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Running an overdrive pedal in front of an amp is designed to push its valves into breakup for some sweet, sweet crunch or saturation. It's an ideal technique for those of us who can't - or won't - turn the volume of our amps up to 11.
By combining these gain stages - firstly the pedal circuit, secondly the pre-amp tubes, and finally the power tubes - you are able to push the amp in such a way that you achieve overdrive without it sounding harsh, fizzy, or nothing like your original signal.
A variation on the basic gain-staging technique above is to combine multiple pedals to achieve a more nuanced and richer tone than a single pedal can produce. Rather than cranking the volume knob on a single pedal, you can carefully manage the volume and drive of each pedal in your chain - this is known as pedal stacking.
One key benefit of stacking pedals is that you can extract masses of distortion without anything sounding "woolly", while using pedals with particular EQ profiles (or with very tweakable EQ sections) can help to sculpt your sound to fit what you are aiming for.
Additionally, by switching certain pedals in the chain on or off, you'll also be able to cover far more tonal ground than with a single pedal.
It's in a pedal-stacking scenario that the semi-mythical transparency of the Klon Centaur and Timmy Overdrive shine, adding drive to the sum of parts without overly colouring the sound. (Then of course there's the effect of the Klon's famed buffer...)
When pedal stacking, the key is to keep the gain produced by each pedal much lower than if you were just running a single overdrive or distortion. Don't forget, gain is compounded with each additional pedal, and overdoing it can negatively affect your tone.
You want to set each pedal at the lowest possible setting where it's character is still coming through - don't be tempted to crank those gain dials!
You'll quickly find some pedal stacking combinations work better than others, especially if you have a range of different pedal types. Below are some common combinations and suggested stacking orders:
NE-ELECTRONIX Patch Cable
Just the right length to give you some flexibility when connecting pedals, without excess length, these patch cables consist of 23.5cm of Van Damme Pro Grade Classic XKE silver-core cable terminated with right angle jacks.
KMA MACHINES Pylon
When your pedal stacking starts to become complicated, it's time to deploy the Pylon. It's a boost, noise gate, amp channel switcher and audio-grade transformer all in one, and it works like a charm.
FREDRIC EFFECTS K/C Buffer
The K/C Buffer packs 2 world-class buffers into a custom form-factor, small enough to fit in your pocket! The Klon buffer is based on an op-amp, whereas the Pete Cornish buffer is based on transistors, and they each have their individual characteristics. This buffer may be required if you have long cable runs (not forgetting patch cables between effects), a signal chain made up of true bypass pedals, or some vintage pedals with low input impedance. Restore that missing high end and polish your tone to perfection.
Originally published 14th Jan 2020. Updated on 29th Dec 2020; 4th Nov 2022
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