pedal noise question

[liv_rong]

My rig is generally pretty quiet, a small amount of noise regardless of if Im using pedals or not, and only if loud. Seems like a "normal" amount. Anyways, I got that DOD Boneshaker and ran it after the Soul Food and it actually sounds really good on the clean channel in front of my amp. I have the SF drive turned down but the volume is almost all the way up and on the BS the level is almost all the way up as well. Like I said, sounds pretty good where Im at, but its so fucking noisy, tons of feedback when Im not playing. Even with the guitar volume turned down with those pedals cranked like that its noisy as fuck but while playing chords its just normal distorted good sounding chords. Its like too much gain or something. Can this be stopped somehow or is this just how it is? When the pedals are used independently its not like this or if I turn the volumes down on them. If this is what stacking gain is like I dont want to be a part of it. Amp channel volume is also almost all the way too.

[vomitHatSteve]

I got the Boneshaker when it was cheap too. I haven't been having problems with noise when it's on.

I've heard that you should put your pedals that compress the most (i.e. OD, distortion) first in your chain. So that could be your problem.

Oh. I just looked up the soul food, it's also an OD? You're chaining ODs into each other? That rarely sounds good.

[Greg_L]

You're chaining ODs into each other? That rarely sounds good.

This ^^^^^

[Lt. Bob]

You're chaining ODs into each other? That rarely sounds good.

This ^^^^^

actually I way disagree with that.
I do it all the time and get great sounds out of it.
Now, the order can matter .... my 808 into the Fulltone sounds great but the fulltone into the 808 does not and is noisy .... but chainign overdrives is a great way to have two pedals with minimal gain on your board and then, by using both, get a higher gain sound.

Also .... maker calling a pedal an OD or a Distortion is just a name ...... very often those names are meaningless.

[Greg_L]

This ^^^^^

actually I way disagree with that.
I do it all the time and get great sounds out of it.
Now, the order can matter .... my 808 into the Fulltone sounds great but the fulltone into the 808 does not and is noisy .... but chainign overdrives is a great way to have two pedals with minimal gain on your board and then, by using both, get a higher gain sound.

Also .... maker calling a pedal an OD or a Distortion is just a name ...... very often those names are meaningless.

Sometimes, but if the names are done right then it does matter. There are a lot of "distortion pedals" that have way more gain than an OD and they sound like an amp-in-a-box into a clean channel. Whereas a true OD often has less internal clipping and is designed to push and already crunchy amp into higher gear.

[JD01]

Fulltone OCD is like this. Sounds like shit into crunched amp but sounds great into a clean amp, you can even stick on OD into the front of it and it sounds OK. DS-1 is the same, OK so its not for everyone but sounds right into a clean amp, but shite into a crunch amp. You can also boost the DS-1 with a OD quite effectively to tighten it up.

SD1 is great, you can heap drive and gain over an already crunched amp and it works well, its great for a clean boost but also piling extra gain on for lead.

[Greg_L]

Fulltone OCD is like this. Sounds like shit into crunched amp but sounds great into a clean amp, you can even stick on OD into the front of it and it sounds OK. DS-1 is the same, OK so its not for everyone but sounds right into a clean amp, but shite into a crunch amp. You can also boost the DS-1 with a OD quite effectively to tighten it up.

SD1 is great, you can heap drive and gain over an already crunched amp and it works well, its great for a clean boost but also piling extra gain on for lead.

The SD1 is an OD and it's pretty mild, so it sounds good into an already crunching amp.

The DS1 is a shit distortion pedal so it sounds shit in front of an already crunching amp.

[Lt. Bob]

Sometimes, but if the names are done right then it does matter.

yes .... if the names aren't meaningless then they're useful!
lol

point is that sometimes they're accurate and sometimes they're not.
That's why 'rules' are only somewhat useful ..... ultimately you have to try it and use your ears.
Kinda like when someone calls their speaker a 'monitor' .... doesn't get more meaningless than that.

Also, with pedals it has a lot to do with what you're playing.
For you guys a LOT of what you're going for is rhythm sounds .... I'm primarily a lead player so that's an entirely different thing really.

Also I NEVER make any attempt whatsoever to duplicate or even emulate anyone's sound on a record. I play what I wish so if I like a sound, the fact that it may not even resemble the original means zero to me .... just don't care at all.
I don't even always go for a dirty sound if the original was dirty or a clean sound if the original was clean.
I experiment and use what I wish ..... also , I'll go for a radically different sound on the very same tunage from night to night.

Rules? ....... I laugh at rules!
well, except the ones my wife lays down ...... and even that's only as far as I can't get away with ignoring!

[Roman]

The key to 'Sonic Harmony' is gain staging. Just like on a Mixing board, just like in a DAW.

Too much gain going into more gain, going into something that produces even more gain = noise.......and too much gain.

lol

[liv_rong]

Pedal order is compressor(which isnt always on with gainy stuff) > Soul Food > Boneshaker > Amp. Lik eI said, I have only the volume turned up on the SF, and its a mild overdrive anyways IMO. Fucking pedals. I like my amps distortion but its fun having something else to mess with.

[Lt. Bob]

I love pedals .... lots of different stuff is what I crave!

I have grown to love my SP compressor but I rarely have it on with gain pedals because anytime you're using a dirt pedal it's already compressed.
I also rarely use it with modulations either because part of their sound involves level changes.