Micro BR as an "amp on the verge of breakup" with a Tubescreamer

[Ted]

I'd go with the VO DRV or CRUNCH. Set the vol quite low and just dial back the volume on your guitar until you get the desired sound

I played around with CRUNCH yesterday.

It's awfully frustrating knowing that I have good gear, and not being able to get the sounds I want. I feel so ignorant.

I'm starting to wonder if I'm staging correctly.

Yesterday I was sort of satisfied with the tone I was getting, and then I turned off everything and just listened to the naked guitar – and it sounded like shit.

Should I start with the Strat with no effects – get that to sound good. Then pick a preamp "clean" sound - get that to sound good. Then Fiddle with the EQ pedal – get that to sound good. Then the Tubescreamer – get that to sound good. Then do minor tweaks on everything until it's dialed in?

[Ted]

Coud you find a used Sansamp unit, or Joyo/Harley Benton/ American Sound pedal?

if you can get one of these pedals Ted, I would say go for it....a real lot of bang for the buck.

Got one!!!

Thanks for the advice. I haven't even tried it yet. It came in the suitcase of a friend who just returned from England.

Now would be a really good time to try it out. My wife and daughter are outside in the yard and they won't catch me not working.

[Bluesberry]

Ted, congratulations, That voice knob is key to dialing in a nice tone....it acts as a saturation control...I usually have it around 30-50%...too much and it gets fizzy and wonky...just enough and it gives a 3d feeling to the sound......tube saturation emulation best I can tell...that's what makes these pedals so good IMO....

[AndyR]

Yeah, from the recommendation in this thread I got one.
Wowsers...

Now I've got the British Sound as well.

I use both, but I grew up on Marshalls in the 70s, so most of the time the British Sound gets me closer to what's in my head for a given part.

But these two pedals, £60 between them, have moved all the valve amps and amp modellors into that dark and dusty area under the piano behind me!

You've gonna LOVE that thing Ted

[Ted]

You're gonna LOVE that thing Ted

I'm really busy with work these days, but...

I've played with it twice now. I plugged it into the Micro BR on battery power, and played around with my Strat until the MBR shuts itself off. (Then I get back to work.) It sounds great – at least as good as the COSM amps in the MBR. And it's fantastic to reach down and turn a knob rather than Effects > Edit > AMP > etc. until I finally get to the parameter I want to try.