Leonc69

Hi everybody,
I just wanted to get a few opinions on what type of pedal I should use with my 81 2203. I plan to use the amp with the preamp on. I would like more drive when I go into leads. The style of music I play is similar to Randy Rhodes, Wyngwie, Schenker. Any suggestions?

Marshall Amps

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lespaul339

2203's take overdrive pedals very well. I havent used one that didn't sound good with mine. My favorites are Fultone OCD, Fultone Plimsoul, and Boss SD-1. Out of those 3 pedals the Plimsoul gives me the thickest lead tone.

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Marshall JCM 800 2203x
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Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue
Vox AC15
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codyjarrett

Boss SD-1 is a great boost for the 2203/04's.

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Amps:
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Strateuphoria

SD-1 set to boost, level max, drive low.

SkinnyJ

I've used a modded DS-1, modded TS-9 and a stock SD-1 on both the high and low inputs of my 50 watter and got plenty of useful tones.

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'84 Marshall JCM800 4104
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ADA MP-1 (Version 1)
1987 Les Paul Standard
2009 American Standard Strat
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My Band: Fistful of Karma

V-man

By no means are you considered "retarded" for asking this, but the question is ridiculous.

The reason being is that the 2203 is one of the most legendary "takes pedals well" amps of all time and ALL the heroes of the 80s essentially plugged in a box of choice into their 2203, and THAT was their sound.

In the 80s, pretty much everybody chose between one of the following: MXR Distortion +, Tube Screamer, Boss DS1 or SD1, RAT, or Misc "boost" (including EQ, or Booster/Line Driver).

If you want to cop the legendary tones of the late 70s-the 80s (and beyond) those 5 boxes will get you damned-near everybody. Also some of them are readily available and cheap used (beware of RATs and MXR D+ units, some versions > others). The other nice thing is that some of these stack well, like the "classic" TS9>RAT>Amp or D+>EQ.

Not only that, but the botique FX do just as well. Essentially if the pedal is good, it will go great with your 2203. All you have to do is try things out and see what works for you. If you want RR, you will need a "SCRIPT" Distortion +, not a "Block". Unfortunately, you will pay at least $200 for one (new RI or used). Some early blocks can get you there, but a lot will NOT.

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American Viking

Not a fan of the DS-1 at all, just my personal opinion.

SD-1, TS-9, GT-OD, these all sound great in front of a single channel 800. Those are just some that I've had experience with. I think there are usable tones with almost any classic overdrive pedal.

Wycked Lester

i have an 82 2203 and a hundred booster pedals..... I ALWAYS come back to the Boss SD-1

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I have a bunch of amps and guitars...

My favorite head ever - 2203
Second favorite head - Jubilee

My #1 Guitar - 98 Custom Shop Jackson Soloist-Mike Shannon Built
My #2 Guitar - 1982 Les Paul Std.

I dig blues and metal.

"IF IT'S TOO LOUD, YOUR TOO CLOSE"

V-man

Case in point... Tons of options work with the 2203, but what works between sets of ears is a different story.

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SkinnyJ

Yeah... Before I modded my TS-9, I would take a stock SD-1 over it. It seems to have a little more drive and less mids than a stock TS-9.

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'84 Marshall JCM800 4104
Marshall Class 5
ADA MP-1 (Version 1)
1987 Les Paul Standard
2009 American Standard Strat
Takamine EG531SC Acoustic

My Band: Fistful of Karma

Skotosynthesis

I'm a fan of the DS-1...
for bedroom playing in a cheap solid state combo!
Plugged into a high wattage tube amp though?
Forget about it. It will totally smurf out your tone, dude.

Skotosynthesis

...well, I guess it's alright for that Sonic Youth shoegazer stuff.
But even with that, I think a Fuzz works better.

DPTONE5

Big fan of the SD-1. A more expensive pedal that gives you a similar tone, but is really smooth, is the Fulltone Fulldrive II Mosfet. It is my favorite OD.

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American Viking

A lot of people are getting behind the SD-1. I think the Boss overdrive is the way to go. It's cheap and definitely one of those gems that hidden in plain sight. I really dig them. Probably the worst thing about them is that "Boss" is written all over it but it's a great pedal.

Boss makes so much stuff that's not great it turns some people away from the great stuff they do make. Their delays and that overdrive are awesome amongst other products.

V-man

Yep. The best I have ever experienced from them is mediocrity (at best). There are other better American pedals to chose from, whether production or botique.

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blues_n_cues

sd-1 &mxr dist+ in my sig.

here's a few others onone has mentioned.

boss ge-7 eq & mxr 10 band eq -mids humped & output up,especially for that Randy sound.

BBE green screamer-similar to a ts-9

rocktron nitro boost-just 1 knob set around 11:00

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LIFE,LIBERTY,& the pursuit of TONE.

2007 Epi LP custom ltd. in ivory
2010 Austin gold top w/ P90s
modded Squier strat
>Zoom G1(tuner)vox 847 wah >boss sd-1 > vintage mxr dist+ > alesis midiverbs 2(delay)& 3(verb & or chorus) > jcm800 2204 > 4x12 w/ altec lansing 417-8H spkrs

my music-
https://soundcloud.com/rlc-ltd

Neil Skene

I use to use an Ibanez SM9 with my 800. I still have it but it is a bit of a noisy beast now.
I never liked the boss distortion pedals but never got to use them for very long as I would go back to the Ibanez pretty quickly.
I liked the Ibanez SM9 because every one was using Boss and as soon as I started playing other guitarists wanted to know what I was using.
I don't use it with my DSL because I think the DSL with overdrive up front and on the red channel sounds better.

