Clean Amp Tone via a Pedal?

[Marty Canaday]

The lower output preamp tubes will likely change the character of the amp, because on many two channel amps, the preamp tubes get shared for various functions. So, change one, and you’ve not only changed the clean channel, but the gain channel.

The gain channel might be adjusted by simply cranking the gain higher, or might not work as well. In either case, tube substitutions can often change the tone character, too.

If it was me, I’d stick with the Blackstar and make it work, because it’s a good amp, and you already own the thing. If you have a buffer, or a buffered pedal, at the beginning of your pedalboard signal chain, it’ll help preserve high frequencies going to your amp. You might want to turn up the treble control or presence, or both, if you find rolling off the guitar volume not bright enough for your taste.

I use an EQ pedal sometimes so that I can get very crisp clean tones when I want the HXDA to be clean by rolling down the guitar volume (being a Marshall style amp, it breaks up and gets dirty pretty quickly) and it works great. There are times I’ll roll the volume on a PRS down to 3 or 4. You get a nice clean tone that way. So I’ll increase the highs a little, and also cut the bass, with the pedal.

However, I generally run the guitar at around 5-7 because I like a little grit in my clean tone. There are many times I’ll literally zero out the amp and start completely from scratch just to force myself not to be lazy when dialing in the sound I want. It’s so easy to forget that the amp controls are really quite powerful!

Point is, you can most likely find what you’re looking for if you’re willing to turn the knobs on the guitar and the amp and experiment a bit!

I do need to experiment more with the controls. I haven't understood the best way to do that, and frankly, am not sure of the sound I'm looking for, so I have been a bit lazy! And then, I'm not sure I hear sound differences that well. Guitarists on Internet sites make tone changes, and after doing so, I don't hear it. The tones sometimes sound the same to me. I'll work on alot of the ideas I've received from you and others on this thread. Thanks!

 

[Ovibos]

You want crystal cleans, get a Roland JC-120! Your dirt sound will suffer tho.

 

[Boogie]

Which amp of the two you that you mention above would you prefer if you owned a 60th Anniversary Stratocaser and a PRS S2 Custom 24?

That’s a loaded question! Since I own a Super Dallas and already spent years with a Twin, I’d stick with what I have and love most. (The Boogie MkIII is my name sake and a deeply loved amp, so it will never go anytwhere) Now, if I were starting over, the first amp I’d have with those two guitars (I have Strats and a Custom 24, too) would be a Fender Deluxe Reverb...probably a reissue. After buying a handful of some choice pedals, I’d be after an HXDA or something similar for the Marshall stuff. There’d be a Boogie in there, too, of some sort. The thing about a Deluxe Reverb is that there’s also a lack of headroom, but unless you’re trying to fill a club with crystal clear cleans, it should be fine for almost everything else.

I personally think you’ll be able to get excellent cleans from your Blackstar. Adjust your settings then maybe experiment with some tube swaps and you should discover a side of this amp that you didn’t know existed. It’s all part of the journey.

Tell us about your settings for the amp, focusing on the clean channel. Where’s the master volume set? Anything in the FX loop? Where do you have that level switch set?

 

[pac90]

Yes you can, and i am doing that specifically by running an line 6 HX stomp pedal into effects return, to bypass the preamp of my amp, and just use the power amp. I am using vox models with strat and prs, there are many many more, plus effects.

Your amp is great, i googled premier guitar review, and read its more crunchy than clean just as you describe.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

I do need to experiment more with the controls. I haven't understood the best way to do that, and frankly, am not sure of the sound I'm looking for, so I have been a bit lazy! And then, I'm not sure I hear sound differences that well. Guitarists on Internet sites make tone changes, and after doing so, I don't hear it. The tones sometimes sound the same to me. I'll work on alot of the ideas I've received from you and others on this thread. Thanks!

Why don't you post a pic of your current amp settings so we can see where you're at now and if there is any fine tuning we can suggest.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

So I just flipped on a video about your amp. One minute and twenty seconds into the vid, I've already seen that A) the clean channel is VERY clean and B) it also has a "brit" voice that does add crunch if it's cranked. If you're using the American voice it should be very clean unless you crank it really loud. So... what settings are you using?

 

[danktat]

I actually like my little solid state Blackstar. It is what I take with me, along with my Craigslist special Schecter Gryphon when I am traveling. This was in the hotel room from the last tattoo convention I was at. That little amp has been in many a hotel. Helll, many more than any of my higher end amps since I don't really play out much.

