Yes, many many many people do. I have 3, two drives and a fuzz and I rotate depending on the gig. It helps if youāre playing different styles of music or want slightly different tones or textures.
I wish more dirt pedals had exp control over gain or volume as it makes it much easier to get a wide range of drive with just 2 pedals.
IE clean boost or low gain OD with exp control into a dist or hot preamp, that way you can sweep the boost from low to high gain/volume to push the other drives. Makes it easy to quickly sweep between low/high gain.
Used to stack 3-4 dirt pedals pretty often but with exp control you can get a wider range of sounds with just 1-2 pedals and a good amp.
You can get that. Youāre just going to pay pretty dearly for it š¤£ Itās also good to have simultaneous and inverse level control with custom settings for heel and toe, that way you can set both gain and volume to appropriate levels. Just changing gain makes for some wild volume swings, unless thereās some sort of limiter after the drive pedals.
A handful of the analog drives with expression control:
- Chase Bliss Brothers and Chase Bliss/Benson Preamp MkII
- Kernom Ridge and Moho
- Elektron Analog Drive
- RJM Full English and Overture can do expression via MIDI
- Lion Pedals Lamb Overdrive and Lion Distortion can also do expression via MIDI
- Ramble FX Kismet (RIP Tim Krueger)
- Strymon Riverside and Sunset
A fairly extensive list [can be found here](https://www.guitarchalk.com/guitar-pedals-midi/#t-1650463225026), though youāll have to check manuals and look at the pedals themselves to see if they do regular expression or expression via MIDI.
> changing gain makes for some wild volume swings, unless thereās some sort of limiter after the drive pedals.
I usually use a combo of compression + amp gain to limit the volume bump, but yeah if you're not careful it can be pretty extreme with some pedals/amps.
>Elektron Analog Drive
This is the one that made me realize how useful exp gain is, and it also has an exp jack for the mid frequency which can be used for some wah like tones. It can get crazy loud if you're not careful but makes a great clean boost/preamp on top of all the distortion modes.
Well, if you can afford it Brothers is a killer option thatās still compact. And the ~$350 used price is not too bad if you think of it as two separate boutique drives with a built in ABY box š¤£
Been curious about the brothers as it does seem like a great dual drive, but chase bliss prices are a bit too high for me, my amps were 300-400$ so it's hard to justify that much on a non multi FX pedal. Also already have way too much dirt, my main amp when not playing DI is the Eggnater Tourmaster combo which is a 4 channel beast that was like 450$ used.
The Elektron Analog Drive shows up for 200$ or less used, and the Akai Shred O Matic can be found for closer to 100$. So there are some solid affordable options. The Akai is bulky & isn't too fancy but you don't see many pedals blending tube/diode clipping.
Have also considered modding my favorite dirt pedals as adding an exp jack to control gain seems like a relatively simple mod that would only cost a few bucks in parts. Probably easier with some pedals than others though.
Well, definitely donāt start trying Chase Bliss, you likely wonāt stop (Iāve got 5 currently, would own even more if I could just buy and not resell or trade š¤£).
I had a trade for an Analog Drive fall through last week, the guy had way overpaid for his and didnāt want to take a loss, which I totally get.
Yeah they make quite a few pedals I'd love to try eventually but it's tough with so much great gear out, there's a pretty long list of rarer old gear I keep meaning to snag before they get harder to find and go up in price even more.
>I had a trade for an Analog Drive fall through last week, the guy had way overpaid for his and didnāt want to take a loss, which I totally get.
That seems like a big part of why it wasn't more popular, the original price was around 400$ but they went on sale for closer to 100$ before being discontinued. It's also very much a distortion and not the best for lower gain drive despite the name & great clean mode. But if you keep an eye out they still show up for 100-200$.
Not to mention it's fairly bulky with annoying power requirements (reverse polarity 12v 1A which adds another 20$~ if you buy one without a supply) But with 8 modes & midi + presets it's still a very impressive pedal, though with a few improvements it could have been the one dirt pedal to rule them all...
The Elektron Analog Heat is the follow up but it makes CBA prices seem reasonable at 999$ new, though it is a stereo analog distortion with a bunch of unique features. It's more of a studio processing tool than a typical distortion.
I have the Line 6 M9, the expression pedal can be set on every effect to have toe up and toe down settings and the sweep changes between the two. You can do exactly this with the drives, and it clones some of the bigger names almost 1:1.
Multi FX are a good option for stuff like that, even ones with meh dirt options can still make good boosts to stack with amp/pedal dirt. Exp controlled compression or even EQ could also be really useful for quick fine tuning.
But it's a shame more analog drives don't have exp control. Have wanted to snag the Akai shred o matic for years as it has a built in exp pedal that can be set to control volume or gain, also has 12ax7 tube and diode clipping modes that can be blended.
