Barber pedal for 5e3 circuit?

[s360guitarist]

Was wondering what Barber pedal folks are liking with their Fender 57 Deluxe (5e3) type amp. I have a 1/2 Gainer that I love with my Ampeg but I have not yet been inspired with its perfomance with the 5e3.

Anyone have any helpful hints on another Barber or maybe something I am missing with the 1/2G?!?!

Thanks in advance!
s360

[bigal]

What are you hearing (or not hearing) with the 1/2 Gainer and the 5e3? What sound are you going for? I've had a Direct Drive, Small Fry, LTD SR, small box Gainster, and now the Tone Pump EQ. I have really liked them all with my Clark Beufort Special, though the small box Gainster felt redundant with a 5e3. Each of those pedals has a different character. I find the 5e3 to be very pure-sounding and it really reflects the character of everything you put into it. If you have a sound in mind, I'm sure there's something in the Barber lineup that will get you there.

btw if you think it's an EQ issue, definitely consider the Barb EQ- it was made for amps like a Deluxe and it is killer.

[hamerman]

I use a BarbEQ with a transitional Princeton which only has volume, tone and tremelo (a 5e2 type circuit), and I'm very happy with it. You can really sculpt the sounds. Of course my other Barber pedals sound great with the Princeton straight up.

[s360guitarist]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the feedback.

As mentioned, the 5e3 has its own beautiful character...I don't want to stand in the way of that and thought the LTD circuit in the 1/2 Gainer would just push the edge of breakup settings I use on the 5e3 to just send it in to a bit more drive. I don't really want to change anything about the nature of the drive the 5e3 produces on its own, but I need to increase the drive without the volume increasing. A good clean boost would work, but I cannot afford to increase the volume past unity.

I have a month or so before I need to play again and even then I think I am using my other amp...so bit of time to tinker with the 5e3.

[bigal]

Interesting. I've never tried the 1/2 Gainer but I hear it can get close to the LTD SR. I loved the LTD SR with my 5e3- the EQ was flat so it really kept the eq of the amp very true. But it did smooth things out a bit- I didn't hear that same tweed rudeness. The clipping is different so it will alter the sound no matter what. Like I said, I loved it, but it may not be what you are after. Try calling the Barber shop and see if Dave can give you any advice.