GAIN BOOST QUESTION!

[Bassman817]

okay,
I'm trying to make a gain boost that will add ALOT of gain, but keep the volume the same.
every gain boost I've had adds to much volume. i get that fat tube distortion with the gain boost but it just overpowers too much.

anybody got any ideas?

[Bassman817]

also, i'm going for that Timmy C. (Rage Against the Machine) tone. i know it's close to impossible, but i'm just trying to get close.

[Jonathan1990]

Add an attenuator?

[bongomania]

Yeah, the deal is that "gain" means literally the amount that a signal is boosted, whether distorted or not. So by definition your signal level is increased. You want lower output level, you have to put an attenuator at the end. The reason the word "gain" has come to mean "distortion" to many people is that the way all guitar amps and most distortion pedals are designed, increasing the gain at the input results in distortion from the rest of the amp. The gain itself is not distortion (not in the same sense, anyway).

[bassman1185]

It sounds like what you want is a transparent overdrive.

[Bassman817]

Okay, so if I add an attenuator to it it will cut the volume but keep the drive where it is?

[Bassman817]

so i guess i should have said the overdriven gain?
also, anyone have an SVT-CL?

[KarateKid25]

Originally Posted by Bassman817

also, anyone have an SVT-CL?

I do

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by bassman1185

It sounds like what you want is a transparent overdrive.

LOLWUT? I don't think so.

Originally Posted by Bassman817

Okay, so if I add an attenuator to it it will cut the volume but keep the drive where it is?

Right, if you get all the distortion you want from inside the pedal, then if you want lower volume, you need a volume knob. It's that simple.

However, since you mention the SVT-CL, are you hoping to get most of your distortion from overdriving the amp? If that's the case, then you don't need an attenuator on the boost pedal, you just need to turn down the master volume of your amp.

There is no sidestepping the fact that high volume going into the amp will be amplified.

[Bassman817]

okay, on the SVT-CL, have you ever turned the gain to 10 and the master at around 5-ish?
that's the sound i wanna get, just through a pedal of some sort.

[Bassman817]

also, do you think an MXR micro amp would do the job?

[midichlorine]

check out zvex super duper.
the secound channel has a master volume. so you can set the amount of gain and just dial in volume to taste.
no stinking tone stack either!!
just your tone with more gain

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by Bassman817

okay, on the SVT-CL, have you ever turned the gain to 10 and the master at around 5-ish?
that's the sound i wanna get, just through a pedal of some sort.

Ah, the elusive "cranked SVT in a pedal". Everybody wants that, but it is hard to achieve. The best I've heard is the BJFE Blueberry, but it is very expensive and hard to get. Next best is probably the Catalinbread SFT.

Originally Posted by Bassman817

also, do you think an MXR micro amp would do the job?

No. It's way too clean, relative to a cranked SVT.

Another approach is to make the SVT less loud. You can do this by getting a power choke (AKA power soak), which is a box that cuts the amount of wattage coming out of the amp; or you can get a small, very inefficient speaker cab. The worse the efficiency, the more watts it takes to get loud.

Repeating myself just so's it's super clear: don't buy any pedal that says its main purpose is to get more overdrive out of your amp. The idea with those is it boosts the level of your instrument signal going into the amp, which means it will always be louder.

Instead, you are now looking for a distortion pedal that mimics a cranked SVT.

[Floridabwoy]

Something like this?

Removed link

(excuse the playing by everyone, we were just jamming)

vtBass gets me there.

[Bassman817]

okay, i have an SVT-CL. what pedal, or a schematic for a pedal for ME TO BUILD, will overdrive it to get the real fat tone an SVT has when cranked.

i really would like to build it because I know where everything is and where everything went and how it works.

thanks

[bongomania]

What part of my last post didn't you understand? And what does "I know where everything is and where everything went and how it works" mean?

[Bassman817]

i build pedals almost every day, and i do it so i can know the guts of it. that's what it means.

[Bassman817]

also, bongomania, how much could i get a power choke for, and what's the best one?