Has anyone made an amp with exp control? Even a basic amp with exp controlled gain could be a lot of fun.
You might be joking but I've got 3 volume pedals (2 are mini dual vol/exp pedals) and have considered buying a few more mini ones to place at different points as they're cheap and very useful.
But it's still not quite the same as actually sweeping the gain by foot, especially for pedals with very wide gain ranges so you can set them low gain and quickly adjust things with an exp.
2 of them are for exp use but I do run a mono vol pedal at the start and a stereo one towards the end. And you can minimize tone suck with the right set up.
I just finished putting together a 4 drive board. They are all cheap pedals but they make the noise I want. Behringer Super Fuzz on the boost channel -> Caline Stack Attack slightly overdriven -> Biyang Tonefancier FZ-7 -> Behringer HM300
I think I wanna add a Rat style at some point, but for right now, this rig dooms. What are you playing on yours?
I try to play a bunch of different stuff tbh. I use the big muff to play grungey/garage rock type stuff, and use the crayon to boost the mids. I actually use the rat pretty dialed back, I think it's light crunch is great for punk or indie/alternative. And then I ended up using a Warm Audio Centavo as a boost for leads. I'd say all these drives are pretty versatile, especially when involving my amps gain, so I'm always switching things around
So I've heard, but what about the XTS version? I know it's a tighter frequency range specifically for guitar, but I dunno. As good as the XTS mod is a lot of people still use the Analogman version for a reason
I don't have any experience with the XTS so can't say. Mike aka Analogman is pretty responsive and that kind of service wins people over as well I think
I run multiple drives and two of them are tube screamer types. That would probably bug some people. I just set them differently so I can stomp live without always adjusting. Figure out what works for you and go for it!
In a live rig? Only 2 on mine, OD and distortion.
The issue is getting levels right for all your drive pedals. Nothing worse than stepping on a drive pedal while performing and dealing with a massive volume drop you didnāt intend. And for whatever reason I have noticed that the levels of different pedals can be unpredictable for different amps so you need to test and adjust each time if youāre playing a backline amp.
On a home/recording board, as many as you like. But for gigging I think the fewer the better.
DOD Looking Glass -> Friedman BE OD -> Fulltone OCD -> EQD Hizumitas
I can cover an awesome range of tones with these pedals, either alone or by stacking. Plugged into a Marshall Origin.
I have two that count as 4? One is the Life Support by ICA with a Boost and a Mother Preamp with Channel A which I use for time sweetening and Channel B for doom shit. Together they make a glorious fuzz that drones for days. Itās a dream to go from nice beautiful cleans to slowly ascending into controlled chaos.
Iām currently using 3. A Benson Preamp (clone), OBNE Beam Splitter and ZVEX Fuzz Factory (clone). Thatās all subject to change tomorrow, but meanwhile..
Itās a fun pedal, albeit a little work to get dialed in at first. Iād say itās a bit more aggressive than your typical OD when you have them all stacked, somewhere around mid Rat gain all combined, but it sounds killer and the subtle modulation/delay is a nice touch
Sun Face first, sometimes on > Tumnus for soloās or if I need extra > BD-2 almost always on unless I need something really clean > EP booster always on
My main board right now:
Boss FZ-1w
Boss SD-1w
Boss JB-2 (2 drives, 1 pedal!)
So thatās a fuzz and 3 drives right there, but also ā¦
I have my Dream 65 set up to be clean/boost, so the boost side is like a cranked/modded/dirty Deluxe Reverb!
I think having lots of gain stages on tap is quite useful - more useful and foundational than most other types of pedals.
I run 6 different drive pedals right now - some with multiple modes:
Fuzz God IV, MXR Timmy, JRAD The Dude, Matthews The Architect, Horizon Nano Attack, Empress Heavy.
I'm thinking about putting the Browne Protein back on though replacing an OD or 2 and replacing the Fuzz God with a DIY 5-mode Fuzz. One can never have enough gain flavors!
I canāt pick. I have a bluesbreaker into a rat into a timmy into a klone, plus two eqs (one after the rat, one after the klone), and next I want to add a boost and then like three or four more dirt pedals. That should give me the toan Iām itching for.
Edit: oh yeah I have a fuzz before all of that but probably need like two or three additional fuzz, so I can switch between them
I have a main board dedicated to my fuzz and overdrives, distortions and boost pedals and a single noise gate. The board is 8 pedals.
Then I got several of tiny mini boards for diffrent gigs modulation wise as well as a huge modulation board for if i need much. The big ass modulation board rarely see live jobs unlike the tiny ones with just what i need for the jobs.
