Amp vs Pedal Overdrive / Distortion - An in-depth analysis

[@tonecontrol]

For the A/B test - The tube amp comes always first 💥

[@jedi_417]

This is a great video. I like the casual approach. It’s like you’re trying to inform yourself as much as us. Like an internal monologue. And I can really relate to being torn on the subject.

[@tonecontrol]

Thank you, I'm glad you like it!

[@thorvelizelos]

I liked this sort of deep dive.. I agree it's a lot about flexibility. Many seem to still think that it's mostly a matter of tone. Mostly those who say that the tone (and feel) of a tube amp will always be better. Personally I don't agree with that. I think both can sound really good. If you choose a amp with really juicy overdriven tone that you love is great. But also if you have great pedals that are very well matched to a good clean ( pedal platform ?) Amp you can also achieve amazing tones. So I don't believe that much in the difference. I think in the times we live now with SO many choices of pedals and amps and stuff to make sounds I think it's mostly a nisch to choose to not use pedals and just use an amp. I think you choose that as a nisch because you like the limitation or minimalism or whatever. If you think about creativity in the way of flexibility and opening up the possibilities for sonic exploration and perhaps if you are trying to find some originality when it comes to sounds and tone than I think pedals is a given. It will give you so many colours to paint with. For example: Jimi Hendrix. I think that he was really a explorer and he used I guess everything that was available to create different sounds and spacy sonic landscapes both with the pedals that was available at the time ( i think he used pretty much all the different pedals that where available at that time) as well as in the studio he was really into exploring and tweaking sounds with various studio effects in collaboration with the producer and I think they even broke some new ground in the studio in finding tricks that had never been used before in the studio. So he was definitely not a minimalist. So let's say if he was alive today, well it's impossible to say what he would do perhaps he would be s plumber who knows. Perhaps he would have other passions or chose different paths it's impossible to say but let's say if he really was born to play music even if he was born today. Then I am pretty sure he would not use a single amp and only use the amps overdrive.i think he would totally deep dive into pedals and everything available in order to create unique stuff and music. I don't think he was either s minimalist ( check out his clothing and amount of jewelery and hats and stuff) and neither do I think he was the type who wants to be in the norm or sound like everybody else. So... But that's him! If you take someone else, perhaps Eric Clapton. I think he does not like to use pedals that much not back then ( not that much anyway) and not today either. So I guess that in because he is more an old school guy and really in to the blues and more traditional. do he doesn't need all the different pedals and stuff. Just an amp that can overdrive a volume pot and a strat and he is good to go. Not to say he hadn't made albums that sounded more modern like in the 80s and 90s with chorus and some effects like that. Also in this video you didn't really talk about amps with several channels that you can switch between. Then you get the flexibility But still every channel will have different degrees of gain but the sound on all the channels will usually still be based on the same sound. So if you really like the sound of a particular amp and you just like to be able to have that sound with different degrees of gain and be able to switch between them quickly than I guess a multi channel amp is great. But you will not be able to have the same flexibility and amount of totally different sounds and types of distortions that you have with pedals. Personally.. I don't really feel I am totally complete or have reached my final destination as a musician yet. I am still exploring the possibilities. So I don't feel I am ready to restrict myself with only one sound. That is why I use pedals. But I have a pretty selective group of pedals and I have chosen carefully so that they really match the amp. i even went that far to mostly use overdrive and distortion pedals from the same manufacturer as my amp because then I know they will work great together because they have been used together when they were developed. So I have a Suhr Bella amp that is a very clean (unless you crank it extremely loud) pedal platform amp and I only have Suhr pedals for drive. Then I like my delays and reverb pedals and sometimes chorus and for those I don't really care if they are from another brand. I just choose those I think are best and coolest. With that said. So would love to have one amp with 3 channels ( clean, light drive/crunch and distortion) that I love the basic sound in all across all the gain stages so much that I don't need anything else. But the reason I don't have that yet. Is because lack of experience i guess. i haven't tried and cranked enough different amps in order to be able to choose just one and know that is the one for me. I have searched for it. And am still searching I guess. But I don't unlimited funds. And I like to be pretty minimslidtic with the amount of gear I buy. I like to be able to do much and all I need with just enough pedals and gear. So that is why I use a clean pedal platform with great matching pedals. I have been sniffing on a Victory V 30 mkii "the Jack" as a potential multi channel amp. But I have not been fortunate enough to try it irl. So I can not be certain it will be really for me. I think it might be lacking a bit in the cleans in comparison to the Bella since the Bella is made for the clean and they are amazing. But if the victory would have good cleans enough and I also would like the gains. then I could definitely see myself using that. And in that case I would not use any drive pedals. I would only keep my Koko Boost that also has a switch for extra Mid boost and then my delay and reverb and maybe chorus and I would call it a day. But hey.. i think the conclusion is different strokes for different fokes. Now I will go and read about the Victory amp a bit more and perhaps dream about buying it some time in the future. And then I will two amps from both worlds and perhaps THEN I will finally be complete. ;) If that is possible. Yes, I think it is. Perhaps I will even be able to use both amps at the same time.. who knows.

