by gonzo-x » Thu Oct 22, 2009 11:16 am
totally agree with the above assessments..
i have both a tone press and a DDSS.
i can use the DDSS as a rhythm tool-- going into a dead clean channel, as a wonderfully clear crunchy rhythm tone maker...
or i can dirty up the clean, drive the ddss all the way, and have a clear but full bodied lead tone, with an almost marshall crunch...
or, i can use the ddss to barely drive the lead channel of my dual channel tube amp, just as a 'boost'....
or i can clean up the lead channel, and boost hard with the ddss...
i've used it to apply a wide spread of 'gain' and attack on everything from glassy clean to already saturated distortion on the amp, and it works very well for all of them.
as an aside...
the tone press has the ability to be a clean boost, without the compression...
albeit, not a HUGE boost, but i've found that whenever i'm recording cleaner ROCK rhythms, and i have the crunch factor on the amp just about right, but it isn't quite reactive enough, i go for the tone press in BOOST mode, and that totally dials it in.
not only that, but when i set my lead channel on my amp to almost perfect 'lead only' tone, but then back it back a bit to be able to play rhythms that have SOME clarity to them, that when i hit the tone press on boost in front of it, the lead tone comes right back, but with more clarity.
it's almost like instantly going from passive pickups to ACTIVE, but without the sterility that a lot of active pickups give (i had an EMG SA assembly in my custom strat for a long time, so i'm well versed in actives versus passives)
but like i've said in the past, if you've got tight funds (who doesn't right now) i don't think you could go wrong with ANY of the Barber pedals, you've just got to figure out how far you want to go with DRIVE.
i happen to use the DDSS for everything from light boost to full out marshall grind, and it works for that entire spread.
but i've not used the LTD...
ultimately, you will want both a compressor, and a good drive unit.
having a drive unit that is two in one (dual discrete) would be my choice if i was a gigging guitarist covering tunes.....
Barber Katrina Relief DDSS, Barber Tone press, Carvin DC200K, Williams Special, USACG strat, '81 Mesa Boogie Mark IIb head, Avatar vintage cab w/Heritage g12h, Yamaha DG Stomp, asstd. other pedals