Distortion Pedal for hot-rodded Marshall sound?

[nighthawkz]

Hey there,
I play through a Laney LC30 MK1 Combo and the thing I'm asking is: Does anybody know a stombox (doesn't matter if I can buy or build it) that sounds like a modified JCM800 or Plexi? Think about mid-heavy stuff like A perfect circle, fear factory, Green day's "dookie" - and Peavey XXX crunch channel...

Comments?

(Oh, and Admin: In case this is the wrong section, please move the thread)

[nero1985]

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generalguitargadgets.com

[JimRayden]

I was going to write:

"BSIAB2 at generalguitargadgets.com"

But nero beat me to it.

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Jimbo

[nighthawkz]

Argh! Thanks... The thing I'm angry about is: Why is there no sound sample recorded with a humbucker guitar? Has anybody tried the bsiab2? How's it for low palm-muted power chords? (I'm afraid it might be some kind of vintage solo boost, which is NOT what I'm after. Actually I look for a sound that can compete with a dual rectifier...)

[JimRayden]

Hmm, to my knowledge, or my ear memory, the dual recto is quite different from a cranked Marsha. It's a great distortion box to build anyway, maybe you can mod it to sound a lil' meaner.

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Jimbo

[nighthawkz]

Sorry if I didn't make myself clear...

I'm not looking for a rectifier sound but for a marshall sound with good low end that can be used instead of a boogyish tone, i.e. mainly for bonecrushing power chords. I'm starting to feel that mesa simply isn't my cup of tea, but i still like the riffs that are usually played through a dual recto.

[petemoore]

  BSIAB has 2 x Mu.
  1 x *Mu +, second gain/distortion stage [enter your 'other choice like a second mu or...] *DIST+ or *FF or...
  anyway there's another 'take' on it ... one I like is the Minibooster>Dist+ [modded a bit of course.
  @@R@Te, starting with circuit fragments [ITCase Gain/distortion stages] and building them up to combine them may or may not be your cup of tea...if you just want BSIAB, which is sort of versatile on it's own...there it is.

[JimRayden]

And no, BSIAB isn't a "vintage solo boost" as you described it. It's quite a high gain, loud and will rock your socks off.

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Jimbo

[Paul Marossy]

I think the original version of the BSIAB gets close to that sound. I really don't know why everyone has forgotten about it (or think it sucks).  Mine works perfectly fine and doesn't have any issues at all. Anyhow, there's a PCB layout at my site if you need one.

[petemoore]

  Mine works perfectly fine and doesn't have any issues at all.
  I'll have to try another, I tried the II...it had issues *I couldn't deal with.

[powerplayj]

BSIAB2 will get most of that but I don't know if it has the low end sag I hear in A Perfect Circle tunes.  For a more rectifier-like sound you might search out the Dr. Boogey emulator circuit.

[Paul Marossy]

Heck, build a box that switches between the Dr. Boogey and the BSIAB! Now there's an idea... 

[SteveB]

You could try an Ibanez DS10 Distortion Charger.


You should be able to find them fairly cheap. A friend of mine had one, & I used it for a while. It took a bit of practice to get the icepick treble out, but with the treble turned almost off, & the mid slightly up, & the bass way up, it sounded pretty good with the gain around 3-4 o'clock. I replaced the diodes with LEDs, & that gave more volume, with plenty enough gain. The bottom end never flabs or fuzzes out, & stays tight. Maybe it was the particular one I had, but the controls all seemed to have very tight sweet spots that made dialing in the "perfect" tone hard to do at first.



Steve

[gulliver]

I have a hotrodded Marshall, a 2205 JCM800 with about $900 worth of Voodoo mods in it. No pedal can get that tone, because you're hitting the power tubes. I use an atenuator with it for lower volumes, or it just doesn't sound as good.

As far as the preamp on the distortion channel, the Keeley DS-1 seeing eye mod is pretty close to my marshall. It's a little too compressed, though, adding LEDs or diodes to taste and keeping the distortion level down increases dynamics. Of course, it needs to be going into a distortion channel as well.

[runmikeyrun]

the balls and low end on those amps comes from the power tubes run hard at higher volumes (4+above).  No pedal can EXACTLY duplicate that.  Which means, your chances of building something and making youre laney sound just like it is small.  Now, with some tweaking of BSIAB/BSIAB II and an EQ pedal you may get CLOSER than where you are now.  If you want a cranked marshall sound, find an old jcm 800 and put original Siemens EL34s in it.  Trust me, you will love it. 

[Peter Davidoff]

Hi,

Try Runoffgroove's Thunderchief!

Good luck!

Peter

[mojotron]

The Guv'nor is pretty good for a JCM800 sound. There are some mods to beef it up too. It's pretty tough to know what you really want - but that is another option.

[Traintrack]

I just built a BSIAB and I think it sounds really cool, i do not think it is Marshall, But I do think it is one of the best pedals that I have heard. Plus it worked first time out.

There is nothing that touches this pedal for the Marshall tone. http://www.v-stack.com/, I use it as a Direct box on my recorder and it is hard to tell it's not a Marshall. Check out the sound samples.

Yes I know this is a DIY forum!

I just ordered another GGG board to build another BSIAB for a friend that was as impressed as I was. I d not like to show it to people, they all want one.

[AdamB]

What about a Marshall Guv'nor? O've never played with one, but I've heard some good things.

-Adam

[Rick Hardslab]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the sans amp.

Again, it's not perfect, but close.