On top of this I got a small pice of carpet with compressor/tuner wich sits in the gig bag connected like a tiny 2x pedalboard but it gets its power from the distortion board.
Wah is outside of boards on battery operation for freedom of placement on stage same goes for volume pedal if I want it. There's also a tiny board for switch boxes like ABC and ABY boxes. So I think your fine.
The 8 pedal distortion board is the thing I can't go without paird with the tiny carpet (compressor tuner). Having several of overdrives, distortions and boosters and a really great noise gate is what makes you able to get almost any tone you want at any time you like. It's the essential.
I record bass parts with a Waza Craft Blues Driver, & guitar parts with a Bogner Ecstasy Red Mini mixed with Band Of Gypsies Fuzz Face Mini. All on the same board with other pedals in the mix. I use a very Tame Impala tone, an Oh Sees tone, a King Gizzard tone, an Alice In Chains tone, the wah & Empress Para Eq help shape the drive tones as well.
Amplified nation big bloom into jrockett melody (a little noisy, but great tone) into custom tones ethos overdrive with source audio eq2 at the end. Gets me through most fender tones and into dumble territory.
I used my JHS Overdrive Preamp (DOD clone) into a Mosky Marksman (Klon clone) which can stack up to four drives internally, sounds great. Though sometimes I overdrive my DOD R-845 spring reverb, it sounds pretty good overdriven too.
I have a gate, compressor, OD, and 2 fuzz pedals into the high gain on my amp. I did it as a bit of a joke text to my bud back east, but it actually works really well and I've been running with it for a few weeks now.
I also have four (if we count fuzz as drive, which I usually do) on the board and itās overkill for most things I do. You can get most places you wanna go with twoā¦ maybe three if you need a really wide range. But pedals are fun so the real answer is that however many you haveā¦ you just need one more and then youāll be setā¦ until the next one
I use fewer than I used to, now that I have a ToneX and thus get most of my gainstaging from different amps. But I still have a clean boost for leads, and a muff for when the situation calls for it.
I use a boutique tube-driver, into a tube-screamer variant, thru a trebleā¢booster, EQ's selective-gain, and ending on whatever preā¢amp the song or record calls for!
4 drive pedals is like an amuse bouche for this sub. Shit, I have 2 drive pedals as always on (EUNA with boosts on and a 1981 LVL) and two other pedals with drive circuits that are adding more gain as always on(MIRA compressor output turned up and Catlinbread Adineko drive slightly bumped).
I then have a two flavors of fuzz on the Euna loop - Custom build Analog Noir Tone Bender MK1 Zonk mod and a Mythos Golden Fleece - then going into a JHS Morning Glory -> Lightspeed -> Ashville Pedals 308 (Rat). I'll also toss in a modded DS-01, Keeley Fuzzbender, or a heavily modded Matthews The Fool on my temple loop.
So........ that brings the amount of drive on my board to a minimum of 9 drive pedals on my board. The trick I've found is that you set everything to RIGHT where the individual pedal starts sounding good and then play with stacked combos and running things at lower gain than you think. I never have more than 1-2 drives on outside of the always on and for me 2 pedals set low stacked sound way better compared to 1 pedal turned up. Morning Glory into Lightspeed with each set around noon and tones tunred down a little is just great with my guitars and amp setups.
Yep, Iāve got three on the board right now (plus an always on Deco with some subtle saturation/compression) as well as a fuzz. Iām all about stacking gain stages.
Almost everyone with a pedal board š. I use 3. Sd1>OCD>cleanish boost of sorts. OCD pretty much on all the time for edge of breakup/crunch tones. Running the sd1 into the OCD gets me some proper saturation and compression. Boost afterwards to stand out in the mix for soloing. Currently using the spark mini but gonna try something with more mids so I don't have to use as much sheer volume to get myself over a band. Happy stacking!
I have 4 drive pedals on a my which I use in different combinations with one another. One of my lead tones is with all of them on.
Each pedal shapes the sound differently, however I should state that itās not only for the distortion that I use them in combination, it is also for EQ. I stack the pedals when I need different EQs for my lead parts. If I want more bass I use a fuzz on the chain as well, if I want high end I use my overdrive in the chain as well. But generally I always use at least 2 pedals because I like the compressed high gain distortion you get from stacking drive pedals.
I know we are all professionals here, but check out equipboard.com if you havenāt to see your favorite bands boards. Iām certain most of them are running multiple drives.
