Distortion pedal for 'Jazz Fusion'

**heavyblues** · 03-12-2010, 04:00 PM

one more question...to get a wah pedal to work, do i NEED an effects loop. Or can i do something like this (overdrive pedal--->wah--->tube amp). I notice in the hiromi video i posted, his wah is INTENSE...is that because he is using wah AFTER the distortion on the amp through an effects loop?

I know these are seemingly unrelated questions to straight jazz guitar, but if you watch those two videos, they are very jazzy of course. I just love the fusion sound and would like to try new things.

good luck with the pedal Larry, im getting my pedal this monday.

**bkdavidson** · 03-12-2010, 04:32 PM

Heavyblues, that first clip sounds very Fender amp+light overdrive to me. Maybe not even a Fender amp specifically, but a clean amp with more emphasis on mids and high-end, like a Fender. As far as light OD, from reading previous posts it seems that you ended up going with the Sparkle Drive. I'm not familiar with that, but if it has a TS808 circuit, I think you're good to go. For the sound in that first video, you probably won't need the gain past 11 o'clock. As far as the wah pedal, you don't need an effects loop. In fact, the general practice is to place wah pedals or envelope filters before distortion, so you'll want it before the OD pedal. That's just the general practice, though. If you like the sound of wah after distortion, go for it. Effects loops are more for placing certain effects such as chorus, flanger, phaser, and especially delay after amp distortion. If you already know about this stuff, I apologize for going into so much detail. I promise I'm not trying to patronize. I used to work the sales floor in the music store I teach lessons at, and I always really liked explaining gear to people and helping them find the right stuff.

**jbear** · 03-12-2010, 04:56 PM

Personally I like the Maxon SD-9 for distortion and BBE's Green Screamer for OD....Strat and SemiHB.

**heavyblues** · 03-12-2010, 06:31 PM

Thanks BK. Ya I already knew about the basic concept of effects loop, but wasn't sure about wah so much(I should have just googled it, oops). Apparantly Hendrix used his wah before overdrive, and thats the kind of sound I like anyway. I am stoked to get this pedal, I think it might just be right.

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I couldn't get to try any of those pedals but I hope I made the right choice with the Sparkle Drive, I read that it has the same TS-808 chip or circuit or something like that, as well as the benefit of blending in the clean signal, so thats cool.

**bkdavidson** · 03-12-2010, 06:59 PM

And thank you, heavyblues, for being the person to refer to me as 'BK' that finally made me decide to put a picture of the Burger King up as my avatar. One thing I didn't mention before, since it was about time to leave and teach my two students I have today, is that in the second clip some of the wah pedal stuff sounded like it may have been some kind of envelope filter.

**dmort** · 03-12-2010, 07:18 PM

I really like the sound of the barber electronics ltd. Its a low gain overdrive, so it doesn't get too crazy. Its just a nice growl. For not much more, you can get the 1/2 gainer, which is just two LTD models in one. Also, I heard a great demo on youtube of this german made OD pedal, made by a company called CoolPedals... duh.

**heavyblues** · 03-12-2010, 08:42 PM

hahaha i noticed that picture...awesome stuff.

**kaige** · 03-13-2010, 03:45 PM

Think of the SD as two units.
The first is the highly regarded TS 808 and the second is a signal boost.
With no clean dialed in you can run the unit as a TS 808 and there are many examples of that sound.
Or you can dial out the TS and just use the clean as a boost.
The good part, the fun stuff, is the mixing and blending that are possible.
A heads up on this unit; when using the foot switch for the bypass be gentle.
In this case "stomp box" is a misnomer. The switch is mounted directly on the board and constant heavy stomping will break it.
Firm clicks are all that you will need. No worries if you do damage though,
warranty and service are excellent.

**mattymel** · 03-13-2010, 06:59 PM

+1 on the barber LTD...
another great one (IMHO better than any of the other ones mentioned) is the Xotic AC booster. sounds kind of like a dumble amp. but in a good way...

**iim7V7IM7** · 03-13-2010, 07:14 PM

I find that overdrive (OD) pedals work best when placed in front of a tube amp set slightly below where it will begin to overdrive naturally. The OD pedal acts like a preamp ahead of V1 preamp tube. The sound that I like is a combination of the amp and the pedal. I personally have had no success with OD pedals with solid state amps. They always sound artificial and more importantly don't have the "feel" of a tube amp.

Other pedals to consider aside from what has been mentioned already is a Menatone Red Snapper, Paul C Audio Timmy or Rockett Pedals Blue Note Overdrive. These pedals to not impart a mid-hump like a Tubescreamer(similar to Barber LTD-SR). They work well with a variety of amps (Blackface or Tweed) and all sound quite natural to my ears with both single coils and humbuckers.

**heavyblues** · 03-16-2010, 02:31 AM

I got my sparkle drive today. Wow. First of all, this blows the Boss Blues Driver out of the water for less than double the price. This exactly what I could hope for with a solid state amp. I was getting pretty hopeless about finding a distorted sound for fusion on an amp like the Cube 60, but it really pulls it off well. The clean blend with some lighter overdrive just hits the spot right. In addition, the gain is very clean (same chip as TS-808), and rather than distorting the signal you can hear the clarity of the notes and chords.

I've also noticed that since the pedal is analog, the gain is rather tube-like and organic sounding. 5 stars. I did not like the black panel channel on the Cube before, but the Sparkle Drive complements it very well and now its more than useable and gives a more vintage tone.

:-)

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 03-16-2010, 11:00 AM

Glad you like Sparky.

**heavyblues** · 03-19-2010, 11:27 PM

the more and more i play the sparkle drive the more i'm in love. I have an Electro Harmonix tube pedal, and the gain on the sparkle drive is a lot more precise. Thanks again BigDaddyLoveHandles. Then again, im guessing the TS-808 would be just as nice since they share a similar circuit. Thanks again for all the input.

PM me if you want me to upload a sample of me playing it on the cube if you are thinking of getting a similar pedal. :-)

**heavyblues** · 03-24-2010, 07:37 PM

I uploaded two tracks where I used my new sparkle drive.

1st track is Dancing Pizza with Anchovies, the second is Jambalaya Jam.

Jerome Jacket op MySpace Music ? Gratis gestreamde MP3?s, foto?s en Videoclips