AC-30 distortion pedal...?

[frigid midget]

I know this has probably been done before, but the search function didn't really bring up much...So bear with me please:

Contrary to what seems to be the general consensus, I don't find the AC30 that pedal friendly. Imo, due to it's trebly character and slightly crunchy cleans, it's rather picky when it comes to dirt pedals. The only non-fuzz I've got is a Crowther Hotcake, which is awesome for anything but higher gain settings. Even on the AC30, it gets wooly, very dark, and even muddy when the gain control is dimed. I know the options are endless, but here's what I've come up with so far:

-Way Huge Red Llama: More of a fuzz rather than an od/dist? Maybe not as high gain as I want it to be.
-Bearfoot FX Honey Beest: A bit pricey for what it is? It's also not as easy to come by on the used market.
-Xotic AC-Booster: Pretty strong contender here, I'm liking the online demos of this one, a lot.
-Box Of Rock: Might be too much of a generic marshall-in-box thing, and too close to the sound of a Rat, which I didn't like very much. Not into tubescreamers either btw, they don't seem to like AC30s imo.
-MXR, EHX and Way Huge have a couple options that might do the trick, and they shouldn't be too pricey or too hard to find.
-EQD; Which one of their dirt peds would be the best match for an AC-30 best?

Anyone maybe have any good experiences with an AC-30 and a FET based overdrive, like an OCD?

I don't see myself as the type of blues laywer that's obesessed with clean boosters and subtle overdrives, I'm into all sorts of indie rock, and even heavier sludge/stoner/doom stuff. It seems hard tough to find a basic overdrive that's a little fuzzy/hairy/gritty on single notes, doesn't sound too thin or harsh or buzzy with single coils, cuts through a mix, and can do high gain stuff without making chords sound too mushy/messy....

From what I tried so far, the Dr S Elements I had came closest to what I'm after. As stupid as it sound though, I had to get rid of it cause it was overkill for me. Having a couple eq controls is awesome and all, but as great as most of the settings sounded, I didn't use the pedal for anything but that one high-ish gain setting, which seemed like a shame

[UglyCasanova]

I've had a AC30 for a few years now, and The Elements has been the only OD that stayed for more than a couple of days. But in the end I'm more of an all or nothing kind of player, so OD's are a big useless to me (if not used more as a colorful booster). I'd look into getting a Mini/Fuck also, they can give you a great OD sound with gain rolled back. The bias control on the mini would be especially useful to you.

Anyways, a pedal isn't going to change the fact that you're playing single coils through an AC30. It has complex and crunchy mids. Deal with it or get another amp/some warm buckers.

[frigid midget]

I've had a AC30 for a few years now, and The Elements has been the only OD that stayed for more than a couple of days. But in the end I'm more of an all or nothing kind of player, so OD's are a big useless to me (if not used more as a colorful booster). I'd look into getting a Mini/Fuck also, they can give you a great OD sound with gain rolled back. The bias control on the mini would be especially useful to you.

Anyways, a pedal isn't going to change the fact that you're playing single coils through an AC30. It has complex and crunchy mids. Deal with it or get another amp/some warm buckers.

Yeah, I'v thought about trying something like a humbucker equiped tele, but I'm such a single coil fanatic that I don't wanna resort to that option unless I really have to.

I've read a ton of great things about the Mini/Fuck, but as far as actual audio goes, it seems like there's just grainy lofi bass demos to be found online They don't sound too impressive to me, which for all I know is due to the crappy recording quality

[Rob Fossil]

I have a Hughes & Kettner Statesman Duel EL84, which is basically a beefed up AC15. I've run into the same issue regarding fuzz pedals, where most either get muddy or sound too harsh. I had an EQD Tore Reaper that I loved, but just didn't jibe with the H&K. The best pedal combo I've found so far is a Blackarts LSTR into a SS/BS Mini OD. The LSTR can dial out the muddiness common to other muffs I've tried. Btw, I play P90's so that may be different from your setup.

Also, I've heard that AC-30's match well with the DOD 250/MXR Distortion + style circuit. I've wanted to try the EQD White Light that is also based on that circuit.

[OddKnowledge]

i second that you try an SS/BS Mini. i play a tele through an ac50cp2 (a bit of a different beast, but similar enough). mids are pretty much the name of the game with that setup, so i mainly use my drives as volume boosts with a bit of gain. plus with the bias knob and eq you can get it to sound beefy and still cut through in the mix.

[Tristan]

Personally I don't think humbuckers are going to solve the problem, Vox style amps are just picky with drives.
If anything humbuckers are even more difficult i.m.o. because they have less punch and more midrange which can make the sound even more nasal and buzzy.