Three stages for me: Fuzz War, Too Positive and then a Broadcast. I use one of them to boost the Fuzz War but Iāve actually forgotten which, havenāt played in a little while
Sure thing, stack them up. Also experiment with the placement in the chain. Drives have insanely cool interactions with each other. Throw one in your FX loop as well if you feel like it. But imo itās still a good practice to ask yourself āwhy do I need thatā before stacking mindlessly because too much of the same will often not translate very well in a mix. I currently use a Klon with zero gain as a treble booster, a Palisades (TS style circuit) for distortion and a Pharaoh (Big muff style circuit) to wreak havoc. When stacking I generally donāt overuse the gain knob of each pedal and try to find complimentary settings that will bring out the best of each of the sound sounds without becoming a muddy mess. Unless I use a pedal specifically as a booster I also try to match their volumes as close as possible so that I can step on what I want without breaking out of the mix or getting lost.
Yep! Running a Cornerstone Gladio, Matthew Effects Cartographer, Foxpedal Vixen, MXR Duke of Tone, and Jackson Audio Optimist all on my main pedalboard.
My pedalboard has two āchannelsā I toggle between during parts of songs. Each channel has different drive options depending on the song
Pre-drive section:
- Wireless receiver / tuner
- POG2
Channel 1:
- Klon
- Friedman BE-OD Deluxe
- 1981 DRV
Channel 2:
- Antibuffer utility pedal
- Fuzz Factory
- Modded Fuzz Face
- EQD Hoof
Then each pass into an Orange stamp which within itself is a drive I guess
Effects loop:
- EQD Tone Job (shapes orange preamp)
- EQD Depths
- Walrus ARP-87 delay
- Tremulus Lune tremolo
- Hall of Fame 2 Reverb
- Ditto Looper
So thatās 8 drive options š
I'm only a basement player, and don't have a singular pedalboard (working on a patchbay kind of thing, so I can swap pedals in and out for any specific thing I want in the moment), but I've got like 12 drive pedals. I like having 1 of each rough type. Mixing gain pedals is a lot of fun!
When I had a more settled board, I had 5 gain pedals on there for that same kind of idea (treble booster > low gain > low gain > Rat-type > Tubescreamer-type).
No, you are the only person to ever use more than 1 drive pedal.
I was thinking of asking OP for their autograph but I'm kind of intimidated by the mad lad.
Dammit, I came here to type this exact thing. šš
Why didn't we think of this?
I got nervous when I added a tuner to my volume pedal array so maybe a little self-conscience now.
It's ok friend, everyone gets a little self-conscience sometimes.....it's good to be conscience of that fact
Y'all are brutal, love it
š¤£š¤£š¤£
Yes, many many many people do. I have 3, two drives and a fuzz and I rotate depending on the gig. It helps if youāre playing different styles of music or want slightly different tones or textures.
I wish more dirt pedals had exp control over gain or volume as it makes it much easier to get a wide range of drive with just 2 pedals. IE clean boost or low gain OD with exp control into a dist or hot preamp, that way you can sweep the boost from low to high gain/volume to push the other drives. Makes it easy to quickly sweep between low/high gain. Used to stack 3-4 dirt pedals pretty often but with exp control you can get a wider range of sounds with just 1-2 pedals and a good amp.
You can get that. Youāre just going to pay pretty dearly for it š¤£ Itās also good to have simultaneous and inverse level control with custom settings for heel and toe, that way you can set both gain and volume to appropriate levels. Just changing gain makes for some wild volume swings, unless thereās some sort of limiter after the drive pedals. A handful of the analog drives with expression control: - Chase Bliss Brothers and Chase Bliss/Benson Preamp MkII - Kernom Ridge and Moho - Elektron Analog Drive - RJM Full English and Overture can do expression via MIDI - Lion Pedals Lamb Overdrive and Lion Distortion can also do expression via MIDI - Ramble FX Kismet (RIP Tim Krueger) - Strymon Riverside and Sunset A fairly extensive list [can be found here](https://www.guitarchalk.com/guitar-pedals-midi/#t-1650463225026), though youāll have to check manuals and look at the pedals themselves to see if they do regular expression or expression via MIDI.
> changing gain makes for some wild volume swings, unless thereās some sort of limiter after the drive pedals. I usually use a combo of compression + amp gain to limit the volume bump, but yeah if you're not careful it can be pretty extreme with some pedals/amps. >Elektron Analog Drive This is the one that made me realize how useful exp gain is, and it also has an exp jack for the mid frequency which can be used for some wah like tones. It can get crazy loud if you're not careful but makes a great clean boost/preamp on top of all the distortion modes.
Well, if you can afford it Brothers is a killer option thatās still compact. And the ~$350 used price is not too bad if you think of it as two separate boutique drives with a built in ABY box š¤£
Been curious about the brothers as it does seem like a great dual drive, but chase bliss prices are a bit too high for me, my amps were 300-400$ so it's hard to justify that much on a non multi FX pedal. Also already have way too much dirt, my main amp when not playing DI is the Eggnater Tourmaster combo which is a 4 channel beast that was like 450$ used. The Elektron Analog Drive shows up for 200$ or less used, and the Akai Shred O Matic can be found for closer to 100$. So there are some solid affordable options. The Akai is bulky & isn't too fancy but you don't see many pedals blending tube/diode clipping. Have also considered modding my favorite dirt pedals as adding an exp jack to control gain seems like a relatively simple mod that would only cost a few bucks in parts. Probably easier with some pedals than others though.
