Stackin' .....

[bsic]

Hey guys!

Ive read BJF's article on stacking, as well as some of the suggestions by you folks in various threads.

Forgive the newbie question - I have historically NEVER had much luck stacking any pedals with a decent amount of gain dialed in- things would feedback out of control and get very unwieldy. Ive got 2 BFJE's and a MP, and now i understand what people mean when they say these things "stack well". I feel like a whole new space to explore is opening up. These things truly act like amps, its amazing..

I also know that the unique sounds are found "just trying things out", but I wanted to see what logic some of you may employ when stacking, based on the sonic characteristics of a given pedal. What makes you try a stack a certain way? Is it just random exploration? Since the search space expands greatly with more pedals in the mix, Id like to have a better idea on what may work from the get-go, and why.

I currently have :
-HBOD
-MH
-SHOD
-EGDM (on the way)
-PGC (on the way)
-SBEQ (on the way)

Thanks!!
Bill

[Donner]

First rule of Stack Club ? There are no Rules ......

One thing you get from Stacked drives is a more complex and 'real' sound. More like what driven amps will give up....

usually you will want to turn down the individual distortion controls .....

again think of the whole stack as an amplifier .... with multiple gainstages and compression contributors like trannies and speakers - it all adds up to something...

the really dynamic pedals like HB can go up front AND elsewhere ---

Think a bit about the way an amp works

The difference between a hot preamp stage going into a master vloume - and a low input being run into a cranked amp where the power amp is distorting,,, and then when the speakers are hit hard enough to compress etc......

Just concentrate on Distortion, Compression and EQ with each addition and take some time to educate your ears to what each thing adds.....

You might start with HB > PGC > other drives > SBEQ

Use SBEQ alone first to match your clean guitar to your clean amp ....
Then get your best clean sound with PGC > SBEQ using the lowest amount of comp possible ...

Then cut all the drives in half from where you would normally use them and start stacking, paying attention to what each one adds to the overall Dist/Comp/EQ

and turn off all your modulations and delays/verbs until you have your best dry stacks ....

and again there are no rules in Stack Club but let us know what you find

[thesjkexperience]

Check out my pedal chain in signature. I play a vintage style Strat and that is the order that works for me. I find the EGDM doesnt like much run into it, but it is ok with the Model H and far better than the other way around.

I have a PGC, but only use it at times I need to fingerpick.

I also found the SBEQ to work great as a booster in front of the boxes to fool them into thinking I was playing a humbucker guitar.

My favorite stacks are MH > HBOD, EGDM > HBOD, MH > DRD.

[Strat-o-lux]

I think it's worth noting here that many folks start out with the notion you should stack low gain pedals into high gain - in other words, drive your distortion pedal harder by putting an OD in front. But, it should be obvious from comments on any of the "stacking" threads on this forum that the opposite is often true, and that running high gain into low gain can smooth out gnarly distortion, improve dynamic response, and create some very interesting compression and sustain effects.

Donner's analogy to successive gain stages in an amplifier, which he's elaborated upon elsewhere on the forum, is well worth pondering - some very useful insights to be found there.

A stack I'm currently using with Strat or Tele and my old Super Reverb is EGDM>SHOD. With the gain in the EGDM quite low - between 9:00 and 10:00 - it's extremely dynamic, and distortion level is easily controlled with the guitar volume and attack. Sweet!

[Strat-o-lux]

While I totally agree with Donner's statement, "First rule of Stack Club ? There are no Rules ...... ", I must also state that I generally run the pedals in my "power section" in the manner you describe - highest gain to lowest gain. Just to put a bit more weight behind that theory than just that of a mere punter such as I, this is also what Pete Cornish recommends:

"I tend to connect any distortion devices with the highest gain ones first in line from the guitar and lower gain ones later. I have found that the higher gain devices control the Sustain and the lower gain ones the Tone if connected in this order. I put Clean Boosts right at the end, also just before amp input to ensure that any effects earlier in the chain would not be overloaded."

I'm not sure where the "low gain>high gain is the correct way" idea originated, but it seems fairly prevalent. I find myself more often following the Pete Cornish prescription. However, there are any number of BJF stacking combos that seem to work equally well but differently in either order. So, yeah, no rules.

One caveat here would be that what works well at gig volume is not necessarily going to sound good in your bedroom with the amp turned all the way up to 2. And worse, working out your fx settings at home in the bedroom and then using the same on the gig will likely result in classic "wall of mud" tone. I hear it far too often in clubs. Not good.

[seans]

Currently I am going SYOD > HB and HB > PPF and occasionally SYOD > HB > PPF. How the stacks work will depend on your setup and what you like!

[melodichaotic]

Previously (and my experience corresponds to what Bjorn, himself, has said in posts elsewhere in these forums), I have had little luck in stacking the BBOD with anything. For whatever reason, I tried it today going into, surprise, surprise, the HBOD (AKA the "stackers' delight"!) and, WHAMMO, incredible distorto-crunch - OMFG!!!!!

Another great BJFE combo and new fav, for sure!

In fact, I'm so into the distorto-crunch this combo produces that I'm going to sell my MH (I know, good luck with that, as the past few that have been up for sale haven't received any bids) and MRD, as this is the sound that I had been seeking, but failing to find in the BJFE distortions I have owned (as I've been quite open about on these forums, as much as I love BJFE pedals, in general, I've never really bonded well with any of the distortions) - and it was there all the time, who knew?!?

First off, please post some audio or video of this combination revelation so we can all HEAR what you're talking about.

Second, mess around with the HBOD and Model H stacking, or at least wait until you get a BPB or when the MP booster comes out...you might be surprised how awesome the Model H can be.

[tri99er]

I only have the RRB and HBOD, but I will say pushing the HBOD with the RRB yields amazing results, will do some vids when I get time.

They will be done like the last vid I made, couple guitars, same amp.

This one was just showing the differnce of various pickups, done for a forum member on a different site a while ago.

[jdandry]

I had amazing results with a EGD into a DRD into a distorted amp this weekend. The stack didn't sound good in the bedroom because the DRD seemed to dull the brighter sound of the EGD, but with the amp cranked it sounded wonderful. Even with all the gain it was quiet, refined and not a hint of mush.

[Donner]

cool tri99er ! I like that your hand is moving so fast at one point that its blurred

for another sound/feel try using the RRB on all the time to push your amp right up to distorting and then put the HB in front of it at about half dirty and youll get the feel of the HB dynamic dirt with the crunch of your amp pushed ..... tasty