Topic: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

I am in love with Joe's live tone in particular, and I know his whole current 'live' setup. Of course on a budget and playing at low levels at home ( I have a one year old!) his rig is not possible......but what about some good distortions/overdrives into a clean sounding amp like a Vox.  I actually use a Vox Night Train set clean.  I am thinking something in the Marshall vein of course and probably Dumbleish?

Thoughts on good ones to use to get somewhere in his ball park of a live tone?

Yes I know he doesn't use a pick a lot and yes I know he's got tone from his fingers, and that he uses EV speakers etc etc.

I am just trying to get somewhere near his tone with pedals.  roll:D:cool:

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

Hi there Riley, welcome to the forum.  Joe's tone is complex, but achievable with pedals + at low volumes.  Okay, so you say you use a Night Train.  I hear they are nice sounding tube amps so you have that covered.  Are you playing with single coils or humbuckers?  What Joe tones are you after, his old Stratier stuff or the newer Les Paul tones?  I'm assuming you are after the newer stuff, so here's what pedals I would check out:

Overdrives/Distortions:  Fulltone Fulldrive II, Fulltone OCD, Ibanez TS9 or TS808 (try a BBE Green Screamer if on a budget), Fuchs Plush Creme, Ocean FX Pearl Drive, Hermida Audio Zendrive or Mosferatu, Carl Martin Hot Drive and Boost, Boss BD-2, Chandler/BK Butler Tube Driver.

Reverbs: Electro Harmonix Holy Grail, any nice Reverb tank if you can swing the $$$, Mr. Springy reverb, Fuchs Verbrator, etc.  I find a nice reverb sound is KEY to the Bonamassa tone.

Delays:  Boss DD-3 (what Joe uses) or DD-6, Ibanez AD-9, EH Deluxe Memory Man, MXR Carbon Copy, Line 6 DL4 or Echo Park.

So of those, I would have 1-2 good overdrives at least, one reverb, and one delay.  Set the amp for a nice, slightly broken up clean that is very warm.  You want to keep the treble and presense down low to avoid that icepicky tone.  It's all about midrange for Joe, so I'd start at least noon on the mids.  I usually have my mids on at least 3 o'clock.  Adjust Bass for taste, you want some "BOOM" but not flabby mush.  Now, you'll want to have one overdrive set for a crunchy Marshally plexi type rhythm tone.  Try the volume just above unity (noonish) and gain to taste (also try the noon position).  Think "One of These Days" intro tone.  That's the riff I usually play to see if I have my rhythm tones happening.  Now for the solos you'll want to just goose that sound with some gain not neccessarily distortion.  I'd also roll the tone knob down on the lead pedal to back some of the highs off.  Maybe try the Volume on the lead pedal for at least 3 o'clock and keep the gain below 9 o'clock.  One more tip: Try using a more midrange neutral pedal for the rhythm/crunch tones and a midrange "hump" type pedal (tubescreamer) for the leads.

Okay, reverbs and delays are a lot less tricky.  If your amp has a loop, and I think it does, just stick the reverb and delay through the loop with the reverb and delay at a medium setting.  Joe puts all the knobs at noon on his DD-3.  You don't want a cavernous sound, just a little bit of depth.  This should get you pretty close...good luck and happy playing.

'67 and '74 Fender Twin Reverbs, '74 Marshall 1987 lead mkII, Metro Superlead 100. Pedals from TC Electronic, Ibanez, Dunlop, BK Butler, Electro-Harmonix, Fulltone, Maestro/Gibson, Loopmaster switching, VoodooLab, Boss. Gibson and Fender guitars, Dimarzio pickups.

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

stratpaulguy86 wrote:

Hi there Riley, welcome to the forum.  Joe's tone is complex, but achievable with pedals + at low volumes.  Okay, so you say you use a Night Train.  I hear they are nice sounding tube amps so you have that covered.  Are you playing with single coils or humbuckers?  What Joe tones are you after, his old Stratier stuff or the newer Les Paul tones?  I'm assuming you are after the newer stuff, so here's what pedals I would check out:

Overdrives/Distortions:  Fulltone Fulldrive II, Fulltone OCD, Ibanez TS9 or TS808 (try a BBE Green Screamer if on a budget), Fuchs Plush Creme, Ocean FX Pearl Drive, Hermida Audio Zendrive or Mosferatu, Carl Martin Hot Drive and Boost, Boss BD-2, Chandler/BK Butler Tube Driver.

Reverbs: Electro Harmonix Holy Grail, any nice Reverb tank if you can swing the $$$, Mr. Springy reverb, Fuchs Verbrator, etc.  I find a nice reverb sound is KEY to the Bonamassa tone.

