Stacking OD's, trying to get Jesus Culture type tone?

[Gaetano Paul]

Hey guys, looking for advice on what type, or kinds, of od's or even distortions will sound great through semi hollow with p90's. Would really like to get that real full, yet intense Jesus Culture/ heavier Desperation Band type sound!
We have a youth who has been studying @Hillsong Au for the past 3 yrs, and @ Christmas he comes home and plays on our team. He says never use Dist, yet next to all his boutique drives, OCD Timmy Hot Cake, sits the Jekyll and Hyde.
I am Bent toward dist as before I came to Christ it was all I knew, so I have, and still am, going through a paradigm/ technique shift. Going from Metal and Punk, to full boat praise!
Any advice you brothers have will be much appreciated.

[Gaetano Paul]

Also, is there a certain amount of od's not to go over stacking together. ie 2 or 5 or whatever?

[musicianinthestates]

Why can't you use distortion? Is it an issue with excess noise from gained up P90's?

There used to be a vid on youtube, tho its been removed, of Chris Tomlin's guitarist sharing his pedalboard set-up, it included a proco rat distortion, zvex super-duper 2in1 booster, fulltone fulldrive OD, and another drive or distortion but I can't remember which one.

Another pro named Ben Gowell, as of Nov 09, used a booster, a cusack screamer, and cusack fuzz and xotic bb plus. He sounded awesome.

Seems to be 3 OD's and a booster is a good way to go for stacking.

[Gaetano Paul]

Good word, thanks for your input. Yeah I have seen that video now that you mention it.

[hisfirewithin]

I'm a big fan of the idea of a two-amp setup. I plan to go to something like this in the next year or so. I want to get one amp for dirty tones and use my current amp for cleans.

So, I suggest getting an A-B-Y switch, and a second amp that breaks up nicely, mix in some amp overdrive, a good clean boost(try the catalinbread), and maybe a Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive or Fulltone OCD. This kind of setup should give you plenty of gain with LOTS of harmonic resonance and sweetness.

[coryedwards81]

I run all of my effects through a True Bypass Looper, so I don't really stack any of my overdrives. So every time I engage another overdrive it just pushes my amp that much farther without stacking them on top of each other. Before I got the looper, I ran through a Dyna Comp>Zvex Super Hard On>Stock Blues Driver as clean boost>OCD and if needed I have a sparkle drive for a final boost all through a clean amp, and I was very happy with the final results.

[Major Tom]

Not that it is the "right" way, but just to throw another methodology out there... I don't stack OD's, ever. I use my amp (tube) for the foundation tone, and only use an OD for a "third channel". I have played around with stacking a couple, but it seems to get too compressed / mushy, what I would call homogenized for my taste.

I do find it interesting in gear forums that guys will be asking what pedals are needed to get so and so's tone... ignoring the fact that the player in question is playing a $2500 guitar (that he handpicked) thru a $3000. boutique or vintage amp, which is being recorded by professionals, who then EQ, compress, etc. the guitar track(s), and then master the overall mix.... As if some pedal with 5 bux worth of electronic components is what really makes this pro player's sound. 10 or 15 guys will reply to the OP, oh, use this or that $200. pedal, and then finally, maybe one guy will ask "well, what guitar and amp are you using?"... "Uh, a Skwire Affinity Strat, and a Fender Frontman".

I guess my point is, and the way I approach it, the guitar + amp + me (how I set the controls, and playing technique) is where I need to get the main, overall "tone", what I call my foundation tone. OD pedals and such, IMO, should be used to get some variations on that... If my amp doesn't have a good edge of distortion, or light crunch, or whatever I want, then I have the wrong amp, not the wrong pedals.

[phil77]

Great post, Tom! My thoughts exactly! There's nothing wrong with trying to get the tone of an admired player, but one must realize all the variables that are present in achieving it.

[Gaetano Paul]

Yeah I am not sure how this stacking thing is gona work out. Tommorrow I will try the 3 that I got. A Bad Monkey, Dano TOD, and a WASABI Od, into a peavey classic 30.

[musicianinthestates]

Originally Posted by Gaetano Paul

Yeah I am not sure how this stacking thing is gona work out. Tommorrow I will try the 3 that I got. A Bad Monkey, Dano TOD, and a WASABI Od, into a peavey classic 30.

Good luck! that transparent OD is rumored to have been modeled after the famous Timmy boost pedal, so it'll probably be best served at the end of your drive section. if memory serves, the wasabi has a lot more gain than the monkey, you may find the best set-up to be an imitation of the Jekyll and Hyde, where the higher gain channel is before the lower one in the signal chain on that pedal. (possibly making the ideal combo of those three pedals, wasabi----->monkey----->TOD.)