 

[László]

I do need to experiment more with the controls. I haven't understood the best way to do that, and frankly, am not sure of the sound I'm looking for, so I have been a bit lazy! And then, I'm not sure I hear sound differences that well. Guitarists on Internet sites make tone changes, and after doing so, I don't hear it. The tones sometimes sound the same to me. I'll work on alot of the ideas I've received from you and others on this thread. Thanks!

There’s no best way to experiment with the controls. I just turn the knobs all the way to the right, and all the way to the left, figure out what each control does, and set the knob wherever it sounds good to me.

Sometimes it takes me a while to truly understand what the amps can do, and what I can pull out of them. That can take days or weeks, months or years. I’m still learning amps I’ve owned for years!

i think the process is a lot of fun.

 

[Jnug]

Custom Tones makes several pedals or preamps dedicated to just clean tones. They have a ton of features and ways to use them. You can really shape the clean tones on them. So to answer your question in your original post there are pedals out there that are dedicated to providing really good clean tones. Here's a link where Pete Thorn goes over one of the Custom Tones Clean pedals

 

[Rider1260]

So a quick trip to youtube and I heard what I think you are talking about, really nice gain channel with all the proper controls for tone, It looks like the Clean channel is an after thought ( just bass and treble ) and it did sound like it needs help. its bigger brother sounded SOOO much better clean.
with that amp an EQ pedal might get you better results and the gain channel might have enough control to leave it on all the time or turn it off and give you a 3 channel amp.
For PRS look for a 2 -Channel H or C or go for a MKV ( any will do 25 -35 or 90 )

 

[Marty Canaday]

Custom Tones makes several pedals or preamps dedicated to just clean tones. They have a ton of features and ways to use them. You can really shape the clean tones on them. So to answer your question in your original post there are pedals out there that are dedicated to providing really good clean tones. Here's a link where Pete Thorn goes over one of the Custom Tones Clean pedals

Hey, thanks for this info, Jnug! The video of this device is impressive.

 

[Marty Canaday]

So a quick trip to youtube and I heard what I think you are talking about, really nice gain channel with all the proper controls for tone, It looks like the Clean channel is an after thought ( just bass and treble ) and it did sound like it needs help. its bigger brother sounded SOOO much better clean.
with that amp an EQ pedal might get you better results and the gain channel might have enough control to leave it on all the time or turn it off and give you a 3 channel amp.
For PRS look for a 2 -Channel H or C or go for a MKV ( any will do 25 -35 or 90 )

Thanks for the PRS amp recommendations!

 

[Marty Canaday]

So I just flipped on a video about your amp. One minute and twenty seconds into the vid, I've already seen that A) the clean channel is VERY clean and B) it also have a "brit" voice that does add crunch if it's cranked. If you're using the American voice it should be very clean unless you crank it really loud. So... what settings are you using?

Bass - 5, Treble - 7, Volume - 6 on the clean channel with the American voicing. Master set to 2 (out of 10) since I play at home.

 

[Boogie]

Bass - 5, Treble - 7, Volume - 6 on the clean channel with the American voicing. Master set to 2 (out of 10) since I play at home.

There’s something to work with! Try setting the master to 5 then turn up the volume to the desired volume. For maximum headroom, turn the master all the up, then start turning up the volume. Keep your guitar volume at 5 or so to start.

 

[Marty Canaday]

There’s something to work with! Try setting the master to 5 then turn up the volume to the desired volume. For maximum headroom, turn the master all the up, then start turning up the volume. Keep your guitar volume at 5 or so to start.

The Blackstar HT Club 40 is a loud amp. I'll blow away my next door neighbors (And, my wife as well! Ha!) if I turn my amp up to 5. I like to play distortion as well, and so I've had to lower the Master and turn up the guitar to get good distortion. I think this has been one of my biggest issues -- being limited to how loud I can turn up the amp given my home circumstances. Are you implying that the amp will sound cleaner on the clean channel with the amp turned up to 5?

 

[Boogie]

The Blackstar HT Club 40 is a loud amp. I'll blow away my next door neighbors (And, my wife as well! Ha!) if I turn my amp up to 5. I like to play distortion as well, and so I've had to lower the Master and turn up the guitar to get good distortion. I think this has been one of my biggest issues -- being limited to how loud I can turn up the amp given my home circumstances. Are you implying that the amp will sound cleaner on the clean channel with the amp turned up to 5?

