Which Of These Two Pedals Is Best For The John Frusciante Dirty Clean Tone???

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Let me know which one you thought was the closest. : )
0:00 The Open
3:42 Whats the pedals Dave?
7:52 How there set
9:35 GP Bridge
9:54 JH Bridge
10:17 GP Neck
10:43 JH Neck
11:13 GP & DS2
11:26 JH & DS2
11:38 Dave's Thoughts
14:14 A Bit More Tweaking
15:32 Dave's Final Thoughts

[@gabmilitao]

Hey Dave, I purchased the DS2 and the Jackhammer because of your videos. Thanks for the tips as always.

[@robertmengual8357]

JH and DS2 definitely sounded very close to Slane Castle's live intro. It sounded to me that JH is more Californication and GP is more Stadium Arcadium. Great video man

[@lockharthorsburgh8601]

Glad you covered the importance of how an amp influences the tones you get with a pedal (esp for OD or mildish distortion). I see too many pedal demos where they just talk about how great a pedal is and ignore the fact that it could sound very different through a different amp.

[@BRZguy]

I agree with you definitely. The Golden plexi is a lot smoother sounding but darker. The jackhammer sound a bit more crunchy or something. Neither of them are bad and it really depends what flavor you want. I will say that I used to struggle constantly with my golden plexi being too dark, but turning the tone up would cause it to get too harsh, especially with my DS2. Once I got my PastFX chorus, I just ditched the Golden Plexi entirely and relied on a mix of amp gain and the preamp and I feel like that gets me a lot closer to what I want. I've found that running my amp cleaner with the Chorus level on about half kind of gets me that By The Way era clean tone, and then I just strum stupidly hard and it breaks up really nicely.

[@robk7091]

I think your grandfather would be super proud of you to see his trident back up on the wall.

[@recordatron]

That was one of the best opening tracks you've done sir 👍 really amazing. Also notice you've been using your Super Crush a fair bit recently. It's one of my go to's next to my Origin 50, really special amp.

[@donge9589]

They both sounded right in the ballpark to my ears, though I think the jackhammer sounded better for the lead solo tone, just stickier and thicker and rather glorious. Great vid Dave, my son wasn't watching it whilst we were having tea and when he glanced the phone was upside down to him, and he said is that John? Haha, so to his ears yep, I trained him well

[@bluessumlin...7067]

Classic intro thanks Mr S!🙂👍🎸

[@willhanley3448]

Thanks for the comparison Dave, any chance of you doing a Stadium Arcadium tone video sometime in the future?

[@francisjuneescama]

It would be cool if Dave lives in your neighborhood. You are one of the guitarists. The look up to. God bless you dude!

[@Feede88]

1:33 - 1:38 reminded me of Dissolve from Frusciante's DC EP. There's a part in that song that has a very similar feel. Specially at 2:27 to 2:33.

[@cave1970]

youre an inspiration dude .maybe a guide to how you set up youre mic to guitar amp and video settings as youre streams are so clear in visual and sound (i try and try but always get a terrible sound . cheers.)

[@thedavesimpson]

I have videos on that. :)

[@malcolmporter4173]

Another great 'gear' video for the Player. In particular, thanks for remembering to provide the settings - essential! For me the JH iis best. The settings on the GP are overly sensitive. Malcolm.

[@mikaashton2152]

I picked up a jackhammer a year ago for 30 euros, i played around with it but thanks to your older video on the jh. i used your settings and its just a great clean dirty sound.... And its always on jijijij For me it gives that little more umpfff... Lovely . Love your videos man . Keep it up !!!!

[@intensedad2827]

I really liked it when you turned up the tone a bit! I think it would cut through more :) good vid!

[@Ewendude1]

Hey Dave and anyone else who uses the Golden Plexi, I found a sweet spot to cut through the darker quality of the Golden Plexi by dialing the tone up slightly whilst dialing down the gain, I'm talking micro-adjustments just to let the higher frequencies bleed into the tone. I agree though if you go beyond a certain point on the tone knob it just gets really harsh.

[@Jameswilliam1982]

Going to see John in 3 hours!

[@thedavesimpson]

Enjoy. :)

[@Woozy.0]

You lucky devil

[@jeffreylammering3506]

i have the jackhammer was a birthday gift from my brother 17 years ago i am so thankful that i has the jackhammer thanks bro😃 like both of the pedals the golden plexie has a unique sound and the jackhammer is a killer in level a John and Jimi , i prefer still for jackhammer 😎

[@leandro92cb]

The JH sounds better IMO. I think you can get a more clean-ish tone specially if you're looking for a by the way/SA era tone. Both of the dials you mentioned makes the difference, you can play along with those dials to get a decent Frusciante tone. Anyway, both of the wil make the job.

