# The Best Pedal Stack I have ever heard. Goodbye to attenuators and pedal hunting.



## traynor_garnet

The last 15 years of my life have been about trying to get that “cranked amp” sound at reasonable volumes. I’ve tried smaller amps (still too loud), modellers, numerous attenuators (Hotplate, Mass, Minimass, both versions of the Aracom attenuator, Ho/Ultimate Attenuator, Alex), Smicz TAD tube adaptors, Stephenson Stagehog (1 watt amp with power scaling), an L-Pad, and many, many OD pedals.

Here is what I want from dirt pedals: transparency! I don’t want to hear a pedal or suddenly sound like I am playing into a different amp. The goal is to achieve the same sound my amp makes when cranked but at low volume levels. FYI, I play two VERY early Traynor bassmate combos (6AV6, 12AX7, 6V6s, 5Y3) that are kind of like Tweed Fender/Small Marshalls (these tube rectified ones are ridiculously rare).


Pedal 1: Timmy.
Ok, no big surprise here and I’m sure you know all about how amazing this pedal is. I have used this pedal for a long time and still LOVE it for very low gain. But ONLY low gain: I don’t like the gain even at noon (and I play single coils). Anything over that and it ‘sounds like a pedal.’ For the longest time I couldn’t find anything to take me to the next level of dirt. Which leads to . . .

Pedal 2: Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop OD.

Here it is! Run this into the Timmy and you get the next level of dirt without losing transparency or sounding like a pedal. I keep the gain cranked, the SAG at about 10 O’clock, and the volume at just above unity. My lord, it sounds so much like my amps cranked up that it is ridiculous. The sag imparts a slight “fuzz” quality that really sounds like a speaker being slammed in a small amp (thing Neil Young’s Tweed Deluxe). It also responds very well to your guitar’s volume knob. Stomp it off, and you go seamlessly back to low gain with the Timmy. It is seriously unreal what this pedal combo sounds like (interestingly, the Barbershop sounds like crap using the above settings without the Timmy; you can, however, use different settings to get this pedal sounding good on its own).



Since I have two of the same vintage tubes amps I a/b’d one of them cranked against one clean with the pedal stack. I was simply shocked how much clean amp/pedal stack sounded like the other cranked up amp. Wow! I am seriously considering having these two pedals rehoused in one enclosure: yes, it is that good (or at least getting the Timmy rehoused into a bigger enclosure with top loaded jacks).

Oh yeah, not only do these pedals sound incredible, you can buy BOTH pedals new for less than $300 combined!!

Goodbye attenuators. Goodbye hunt for transparent dirt. Hello playing without going deaf or having to “settle” . . .


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## Guest

It's pretty cool when you find that magic combo.

For me it was a Boss BD-2 -> Catalinbread SCOD. With the BD-2 set just on the edge of clean but with some boost and the SCOD set fairly, with some mid-scoop, but not distorted. Three channels of awesome OD when fed in to the spanking clean channel of the Koch TwinTone I owned. It was a magic combo.


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## zurn

traynor_garnet said:


> The last 15 years of my life have been about trying to get that “cranked amp” sound at reasonable volumes. I’ve tried smaller amps (still too loud), modellers, numerous attenuators (Hotplate, Mass, Minimass, both versions of the Aracom attenuator, Ho/Ultimate Attenuator, Alex), Smicz TAD tube adaptors, Stephenson Stagehog (1 watt amp with power scaling), an L-Pad, and many, many OD pedals.
> 
> Here is what I want from dirt pedals: transparency! I don’t want to hear a pedal or suddenly sound like I am playing into a different amp. The goal is to achieve the same sound my amp makes when cranked but at low volume levels. FYI, I play two VERY early Traynor bassmate combos (6AV6, 12AX7, 6V6s, 5Y3) that are kind of like Tweed Fender/Small Marshalls (these tube rectified ones are ridiculously rare).
> 
> 
> Pedal 1: Timmy.
> Ok, no big surprise here and I’m sure you know all about how amazing this pedal is. I have used this pedal for a long time and still LOVE it for very low gain. But ONLY low gain: I don’t like the gain even at noon (and I play single coils). Anything over that and it ‘sounds like a pedal.’ For the longest time I couldn’t find anything to take me to the next level of dirt. Which leads to . . .
> 
> Pedal 2: Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop OD.
> 
> Here it is! Run this into the Timmy and you get the next level of dirt without losing transparency or sounding like a pedal. I keep the gain cranked, the SAG at about 10 O’clock, and the volume at just above unity. My lord, it sounds so much like my amps cranked up that it is ridiculous. The sag imparts a slight “fuzz” quality that really sounds like a speaker being slammed in a small amp (thing Neil Young’s Tweed Deluxe). It also responds very well to your guitar’s volume knob. Stomp it off, and you go seamlessly back to low gain with the Timmy. It is seriously unreal what this pedal combo sounds like (interestingly, the Barbershop sounds like crap using the above settings without the Timmy; you can, however, use different settings to get this pedal sounding good on its own).
> 
> 
> 
> Since I have two of the same vintage tubes amps I a/b’d one of them cranked against one clean with the pedal stack. I was simply shocked how much clean amp/pedal stack sounded like the other cranked up amp. Wow! I am seriously considering having these two pedals rehoused in one enclosure: yes, it is that good (or at least getting the Timmy rehoused into a bigger enclosure with top loaded jacks).
> 
> Oh yeah, not only do these pedals sound incredible, you can buy BOTH pedals new for less than $300 combined!!
> 
> Goodbye attenuators. Goodbye hunt for transparent dirt. Hello playing without going deaf or having to “settle” . . .


