5 Things I Wish I knew about Gain Stacking SOONER

[@EnterJustice]

1. Later in the chain = greater impact on tone. Put your boost AFTER the main overdrive - so you get additional VOLUME instead of (input) GAIN. 2. Less is more when gain stacking. You don't have to push a series of overdrives as hard as you'd push a SINGLE drive - overdrive can even out the differences between having only overdrive and pushing it with the fuzz. 4. Be aware of the EQ curve. Flat frequency response vs mid-hump. A tubescreamer into the Lightspeed gives it more compression, gain, and drive in the mid section. 5. Don't be afraid to experiment; don't just stick to the classic formulas.

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

Wow! Not only did you watch, you took notes! haha Thanks for that.

[@EnterJustice]

@@GettinBetterWithDave Just giving an up-and-coming creator some engagement for the algo ;-) it's good to keep the basics in mind.

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

Thanks very much!

[@BrenQ99]

The quality of material presented as well as the quality of the production of this video is significantly higher than your number of subscribers. I have a feeling that you will quickly gain a lot of traction and subscribers. The really was well done and informative -- thank you very much!! -- your newest subscriber (for the moment, anyway).

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

@@BrenQ99 Aw! That’s very kind of you to say. Thank you so much! I appreciate that encouragement. 😊

[@productofgrace316]

Been waiting for this Dave. Thank you!

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

You welcome! Sorry it took a little longer than planned. I hope it was helpful!

[@the1trueporkchop]

I’ve become a volume knob rider, but I still stack drives to get the sound in my head! Regardless of doing rock, metal, or worship, I start out like this: dial the amp to clean up with the volume knob on guitar, turn on my first drive and do the same, repeat with each pedal until I have a wonderfully clear yet saturated sound with my guitar at 10, and either a crystal clean or edge of break up sound with my guitar at 2.

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

That's a great method! What kind of guitar do you play? I'm guessing not a Gibson.. tough to ride two volumes 🤣

[@the1trueporkchop]

@@GettinBetterWithDave typically an HSS strat, but I do have an Epiphone Explorer. My volume riding is typically on the neck pickup while I’ll keep the bridge on 10!

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

That makes sense! That's a cool method!

[@mrstrypes]

I like to think of the last drive pedal in my chain as the "noun" and all of the ones before it as "adjectives" that serve to modify it. Great video! Very informative. Thanks!

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

Thanks very much! And yes, that is a fantastic way of looking at it!

[@fuzexi]

I really liked your video. It was clear an to the point. I liked the pedal buddy concept - not silly at all! It would have been nice however to hear you talk a little about each of the pedals you were demonstrating and why you chose to put them on your board (just 30 seconds talk on each one).

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

@@fuzexi thanks so much! You know, that could be another video of what’s on my board and why. I’ll save that for a future video.

[@iamstan_rimp]

I never used boost after an OD/Distortion until today lol! Thank you!!! I have a Demon FX that has a boost going into the distortion but I used my multifx unit to boost the pedal +3b and I was in a different world lol!

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

That's awesome! I'm so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know.

[@jefwinchester]

Hey sir, new subscriber here from the Philippines. Okay just so you know, i'm not a professional musician yet, been seeking a lot of help regarding my tone and musicality with other musicians and bands in my city but when i do, those musicians and the bands need some help too hahaha so i told myself, fine i'll do it on my own. And i'm still learning up to this day as i get along in life. I've been so confused lately of what to put first on my pedalboard, been experimenting to stack some pedals since then. First, i stack my dirt pedal which is my Indio DS-6 Distortion pedal, then next is my Joyo Overdrive pedal. I know i only have practical pedals or as they say "primitive" pedals because i'm just getting started on building myself as a good musician hahaha but i learned and harness my skills with it along the way. I think i will just add a Booster pedal next time, right after my Overdrive, that's just my only problem i haven't tried putting a Booster pedal on my chain. Thanks for this information sir. Keep onb rockin'.🤘🏻😎

