Q: I see a lot of pro, name guitarists using overdrive pedals with their tube amps and they sound great. But when I step on my overdrive (the same one some of them have), it just sounds thin and fuzzy. Help!
A: We have two suggestions:
First, add some dirt. Many pros run their tube amps so that they are just on the verge of breaking up, then they add the overdrive pedal on top of that. This seems to result in a fatter, more dynamic sound than trying to get all the crunch from the pedal.
Second, use the stompbox as an actual overdrive rather than as a gain box. This means setting the gain control of the pedal to a minimum setting (even zero, in some cases), then using the output/volume control on the pedal to overload the input stage on the amp.
Pros are also often in situations where they can run the volume of their amp louder, so that they can take advantage of power tube distortion, rather than getting all the crunch from the pedal or preamp. If you can’t wind things up that loud, you may be able to get a similar result using a power attenuator, which lets you crank the amp, but control the volume of the speaker.