Hey all, I need some advise. I'm not happy with my tone (big surprise). Here's what I have:

• Guitar - Peavey T-15
• Amp - Marshall G10
• Danelectro Coolcat metal 2 pedal
• Danelectro Coolcat Transparent Overdrive
• Boss AC-3

I can get a pretty good "heavy metal" tone, and the AC-3 does a good job too, but my clean sound, bluesy and overdriven sounds are kinda dull and boring. Not sure how else to describe it.

My first thought was to replace the Transparent OD with a bluesdrive-2, but got to thinking that maybe a should upgrade my amp first. Could I get something used for around $100 (US) that would be noticeably better than the G10? (Peavey Rage 258? or Vypyr?)

Any ideas would be appreciated!

Why don't you test out a Boss Super Overdrive?

I will as soon as I can...I'll also check it out at the Boss site, they have a terrific, "interactive pedal board".

Thanks

What pickups do you have in your guitar?

P/U's are the stock "Super Ferite" pick ups. I've heard they sound a lot like a telecaster.

To be honest, marshall amps are not renound for their clean sound. If you want an all round great sounding amp that doesn't cost the earth check out th Roland Cube amps - I have one and the clean and dirty sounds are great for the price. They have some usable built in effects too.

Roland amps are on my short list. Thanks for the input.

if you have the money, get an ENGL, or VHT. At this point its more the amp than anything else.

I'll have to check around for ENGL and VHT options...

As HK and ac/dc have said you should definitely look at upgrading your amp. I'd also consider swapping out those stock pickups for something like DiMarzio, Seymour Duncans or Bareknuckles.

What sort of material are you looking to play, is there a specific sound you are after?

Unfortunately I'm not looking for 1 certain sound. My goal is to develop my skills enough to play Vai, Satch, Malmsteen, etc. I think what I like about their tone (even though they are all different) is that is seems like a lot of distortion, but it's still "smooth" too.

if you want that much versatility look into guitar rig, but that will require a great computer with a great sound card then a power amp and cab. That won't be cheap by anyone's standards...