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I've never been a big fan of amp distortion, so get most of my dirt from pedals. Multi-channel amps always seem like too much of a compromise: one channel might work well for me while the other doesn't.

To make a change from fuzzes, I'm looking at "amp-like" pedals that aren't a RAT (good in its own way, but a bit too muddy), or TS-style circuit. Part of the reason I can't get on with low-to-medium gain boxes in the past is because they always seem to have a splatty or crackly decay (Boss BD-2 for instance) so I go between completely clean and full-on muff-style high gain to avoid the crackle and splat in between. There seems to be quite a lot of choice for boxes that are advertised to get vaguely close to a plexi or 800 Marshall: the Catalinbread DLS, Wampler Plexi Drive and Xotic SL drive are three that I've seen so far, which are available from the usual online stores.

How do these boxes compare for those of you who have tried them? What other ones are also worth looking into? I'm not restricted to second-hand or clones of major brands these days, but it would be nice to find something that's at least on sale on the Island...

DS-1?

Seriously tho, I just got a Boss OS-2 and it's pretty cool. Prefer it to anything else I've had (Rats, Dist +, Box of Rock, OCD).

Get an amp you actually like, and a booster.

I used a Marshall Drivemaster as my main dirt for a long time, can be had pretty cheap second hand IIRC! I think I paid £30 for mine. Not a million miles away from a TS-style sound, but more amp-like. Plus, it was a few years ago, but I seem to recall the EQ was super flexible.

I'm still a bit fan of the Box Of Rock (MBM Box Of Mike, specifically) for a Marshall-y style sound.

I had Mike make mine with the boost BEFORE the gain stage, so it goes into fuzzy freakout territory, as well as low/mid gain stuff.

Crummy demo I did like 9 years ago:

[youtube][/youtube]

Freddy V-C wrote:I used a Marshall Drivemaster as my main dirt for a long time, can be had pretty cheap second hand IIRC! I think I paid £30 for mine. Not a million miles away from a TS-style sound, but more amp-like. Plus, it was a few years ago, but I seem to recall the EQ was super flexible.

I've been on a similar hunt for a pleasant sounding MIAB pedal. I start my pedal chain with a Fredric Effects Zombie Klone, which is a really great OD. However, I prefer to use it as an "always on" booster. Last year I got a Marshall Guv'nor (Korean made, early 90s) and I was really in love with it for about 6 months until it crapped out. Seems well known on the internet that those old Marshall pedals are completely unreliable.

I missed the sound of the Guv'nor, so I then decided to try a Joyo British Sound. I had some Amazon gift cards, so...

The Joyo was actually awesome. So many different MIAB options to dial in, from Bluesbreaker to JCM800. I found a sweet spot that made me just want to play for hours out of sheer joy. But this past month, the Joyo started to crap out on me as well. Wasn't entirely surprised considering the price point.

So now I'm thinking of getting a Sansamp British (used for about $70). I'm going to make sure to get V2 with the cabinet sim defeat button. But you know what, my good friend plays a J Mascis JM into a Catalinbread DLS into a Fender HR Deluxe and it sounds damn good. And people seem to love Wampler and the MI Crunch Box for this application. I've been vaguely intrigued by all of these options at some point.

I've had the Catalinbread DLS on my board pretty much since I got it about 8 years ago, does a great job. Prefer it to the MI Crunch Box, but has less gain, so depends what you want. Have had the Joyo British which sounded good, but was just too noisy for me, might have been a duff one.

I've got the Joyo Voxalike too, and it's pretty noisy too; cheap innit

I've just been looking through the Freestompboxes.org thread on the Tech21 Character series and there's some discussion about swapping the op-amps out for low-noise versions. I have a California Sound that I might get around to taking a look at reducing the noise level in.

Sansamp Classic or Bass Driver have always treated me well

Yes, the Joyo British has been noisey from the get-go, despite its awesome tonez. The Sansamp isn't any better unless I mod it? Perhaps the DLS is worth trying. I never really hear anything bad about that pedal.

I have the Behringer bass driver... recommended by Freddy and Doog, I believe. Mine sounds good and hasn't had any issues. My friend with the DLS bough one as well recently. His has crapped out in less than a month.

Buy Boss, buy it once

singlepup wrote: The Sansamp isn't any better unless I mod it?

Nah, I think it's just the Joyo copies, they have cheaper components, put together with less testing etc.

Said it before and I'll say it again... and again:- Stop fucking about and get an SD-1

I'll probably pick up an SD-1 when I see one second-hand, out of curiosity's sake more than anything else. That's how I ended up with a DS-1 which, while it's not a permanent fixture on my board, can sound pretty good if you tweak it right. It certainly doesn't deserve the derision that the crowd throw at it.

A Sansamp isn't a bad idea, now you mention it. I used to have a bass driver DI, and although the mid scooped eq was a little too extreme for me (I've been thinking about trying the VT Bass version instead) it's well made and very good at what it does.

I guess I *could* save up for a second amp...Matamp do make the GT40 after all, which is intended to have a Marshall-ish voicing, but it's a bit overkill for a few home studio overdubs. If I can talk myself out of that by approximating the "classic rock" crunchy sound with a pedal or two, it would be...helpful. If a DLS, Crunchbox or Drivemaster can get into the general ballpark, so much the better.

Doog wrote:

singlepup wrote: The Sansamp isn't any better unless I mod it?

Nah, I think it's just the Joyo copies, they have cheaper components, put together with less testing etc.

I believe the Sansamp uses the Texas TLC2262 op amp which has a noise figure of 11 nV/Hz^1/2 while the Joyo uses the TL062 with a noise figure of 40 - 42 nV/Hz^1/2. The OPA1678 manages to do 4.5 nV. You'd have to have decent surface mount soldering skills to upgrade though.

The Cash Converters site is good for getting Boss pedals cheap.

Sorted, I'm getting teh Sansamp British.

I have an SD-1 (black label Taiwanese, pre-1997) right now, and it's not my favorite. I know they get a lot of love, but Boss OD pedals aren't really my thing. I do like almost every other category of Boss pedal, including the DS series.

The DLS, Crunchbox, or Drivemaster will all get you in the neighborhood for sure, but they all sound quite different. Go with your gut and if you don't love your initial choice, sell it on and try another.

The way I see it, a single tone control is only gonna make a pedal so flexible. Not enough bass AND top end in your sound? Tough tits.

The 3-band EQ and Voice/Character controls on those Joyo/Tech 21 pedals make them SO useful in terms of making it mould to fit your own rig/wants. I've been about to get the classic kinda 'hollow' chimey Vox sounds on my ACTone, as well as a super middly 80s Marshall tone.

Thumbs up, will one day pick up the V2 Tech 21, to see if that Speaker Sim defeat is really worth it.. and to have a pedal that lasts for as long as possible.

I have a spare GT2 knocking about but I don’t think it’ll ever be needed cause they seem to be indestructible? I’m happy to let it move on for £90 as that’s what I paid for it. PM if you fancy