With a master volume involved with the circuit, turning it up higher than the volume control will result in a cleaner sound.

 

[László]

The Blackstar HT Club 40 is a loud amp. I'll blow away my next door neighbors (And, my wife as well! Ha!) if I turn my amp up to 5. I like to play distortion as well, and so I've had to lower the Master and turn up the guitar to get good distortion. I think this has been one of my biggest issues -- being limited to how loud I can turn up the amp given my home circumstances. Are you implying that the amp will sound cleaner on the clean channel with the amp turned up to 5?

Increase the headroom that the volume control will allow, it’ll sound cleaner. Turn down the gain in the preamp section when turning up the master volume to keep your volume levels low and your amp more clean.

The pedals referred to will shape a clean tone, or, you can bypass your amp’s preamp by plugging the pedal into the effects loop return, and using the pedal’s preamp. I don’t really consider tone shaping or substituting a pedal for a preamp the usual “how to get a clean tone from my amp” way, but sure. Try it!

 

[CandidPicker]

I like my Blackstar because I don't have to use as many pedals and I love the distortion. I can't do without good distortion. I'm only using a delay with the Blackstar currently. For a while I ran about 8 pedals with other amps. So, my leaning is to keep the Blackstar for now. I didn't realize that using a lower output preamp tube could change the character of the tone as well as the headroom. Thanks for mentioning that, because I was thinking about changing the preamp tube as my next move with the Blackstar. First, I want to try your earlier two suggestions.

Not to step in, but swapping your preamp 12AX7s to 12AU7s (IIRC, correct me, folks, please) will provide better cleans and lower preamp stage gain. You could try a 12AU7 in the first preamp position, and see what happens, though if you may not be qualified, just ask your local gear shop to help. Shouldn't take much time or cost.

Well hold on a sec... what is your general playing environment? Are you playing at home in your office/basement etc? Playing with a band and trying to get over drums and bass? Both? Neither? That's important. A Fender Twin for example is really, really loud for home use. A Deluxe Reverb would provide a fantastic clean sound for that type of environment and could get over a band in a small gig. I have two of them and they are still my favorite clean amp. Ultimately though, there are a ton of options, but more info will get you better responses. Or drive down to ATL and you can play through all of my amps in my basement... haha!

I used to own a 40W Fender Blues Deluxe RI with JJ 12AX7 preamps and TAD 6L6WGC power tubes that sounded gorgeous, had plenty of headroom and took to pedals quite well. Just my 2¢. You can find these for about $400 and change used most places...though the OP likely wishes to not invest in more pedals at this time...just something to consider if the GAS bug takes hold...

 

[Danerada]

I agree with Boogie. Headroom. Also I would add, your pickups. Lower output pickups vs hotter pickups. I tend to like lower output pickups into a clean amp (I use a Princeton and a Dallas). And depending on your wattage needs, I would recommend the Princeton or the Dallas.

Get that good clean headroom and go from there.

 

[Sybo]

The lower output preamp tubes will likely change the character of the amp, because on many two channel amps, the preamp tubes get shared for various functions. So, change one, and you’ve not only changed the clean channel, but the gain channel.

The gain channel might be adjusted by simply cranking the gain higher, or might not work as well. In either case, tube substitutions can often change the tone character, too.

If it was me, I’d stick with the Blackstar and make it work, because it’s a good amp, and you already own the thing. If you have a buffer, or a buffered pedal, at the beginning of your pedalboard signal chain, it’ll help preserve high frequencies going to your amp. You might want to turn up the treble control or presence, or both, if you find rolling off the guitar volume not bright enough for your taste.

I use an EQ pedal sometimes so that I can get very crisp clean tones when I want the HXDA to be clean by rolling down the guitar volume (being a Marshall style amp, it breaks up and gets dirty pretty quickly) and it works great. There are times I’ll roll the volume on a PRS down to 3 or 4. You get a nice clean tone that way. So I’ll increase the highs a little, and also cut the bass, with the pedal.

However, I generally run the guitar at around 5-7 because I like a little grit in my clean tone. There are many times I’ll literally zero out the amp and start completely from scratch just to force myself not to be lazy when dialing in the sound I want. It’s so easy to forget that the amp controls are really quite powerful!

Point is, you can most likely find what you’re looking for if you’re willing to turn the knobs on the guitar and the amp and experiment a bit!

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