Sarnomusicsolutions dirt box

[Arnold's Carnival]

Add me in Brad! Sounds like a pedal most of us here will desire. I learned that a ~$70 "reissue" MXR Dist+ was about the worst investment one can make!

As for a name....hows about "Hell in a Box"

[Scarlet]

How about 'Stronger Than Dirt' for a name?

[JonnyBoy]

Maybe a name the pedal thread and winner gets a prize like maybe a signed production SN #1?

I'm officially tossing in my suggestion: OverDirt

If we are getting official with our plugs, I would like to throw out Milkin' The Turkey or a variation maybe, The Turkey Milker or, turkey dirt milk, dirt turkey, ok that's going down a bad road...

Have to give props to the stronger than dirt box, or


just the SMS TDB Classic (Transparent Dirt Box)- actual entry.

[strumminsix]

Oh this isn't official just tossing up a suggestion....

[Tennessee Jedi]

"Dirt turkey" ?

"Stronger Than Dirt" - very inspired !

[waldo041]

"Dirt turkey" ?

"Stronger Than Dirt" - very inspired !

I like the SMS STD (Stronger Than Dirt)!

peace,
waldo

[schmidtz]

I feel that Built to Last would be a good name, and maybe it would last longer than my Distortion+ (reissue).

Also, I want one.

[waldo041]

i don't believe this "New" SMS Box is intended to replace a Dist+ and some may be disappointed that it may not be as dirty as a Dist+. That was the SMS Dirt Box, and this new one is different. If i am reading Brads intentions correctly, this box should work similiarly to something like a EH LPB1 but with the intention on simulating the mild Overdrive that jerry achieved at the volume he played and with a Mcintosh Mc2300 Sentry Monitor removed, ie mild output Transistor clipping. this is hard to replicate at lower volumes with or without an mc2300. so i would assume it is something that would not go in jerrified rigs OBEL, but rather at the input of the amp off the input cable vs, the obel cable. or possibly in an amps Effects Loop ie... between preamp and power sections.

Brad of course will clarify, but that is my take on just what the intention of this new gadget.

peace,
waldo

[jkstraw]

That's my understanding too waldo. I hope this is correct.....i.e. something I can leave on all the time and get stadium style clipping at a basement volume

[strumminsix]

I'm gonna get flamed but here we go. Would using an amp with a preamp gain produce a similar sound?

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

Waldo is spot on.

This pedal is for all kinds of uses. It's partly inspired by the fact that single coil pickups into clean tube amps can make a very ice-picky spike with the pick attacks. One approach to clipping is to overdrive a preamp. Some preamps will do this from one tube stage to the next. Others will use booster devices to clip the first tube. Triode (preamp tube) clipping is a certain type of clipping that's pretty asymmetrical, and has a mushy, soft bass response, a compressed feel, and lots of overtones. To me, triode clipping is not really a very Jerry sound. I believe pretty strongly that for the most part, Jerry's sound came from a fairly to very clean tube preamp with lots of dynamic, percussive, expressive headroom, and the clipping largely came from a clipped power amp and saturated speakers. I know there are players who try this, but to my ears, this gives a splatty, compressed, choked sound that doesn't let the guitar breathe and "pop" and have the big dimension Jerry had.

The type of clipping I'm going for with this pedal is much more symmetrical, and is more in line with the type of clipping you'd get from a well balanced Twin Reverb or a McIntosh power amp. It's a stiffer, cleaner, more dynamic, punchier sound that nicely removes the ice-picky transients, and also creates a harmonic distortion that's not quite as complex or messy as the asymmetrical approach.

It's definitely not a replacement for the MXR+, and hopefully will be a nice complement to it. Since many of us are using very clean rigs, this pedal would likely be the very last pedal in a chain before the preamp, even after delay, maybe even after an OBEL loop and the guitar. That's how Jeff Mattson is using his prototype with DSO. It's right before the SMS Classic preamp input. He sets it so it just barely clips when he digs in or turns way up. It lets him shave off and round off and smooth over the pick spikes, yet doesn't change his guitar tone and doesn't create too much distortion. His Bryston power amp is way too powerful and clean to clip. He even blew an E120 recently.

One could use this as a normal overdrive pedal as well because it will also get fairly dirty if you want it to.

Brad

[Staemius]

Sounds great! And - btw - I've really been enjoying your black box fronting my line!

[czyfingers]

k

[czyfingers]

I'll take one too Brad. I think you're really going to have a hit with this thing. It sounds like just what the dr. ordered for a lot of us.

[Chuckles]

Now, I'm just askin'... but if this could be something that sits in front of the pre, couldn't it be built into the SMS Classic as a first stage?

I know, I know... ya got plenty on your plate, Brad. Just wondering, that's all. Whatever you come up with is gonna be the balls, I'm sure.