SuperBeaver

When I got my 2203 a couple of months ago I spent close to a grand on my credit card on about 8 pedals. I went to my rehearsal room for a few hours cranked the amp and tried em all out with a buddy of mine. I tried a Fulltone OCD, a Fulltone full drive, a boss ds1, a modded boss Sd1' an MXR micro amp, a Ibanez Tube Screamer TS808, a MXR distortion plus and a bad monkey.

I chose the SD1. It just goes so well with this amp. When I have the amp cranked I run the level all the way up and the drive down and when I'm at home and the amp is on low vol I can get a little more drive from the pedal by turning up the drive.

To be honest all the pedals sounded good with this amp, but the sd1 sounded like there was no pedal there at all, like it was just part of the amp.
I now play with no pedals on the floor in front of me. I throw the sd1 round the back of the cab out of sight as its always on anyway.
I sent the rest of the pedals back for a refund to my card. All the experiment cost me was the return postage and the cost of the sd1.

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HOT TUBES 70

This another huge reason why i like the Boss SD1 !
I have had this same story told to me by countless players in my time of modding pedals with ONFLOOR AUDIO !!

Some are even upset that the fact that they spent hundreds or even thousands of dollars chasing the best overdrive tone by buying up the most expensive Boutique pedals , and to find out that there dusty old boss SD1 can net them a very similar tone !!

The mentality that it costs more , there for it will sound better , does not work for the Overdrive pedal realm ....

I have heard some very expensive OD's (200$-300$) that sounded less than stellar imo , and by the same token , I've witnessed a cheap " Knock Off " overdrive that i re boxed (Dano CTO1) that had everyone totally impressed with its tone , until i told them what was inside .....funny how that is Eh !!!

I want everyone who reads this to know that i'm not an expert in modifying pedals or do i have a engineering degree etc etc , i'm just a player like you guys who learned to get better tone out of inexpensive pedals by experimenting inside alot of my own pedals ! .....and even ****ed a few up in the begging learning how

All i know is the SD1 is a killer little box ... and even better when modified !!

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Pedal modifications

Marshallmaniac

I'll second that! My OFA SD-1 really kicks ass. And for earlier Marshalls nothing beats them.

Marshallmaniac

Please see here for more deatils if you're interested in the OFA modded SD-1
SD-1 thin and bright sounding

Mike, what does the germanium mod do again?

anonymtl969

Boss SD-1 sounds great with a classic 'master volume' amp like the 2203 , it compliments my playing extrememly well for that pick attack I require .

I highly recommend them !

newbies

Boss sd1, Zakk Wylde od, bb preamp & either if the 2 ulbrick ods are my favs by far!!

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'83 JCM 800 2203
JCM 800 2203ZW
JCM1H
'87 Silver Jubilee 2553
1965b Lead Cab
76' Gibson Les Paul Custom
96' Gibson Les Paul Custom
Gibson Les Paul Zakk Wylde BFG

LEOVAN83

I've had them all: Boss SD-1, Boss BD-2, Ibanez TS9, Ibanez TS808 and also the MXR 10 band eq, the MXR Booster (Custom Audio Electronics) and maybe a couple more.

I then tried Maxon, which made the pedals for Ibanez up until the early 2000's (I think). So they are the "original" brand for the Tubescreamers, all the old very expensive ones (using the Ibanez brand name) and the new pedals which they manufacture under their own name, Maxon. I tried the Maxon OD9, which is a TS-9 but has true bypass and didn't like it much (I didn't like the TS-9 much either, I mean, the OD9 was better but still, too middy). Then I tried the OD-808 which is the TS808, but, to me it just sounds better and works perfectly with my 2203x.

BUT, that being said, the Boss SD-1 is always great and for 50 bucks or so, the solution it brings, is amazing. The Maxon OD808 is around 100 bucks or so, but hey, they are both great pedals. There's a slight difference between the two since the Boss uses assymetrical clipping and the Tubescreamer uses symmetrical clipping.... which I have no idea what it means, but they make the amp sound different - I believe the Tubescreamers are better for soloing while the SD-1's are better for rhythm.

crossroadsnyc

SD-1 or TS9

J. Burns

Stock BD-2. Level dimed, gain and tone all the way down.

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2004 Soldano Avenger

2203xman

Hot-Tubes -70 can make your ds-1 sound killer.Try his hot brit mod,works wonders on all my amps.I have an ancient mij sd-1,that I love,but now with the ht brit modded ds-1,I have two killer pedals.The modded ds-1 sounds more saturated/plexi style,with a bit less mids,'kinda brown.

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SonVolt

DS-1 will give you Kurt Cobain sound. It will sound HUGE but it will only sound like Kurt Cobain. I wouldn't use it for really anything else. OD pedals tend to sound different through different amps. The ONLY OD Pedal that I've found that works consistently between my JCM 800, Fender Princeton Reverb, Triple Rec, Mesa Mark V and 6505+ was an Ibanez Tubescreamer. The Boss SD-1 works well with the 800 and the Triple Rec but sounds awful IMO with my Mark V and Fender.

shooto

I'm using a TightBoost and Squawk with my 2204...if were talking garden-variety pedals, I dig the nastiness a RAT gives to it-

AlvisX

2203 NEEDS an OD/dist pedal ?

Mine don't , BUT ,just to get some juice on the solos , I go period correct (my 2203 is a '76)



Or maybe

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