The "must" pedals for tube amps...Tell me a couple

[zonta]

Tube Screamer is one. The treble booster that Brian May uses is an other one.

What about others?Stuff that boosts the tube mimic of your tube amp. Tell me.

[Psychedelic_Max]

I must say that since I got the Xotic effect Compressor, all my tube amps got some more out of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45SbMkssKR0

[mac]

Red Fuzz at GGG, a very good sounding screamer,
and Rangemaster or Brian May boost.

mac

[davidallancole]

Are you talking using them with the clean channel or are you working with an amp thats overdriven a bit and you want to push it further? 

[mth5044]

Rangemaster! Lunar Module!

[sajy_ho]

ROG Omega Booster, This pedal is always in my signal path from guitar to my High Octane!

[electrosonic]

If you don't have a master volume (like on many old Fenders) a clean boost - last pedal before the amp is good to have.

Andrew.

[Hatredman]

A Burst Box!

(Sorry, couldn't resist...)

[GibsonGM]

Timmy works way better than a TS, IMHO.  I really like the tone it give me.  And an AMZ Mosfet boost, to jump your level up for leads (if you have the headroom).

[wavley]

A Burst Box!

(Sorry, couldn't resist...)

Um, it's a circuit box with a burst button switch, and that's a great way to blow up your tube amp 

[Ben N]

All good suggestions, but the real, true answer is: No such thing as a "must" pedal. If you really know how to play them, and aren't constrained in how high you can turn the volume knob on the amp, the only thing you need between your guitar and a decent tube amp is a cable.

[PRR]

> the only thing you need between your guitar and a decent tube amp is a cable.

Blasphemy!!

[deadastronaut]

@5:33 he would've been sacked..

[nate77]

As subjective as these types of threads are, I really love them (although they are always high jacked by dissuading opinions and such pretty quickly, instead of just enjoying the conversation). I really like the naga viper (a modified type of treble booster, but allows you to alter the range which is boosted), the almighty Klone (I know, I know, it just is quite versitile with plenty of perceived headroom due to the 18v operation) and I really like using a preamp with a 3 band EQ, I have an ROG umble which I think is awesome, it seems to fatten up an already super fat signal. There is a lot of hype about all things pedal, but boost/OD pedals running at 18v seem to allow for more flexability and give some more range for finding the sweet spot we all look for.

[davent]

SHO or double the fun, Super Duper 2 in 1.

[davidallancole]

All good suggestions, but the real, true answer is: No such thing as a "must" pedal. If you really know how to play them, and aren't constrained in how high you can turn the volume knob on the amp, the only thing you need between your guitar and a decent tube amp is a cable.

Give that man a super strat and throw him on stage with Satriani or Vai.  To much shred in a blues song for my tastes.

[digi2t]

> the only thing you need between your guitar and a decent tube amp is a cable.

Blasphemy!!

New forum coming.... diycables.com

[Mark Hammer]

The question presumes that the recommendations will be specific to bringing out something in tube amplifiers.  In which case, all fingers tend to point to a booster of some kind, with the particulars depending on your preferred tonal outcomes, guitar choice, and the amp quirks.

There is a very good reason why Bill Finnegan had such a hard time meeting the demand for his Klon Centaur pedal.  And that is because a booster that is designed to push a tube amp from the edge of breaking up over that edge is a very desirable thing amongst folks who have a tube amp they like a lot.

I know people talk about "clean boosters", but it seems the majority of users want nothing of the sort, and actually use their "clean" booster to make the amp churn out more grind; i.e., nothing particularly "clean" about the intended outcome.  That said, any such booster should prepare the signal in a manner that helps the amp to deliver its best version of itself.  Chief among those pedal properties is some sort of treble-cut function.  Nobody really likes to hear harmonics of harmonics of harmonics, so cutting back the treble before pushing the amp, and warming up the tone, allows for the amp's intrinsic breakup tone to be heard.  Even though the Klon had/has a boost/cut control for Treble, Bill told me the real purpose was generally to cut back on treble when using it for overdriving the amp.  So, keep your eyes peeled for a level booster that includes a treble-cut control.

In many instances, a bit of added lower-order harmonic content to the signal you feed the amp can make for a pleasing sound as well.  This is why moderate overdrive pedals, like the TS-9 and all its variants (Timmy, Xotic, FullDrive, etc.) are so popular: they allow you to push the amp a little harder, with a "preconditioned" signal featuring some added lower-order harmonic content).

[wavley]

Did you guys know that a quick google search looking for a forum dedicated to tone being all in the fingers turned up absolutely nothing?

I'm guessing because it's a pretty boring thing to discuss and is only ever mentioned to derail the momentum of forums dedicated to equipment.

Yes, Clapton always sounds like Clapton and SRV always sounds like SRV no matter what they play on, we all know and accept that, nobody once I think has ever denied it.  The subject has been discussed ad nauseam, this is a pedal forum, can we please never discuss this cliche again?  It seems like every time someone asks an open ended question about pedals, guitars, or amps someone has to pipe in with "the tone is all in the fingers".

Sorry to be so snarky, but I really enjoy discussing equipment, it's not a crutch, they are different color paints on my palette.  I'm tired of getting a good discussion going only to halted by some contrarian chiming in.  I immensely enjoy tinkering with, building, and playing equipment, it seems that I discover something new about my playing that is often brought out by using a new piece of equipment and exploring it's sounds.

The question presumes that the recommendations will be specific to bringing out something in tube amplifiers.  In which case, all fingers tend to point to a booster of some kind, with the particulars depending on your preferred tonal outcomes, guitar choice, and the amp quirks.

There is a very good reason why Bill Finnegan had such a hard time meeting the demand for his Klon Centaur pedal.  And that is because a booster that is designed to push a tube amp from the edge of breaking up over that edge is a very desirable thing amongst folks who have a tube amp they like a lot.

I know people talk about "clean boosters", but it seems the majority of users want nothing of the sort, and actually use their "clean" booster to make the amp churn out more grind; i.e., nothing particularly "clean" about the intended outcome.  That said, any such booster should prepare the signal in a manner that helps the amp to deliver its best version of itself.  Chief among those pedal properties is some sort of treble-cut function.  Nobody really likes to hear harmonics of harmonics of harmonics, so cutting back the treble before pushing the amp, and warming up the tone, allows for the amp's intrinsic breakup tone to be heard.  Even though the Klon had/has a boost/cut control for Treble, Bill told me the real purpose was generally to cut back on treble when using it for overdriving the amp.  So, keep your eyes peeled for a level booster that includes a treble-cut control.

In many instances, a bit of added lower-order harmonic content to the signal you feed the amp can make for a pleasing sound as well.  This is why moderate overdrive pedals, like the TS-9 and all its variants (Timmy, Xotic, FullDrive, etc.) are so popular: they allow you to push the amp a little harder, with a "preconditioned" signal featuring some added lower-order harmonic content).

This is pretty much how I feel about boosters and I guess what I shall call "dirty signal conditioners".

I'm also a pretty big fan of making somewhat dirty amps sound like they're going to explode with a big fuzz.

One of my favorite things to do is use a Phase 45 or something in the univibe-ish family (I use an EHX Wiggler) in front of a somewhat dirty amp.  In that same kind of thing, I also like to go over the top with a Small Stone into a somewhat dirty amp too.

[DougH]

EHX Soul Food or variants. Sounds great in front of every tube amp I've tried so far.