Dist/OD pedals VS 'Gain' knob

    I've tried all the dirt pedals in the stomp section and have come to the conclusion
    that the Gain knob seems to work better for me.


    I'm speaking about adding grit all the Clean to Med Gain type of profiles mostly.
    I've even taken it to the extreme, and liked it better than some of the High Gain profiles.


    Just wondering what everyone else's thoughts and experiences were?

    Just fell in Love with the Treble Booster. Tone -3 and Volume to taste. Set the gain a littler lower than usual, then experiment with the volume in the treble booster. Also with volume at 0 makes the sound fatter, clearer, tighter. Don´t know. But don´t overdo it. Still experimenting. ^^

    Mostly Screamer when hi-gain with no Drive and less Tone. Even volume at 0 makes the tone tighter for me. I usually increase the Bass of the Profile after the Screamer to even out imbalances.
    When Profiles are too dark I put the treble Booster before it and tweak to taste. Usually Tone around -2,5 depending on the profile.



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    pre-EQ, a "boost", a dirt/OD pedal, compressor in the stomp, then in the amp profile settings, there's Definition, Tube Shape, Bias, Clarity, Sagging, and Compressor. They all have their time and place.


    Most usually I just use pre-EQ and make some mild tweaks to Definition, Shape, and Bias amp profile settings. But if I need more of a fuzzy sound or a tad of a harsher distortion, I may use a Distortion with some mild breakup.

    Yeah same conclusion for me I almost always use the gain knob alone and maybe some lead & pure booster on a mix. I always preferred natural tube drive on my real amps also.


    Some rigs have a fantastic gain course where you can go from a sparkle clean to a shredder tone just by using the gain, this is all I need.


    I also often get the definition parameter down from a "rhythm rig" for tight creamy leads

    Interesting how we all vary just a little. I have found on most mid gain amps so to speak, the "lead booster" is my go to. I guess there are so many variables, including our own personal preference of sounds, but this just makes so many profiles make that solo sound so incredible. More sustain, more drive , a certain distinct clarity , yet adding zero noise or very little noise to the final sound. So much so, that I really don't use the other dirt stomps for the most part. Sometimes I will add a metal distortion with a lead boost and just go nuts :D

    Some of the rigs, when you increase the gain up above 10 or 11 o'clock start to change the color of the amp, which is a nice feature on those amps. I'm not sure which ones they were, I'm at work, but I think the Marshall JVM rigs? A Led Zeppelin-ish ZOSO rig? If I recall correctly, it seemed to drop out some mids and increase the presence simultaneously as you increased the gain.


    As far as the effects, I might use a little treble boost for live lead tones, but stick mostly to the gain range of the amp.

    Before Kemper I had to use od / dist. Pedals to try and get different sounds from my amp but now if I want a Marshall sound I have 20 great ones. The lead boost is cool, but very powerful, a little bit goes a long way. I,m starting to use Treble boost more too, but the Green Scream seems to get most use...I wish it had a bit more roll off though.

    On my main "Djent" preset for all 4 stomp blocks, I have Compressor > Screamer > EQ > 4:1 Gate. The Screamer is a tad too bright and gets thin and harsh if you move up the fretboard, but I don't like what happens when you turn Tone down. So I use the EQ to roll-off some of the very high end, which reduces harshness, but doesn't take away much bite. It works better than reducing Tone!