levels of dirt

[Casavettes]

I'm sure this topic has been spoken of a million times over
but does dwelling over which overdrive/dirt and how many to use become overwhelming to anyone else?
i've been using the crimson drive and talons for awhile now
just got a bit commander although thats not just dirt obviously

i played a show last night where for most of the set i had the talons on
and some parts i would switch to the crimson drive but found myself wondering why
it's like dirt pedals all start to sound the same to me after awhile
especially in a live setting
and then i tend to forget how i could EQ my amp different to accommodate using only one dirt pedal
don't get me wrong, i love the way they stack together and i know each pedal has it's own character to it
maybe i'm just stupid and trying to make sure every dirt pedal is at unison or slightly above is a task for me.

sorry for the rant, i'm sleep deprived and have been thinking way too hard about this shit.

[bigchiefbc]

I went through a period having the exact same problem you describe. I went through so many overdrives and distortions, I would love the shit out of them when jamming in my music room. Then I would get down to band practice and they all started to sound the same.

My eventual resolution to that problem was to use my amp for my lower gain drive, then I use the Elements for high gain, and then my Tone Machine for fuzz. And that's pretty much it for my covers band. My original stuff is almost all fuzz, I almost never use drive except to dirty up drums or synths.

[Uncle Grandfather]

I wouldn't discount variety of fuzz/dirt/od, especially in the studio where the unique intricacies are going to be heard.....clearer. Moreso than at band practice and especially in a live situation where your sound is at the mercy of the rooms acoustics/soundperson/sound reinforcement system etc. You can record direct from the board to playback later and get a better idea of what your sound was like. ?

[Casavettes]

My eventual resolution to that problem was to use my amp for my lower gain drive, then I use the Elements for high gain, and then my Tone Machine for fuzz. And that's pretty much it for my covers band. My original stuff is almost all fuzz, I almost never use drive except to dirty up drums or synths.

yeah i think thats where i'm headed

[retinal orbita]

I have four fuzz pedals on my board at all times. They all sound hella different. I use my HM-2 as a boost, my Dirge Rat/SSS for 'out' there stuff and currently I'm rotating between a brassmaster clone, a modded DS-1 and my Big Muff in the fourth position. The Muff rules so much I have to phase it out to keep myself from falling into the trap of using it all the time.

I can't tell the difference between them as much when I play with my band vs. at home but what can you do? I'm wearing earplugs and cranking a jcm900 loud enough to wake Margaret Thatchers dried out corpse because the drummer in our band plays so fucking loud and our room is a cesspool of sounds bouncing off each other.... but then we record in there too and I can hear the differences way clearer, so it's just because of the confinement, not lack of actual dynamics....

[O Drones]

Please don't wake Thatcher's corpse.

[retinal orbita]

Please don't wake Thatcher's corpse.

Our drummer is a Welsh expat... he would never forgive me if I did. He threw a party when she died.

[O Drones]

Haha, Mogwai have a song called 'George Square Thatcher Death Party' that they had out years before she died. George Square is right in the centre of Glasgow, then when she died, there was a party in George Square. It was awesome

[retinal orbita]

Hahaha... that's awesome.....

[OddKnowledge]

thats pretty funny.

as for dirt, i find that i really only use 1 at a time in my current band (and for low gain, at that). now i just have a few dirt pedals that i swap around depending on how i feel.

[goroth]

There's a shoot out on YouTube with like 40 overdrives. Aside from some small eq differences they all sound the same. I think after a while all clipping starts to sound the same. The differences are really in pre and post clipping filtering, and overall gain levels. This just gets exacerbated with a band where small nuances just get eaten up by the other instruments.

I try and set my dirt up as differently as possible, especially in terms of gain. That way the differences are really clear and it feels justifiable to have the different pedals on the board.

[Uncle Grandfather]

There's a shoot out on YouTube

The compression and audio quality of youtube and whatever you listened through can't possibly give an even approximation of what those pedals really sound like. Not to mention the quality of gear used to record the demo. Just saiyan.

[goroth]

There's a shoot out on YouTube

The compression and audio quality of youtube and whatever you listened through can't possibly give an even approximation of what those pedals really sound like. Not to mention the quality of gear used to record the demo. Just saiyan.

The recording gear was pretty standard studio stuff, playback at 1080p doesn't have that many artefacts.
I use a decent pair of closed ear AKGs.

If the differences aren't apparent under those conditions it just makes my point even more valid - there is no chance you will hear any tangible difference in a band environment.

[D.o.S.]

Not to mention that most of us probably have at least some form of mild hearing damage anyway.

[Casavettes]

Not to mention that most of us probably have at least some form of mild hearing damage anyway.