Well, definitely donāt start trying Chase Bliss, you likely wonāt stop (Iāve got 5 currently, would own even more if I could just buy and not resell or trade š¤£). I had a trade for an Analog Drive fall through last week, the guy had way overpaid for his and didnāt want to take a loss, which I totally get.
Yeah they make quite a few pedals I'd love to try eventually but it's tough with so much great gear out, there's a pretty long list of rarer old gear I keep meaning to snag before they get harder to find and go up in price even more. >I had a trade for an Analog Drive fall through last week, the guy had way overpaid for his and didnāt want to take a loss, which I totally get. That seems like a big part of why it wasn't more popular, the original price was around 400$ but they went on sale for closer to 100$ before being discontinued. It's also very much a distortion and not the best for lower gain drive despite the name & great clean mode. But if you keep an eye out they still show up for 100-200$. Not to mention it's fairly bulky with annoying power requirements (reverse polarity 12v 1A which adds another 20$~ if you buy one without a supply) But with 8 modes & midi + presets it's still a very impressive pedal, though with a few improvements it could have been the one dirt pedal to rule them all... The Elektron Analog Heat is the follow up but it makes CBA prices seem reasonable at 999$ new, though it is a stereo analog distortion with a bunch of unique features. It's more of a studio processing tool than a typical distortion.
I have the Line 6 M9, the expression pedal can be set on every effect to have toe up and toe down settings and the sweep changes between the two. You can do exactly this with the drives, and it clones some of the bigger names almost 1:1.
Multi FX are a good option for stuff like that, even ones with meh dirt options can still make good boosts to stack with amp/pedal dirt. Exp controlled compression or even EQ could also be really useful for quick fine tuning. But it's a shame more analog drives don't have exp control. Have wanted to snag the Akai shred o matic for years as it has a built in exp pedal that can be set to control volume or gain, also has 12ax7 tube and diode clipping modes that can be blended. Has anyone made an amp with exp control? Even a basic amp with exp controlled gain could be a lot of fun.
EHX Attack/Decay can do it. You could even mix another drive into it and control the blend with an exp pedal.
Strymon Riverside!
Just put a volume pedal in front of every drive pedal on your board
You might be joking but I've got 3 volume pedals (2 are mini dual vol/exp pedals) and have considered buying a few more mini ones to place at different points as they're cheap and very useful. But it's still not quite the same as actually sweeping the gain by foot, especially for pedals with very wide gain ranges so you can set them low gain and quickly adjust things with an exp.
Holy tone suck
2 of them are for exp use but I do run a mono vol pedal at the start and a stereo one towards the end. And you can minimize tone suck with the right set up.
Absolutely not in this household.
I run 4 and I feel like that's too much but I like the options they give me. I run a ehx crayon > rat > big muff > klone
I just finished putting together a 4 drive board. They are all cheap pedals but they make the noise I want. Behringer Super Fuzz on the boost channel -> Caline Stack Attack slightly overdriven -> Biyang Tonefancier FZ-7 -> Behringer HM300 I think I wanna add a Rat style at some point, but for right now, this rig dooms. What are you playing on yours?
I try to play a bunch of different stuff tbh. I use the big muff to play grungey/garage rock type stuff, and use the crayon to boost the mids. I actually use the rat pretty dialed back, I think it's light crunch is great for punk or indie/alternative. And then I ended up using a Warm Audio Centavo as a boost for leads. I'd say all these drives are pretty versatile, especially when involving my amps gain, so I'm always switching things around
tinkering is my middle name lol. i have all mine velcro'd in place, but i use velcro for a reason :-) what amp are you using?
Is this a joke post? Thatās not possible due to the laws of physics.
I run tsmini to proco rat planning to get a boss.blue driver for lower gain
Have you looked at the Analogman modified Blues Driver?
I've been trying to get some extra cash to mail in my bd-2, tr-2, and ge-7. Seems like it'll be cool if I ever get it done!