[@what1864]

double dose of dave , andertons video today was dave and cici doing deep purple , if anything i wish dave would do a deep purple cover band , your tone through the boss katana and squire were superb , not to mention your playing ....

[@PsychedelicCheeseburgers]

Hey Dave, I'm trying to recreate your John Frusciante tone "in the box" with only plugins on a DI. Following your videos I can get pretty close using the following plugins: Audiority Dr. Drive overdrive pedal plugin (modeling Horizon Device's Precision Drive pedal), Nembrini's Chorus and Reverb guitar pedal plugins, into Kuassa EFEKTOR WF3607 (Wah plugin with Vox Grey Wah model selected), into Boss DS-1 model from Audiority (not using this one much though), into Plugin-Alliance's bx_rockerverb100 amp sim (modeling an Orange Rockerverb 100 MKIII). I'm adding about 1 dB of gain to the input signal in the Chorus pedal plugin just to see if that gives any of the Frusciante pre-amp gain from the Chorus Ensemble, and honestly it really works I think! It added a lot of sparkle/presence and almost got the tone to how I like it. Audiority sells an actual CE-1 model plugin with the pre-amp circuit and everything, so eventually I will buy that because I'm sure it'll get me that much closer, but truly the weak point in my signal chain right now is your "always on Overdrive" which the Dr. Drive just doesn't sound right to me in comparison to what you use. I just can't find a plugin that resembles the Jackhammer at all. Among the commonly modeled overdrive pedals that have plugins available, which one might you think can get the tone the closest? I'm aware of Ibanez TS-808, Boss SD-1, Klon Centaur, and a few Marshalls: The Guv'Nor, The Shredmaster, The Drivemaster, and The Blues Breaker. I understand that the Freq/Contour controls on your Jackhammer, as you have them set, will do a moderate cut to the higher range of upper mids & treble frequencies. So with that setting, treble & bass all the way down, you've got a very low-mid to mid focused sound sculpted out of that pedal? The Guv'Nor and Drivemaster both replicate a JCM800 as does the Jackhammer in OD mode, but the Drivemaster has more gain than the Guv'Nor, and the Guv'Nor I believe has more gain than the Jackhammer in OD mode, and neither has the contour knob, your mids scoops all the mids, not just the upper mids as your Jackhammer does... Maybe there's a way to put an EQ either before or after a Guv'Nor to take out the upper mids? Not sure the best way to try it, but I'll keep experimenting, and in the mean time if you have any advice (I know you're not a plugin guy but maybe you know something that you can share about all this!) I would appreciate it so much! Even if it's not "how to do it with plugins" but rather some other alternatives using pedals but maybe you'll end up suggesting something that's easier to find a plugin that can handle the same task the same way vs the Jackhammer, which I'm struggling to find an equivalent of. OR, maybe I just stop trying to use a pedal simulation plugin and go to something like FabFilter's Saturn 2 and dial that in to get the same effect? Might not work, but I'm willing to try anything.

[@adrobestia262]

Dude fuck plugins buy pedals!

[@freespeech-advocate]

jackhammer was warmer tone to my ears ,,, great demo as usual,, keep em coming

[@diegopalominoss]

the golden plexi reminds of this tone in the 2006 alcatraz concert which was a bit darker when playing clean, while the jackhammer reminds me of the 99-2003 shows which was brighter, love both, i have the jackhammer but barely use it lol

[@ThoM45]

Funny story - I did post one of your clips in one Facebook group, with question - which pedal would give me John's dirty - clean closest to your clip. I got like 15 pedal recommendations. :D Now I feel funny. :D I really want that dirty clean on pedalboard , but gosh - choosing between 15 pedals is pain. xD

[@richardlynch5632]

LOVE this very special boy😎👍 Golden Plexi to my ears keeps the dynamics better...however less toppy. That said...the Jackhammer is kinda boutique, therefore for some a bit more special...? 😎👍❤🖖

I wonder how the GP and JH will sound when after either one, the next pedal is a cab sim, then the pedalboard goes straight to the mixer

[@SohamBhattacharya3105]

So basically as a preamp. I currently use a Katana 50 but have been thinking of getting a cab sim pedal and going ampless. I use the Golden Plexi 2 or the VOX Copperhead as my always-on John tone. I am planning to use either of those pedals as my preamp in front of the cab sim. I'll share an update when I get around to it.