Hands down the best distortion I found so far that also works with Vox style amps is the Homebrew Electronics Big D, it rocks, has big balls, sounds loose yet tight enough and reacts really well on your volume control to get different shades of drive.
I see it basically as a better, more ballsy, punchy and characterful version of the Zvex Box Of Rock, which I also tried, the Big D also sounds great on Marshall style amps and most Fender style amps.

The Honey Beest is more an overdrive I think, pretty much all Bearfoot stuff is better as an overdrive than as a distortion I think, not worth the price too in my opinion.
The AC Booster is pretty okay, doesn't really really rock though, only when you dime the gain and bass possibly, you could try the Mooer Flex Boost as it's quite a bit cheaper, I'd only get the AC Booster second hand because I think it's not worth the going price new.
The OCD is pretty good but I'd recommend the Mooer Hustle Drive because it's one of the better sounding OCD circuits in my opinion, with the many different iterations of the OCD I wouldn't know which one to get as they all sound quite different from eachother.

The Mini is pretty good but not really a distortion I'd say, probably still too close to the Hot Cake in terms of drivelevel / gain.
If you really want to kick things up a notch in terms of going heavy I'd suggest the Pharaoh, it sounds great with my Valvetech Hayseed 30 and it's way more punchy, open and powerful sounding than the LSTR in my opinion, it also stacks really well with other drives.

[frigid midget]

I have a Hughes & Kettner Statesman Duel EL84, which is basically a beefed up AC15. I've run into the same issue regarding fuzz pedals, where most either get muddy or sound too harsh. I had an EQD Tore Reaper that I loved, but just didn't jibe with the H&K. The best pedal combo I've found so far is a Blackarts LSTR into a SS/BS Mini OD. The LSTR can dial out the muddiness common to other muffs I've tried. Btw, I play P90's so that may be different from your setup.

Also, I've heard that AC-30's match well with the DOD 250/MXR Distortion + style circuit. I've wanted to try the EQD White Light that is also based on that circuit.

Thanks for the tip. Just checked a bunch of White Light demos, seems legit, like all eqd stuff. Something that's even more gainy might be even better though.

[frigid midget]

Personally I don't think humbuckers are going to solve the problem, Vox style amps are just picky with drives.
If anything humbuckers are even more difficult i.m.o. because they have less punch and more midrange which can make the sound even more nasal and buzzy.

Hands down the best distortion I found so far that also works with Vox style amps is the Homebrew Electronics Big D, it rocks, has big balls, sounds loose yet tight enough and reacts really well on your volume control to get different shades of drive.
I see it basically as a better, more ballsy, punchy and characterful version of the Zvex Box Of Rock, which I also tried, the Big D also sounds great on Marshall style amps and most Fender style amps.

The Honey Beest is more an overdrive I think, pretty much all Bearfoot stuff is better as an overdrive than as a distortion I think, not worth the price too in my opinion.
The AC Booster is pretty okay, doesn't really really rock though, only when you dime the gain and bass possibly, you could try the Mooer Flex Boost as it's quite a bit cheaper, I'd only get the AC Booster second hand because I think it's not worth the going price new.
The OCD is pretty good but I'd recommend the Mooer Hustle Drive because it's one of the better sounding OCD circuits in my opinion, with the many different iterations of the OCD I wouldn't know which one to get as they all sound quite different from eachother.

The Mini is pretty good but not really a distortion I'd say, probably still too close to the Hot Cake in terms of drivelevel / gain.
If you really want to kick things up a notch in terms of going heavy I'd suggest the Pharaoh, it sounds great with my Valvetech Hayseed 30 and it's way more punchy, open and powerful sounding than the LSTR in my opinion, it also stacks really well with other drives.

Thanks. It's kinda reassuring that I don't have to give up on single coils

What you said about the xotic and Bearfoot stuff basicly matches with the reservations I had. Pricey and maybe a bit too overdrive-y and/or civilised.

I'm not a fan of Mooer or similar chinese cloning brands, I don't mind spending a bit more on the real thing. It's not too hard to find an affordable used OCD anyway. Although I agree that it's annoying that there's so many different versions, I have no idea what to look for either

The SS/BS mini: My hotcake has plenty of gain/grit, it just doesn't sound great with the gain control past noon

Pharaoh: Isn't it too close to a muff? As in that it dissapears in a loud mix I tried a LSTR (super wooly and big, nothing but bass, like a sovtek muff), and a Black Forest (scratchy, thin, no low end).