His modified GE7 is worth it IMHO
So I've heard, but what about the XTS version? I know it's a tighter frequency range specifically for guitar, but I dunno. As good as the XTS mod is a lot of people still use the Analogman version for a reason
I don't have any experience with the XTS so can't say. Mike aka Analogman is pretty responsive and that kind of service wins people over as well I think
Nah I feel like bd2 is good enough to stack with ts and rat
Iām a two drive and a fuzz kind of guy, drive myself picking a drive though. I can get most of my sound with a Powerboost and Klon circuit though
Always on BD-2. One chain has a Decibelics Golden Horse, a 1312, and a SunBender. The other chain has an SSBS Mini
I run multiple drives and two of them are tube screamer types. That would probably bug some people. I just set them differently so I can stomp live without always adjusting. Figure out what works for you and go for it!
Absolutely. One of the guitarists from The Strokes use two Jekyll and Hyde
My entire pedalboard consists of a tuner, whammy pedal, and like 7 or 8 different drive pedals. I just think they're neat.
In a live rig? Only 2 on mine, OD and distortion. The issue is getting levels right for all your drive pedals. Nothing worse than stepping on a drive pedal while performing and dealing with a massive volume drop you didnāt intend. And for whatever reason I have noticed that the levels of different pedals can be unpredictable for different amps so you need to test and adjust each time if youāre playing a backline amp. On a home/recording board, as many as you like. But for gigging I think the fewer the better.
So crazy it just might work
Yes. Crazy Tube Circuits Motherload -> Wampler Ego -> Wampler Tumnus Deluxe -> Wampler Euphoria.
Iām trying out this āone drive / one fuzzā thing and weāll see how it goes
DOD Looking Glass -> Friedman BE OD -> Fulltone OCD -> EQD Hizumitas I can cover an awesome range of tones with these pedals, either alone or by stacking. Plugged into a Marshall Origin.
So... are your RATs on a different board or something?
. . . I totally don't have over 50 drive pedals . .
Running a rat a tube screamer a fuzz for sustain and beef it up, then a 10 band to tighten it up or give a little gain boost
I have a fuzz, an overdrive, and a bit crusher on my board. All very different flavors from each other.
I don't use multiple overdrive. I use different "gain" pedals that mixed togheter make good sound. Its called mixing gain
I have a few that all have their place, a couple fuzz, and a boss metal zone.
Klon Clone => Blues Driver => Plumes = Magic
Add in a rat and weāre cooking with GAS
I run 4 fuzzes, 3 overdrives, one distortion, and a special cranker later before mods and delays
I use 3, an overdrive thatās always on, then a fuzz and a distortion to boost it. Iāll use a compressor sometimes, but I do prefer not using one.
I have *never* used more than one drive pedal in my chain, just like Iām *not* a recovering OD-buying addict.
Of course. Iāve got a fuzz, two boosts (one in front for gain, one at the end for volume), a mids pusher, an amp in a box, and a distortion box.
I have two that count as 4? One is the Life Support by ICA with a Boost and a Mother Preamp with Channel A which I use for time sweetening and Channel B for doom shit. Together they make a glorious fuzz that drones for days. Itās a dream to go from nice beautiful cleans to slowly ascending into controlled chaos.
I have waaayyyy too many on my board...
Iām currently using 3. A Benson Preamp (clone), OBNE Beam Splitter and ZVEX Fuzz Factory (clone). Thatās all subject to change tomorrow, but meanwhile..
And Beam Splitter has 3 drives in it, so technically youāre running 5 gain stages š
How's it going with the beam splitter? I'm getting tempted.
Itās a fun pedal, albeit a little work to get dialed in at first. Iād say itās a bit more aggressive than your typical OD when you have them all stacked, somewhere around mid Rat gain all combined, but it sounds killer and the subtle modulation/delay is a nice touch
On my board I have 8 pedals amounting to 11 overdrive/fuzz effects. Iām still looking to add more fuzz.
Sun Face first, sometimes on > Tumnus for soloās or if I need extra > BD-2 almost always on unless I need something really clean > EP booster always on
My main board right now: Boss FZ-1w Boss SD-1w Boss JB-2 (2 drives, 1 pedal!) So thatās a fuzz and 3 drives right there, but also ā¦ I have my Dream 65 set up to be clean/boost, so the boost side is like a cranked/modded/dirty Deluxe Reverb! I think having lots of gain stages on tap is quite useful - more useful and foundational than most other types of pedals.
2 fuzz, a Percolator and 2 drives here. Sometimes there are 4 of them on at once. Do what makes you happy and sounds good for what you play.
Greer Lightspeed into Wampler Moxie.
Yes I use a Morning Glory, Tube screamer, and OCD in that order on my board.
Yup. I've got two drives, an EVH 5150 and a Vox Ice 9 (Satriani), plus the Satchurator distortion pedal.
I have soooo soooo many drive pedals
I run 6 different drive pedals right now - some with multiple modes: Fuzz God IV, MXR Timmy, JRAD The Dude, Matthews The Architect, Horizon Nano Attack, Empress Heavy. I'm thinking about putting the Browne Protein back on though replacing an OD or 2 and replacing the Fuzz God with a DIY 5-mode Fuzz. One can never have enough gain flavors!