Delays:  Boss DD-3 (what Joe uses) or DD-6, Ibanez AD-9, EH Deluxe Memory Man, MXR Carbon Copy, Line 6 DL4 or Echo Park.

So of those, I would have 1-2 good overdrives at least, one reverb, and one delay.  Set the amp for a nice, slightly broken up clean that is very warm.  You want to keep the treble and presense down low to avoid that icepicky tone.  It's all about midrange for Joe, so I'd start at least noon on the mids.  I usually have my mids on at least 3 o'clock.  Adjust Bass for taste, you want some "BOOM" but not flabby mush.  Now, you'll want to have one overdrive set for a crunchy Marshally plexi type rhythm tone.  Try the volume just above unity (noonish) and gain to taste (also try the noon position).  Think "One of These Days" intro tone.  That's the riff I usually play to see if I have my rhythm tones happening.  Now for the solos you'll want to just goose that sound with some gain not neccessarily distortion.  I'd also roll the tone knob down on the lead pedal to back some of the highs off.  Maybe try the Volume on the lead pedal for at least 3 o'clock and keep the gain below 9 o'clock.  One more tip: Try using a more midrange neutral pedal for the rhythm/crunch tones and a midrange "hump" type pedal (tubescreamer) for the leads.

Okay, reverbs and delays are a lot less tricky.  If your amp has a loop, and I think it does, just stick the reverb and delay through the loop with the reverb and delay at a medium setting.  Joe puts all the knobs at noon on his DD-3.  You don't want a cavernous sound, just a little bit of depth.  This should get you pretty close...good luck and happy playing.


Thanks for that detailed reply!  I am sorta scratching the whole start from a clean amp idea.  I hooked my Bogner Alchemist back up and can get a good base Joe type tone.......but am going to add my clean amp(the Night Train) and maybe get a middy dumble type pedal and use that with it.  Then use and ABY box to switch that middy dumble flavor in and out of teh Bogner's fat marshally tone I have dialed in. cool

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

Thats even better man!  Two amps can definately get you closer to the tone.  Because of the Bogner's 6L6's, reverb, and delay you could set that up for a decent Dumble type amp like Joe uses in his setup.  Like you mentioned, there are plenty of Dumble type overdrives out there on the market.  The Vox Night Train has EL84's correct?  Regardless, it's probably closer to the Marshall vein of tone than the Bogner.  If it were me, I'd probably set the Bogner for a medium gain, tape echo, and medium reverb.  Also, I'd try to accentuate the mids as much as possible to fill in the EQ for the Vox.  Then set the Vox the opposite for more bass and highs, but not so much that it's harsh.  Also you might want to try a chorus pedal somewhere in there because Joe has been a long time chorus user.  You could experiment putting the overdrives in front of both amps or just one.  If you would like, you could check out some of my videos under the same user name on Youtube.  I explain in detail my own rig and to my ears, it gets close enough for me to be happy. big_smile

'67 and '74 Fender Twin Reverbs, '74 Marshall 1987 lead mkII, Metro Superlead 100. Pedals from TC Electronic, Ibanez, Dunlop, BK Butler, Electro-Harmonix, Fulltone, Maestro/Gibson, Loopmaster switching, VoodooLab, Boss. Gibson and Fender guitars, Dimarzio pickups.

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

stratpaulguy86 wrote:

Thats even better man!  Two amps can definately get you closer to the tone.  Because of the Bogner's 6L6's, reverb, and delay you could set that up for a decent Dumble type amp like Joe uses in his setup.  Like you mentioned, there are plenty of Dumble type overdrives out there on the market.  The Vox Night Train has EL84's correct?  Regardless, it's probably closer to the Marshall vein of tone than the Bogner.  If it were me, I'd probably set the Bogner for a medium gain, tape echo, and medium reverb.  Also, I'd try to accentuate the mids as much as possible to fill in the EQ for the Vox.  Then set the Vox the opposite for more bass and highs, but not so much that it's harsh.  Also you might want to try a chorus pedal somewhere in there because Joe has been a long time chorus user.  You could experiment putting the overdrives in front of both amps or just one.  If you would like, you could check out some of my videos under the same user name on Youtube.  I explain in detail my own rig and to my ears, it gets close enough for me to be happy. big_smile

Thanks again for the thoughts!  Yup I have seen a couple of your youtube clips, and man you nail his sound...you got the touch for it as well.

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

Barber Direct Drive is a great pedal - it's got a bit of a Marshall vibe but with a bit of Dumble going on also with the internal harmonics control full up.