So Timmy is first in line then the Fairfield ? For me it's a Timmy 1st then OCD, I haven't really tried it the other way around though.


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## Macki

I am very intrigued by the Barbershop. Lots of great comments on the different forums (particularly TGP) though its very hard to get an accurate read on how it sounds from any of the vids on youtube. Interestingly on youtube there is one vid where the guy uses the Barbershop with all his different OD pedals just as you describe to enhance the over all sound.

How does the pedal sound on its own? Is it better to use this pedal with another OD only? I really have to get down to a shop and try one out....


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## Guest

Wait until you discover stacking in parallel instead of just series. Oh my!


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## traynor_garnet

zurn said:


> So Timmy is first in line then the Fairfield ? For me it's a Timmy 1st then OCD, I haven't really tried it the other way around though.


No, I run the barbershop into the timmy _"Run this into the Timmy and you get the next level of dirt without losing transparency or sounding like a pedal." _


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## traynor_garnet

Macki said:


> I am very intrigued by the Barbershop.
> How does the pedal sound on its own? Is it better to use this pedal with another OD only? I really have to get down to a shop and try one out....


Into an amp that is starting to break up the Barbershop sounds amazingly good on its own; it sounds like you opened up the volume on a NMV amp. Into a completley clean amp, however, it isn't as great. If your amp is already "too loud" when starting to break up, the Barbershop isn't a low volume solution. If you can get your amp breaking up, however, you won't need the Timmy because the Barbershop sounds great on its own.

The beauty of this stack is that the Timmy does the slightly breaking up sound and the Barbershop takes it to the next step. All at low volume and all with transparency and no "oh, I just stepped on a pedal" sound. It will vary from amp to amp, but with anything that loves the Timmy (almost anything outside of BF and SF Fenders or clones) it is amazing.


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## david henman

iaresee said:


> Wait until you discover stacking in parallel instead of just series. Oh my!


...i've wondered about that. how is it done?


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## david henman

...i'm eager to try the timmy/ocd combination, should i ever get a chance.

are there any other recommendations for pedal combos for "transparent dirt"?


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## jimihendrix

david henman said:


> ...i've wondered about that. how is it done?


Here's an article with pics to show how it's done...

http://www.ehx.com/forums/viewthread/2328/


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## Guest

david henman said:


> ...i've wondered about that. how is it done?


You can use a little line mixer. I know Greg at Solid Gold FX used to make one. Or you can get special OD/Dist/Fuzz pedals like the new empress effects multidrive which has three circuits that you combine in parallel right within the pedal.


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## Guest

david henman said:


> ...i've wondered about that. how is it done?


You can use a little line mixer. I know Greg at Solid Gold FX used to make one. Or you can get special OD/Dist/Fuzz pedals like the new empress effects multidrive which has three circuits that you combine in parallel right within the pedal.


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## 4345567

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## jimihendrix

Stevie Ray Vaughan used to run two tube screamers in a row...Visual sound makes pedal that combine two overdrives together...

The "Double Trouble" (Stevie's band - get it...???...)...which is essentially two tube screamers combined...

[video=youtube;DMRcy-996NE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMRcy-996NE[/video]

They also make the Jeckyll and Hyde...overdrive and distortion...among other dual pedals...

[video=youtube;yDktAwHZ4Ng]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDktAwHZ4Ng&feature=relmfu[/video]


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## Chito

Right now, I'm stacking a Timmy with a Lovepedal Eternity.


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## david henman

..is the secret recipe here a matter of stacking two transparent/mild overdrives?


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## traynor_garnet

david henman said:


> ..is the secret recipe here a matter of stacking two transparent/mild overdrives?


For me, yes. With my amps, the Timmy Barbershop combo is amazing.


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## traynor_garnet

nkjanssen said:


> Nice. My requirements were a bit different than yours. I was looking for something that works well at rehearsal and gigging volumes. I found that magic stack about two years ago - Klon or Red Snapper for low gain plus Barber LTD for mid-gain. I haven't really had much desire to buy any new dirt pedals since then. It's a good feeling.


My pedal combo sounds great at higher volumes too. For really "whisper level" stuff, I just use my HD500. For stuff a bit louder, I love the Timmy/Barber. I get amazing tone at levels where you still don't _need_ a mic to sing over the amp, but a mic would make you clearer.

Is your pedal stack (above) running into your Princeton? I loved the Klon in your setup, but with my Traynors I thought that pedal was only "ok" and much preferred the Timmy/Tim. Not so strangely, I don't love the Timmy into BF or SF Fenders . . .


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## 4345567

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## captainbrew

Cool! I use a Barbershop into a Timmy as well! Sounds awesome with both my Tungsten Crema Wheat and old 74' Traynor YGM3.



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## Todd68

I ran a OCD v.2 into the Barbershop and it gave me those same dynamics and response (or maybe it was the Barbershop into the OCD). I had no use for the Barbershop on its own. In combination with a good OD, it really makes a difference. It sounded awesome as a combination. Loved the sag and that hint of fuzz.

Now - Lumpy's '73 into OCD. Glorious!


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