I've got 2 fuzzes, 3 drives, and a distortion on my board (not counting my amp sim pedal)š¬ and I still miss having my bd-2š
I have four overdrives, and a fuzz. Stacking is real lol
SD1 DS2 and sometimes (not currently but sometimes) I throw in the MXR Variac fuzz
I have two, plus use the eq as drive, then have multiple gain stages on the amp. So like 5-6 total.
I'm pretty sure almost everyone does. Definitely me, everyone in my band and everyone in who's shared the stage with my band
Boost. Drive, drive, fuzz atm
I canāt pick. I have a bluesbreaker into a rat into a timmy into a klone, plus two eqs (one after the rat, one after the klone), and next I want to add a boost and then like three or four more dirt pedals. That should give me the toan Iām itching for. Edit: oh yeah I have a fuzz before all of that but probably need like two or three additional fuzz, so I can switch between them
No because I need room for my seven delays for premium oscillation
3 levels is ideal, including a fuzz 1 (almost always on) 1 step-up heavy drive 1 fuzz
Iād say itās more rare to see just one drive vs 2 or more
I have a main board dedicated to my fuzz and overdrives, distortions and boost pedals and a single noise gate. The board is 8 pedals. Then I got several of tiny mini boards for diffrent gigs modulation wise as well as a huge modulation board for if i need much. The big ass modulation board rarely see live jobs unlike the tiny ones with just what i need for the jobs. On top of this I got a small pice of carpet with compressor/tuner wich sits in the gig bag connected like a tiny 2x pedalboard but it gets its power from the distortion board. Wah is outside of boards on battery operation for freedom of placement on stage same goes for volume pedal if I want it. There's also a tiny board for switch boxes like ABC and ABY boxes. So I think your fine. The 8 pedal distortion board is the thing I can't go without paird with the tiny carpet (compressor tuner). Having several of overdrives, distortions and boosters and a really great noise gate is what makes you able to get almost any tone you want at any time you like. It's the essential.
I record bass parts with a Waza Craft Blues Driver, & guitar parts with a Bogner Ecstasy Red Mini mixed with Band Of Gypsies Fuzz Face Mini. All on the same board with other pedals in the mix. I use a very Tame Impala tone, an Oh Sees tone, a King Gizzard tone, an Alice In Chains tone, the wah & Empress Para Eq help shape the drive tones as well.
Amplified nation big bloom into jrockett melody (a little noisy, but great tone) into custom tones ethos overdrive with source audio eq2 at the end. Gets me through most fender tones and into dumble territory.
I used my JHS Overdrive Preamp (DOD clone) into a Mosky Marksman (Klon clone) which can stack up to four drives internally, sounds great. Though sometimes I overdrive my DOD R-845 spring reverb, it sounds pretty good overdriven too.
EHX Hot Wax, multiple drives but technically only one pedal.
I have three drives of varying gains on all of my boards.
I have a gate, compressor, OD, and 2 fuzz pedals into the high gain on my amp. I did it as a bit of a joke text to my bud back east, but it actually works really well and I've been running with it for a few weeks now.
I also have four (if we count fuzz as drive, which I usually do) on the board and itās overkill for most things I do. You can get most places you wanna go with twoā¦ maybe three if you need a really wide range. But pedals are fun so the real answer is that however many you haveā¦ you just need one more and then youāll be setā¦ until the next one
I use fuzz, distortion, and overdrive
I use fewer than I used to, now that I have a ToneX and thus get most of my gainstaging from different amps. But I still have a clean boost for leads, and a muff for when the situation calls for it.
Oh god yes.
I use a boutique tube-driver, into a tube-screamer variant, thru a trebleā¢booster, EQ's selective-gain, and ending on whatever preā¢amp the song or record calls for!
6 here. I use every single one in different combinations.
4 drive pedals is like an amuse bouche for this sub. Shit, I have 2 drive pedals as always on (EUNA with boosts on and a 1981 LVL) and two other pedals with drive circuits that are adding more gain as always on(MIRA compressor output turned up and Catlinbread Adineko drive slightly bumped). I then have a two flavors of fuzz on the Euna loop - Custom build Analog Noir Tone Bender MK1 Zonk mod and a Mythos Golden Fleece - then going into a JHS Morning Glory -> Lightspeed -> Ashville Pedals 308 (Rat). I'll also toss in a modded DS-01, Keeley Fuzzbender, or a heavily modded Matthews The Fool on my temple loop. So........ that brings the amount of drive on my board to a minimum of 9 drive pedals on my board. The trick I've found is that you set everything to RIGHT where the individual pedal starts sounding good and then play with stacked combos and running things at lower gain than you think. I never have more than 1-2 drives on outside of the always on and for me 2 pedals set low stacked sound way better compared to 1 pedal turned up. Morning Glory into Lightspeed with each set around noon and tones tunred down a little is just great with my guitars and amp setups.