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

Hey bro! I'm glad to hear you're doing what you can to improve at guitar and get better tone, that's awesome! A good way to stack drive would be to pick the one you love the way it sounds by itself and then use the other pedal to make it even better. If you want it louder put the second best pedal after your favorite. Or if you want more drive boost into your favorite by putting your second fave before. Also, if you want to buy a boost, look at Flamma pedals, they are great for the price. Hit me up anytime if you have questions and about gear or playing questions. I'm here to help if I can! ps, I started with primitive pedals too! 😊

[@3rdStoreyChemist]

Don't be afraid to turn up the gain controls! Each control on all your gain pedals will be very interactive, so the volume/level knob has a huge impact on what is hitting the next pedal. But there's a lot of emphasis on keeping this control high & gain settings low, but turning it down & the gain up does have its uses. In fact a lot of old pedals lacking in output make more sense when going into something already distorted as too much output can make things muddy, particularly fuzzes. If you have a pedal that gets muddy with too much gain, which is literally just more volume being added to the signal, if the majority of the additional distortion from a pedal boosting it is from increased output, you run the risk of pushing the later pedal into that muddy sound, so turning the first pedal down and turning the gain up on that pedal can be better for clarity. Heaviest to highest doesn't really work. Its more important to have that last gain pedal work with your amp and get the sound you're after, so it isn't as simple as "lightest pedal" last. Like I tend to use British style amps, being from the UK where they are cheap, a soft-clipping overdrive tends to be like a blanket over the amp, the "bite" just isn't there, so a hard-clipping pedal works perfectly. But something like a Fender or just generally super clean, scooped & extended high end and a soft-clipping circuit is often better.

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

Wow! Thanks for your input! sounds like you've got enough thoughts on this to make a video on the topic. Thanks for the comment!

[@robertgrignani]

Great video and explanation. Have subbbed 👍

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

@@robertgrignani thanks very much! And thank you for subbing😊

[@moshezarviv1252]

great video, dude !! (and I watched a lot...)

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

Thanks so much for the encouragement!! This video is killing it but my video about chords is tanking. Why do you think that is? Just curious what you think. You can be honest :)

[@mrmusicrevolution333]

Great video and excellent information. I have a spark booster and it is very useful specially when you are looking for a touch more in your clean guitar sound. It can be a bit clinical sometimes but then pushing other driver before or after you get so many different killer sounds. We will try to review it in our channel because it’s a budget friendly guitar gear and it sounds great!

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

Thanks very much! The spark is super useful, I wanna pick up a mini as well, to have for smaller boards. and yeah, super affordable. Thanks for the comment!

[@deanbelden6316]

Well Dave, thank you. Awesome advice, I've been doing it wrong😢 My green russian was my last in the drive chain and my blues driver was the first. I saw something a while ago about a tube goes into a muff but a muff can't go into a tube 😂😂😂 sounds legit

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

You're welcome! Thanks for the encouragement. There is no right or wrong here, just things to try! It all depends on your pedals and the way you dial them in. It is a journey my friend!

[@deanbelden6316]

Cheers for the reply, a journey indeed. Possibly one of deepest rabbit holes I've ever dove in to, it's endless

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

Yep! The more you know the more there is to learn.. some how.

[@Rushan2112]

I tried higher dirt first, just didn’t like it, but everyone’s pedals and taste differs. I have a klone as a clean boost before other dirt, then a few dirts of varying gain, and a spark at the end for when I just need a little volume kick.

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

Right on! Yeah, it does depend on the pedals you're using and the sounds you're trying to get from them. I really liked it with my pedals but of corse everyones mileage may be different. Which setting do you use on the spark? Is it the clean mod?

[@Rushan2112]

I have the spark mini, end of chain, so it’s just a small volume boost (it’s turned to like 9 o’clock). It has capability to be a pretty substantial volume boost though! When I put in front of my rat or klone, it sounds weird and kinda compressed.

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

@@Rushan2112 Oh right on! I wanna grab one of the minis, pretty great, especially for the price.

[@kernelspy]

I have a Timmy Overdrive, and I'm wondering what the best application is for use in a live worship band! Thank you!

