Input on a couple of TS/dist pedals ?

[LeSedna]

Hi guys,

I'd like to finally be able to use my Orange Micro Terror any time of the day. It's only 5W (tube) but it's already loud enough to get troubles from the whole neighborhood. It has gain, but not enough to really comfortably play with it at a low volume. With gain for soloing I need to set it up at 0.05 master volume or something if I don't want my neighbors to come kill me in the next 5mn.

So, i'll finally buy a TS to put in front of it. I was thinking of the maxon TS808, any other idea ? Should I just go with the cheapest one since their schematics are basically all the same, or will there be a difference in quality between units ? (yes, I read most of the TS thread right here)

Also, I was thinking, I wouldn't mind a more "colorful" pedal as well, which would handle more of the actual distortion when I want something more different or original or high gain than the orange crunch. Something to smoothen it out a little bit, maybe for soloing. I could go for a more expensive unit if it was worth it, something more subtle, or with more character. Like another preamp for my tiny setup. Having a 50 or 100W head is absolutely out of the question, for many reasons.

Do any of you know the VEMURAM Karen ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qgznKo0Uo0 it supposedly imitates the vintage JCM channels and it sounds quite nice to me.

The Bogner overdrive, distortion, clean boost pedals ? (what is advertised in them, is that Rupert Neve would have done part of the full analogue circuit) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIdzZPl5QKM
Other nice video to compare them : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh8HAo62gPo

What about an actual Mesa Boogie or whatever distortion box ?

Or is that all overpriced marketing shit and should I stick to a simple TS to drive my 5W head ?

 

[deLuther]

Maxon OD808 has different schematics than most other TS, traditionally TS have transistor buffers, while OD808 have Op-Amp buffers, which can give more transparent result.

 

[Pursuance]

The maxon OD808 is my current favorite and what I own.

 

[LeSedna]

Yes i have read a little bit about it and thought it would maybe be my best bet for modern rock / Metal. I'm not 100% set on this though, as I'm more after a character tone than just basic metal tones. I'm gonna research again some shoot outs to see if the OD800 is the best idea for me.

 

[dominus_malas]

Grab a couple of the Joyo pedals. You can get a few of them for the same price as the Maxon and get different flavors of OD/crunch. Maybe get the TS, Sweet Baby, and Riot clone pedals. They all work great at pushing distorted amps harder.

 

[~BURNY~]

There's the new OD808x that seems pretty nice. Other than the regular OD808 is great.

On the other hand, considering the relatively middy/british/honky voicing of the Orange, maybe something like the MXR Zakk Wylde would be better suited.

 

[gorath23]

Joyo Vintage Overdrive. Incredible pedal, hands-down. Extremely close to the original TS and an absolute bargain. I love mine.

 

[Full_Tilt]

Might be a little far removed from a TS but I really quite like the Hardwire CM-2 Tube Overdrive . I like having separate high / low tone controls . Classic & Modified toggle switch obviously classic is more better suited for pushing the front end & Modified is better for a clean channel .

 

[Rex Rocker]

The Micro Terror is 20 watts, dude.

Either way, I use an MXR Classic Overdrive with my little 5 W Randall tube combo and it sounds great, and you get the option of two overdrives in one: The GT-OD, which is something like a fatter, grittier tubescreamer, and the ZW-OD, which is kinda like a grindier Boss SD-1.

 

[LeSedna]

Well fuck me, I never realized it was a 20 watt amp ! The price tag was so low I imagined it was lower than the micro terror. I understand now why I can't play it a low volumes !

I'm gonna give a go to a OD808X for a sweet price, with a classic dunlop wah (always wanted to at least try it) both used from a shop therefore under warranty and all. I like the joyo pedals but I found the OD one to be just just a tad bit coloring for the use I want from an OD, also I think I will probably never sell the maxon. I'm considering having fun with a couple joyo fx pedals, because they apparently get great review at this price it's just too ridiculous to not at least try them.

I just want to make the little tiny terror my plug-and-play rig, because setting up the computer and the audio interface just to play a couple riffs is off-putting.