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

I use a Keeley BD-2 into my marshall's clean channel. With that pedal the overdrive channel is way too distorted. When I was borrowing the two Fender amps (Deluxe Reverb and Blues Junior) I used it and got them to break up real nicely and I got a pretty good JB tone.



-Eric

"It makes it sound like the amp is about ready to explode, that's because it IS about ready to explode." -Joe

"I've come all the way from Colorado... Long way from my home. Give me the hammer that killed John Henry..." The Ballad Of John Henry

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

Riley,

Dont give up on clean amps....

You can achieve monumental tone useing clean amps.  I use a Fender Twin and a Vox AC30 both set clean. 

My rig is very simple and lets me swich easily between some fantastic overdrives and delays.

I run my Les Paul or 335 into the following.

Tuner ->  Crybaby Wah ->  Radial Loop switcher.  I have only one loop and that is the overdrives. So On is overdrive, OFF is Clean

The over drive Loop goes into a Boss line selector which has 2 choices that I can swich between.  Light Overdrive is a Fulltone Fulldrive.  Heavy Lead tone is a Ocean EFX Texas Deuce.  Both are thick and powerfull overdrives.
I like this setup because I can leave the pedals on all night and I never have to turn them on or off. I click one switch to get gain and one to switch between the two.  Easy

After that Loop it leaves the Radial Loop Switcher and goes to a Boss DD-5 for crazy Delay.  Then it goes to a ABY to go to different amps.
The Vox amp has a Ocean EFX Vintage Echo which is the best delay I have ever heard.
The other side goes to the twin.

Clean amps will roar if you get the right pedal and guitar in front of them. Plus you dont need to turn them up nearly as loud to get them to rock. 

Other great Pedals I have used and own.
 
Fuchs Plush drive is a Bonamassa in a box.  Fantastic pedal.

Barber Burn unit is a great pedal that sounds a hair more marshally.  Lots of gain.  Overall great pedal and is versital being two overdrives in one box.

Fulltone OCD is a powerhouse.  I dont think its as organic sounding as the fulldrive or the Fuchs or Barber,  but its has more volume than you will ever need and the drive is heavy. It will make a fender sound thick. Its the only pedal I have that gets my telecaster into thick overdrive territory. So if you use fenders this may be a good choice.

Ocean EFX Texas Deuce and Pearl Drive.  The Texas Deuce is my favorite pedal Period.  I could play with just that pedal into the twin and vox.  It is amazing. The tone is perfect and the drive is enough for anything from light blues to Hard rock.

The Pearl is a different monster. Sounds tighter more like a OCD. I thought it was too much for my liking but dont let that sway you.  I'd use the pearl over an OCD any day of the week. Especially if you use fender strats and tele's. 

Good Luck.
Jeremy

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

Great thoughts folks.  So much gear to mess with so little time!!! lol  When I get some time I am going to try and get my setup where I want it.  Mainly my pedal board.  I've got the Bogner and Vox to mess with and plenty of guitars.  Fenders and LP types.

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

Hey Riley I have been looking for ages for overdrive pedals that will give me a tone similar to Joes. I too need to play at pretty low volumes so not to disturb the wife and kid. I have been playing through a Fender super champ XD at home. I have been through a few pedals and in the end I have settled on the Fulltone OCD V4 and a Blackstar HT-Dual. I run the super champ in a plexi type setting with the reverb from the amp and a line 6 echo park for delay. I can cover a wide range of drive tones with these two pedals. I've linked in a video of a guy playing a Fender twin and the HT dual that I found on you tube. Hope this helps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_OawFUhV5g

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

You should maybe try an EQ pedal.
I use a boss GE-7 for boosting mids in solos. This is also used to boost volume and gain. I get a lot of gain with it and it boosts the mids a hell of a lot.
It eliminates the need for an OD pedal and it can alter the tone drastically if needed.
Also, you could you one in the loop, this would take away the gain and extra volume from it, but change your tone only...meaning you technically have a huge range of tones from one amp.

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

Jimi_lp wrote:

You should maybe try an EQ pedal.
I use a boss GE-7 for boosting mids in solos. This is also used to boost volume and gain. I get a lot of gain with it and it boosts the mids a hell of a lot.
It eliminates the need for an OD pedal and it can alter the tone drastically if needed.
Also, you could you one in the loop, this would take away the gain and extra volume from it, but change your tone only...meaning you technically have a huge range of tones from one amp.