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

@@kernelspy That’s a great pedal! Very versatile. Honestly a Timmy should be able to fulfill just about anything you feel like you don’t have (drive wise). That could be an edge of breakup, always on pedal. That could be a boost into something else. Or a higher gain option for solos and what not. Are you running any other drives with it? Thanks for reaching out and for watching! ☺️

[@kernelspy]

@@GettinBetterWithDave Thanks for the prompt response brother. I use it in Church playing and I usually use it as a gain/ solo boost before all my drives (RAT / Marshall drive clones) -- but I saw your video that you used the Spark Boost 'After' the OCD which kinda gives me an idea... but playing in church, I don't usually play face melting solos though! I can't also decide between this and the BOSS BD-2!! too many options! HAHAHAH!

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

@ the BD-2 is also great but I think the Timmy more flexible. If you want to use the Timmy to get more volume put it after the rat and Marshall pedals. But if you want more drive/distortion put it before. I use drives in church to highlight a section of the section the needs to be a little louder. Or to build with dynamics and keep up with drummers. It is a balancing act though. You want a noticeable lift in volume and drive but not a huge jump that doesn’t sound natural.

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

As always, trying it different ways is going to be the best way to find out what the pedal can do and how if makes you play and how it makes you feel when you’re playing.

[@kernelspy]

@ Thank you very much for imparting your guitar wisdom Dave! Keep up the awesome videos and GOD bless your ministry!

[@jared8324]

Also fyi, the lightspeed is just a direct clone of the Timmy, just with less versatility

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

@@jared8324 it could be a direct clone, because it would have a the bass and treble in the tone stack. And according to Robert Keeley, any pedals tone stack has a huge effect on the rest of the circuit. The lightspeed might be a modified Timmy but couldn’t be a direct clone. Anywho, thanks for watching!

[@Snoopdave2000]

Distortion before overdrive ?

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

@@Snoopdave2000 sometimes yes! Not a rule but something to try. It depends on the pedals and how you dial them in. But it’s worth a shot if you haven’t tried it.

[@davibelo]

In this case, it's like putting a distortion pedal into a distorted amp. It will add grit to the sound while maintaining the characteristics of the amp's tone. If the distortion comes after a lighter gain pedal will be like switching amps, changing more your tone. It depends on what you want to achieve.

[@alexforget]

They all sound very very close to me, a bit more gain or less.

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

@@alexforget interesting, they sound a lot different to me. What are you listening on? just curious

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

It is a bit of a feel thing that contributes to it. But player preference as to how things feel and sound go hand in hand.

[@SimonSawal]

Nice! i didn't knew you were a christian, cause this was the first movie a saw from your channel, but the way your guitar and gear sounded and your appearance i knew: this is a brother in Christ :D

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

Awesome man! glad to hear it! Do you play in a church band?

[@theloniouscoltrane3778]

I do. Let's jam

[@SimonSawal]

@@GettinBetterWithDave yes 😁👍🏽

[@CC-fi3pp]

That the last pedal has the most effect on the signal is not true, the pedal before effects the EQ and clip, think of the pedal after as your amp and the pedal before as your tube screamer. Stack a tube screamer into a RAT and you'll instantly understand gain stacking better than this guy explains it.

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

@@CC-fi3pp agree to disagree. Both ways changes your tone but I would say put that screamer after the RAT and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. But thanks for your input and thanks for watching.

[@CC-fi3pp]

@GettinBetterWithDave You're talking about mostly the EQ curve, again that'd happen into an amp and that's why an amp has an EQ section. Use a pedal after with eq and clean volume like a Timmy and you'll find most people who set it after do so in an amp like way amd usually it won't impact the sound as much as the 1st pedal. Also run a muff into a clean amp. Gain staging is gain staging, that whole "the last gain stage is 90% of the sound" is just something some random hipster KZbinr has said and everyone has just taken it as gospel and copied it. Your example was akin to killing the bass/treble and gunning the mids on an amp.

[@GettinBetterWithDave]

@ sounds like you have a lot of experience to add to this conversation. Make a video showing what you’re talking about. I’d watch it. Otherwise, have a good one

[@pierrehenri-bourgain2810]

@CC-fi3pp Yeah, one of the hipsters being Brian Wampler ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWjNeXWam62qo68 .... No matter what you have to say, the tone you use is completely awful.

[@davibelo]

I agree with GettinBetterWithDave's approach, as I’ve tried it with my gain pedals-Bluesbreaker-style, TS-style, and Rat-style.