[@mikerauter1859]

I preferred the golden Plexi here Dave. If you try a rocktek overdrive (red label) with most of the dials off into a Boss GE-7 you will nail californication

[@truthfactreality6814]

Just sold a load of my pedals and got the Kernom ridge. You can get johns tones from it easily.

[@peterquinn7237]

I thought the Jack Hammer sounded much tighter. The Golden Plexi sounded a bit muffled to me.

[@netyn]

do you think you could do a video where you sort of compare the californication and stadium arcadium tone and spotlight the differences between them and maybe try to get them(never 100% correct of course)? could include by the way and modern era tones as well. probably focusing mainly on live tones since we know what John used/uses there however studio tones could also be mentioned.

[@zandig666]

Dude you're an inspiration I needed . I was getting totally disappointed with my gear and direction and you have lit a fire under me to find a new direction The pointy birds a pointy pointy anoint my nose anointy nointy hhhhhha

[@rogerYT69]

love the golden plexi v1 for John tone ...another good pedal for a jf tone is the j. rockett caliber 45 in my opinion 😊

[@alparotti]

I use my amps gain to get dirty clean tone but I would like to try golden plexi

[@Kyle-es6uc]

My golden plexi stacks so awfully as “amp gain”. I run a ds2 - russian big muff - golden plexi - front of 2555x and it just absolutely doesnt mix will with my other dirt pedals for some reason? I like to run my amps clean for tonal options when playing live, but sadly i only really use the plexi as a crunchy clean sound and make sure to turn it off when using higher gain pedals. Im not sure what wizardy you’re pulling mr dave but it sounds HOLY!!!

[@beebear4541]

I totally agree, i feel the jackhammer handles the ds2 better nice review!

[@Duzteh]

I have four Jackhammers Dave 😀I got the first one like 6 or 7 years ago after seeing one of your videos! I have one that has a broken dial, if you'd like I can mail it to you & you could probably fix it and keep it

[@wis2725]

i got my jack hammer cause of dave‘s video for a while，try it with ds2 and my vox ac15，find it not that close to the dirty clean tone with that setting，when i turn the tone off it sounds a little dull when i play some jimi stuff，maybe it just not that like the vox amp or just my skill sucks😂but i like it combines with ds2，thanks for all that tips dave，wonderful video and music，helps a lot😄

[@21jaymz]

Great video and I love you very much Dave. It would be very nice if there were MXR Micro AMP in this video.

[@thedavesimpson]

I really don’t like the mxr so I don’t have one to include. Sorry.

[@21jaymz]

@@thedavesimpson if you don’t like, I don’t like too 😀🫶

[@lucasouzeau4900]

very happy to see a video on the sound of god!! Thanks Dave :)

[@hank6429]

Hello dave how are you 😃 sounds great 👍👍👉✌️

[@sonicase]

i got the gp but i dunno, i don't seem to like it...might have to play around more with it though. hey i heard an interesting tip for real glassy hendrix sound is turning a fuzz up, but your guitar volume down...oddly similar to the dirty clean but not quite.

[@kyleash3614]

Can you do a video on the brighter tones? Stadium Arcadium and by the way? Please

[@beebear4541]

Id like to see you demo the wampler plexi drive mini! Its great for john tones.

[@dannyward6474]

Dave thank for all the stellar videos you have made, you got me playing guitar again. I have question about about a upgrade on a amp. I have a Fender frontman 20 and was looking to get a fender champion 40, but I do have pedals BOSS 2, VOX wah pedal, chorus pedal. Any info would be great. Thank you Dave.

[@Dylan-bv4qt]

This may be a stupid question but im pretty new to pedals. What order should I put these with the ds 2 and wh 10?

[@jimlutz1290]

Hi Dave, I'd like to ask if you have come across the FENDER Meteora H H 🎸 in 3 tone Sunburst - Sort of a slimmed down Jag/Jazz Master - Looks Great - 🎸 It's in the running for this years August Birthday 🎂guitar - I'd very much enjoy if you one day give us your opinion after an jam session .

