednesday & that's why i have so many questions. after i get it i shall experiment lots!!! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif thanks for any and all help!

maury

[michael saulnier]

If you use a graphic eq in your pedal chain you'll be able to do all sorts of cool things. Boosting your guitar signal is one. Also try some classic "shapes" like the "metal" V shape, or an inverted V for a more mid-range solo sound.

 

Remember that eq can be as useful sonically if you reduce frequencies. For example, if you reduce harsh frequencies you can drive your amp more by turning it up a little more without it "sounding" louder.

 

Have fun and let us know if you find a "sweet setup".

 

guitplayer

 

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[Chip McDonald]

Originally posted by mauryrutch@yahoo.com:

that is, to get the amp to overdrive sooner? i ordered a fender pro jr and i love the sound with my strat when the amp is past halfway. could i get there sooner (say, under halfway) if i stick my boss eq in front of the amp & set it so i'm just sending more guitar to the amp?

 

"Sooner" relative to where the volume knob is at on the amp, but not volume-wise. It's still going to have to be equivalently loud to be overdriven - otherwise it's not "overdriven".

 

You can break the front end up on the amp if you had control over the the preamp - but that's not the same either.

 

With the EQ on the other hand, you can alter what frequency range - bass, middle, treble - the amplifier will be distorting at.

 

A Pro Junior gets pretty saturated before it gets to 10, and it's pretty thick in the bass with a peaky treble, very black-face. You could probably make either the low end or the top saturate "sooner", but if you want more distorted mids it's going to be loud.

 

The EQ pedal combined with the Junior's "beyond infinite" compression thing it does when cranked all the way should give you a wide palette.

 

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[lynx]

I use this device because I found after years of trying other boost-type boxes that the volume control allows it to work as a kind of overdriver and it was one of the few devices that could give a nice kick to your solos without changing the tone much on an already overdriven amp-this thanks of course to the variable EQ feature. As far as getting there "sooner" I'll re-iterate what I said in your first post on this subject. If the amp itself won't do what you want it to, then you've got the wrong amp.

[Rick Turner]

This is one of the "secrets" to the Model 1-C guitar I make...the one usually associated with Lindsey Buckingham. It's got a semi-parametric EQ you can switch in or out with 12 dB of boost or cut and a frequency sweep control which goes from just over 100 Hz to about 4 K Hz. It's amazing what you can do in voicing the distortion of an amplifier with this thing. The frequency center boosted just explodes in harmonic distortion while the clean sound of the guitar still comes through.

[jef5f]

I use an Electra 6-band eq with my tube amp to boost the signal for leads, and when I use a Strat to compensate for part of it's many weaknesses.

[D. Gauss]

<

 

i put a tremolo pedal on top of my tube amp once...

 

-d. gauss

[greed2000]

I just ordered one of the new Boss Digital programmable EQs. I play 4 different guitars through the same preamp/processor and amp. The Boss will allow me to set up custom EQ curves and levels for each instrument and call them up as needed. I can set bass/mid/highs for individual presets on the preamp/processor, but having a 10 band EQ will be much better.

 

Also I want to explore using it to boost for leads.

[DC]

What you really want is a 'power soak' or similar device. They let you crank up your output tubes to get 'the sound' and then attenuate between the amp out and the speaker. Lots of guys use them with Marshalls to get the arse end distortion without pulverizing the audience and band mates with volume.

 

NOTE: One thing to remember is that altho it sounds great, you are punishing your output tubes. You'll wear them out faster, but the pro uses small ones (6V6 or EL-84) right? so they're not so expensive.

[strat0124]

I own both the Pro Jr and the Blues Jr. I would think a little Boss EQ in front with a good strat with either hot pickups or active pickups will be all you need. Depends on what you're looking for. The Pro Jr opened up halfway is a formidable beast, but you ain't gonna get Creed out of it....ever. I run either of these in small clubs front ended with a Boss SD-1...sorta like a tubescreamer, set up for a boost for leads. For the genre I play it's awesome. My suggestion is if you're playing clubs, experiment with how you place the amp on stage. The Pro Jr gets damn loud for 15 watts. I mic mine and set it directly on the floor vs putting it on amp stands. I also try to place it behind or turned slightly toward the PA stack. This lets you crank up the amp where it gets that sweet power tube tone, without making your bandmates want to string you up. I have no trouble competing volume wise with our bassist who plays through a Super Redhead. As far as I'm concerned, throwing out all the dollar signs, etc......it's the best amp Fender makes. It's the best kept club secret these days, even Bonnie uses one. Danny Flowers recorded his new album entirely with a Blues Jr. That's enough endorsement for me.