It was an overdrive/distortion pedal into a clean amp that he was looking for so not sure an EQ pedal would really give enough dirt. I have a Boss EQ pedal that I have used for solo boosts in the past. Dug it out yesterday and your right a great tone shaping and boosting tool. what settings do you have on yours.

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

Riley wrote:

I am in love with Joe's live tone in particular, and I know his whole current 'live' setup. Of course on a budget and playing at low levels at home ( I have a one year old!) his rig is not possible......but what about some good distortions/overdrives into a clean sounding amp like a Vox.  I actually use a Vox Night Train set clean.  I am thinking something in the Marshall vein of course and probably Dumbleish?

Thoughts on good ones to use to get somewhere in his ball park of a live tone?

Yes I know he doesn't use a pick a lot and yes I know he's got tone from his fingers, and that he uses EV speakers etc etc.

I am just trying to get somewhere near his tone with pedals.  roll:D:cool:



I used to own an AC30 but now play through a Bognor Alchemist, I've had alot of trouble with pedals and them not sounding the way I wanted but I was recently given some good advice.
Set the amp to a blues setting (mild overdrive) and then put an overdrive over the top of this. This will not sound muddy if both are set to compliment each other; the amp then acts as a bass tone to build upon. It may not work with a vox but I'm sure it will as they are class A amps. It may take some fiddling but have a go.
I recommend, anything by Fulltone or Visual sound. However... if your on a budget Boss DS1 can sound great as can some Electro Harmonics stuff.

Hope this helps.

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

Fuzzblues wrote:

It was an overdrive/distortion pedal into a clean amp that he was looking for so not sure an EQ pedal would really give enough dirt. I have a Boss EQ pedal that I have used for solo boosts in the past. Dug it out yesterday and your right a great tone shaping and boosting tool. what settings do you have on yours.

Ah, seemed to forget that part as I was typing it up haha.

I use a midboost setting, so set it to look like a frown, highest and lowest slides stay at 0, then the rest rise and fall. I have the volume at the centre on it too.

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

yourfuneralmytrial wrote:
Riley wrote:

I am in love with Joe's live tone in particular, and I know his whole current 'live' setup. Of course on a budget and playing at low levels at home ( I have a one year old!) his rig is not possible......but what about some good distortions/overdrives into a clean sounding amp like a Vox.  I actually use a Vox Night Train set clean.  I am thinking something in the Marshall vein of course and probably Dumbleish?

Thoughts on good ones to use to get somewhere in his ball park of a live tone?

Yes I know he doesn't use a pick a lot and yes I know he's got tone from his fingers, and that he uses EV speakers etc etc.

I am just trying to get somewhere near his tone with pedals.  roll:D:cool:



I used to own an AC30 but now play through a Bognor Alchemist, I've had alot of trouble with pedals and them not sounding the way I wanted but I was recently given some good advice.
Set the amp to a blues setting (mild overdrive) and then put an overdrive over the top of this. This will not sound muddy if both are set to compliment each other; the amp then acts as a bass tone to build upon. It may not work with a vox but I'm sure it will as they are class A amps. It may take some fiddling but have a go.
I recommend, anything by Fulltone or Visual sound. However... if your on a budget Boss DS1 can sound great as can some Electro Harmonics stuff.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for all the thoughts folks.  Yup I can get not too far off with the Alchemist alone.  I've been using a bunch of different pedals to add to my amp overdrive tone with lots of luck.  Although I really am trying to dial in my own signature tone, not just copy Joe's.  Two really cool pedals I have been using are a Fuch's Plush Drive (Joe in a box), and a TC Nova Drive.  Right now I just use a Nova Drive to compliment my Alchemist's Mercury channel or Clean channel.  I have also been using a Fulltone '70 Fuzz to kick on for some crazy tone's like Joe's uses his Fuzz face. 8)

Re: What OD/Distortion pedals to get a Bonamassa tone into a clean amp?

Hey Fuzzblues...what do you think of the Fender Super Champ XD?
Ive heard they are good and have thought about adding one to my collection.  Mick B

Fuzzblues wrote:

Hey Riley I have been looking for ages for overdrive pedals that will give me a tone similar to Joes. I too need to play at pretty low volumes so not to disturb the wife and kid. I have been playing through a Fender super champ XD at home. I have been through a few pedals and in the end I have settled on the Fulltone OCD V4 and a Blackstar HT-Dual. I run the super champ in a plexi type setting with the reverb from the amp and a line 6 echo park for delay. I can cover a wide range of drive tones with these two pedals. I've linked in a video of a guy playing a Fender twin and the HT dual that I found on you tube. Hope this helps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_OawFUhV5g