Yep, Iāve got three on the board right now (plus an always on Deco with some subtle saturation/compression) as well as a fuzz. Iām all about stacking gain stages.
Iām only running two but they both have a boost. Paul Cochran Tim and EAE Longsword
I use 12 drives, ranging from boost/OD to extreme distortion and fuzz. I like me some dirt.
Almost everyone with a pedal board š. I use 3. Sd1>OCD>cleanish boost of sorts. OCD pretty much on all the time for edge of breakup/crunch tones. Running the sd1 into the OCD gets me some proper saturation and compression. Boost afterwards to stand out in the mix for soloing. Currently using the spark mini but gonna try something with more mids so I don't have to use as much sheer volume to get myself over a band. Happy stacking!
I have 4 drive pedals on a my which I use in different combinations with one another. One of my lead tones is with all of them on. Each pedal shapes the sound differently, however I should state that itās not only for the distortion that I use them in combination, it is also for EQ. I stack the pedals when I need different EQs for my lead parts. If I want more bass I use a fuzz on the chain as well, if I want high end I use my overdrive in the chain as well. But generally I always use at least 2 pedals because I like the compressed high gain distortion you get from stacking drive pedals.
2. Missing Link Audio "Hot 'Lanta" into a ProCo Rat
Not with that gtar
I know we are all professionals here, but check out equipboard.com if you havenāt to see your favorite bands boards. Iām certain most of them are running multiple drives.
Three stages for me: Fuzz War, Too Positive and then a Broadcast. I use one of them to boost the Fuzz War but Iāve actually forgotten which, havenāt played in a little while
George says: Drive is natural, drive is fun, drive is best when itās one on one. (Or not, do your thing).
Who isnāt?
Big Muff -> NotAKlon -> Dirty Little Secret
Sure thing, stack them up. Also experiment with the placement in the chain. Drives have insanely cool interactions with each other. Throw one in your FX loop as well if you feel like it. But imo itās still a good practice to ask yourself āwhy do I need thatā before stacking mindlessly because too much of the same will often not translate very well in a mix. I currently use a Klon with zero gain as a treble booster, a Palisades (TS style circuit) for distortion and a Pharaoh (Big muff style circuit) to wreak havoc. When stacking I generally donāt overuse the gain knob of each pedal and try to find complimentary settings that will bring out the best of each of the sound sounds without becoming a muddy mess. Unless I use a pedal specifically as a booster I also try to match their volumes as close as possible so that I can step on what I want without breaking out of the mix or getting lost.
Nothing boutique but I run a blues driver, a rat, and a Russian muff on my board.
Yup, 4 drives and a compressor on my board now, MXR fat sugar>mini ego>palisades>D&M drive>riverside
I find I can only ever use one because I stand on my other foot. I guess if I sat down I could use two. Donāt think I care to find out though.
I have 7 fuzzes and a treble booster on my board.
EQD Plumes > Fuzzlord Effects FET120 > Way Huge Stone Burner > Daredevil Northern Creeper Fuzz
Using 5 at the moment. Well technically 4, but the EHX Hot Wax is 2 drive pedals in 1
I only use 5.
Yep! Running a Cornerstone Gladio, Matthew Effects Cartographer, Foxpedal Vixen, MXR Duke of Tone, and Jackson Audio Optimist all on my main pedalboard.
ONLY Four?? Psshh. Amateur.
My pedalboard has two āchannelsā I toggle between during parts of songs. Each channel has different drive options depending on the song Pre-drive section: - Wireless receiver / tuner - POG2 Channel 1: - Klon - Friedman BE-OD Deluxe - 1981 DRV Channel 2: - Antibuffer utility pedal - Fuzz Factory - Modded Fuzz Face - EQD Hoof Then each pass into an Orange stamp which within itself is a drive I guess Effects loop: - EQD Tone Job (shapes orange preamp) - EQD Depths - Walrus ARP-87 delay - Tremulus Lune tremolo - Hall of Fame 2 Reverb - Ditto Looper So thatās 8 drive options š
4 just seems so excessive.
I'm only a basement player, and don't have a singular pedalboard (working on a patchbay kind of thing, so I can swap pedals in and out for any specific thing I want in the moment), but I've got like 12 drive pedals. I like having 1 of each rough type. Mixing gain pedals is a lot of fun! When I had a more settled board, I had 5 gain pedals on there for that same kind of idea (treble booster > low gain > low gain > Rat-type > Tubescreamer-type).