[@chazjr2390]

I have a Fender Blues Jr. I experiment all the time using four different overdrive/distortion pedals and have come to the conclusion I am in favor of the natural sound of the tubes over the pedals. I do not play at high volumes but can still get that great crunchy sound by diming the amp gain and depressing the boost switch. Volume is usually on 2-3. At this time, the only pedal I use is a compressor, which definitely drives the amp/sound a little more. With the volume turned down on my Les Paul it still has that crunch, but really drives when I turn the volume up. Just a great sound. Great video! Love the R9!

[@tonecontrol]

Thank you, Chaz! I'm lately leaning towards the amp overdrive as well. With that said, that Blues Jr. gets LOUD!

[@IBarabasha]

Thanks for the video! Watched it with the real pleasure, great video quality, great sound quality, 40 minutes of true relaxation! It's all about the feal!

[@tonecontrol]

My brother, thank you so much, I'm happy you enjoyed it! I love watching long interesting videos to relax too, and that's what I tried to create.

[@letzrok1016]

Honestly, PAF's and a 5 watt 1 channel amp is the magic.

[@nacienlos70]

Just the video I was looking for. There is an interesting offer for a very lightweight 40 watt valve amp, but owner says that with drive on 10 it won't bearly break up. So needed to know if I was loosing a lot of tone if I "had" to reach overdrive with a pedal.

[@sandymarino5319]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that's in love with breathing in the scent of my guitar, that mix of fresh cut wood and nitro-cellulose lacquer especially when you open the case. And this thing with the pick, yes I too have a close relationship with my pick and what better place to keep track of a pick while it's not in your hand? Do you normally play while wearing headphones? I don't have a tube amp because I don;t want my neighbors to hate me but my Blackstar amp 2x12 produces really nice clean and crunch tones, I've accidently put it on overdrive and with the slightest touch of a string, I have given myself a few near heart attacks because it's so loud perhaps because of the patches I downloaded, I need to play with the settings in some of those patches or just create my own, I love the warm sound of tube driven amps and overdrive but it seems my playing is a little on the calmer side of things with more ambient and sustained tones but sometimes I get the itch to really get on it, perhaps headphones are my answer and my neighbors will let me live.

[@tonecontrol]

That smell, absolutely! Man, the tube-amp-is-too-loud-for-my-neighbors dilemma, classic. I have been playing with digital modeling lately and it's super practical but I kind of hate it too. I think the best of both worlds is a tube amp + reactive load + IR. Quite an expensive setup too.

[@georgechristiansen6785]

I tended to prefer the BB. I do wonder how much the BB adds what a lot of guys used a treble booster + amp for.

[@rileyioacura]

New subscriber here and already I love your channel.. your honesty is amazing!! Thank you!!!

[@tonecontrol]

Thank you for the kind words and the subscription brother!

[@inko_p]

All you need is appetite for creation... all the other is a matter of taste. Nice upload!

[@tonecontrol]

You can replace the entire video with that sentence.

[@Gaslight.Guitar]

Cool video! I guess a good pedalboard can be total flexibility with some great tones. A cranked tube amp sounds awesome but is just not as flexible.