[@DE-mu2yu]

Hi Dave! Just a question..to avoid the volume jump, do you put the compressor or jackhammer or golden plexi after the ds2+wh10 or before them and immediatly after the strat? Compliments and regards from italy😉

[@alexkennedy7671]

Deffo the Jackhammer Dave and it also worked better with the DS-2 IMHO. That's my two bob's worth Sir. Alex

[@dave.harmon]

The marshall sounded more, marshall. Which is a big part of John's sound.

[@bosher11]

Great tonez Dave

[@lesfrithdidier2745]

Good job! Hey Dave, what's your favorite news Marshall pedals ??

[@thedavesimpson]

Neither. I didn’t like the originals.

[@neogeo222]

Hi from San Diego CA. q? Which one would you choose for JF tone if you have a fender hotrod deluxe. Thanks!

[@thedavesimpson]

Jackhammer.

[@sweetloveelmo]

Galactic Core Sanctuary Blessings.

[@dannyward6474]

Should the MXR micro pedal go before distortion, wah, fuzz ect or after on the pedal chain?

[@thedavesimpson]

I’d say before.

[@dannyward6474]

@@thedavesimpson Thank you Dave for pointing me in the right direction. Hopefully I can upgrade to a better amp someday.

[@frusciantegeartone]

Hey Dave, I was reading that the jackhammer is active bypass. Seems like it’s a version of a true bypass but I’m not sure what it means. Do you know if the signal in the JH is buffered or not? If it’s buffered, I could see the reason why they sounded so different.

[@thedavesimpson]

Its not buffered no. Also if it dies it cuts the signal. :)

[@JohnBlake-dh5kr]

Its cool you like to emulate artist sounds but your such a great guitarist so i really think you should just use equipment that really moves you

[@Paul-D]

How many hours have we all toiled with the DS2 fussy nature with other pedals haha Also i think the jackhammer worked best here in this rig. Maybe the gp works better on the katana. Theres never a black and white answer with these things haha

[@stevedunn2621]

Unfortunately I am not familiar enough with John's tone . That being said I liked the Jack much better. To me the Jack doesn't sound like a pedal whereas the Plexi tone is ok but it sounds like a pedal if that makes sense.

[@Fonkemman]

How about the JHS Charlie Brown?

[@thedavesimpson]

Never tried it so i’ve no idea.

[@saigonproducer]

So you don’t mind the darker tone for lead solos? You should’ve showed us your amp’s clean tone by itself.

[@thedavesimpson]

I don’t nope. I like darker sounds to brighter.

[@BRUnORaM0S.13]

Hello Dave!!! I wanted to know your opinion, I don't have a lot of money to buy a Marshall head and cab for the John´s tone, what is your suggestion for a combo amplifier that i can add some pedals? I would prefer something from Marshall, but if there are other good brands that can achieve John's tone, that would be great too. Thanks for the tips always!!!

[@thedavesimpson]

Boss katana is always my recommendation. :)

[@BRUnORaM0S.13]

@@thedavesimpson thank you so much, i apprecciate it!!!

[@grwilly00]

Golden Plexi nails it, I think

[@BlazeSP]

what is the song on the opening? its amazing

[@thedavesimpson]

I made it up for the vid. :)

[@malcolmporter4173]

Dave forgot to say in my last comment... I can't decide who looks more like Tony TS McPhee, you or Tony TS McPhee! Tony is another Strat-wielder. Have a listen to 'Split'! Malcolm

[@arthur3581]

The mxr micro amp is a good choice too? these two pedals don´t even exist in my country

[@donge9589]

I have a micro amp, it won't get you close to the tone on its own, I think John has it there to lessen any signal loss through that massive pedal board he uses. They are very good, especially if using a strat.

[@intensedad2827]

the micro amp is just a boost pedal. Using that pedal would only work if your amp gets pushed into compression/overdrive by it.

[@heeerka]

Hi mr. Dave, I ordered the vox v847, and i am looking for the mighty ds2. Will they behave like wh10 & ds2?

[@thedavesimpson]

Yes they will. :)

[@heeerka]

@@thedavesimpson Thanks :p

[@JohnBlake-dh5kr]

What is your favorite amplifier if you could only keep one?

[@thedavesimpson]

Marshall mg100 hdfx. :)

[@frusciantegeartone]

Jackhammer sounded better with ds2. Also sounded creamier and less brittle or harsh than the golden plexi.

[@voltron6953]

Buddy you ever try an EVH amp for RHCP tones??? Thanks for your videos!

[@thedavesimpson]

I haven’t no.

[@mikehomar5321]

Hi 😊👋