Scott Henderson Discussion

[tonetone25]

Hey Scott,

I have a fender hot rod deluxe and record through the Suhr Reactive load using IR's (ownhammer 2x12 OS bogner V30's w/ a 57) and suhr strat with vol/tone on 10 (no preamp, but going direct into the interface). I've read you really like this amp and use it sometimes for live and recording.

Here's what I did recently to record some leads. I cranked the clean channel to about 7 or 8, then used it with the jan ray pedal (boost/medium overdrive) and an EP booster. I gotta say the tone was pretty good and fat! But it would really flub out on the low end, and I guess you could say the tone was a bit too smooooth especially with the neck pickup.....I know you have a trick using the loop, but because I'm recording silently with IR's, I'm assuming I don't need to use that...maybe I'm wrong.

A couple quick questions...
-am I turning up the volume too loud on the amp would you say?
-Also, are you familiar with those pedals and think maybe there's possibly a better combination?
-Maybe a better IR choice?

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated!!

[Scott Henderson]

I don't think you're turning the amp up too loud, but the higher the volume, the more bass you'll get. I turn up that loud too, but I keep the bass completely off, or sometimes maybe to 1 or 2. You don't need the loop - that'll just load the amp down, so it's best to record dry and monitor the FX from your DAW.

I don't combine pedals - I really like the new version of the RC Booster more than the Jan Ray, but that's more personal taste - they both have about the same amount of gain. I usually go to my Klon or SD-9 if I want more gain instead of combining two pedals.

My favorite Two Notes IR is the 4x12 Fried25, and these are my favorite Ownhammer IR's - his titles are complicated so I wrote the definition after.

OH 212 MAR-66 M-BB-75 DYN - 2x12 Blackback G12M from 1975, 75Hz
OH 212 MAR-66 M-PR20-75 DYN - 2x12 Greenback from 1966, 75Hz
OH 212 MAR-66 M-PR25-75 DYN - 2x12 Greenback from 1971, 75Hz
OH 412 MAR-CB M75-PR 57-00 or 01 - 4x12 Vintage Greenback, 75Hz

[tonetone25]

This is great advice Scott! I will check out your recommendations. Just curious, do you not like stacking the EP booster or pedals in general because things get too compressed or less defined? I find it hard to get enough gain and sustain with a lot of pedals, which is why I stack the EP booster. I will check out the new RC booster though.

I can't afford a real Klon...do you have any other recommendations, because you don't like the Jan Ray. Maybe the silver archer pedal?

I'm also not using a preamp of any kind (going direct into interface), and I know that may add some light gain and sustain as well. Maybe it's worth getting a preamp and investing in that.

[Scott Henderson]

Yes, I find when stacking pedals things get noisy and also woofy - the guitar seems to loose definition. The RC is great, but it wasn't designed as a high gain pedal. Maybe I'm not supposed to tell, but Xotic is coming out with a pedal next month which will replace my Klon in the studio, and probably also replace my SD-9 on my pedalboard. It's one of the best distortion pedals I've ever heard.
Other than that, the Fulltone PlimSoul is nice, and I still love the SD-9.

Going through a mic pre won't give you more gain - they're designed to be clean. I go out of my load box into a Neve 1073, and it just warms up the tone a bit - not really that much different than going straight into the interface.

[peter_heijnen]

Would that new Xotic pedal be the Soul Driven? Just the other day i saw a video of it by Allen Hinds, that thing sounds killer!

[Scott Henderson]

Probably - I can't remember the name, but I liked it more than anything I have. I think my Klon has a date with eBay.

[Vinchan]

"I asked Mike Landau to shoot me in the head if he ever sees me using another distortion pedal."

Oops.

[tonetone25]

This is great info. Thanks Scott. Looking forward to seeing that pedal!! Just curious, do you prefer the 00 and 01 positions from ownhammer? He offers a lot of different positions for his SM57 choices, so curious if you prefer one over the other. They are really subtle differences I'm finding, but maybe my ears aren't advanced enough to hear the differences.

Also, have you ever tried the mix IR's he offers?

[Scott Henderson]

The differences between his 00 and 01 IR's are subtle - 00 is fatter, but a bit brighter because the mic is closer to the cone. I don't like his mixes, or mine either. I've tried mixing a 57 and a ribbon in Wall Of Sound, and I always hate it. I'm strictly a one mic guy.

[Scott Henderson]

Actually I haven't tried that pedal live yet - one of the reasons I like it more than the Klon is because it has more bass. That might not work for the stage, so maybe Mike won't have to shoot me.