Name amps that don't take pedals well.

[GreatDane]

I see it mentioned about amps that "take pedals well".  Most commonly, I see it in for-sale ad descriptions.    what does it mean when an amp "takes pedals well"?  Which make/model of amp does NOT take pedals well?  

not being snarky, just curious.  let's see if we can get some concensus going.

[honeyiscool]

I don't get it either. How can a good sounding amp be a bad pedal platform? Sure, a high gain amp will take a hall reverb poorly without an effects loop, but that's not particularly interesting to point out.

Sometimes, I interpret "takes pedals well" to mean "has boring tone."

[elantric]

Several amps today fall into the category of "Does not take pedals well" - typically these are the DSP based ones (Line6 Spider)  - or those that have a DSP "Lead Channel" with A/D convertor on the front end that can not tolerate external High Gain Boost Pedals.

Fender Mustang Amps

Fender G-Dec Amps

The Fender SuperChamp XD and SuperChamp X2 too,  but only on the " "swichable voicings" Lead channel. The "normal Channel" on these SuperChamps work OK with Pedals, since these channels lack the A/D convertor and are pure opAmp based (rather like a 1970's Musicman amp)

 

[kayd_mon]

A Vox AC15 isn't the best for distortion pedals, for instance DS-1s and the like. It does very well with fuzz and overdrive, but distortion clipping sometimes sounds weird. I don't find that the AC30 is quite as temperamental.

[lz4005]

I've always taken it to mean amps that will go from good sounding cleans to good sounding overdrive when you boost the input signal with pedals.

But I could be wrong.

[cheezit66]

 

I think some clean channels are voiced with a sparkly high end that makes dirt pedals sound artificial.  In particular, diode-clipper pedals can get a raspy fizz that just won't go away. Cleans that sound great with chorus in that swirly 80's way tend to have this problem.

I've heard this from bright channels on tube Fenders, I've heard it on JC-120s, etc.  I don't think it's a matter of SS vs. tube, but tube designs tend to be so conservative that they stay away from this type of sparkly EQ.

I prefer cleans with nice stout mids and tamer highs so I don't usually have this problem.

[GilmourD]

It really comes down to the impedance of the pedals' output, the impedance of the amp's input, and the loading relationship they have.

 

Amp inputs tend to be significantly higher than pedal or even straight guitar impedance, and that's normally by design.

 

Amps with a lower input impedance will typically not like some pedals and guitars, but they're not that common.

[gdsmithtx]

The second (modeling) channel of my Super Champ XD does not take pedals well at all .... but that's okay, because I almost never use that channel.  The first (clean) channel takes pedals quite well, and mine stays on that channel ~98.5% of the time, both with pedals and without.

[Snake Island]

I have an old tube amp that turns into a bag of farts if you put anything with high gain or fuzz infront of it, but rocks delay and reverb.

[Strat87]

My Orange Rockerverb 100 is picky when it comes to pedals. Some need to be in front, some in the loop, while others just don't play nice at all.

[knotty]

Eric