Balancing between tube screamer distortion and amp distortion

[BigED]

I've got an Engl Blackmore and a Maxon OD-9 tube screamer. The Blackmore has more than enough modern sounding gain. I play modern metal with lots of harmonics, squeals, and leads. I like to sound modern, but I hate seeing modern bands where the guitars are so distorted that you can't understand what they are playing. In searching for my perfect sound, I keep findingfound myself in the following predicament:

 

Turning the gain up results in more sustain and harmonics - exactly what I want, but the tone ends up to distortion and unclear in a live band environment.

 

Turning the gain down lets me sound clearer and articulate, but I lose the sustain and harmonics that I love.

 

So, I bought the tube screamer...as it was recommended as a good way to enhance the sustain and harmonics.

 

Now I'm faced with more options...i.e. level, tone, and distortion knobs on the tube screamer, as well as the pre-amp gain and master volume knobs.

 

I know I should always trust my ears first, but I wanted some suggestions on which way to turn the knobs to get all of the harmonics and sustain possible, without having an overly distorted/crappy/feedbacky tone.

 

Do I want to?

 

1) Turn up TS distortion and turn down amp gain?

2) Go half and half on TS distortion and amp gain?

3) Turn up TS level and turn down TS distortion?

4) Turn down amp pre-amp gain and turn up master volume? (more power to power tubes)

 

Any other ideas?

[Roadstar II]

I don't know how familiar you are with using pedals as a gain boost, but usually the way to go is to turn the level on the pedal all the way up and turn the gain all the way down. Then, add tiny amounts of gain until you get the boost you want. I would say adding less rather than more gain from the pedal would maintain the sustain. If you use too much gain on the pedal, you run the risk of getting the signal too distorted and not clear enough for your taste. Experimentation is the key.

[tommythelurker]

Set the master volume to the volume you need to play at.

Lower the gain on the amp to clear up the tone.

Use the TS with the distortion down (all the way even) and the level up.

 

Tweak from there...

[trendkill1168]

Your gonna have to play with it to get that perfect balance because everybody's gear is different. With my setup I keep the amp's preamp gain at about half or a little higher depending on what channel of the 6505 I'm using. Usually on the rhythm channel I'm between 6 & 7. On the lead channel I back it off to about 5.5 or 6 max. My TS always stays set about the same which is Level at noon, Tone between 11 & 12:00, and Gain between 9 & 10:00. If you want to clean boost it then just max out the level, tone wherever, and gain at zero. Play around with it for awhile and I'm sure you'll find the sweet spot. Your gonna get better sustain and harmonics if you can get your master up a little bit but then you'll probably be at practice volumes. Hope that helps man! Good luck!

[moonstone]

I have been experimenting with the same thing ... let me try

and para-phrase from a thread I saw in the past. I think the idea

is with the pedal bypassed get your amp/pre-amp set up to where

your guitar begins going into distortion. Then engage the OD and

turn up the Vol on the OD until desired distortion is achieved.

[BigED]

I have been experimenting with the same thing ... let me try and para-phrase from a thread I saw in the past. I think the idea is with the pedal bypassed get your amp/pre-amp set up to where your guitar begins going into distortion. Then engage the OD and turn up the Vol on the OD until desired distortion is achieved.

 

With the TS distortion turned down to zero?

[jshaft37]

gain - 0

tone - 5

volume - 10

 

that's a good start.

[RockNote]

Set the amp so that it has the tone you want, although the playability is not quite there yet - not quite enough gain, sustain, compression etc. Then set the TS thus: drive: 9:30; level: 2:30; tone: 8:00. That's my setting at least. The TS now "closes up the gap," barely without altering the tone.

[petejt]

What you want is known as the "clean boost"- a very common technique used by many guitarists.

 

On your pedal, set the Distortion to 0, and the Level to 10. Adjust the Tone knob to taste.

 

This boosts your signal without adding distortion, so it will assist sustain and help bring out the harmonics. It might boost some of the frequencies too, depending on the particular pedal you're using.

 

Then, adjust the gain & master volume controls on your amp to the amount of distortion and loudness you want.

 

 

Good luck!

[chrispsullivan]

put the gain on the ts9 at 0 and the level at ten

[BigED]

Thanks for the input, guys. It sounds pretty good with my level at max and my dist at zero on the TS.

[petejt]

Thanks for the input, guys. It sounds pretty good with my level at max and my dist at zero on the TS.

 

Congratulations!

[Herald of Light]

 

What you want is known as the "clean boost"- a very common technique used by many guitarists. On your pedal, set the Distortion to 0, and the Level to 10. Adjust the Tone knob to taste. This boosts your signal without adding distortion

 

 

That's not entirely true. Lots of boosts don't get completely clean. I think that's really why they're popular. That little bit of distortion shaves the peaks off of the signal before it gets to the amp, and compresses it in a way that the amp won't, hence people using them with even the super modern high gain amps.