[@tonecontrol]

Exactly right. I'm playing primarily with the BB since the test, and I'm quite happy with the tone 😊

[@marratxo]

Hi, nice video, I have a question. How clean was your clean tone? Most videos on youtube feature a not-so-clean tone, in that way most od pedals will sound good partially because the not-so-clean channel is also slightly overdriving contributing to the overall overdriven sound. The real deal would be an od pedal that sounds similar enough to an overdriven tube amp when plugged into a clean channel with still some headroom. And I am yet to find one of those. If you base your dirts on pedals and don't wanna put delays, reverbs and clean boosters for solos in the fx loop then you need headroom. So, how clean was your clean?

[@tonecontrol]

Hi Alessandro, I absolutely understand your point. In this case, the amp was as clean as a 5w amp gets, that's just a tiny bit of break up if you hit the strings really hard with a humbucker-equipped guitar.

[@choplass]

Okay, let me start by saying, my preference was the raw tone, it's crisper and it just has that kick, you know, like a wild Mustang,. Or if compared to motorcycles, torque vs top end speed So here's the deal. A couple years ago when I was just getting into using pedals, a Velvet Revolver song (Slither) thought me a valuable lesson about the Level and Gain knobs, it's the equivalent of the Post and Pre gain controls of an amp. I set the level of the pedal to unison and tried to get Slash's tone by adjusting the gain knob, I EQ'd the heck out of the pedal, but just couldn't get the feel and tone. I only achieved the rich bouncy hammer on dynamics of that song when I started adjusting the Level knob in contrast to the other controls. With that said, I also learned, when preserving the original tone of a tube amp, it's best to use a transparent overdrive that doesn't colour the tone of the amp, because most pedals have their own distinct tone.

[@choplass]

@11:28 Dalle Pues! Slap that mahogany ass. ; )

[@tonecontrol]

My man, I get the whole torque metaphor. I'm going back and forth, and still listening to the tests. The amp definitely sounds more fun isolated, but I'm sure that most of the fun frequencies will be trimmed on a mix, on the other hand the BB gets you a thinner sound that is sort of mix ready. Level VS gain, oh yeah, big difference. In my mind there are uses for both, but I tend to go with the high volume/low gain approach too. Thanks for the comment and for sitting through the video 😂

[@choplass]

@@tonecontrol "BB gets you a thinner sound that is sort of mix ready." Exactly, it's a tamer sound.

[@joetoe9207]

Just my impression : your presentation style is casual and you 'meander' with your thoughts. I think you may lose some viewers because that. Which is unfortunate I think because your content is sooo good (I think). Thank you for your great information and demonstrations!

[@tonecontrol]

Love the feedback, thank you. I think you are 100% right - creating good quality content is extremely demanding, and the content I do is just a passion project on the side. I'd love to do it in a more professional way soon.

[@joetoe9207]

@@tonecontrol Thank you. I do think that you come across as professional in terms of your content. I found it to be the most helpful that I've watched on this (I think important) issue. Right, I am just referring to the pace and clarity of your multiple complex messages that are nuanced - and I can see why irs complex - there are multiple trade-offs. I also thought the quality of your media and especially your playing was fantastic. Thanks for appreciating the feedback and TX again for the information! Best

[@clos87]

My clean tone is like my conscience; a bit dirty but easy to clean up.

[@hawg427]

When I usually watch videos like this the player will put which is being played through at the time. I could hear a definite sound change but didn't see one the screen what it was going through like amp dust. only, pedal only, both amp dust & pedal dust. Like the first bit of playing you could hear a clear difference between the two sounds the First being thicker & full sounding and the second part being much more thin sounding. I think most viewers would like your video better if you had that which is which on the screen written down :-)

[@tonecontrol]

Absolutely, you are right, I totally missed that. I'll do it next time 😊

[@tonecontrol]

BTW, the tube amp always comes first

[@Guncho06]

It's too bad you didn't try preamp gain which tonnes of amps have these days. A lot of the downsides you describe for tube amps are gone. Set preamp gain to taste, turn volume up to the appropriate level for the room.

[@IBarabasha]

By the way, just saw your Instagram profile