curious to hear about any of your rigs that emphasize pedals in front of the amp. I get that some people feel like “any amplifier” will handle pedals. But…not the point. I’m only asking about rigs of this kind that people have been particularly happy with. There is, of course, no one-size-fits-all or ultimate right answer. I’ve used the old guard tube amps in the past, SVT, V4, V4B, 400+,…the high headroom tube giants almost always sound great with pedals, especially in a big room. My Hartke 500 was a killer clean amp but got cranky with fuzz pedals in front. Now I’m a jam room/house party/small room player so I don’t need a behemoth. My practice (actually, only) amp is a Fender M80 and it sounds great clean and it’s LOUD…but pedals are super inconsistent in front of that amp. My research says I want a Rumble 100 or one of the Oranges. Any success stories of this kind?
Not sure I’ve ever heard of this phenomenon before. Are you sure it’s just not a function of the pedal?
I have a PJB rig and a Bergantino B|Amp / Fearless cab - both super clean on purpose to color as I see fit - pedal “inconsistencies” are always the pedal, at least for me.
Definitely. Inconsistencies are always the pedal itself. I was just wondering about amps that are least affected by them. I need to play thru a PJB and/or Bergantino at some point…I have no experience with them. Thanks!
Generally speaking, clean, high-headroom amps tend to work well with pedals, though how the amp responds as you push its gain can really matter.
The cab also matters. A 2×10 can often handle pedals better than a 1×12, though it obviously depends on the specific cab and brand.
With that in mind, I’d say a Fender Rumble 500 or 800 is likely to take pedals better than a Rumble 100. More headroom and dual 10″ speakers.
I appreciate that. I think you’re right, and the 500 seems to me like something I could still play in the bedroom at low volumes…maybe. I was looking at the 200 as well…without looking, I could be wrong, but I think the 200 has a speaker output. That’s always a plus. (I love 4x10 cabs so I feel like tube amp/4x10 rig might be in my near future. Maybe if I join a regularly-playing band.) Thanks for weighing in!
Neither of these amps have a neutral, clean tone - both color it a lot (in different ways). So it depends on what you want.
Fender amps scoop the mids a lot so you’ll need to boost them to get a flat response from it. Orange has different behavior with stronger mids.
Note: that’s true in general for their amps, not just the lower end ones you mentioned. It’s their trademark tones. Neither are remotely clean or flat.
If I understand this correctly, the Fender FM80 is an older solid state guitar amp. The Rumble will react very different to the bass and with pedals.
I’ve had great luck with my Rumble taking preamps and five different kinds of dirt pedals.
Good to hear! You’re right…the M-80 is an older (early 00s?) SS amp. It will make a great small club amp one day.