Minininjarob Posted April 27, 2023 Share Posted April 27, 2023 Hi All. I have a Fender Downtown Express which had EQ, overdrive and compression sections on it. I thought I needed the overdrive for the sound I wanted but I can’t seem to use it in a way I’m happy with. I like the EQ section I can use it. The sound I really like is when I put a little bit of compression on and turn up the drive in the compression section a lot. Thinking about it I want to explore this more but I’m not sure what I need if I go for seperate pedals. Would a separate compression pedal allow changes in the drive section or is there a separate drive pedal I can buy which would allow a fine tuning of the drive separate to the compression? I play with a pick mainly fast punk stuff. I think I want to sound of an overdriven tube preamp, is that what the drive on the compression section of my fender pedal is emulating? My GK amp really growls when I turn it up which is almost the sound I want but that extra drive turned up is perfect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodang Posted May 2, 2023 Share Posted May 2, 2023 Try the TC Electronic Spectradrive. Has comp, 4 band eq and drive but with the added advantage of toneprints so you can try many types of overdrive and comps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naxos10 Posted May 2, 2023 Share Posted May 2, 2023 As Boodang states the Spectrdrive would be a good choice as there are plenty of downloadable toneprints and they are an easy transfer from the phone app to the pedal via the bass pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minininjarob Posted May 2, 2023 Author Share Posted May 2, 2023 The Spectadrive looks great for me, but do they still make it? Doesn’t seem to be in stock anywhere. I do prefer to buy new but will look out for one 2nd hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 Something to keep in mind is any drive effect by its very nature also compresses the sound. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDinsdale Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 For punky stuff especially, a sansamp is a really solid drive option. I don't use one myself but have used the pedal and rack version in the studio and for gigs and it does give a really great full driven tone. Never really had time to really experiment with it though. You might not need a compressor at all if you get that stuff right, I do run an always on compressor but its so subtle that I often forget to turn it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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