[the5chord]

I a lot more fuzz than I have overdrive. The pedal that works best for me with single coils is the lovepedal eternity fuse. In the past I used the roadhouse version but had sold it at one point and missed it so I got a fuse. I also have used the elements but I did not like the sound of the low gain drives through the Vox. I have a Boss OD-2 that works great with humbuckers but sounds not so great with single coils.

I think the OCD would work as well. The LP setting worked better for me when I had it. If you are looking for some actual distortion vs overdrive you might try the empress distortion pedal. It's actually pretty good at that sound.

[frigid midget]

I a lot more fuzz than I have overdrive. The pedal that works best for me with single coils is the lovepedal eternity fuse. In the past I used the roadhouse version but had sold it at one point and missed it so I got a fuse. I also have used the elements but I did not like the sound of the low gain drives through the Vox. I have a Boss OD-2 that works great with humbuckers but sounds not so great with single coils.

I think the OCD would work as well. The LP setting worked better for me when I had it. If you are looking for some actual distortion vs overdrive you might try the empress distortion pedal. It's actually pretty good at that sound.

The Empress distortion...The highs sound a bit nasal and scratchy. Probably a nice pedal in its own right, but impo nothing spectacular. Dunno, but I kinda expected something more from a $150 boutique distortion

Lovepedal eternity Fuse: What does it cost, where does one buy this pedlol? Any idea what's it's based on?

Cheers.

[backwardsvoyager]

Have you tried a Fulldrive 2 Mosfet? I know it's kinda tame and people never talk about them here but that's one of the only dirt pedals i've tried that had a really pleasing kinda EQ and crunch to it.

For what you're describing i think something like the Mini is gonna do well as far as being gritty but not harsh or muddy. I use it near the end of the chain as sort of a crunch channel so that if i want heavier sounds i run a distortion into it to increase gain but retain the same character as i think the pedals reacts very differently at different gain settings so its better to find one that works with your setup and pump it with another pedal for higher gain sounds. It has a certain 'dullness' to it (not a bad thing) that i like for getting single coils to sound a bit more balanced in a mix, colors the tone a lot so is good for making the guitar or amp seem like they're contributing less to the overall tone. It really depends on the amp though. I liked it a bit more through british-style tube amps than i do with the solid state stuff i use now. Nothing is perfect in every situation really.

[the5chord]

The fuse I believe is based on a elektra circuit. Not sure what it costs now but you could probably find out via reverb, ebay, or TGP emporium in fairly short order.

If I was you I'd just get another elements. Sounds like it had what you liked so who cares if you didn't use the rest of the features.

[Tristan]

Thanks. It's kinda reassuring that I don't have to give up on single coils

What you said about the xotic and Bearfoot stuff basicly matches with the reservations I had. Pricey and maybe a bit too overdrive-y and/or civilised.

I'm not a fan of Mooer or similar chinese cloning brands, I don't mind spending a bit more on the real thing. It's not too hard to find an affordable used OCD anyway. Although I agree that it's annoying that there's so many different versions, I have no idea what to look for either

The SS/BS mini: My hotcake has plenty of gain/grit, it just doesn't sound great with the gain control past noon

Pharaoh: Isn't it too close to a muff? As in that it dissapears in a loud mix I tried a LSTR (super wooly and big, nothing but bass, like a sovtek muff), and a Black Forest (scratchy, thin, no low end).

Understood about the clone stuff.
Maybe someone else can dive into the different OCD iterations because I can't really tell you much about it, I think the later ones are better with an AC30 because I remember one of the old ones I tried wasn't that great with it.

You could also check out the MI Audio Blues Pro or the T-rex Alberta, a buddy of mine used those with his AC15 and that sounded pretty tits too, both are kinda similar and work pretty well on higher gain.
They're also Tubescreamer based I think, just like the Fulldrive, but personally I like them better, especially if you're going for higher gain settings.

In the short time I had it, I actually thought the Mini sounded better on high gain, in the end I used it mostly with the gain dimed and the bias almost completely rolled back so it was almost like a fuzz.
Indeed it's a bit dull sounding on lower gain settings especially, which probably is the main reason I sold it.

While I don't think the Black Forest sounds thin (especially not with the FAC control in the most bassy position), I do like the Pharaoh better with my Hayseed 30, it's also nothing like that blurry woolly sound of the LSTR, I think it's much more versatile with way more punch and attack, for heavy I say it's pretty incredible.

[ThurberMingus]

Has no one suggested a Rat yet? Get a Rat. I tried one briefly through an AC30 and it was THE drive sound I had been trying to get with my Marshall. Do it.

[KaosCill8r]

Crowther Audio Hotcake is supposed to be awesome with Vox ac30 amps. I have a Hotcake clone but I don't have a Vox amp so I can't tell you anymore about it.