I play a near-stock Blackface Deluxe Reverb (I think with a 70s CTS speaker, and new tubes). I play (Hendrix/SRV/John Mayer) blues/rock at home with my strat, but I need to do cover songs for nearby churches that range from the typical U2/Coldplay sounds to harder-edged pop rock. So far, I've been sticking to the Les Paul for more of a versatile rock tone, since I have to rhythm and lead parts. I feel like my Deluxe Reverb is one of those lifetime investments and I don't want to GAS on amps, hoping that I get the best versatility with clean to heavy overdrive on it. I was kind of bummed when someone said, "You have the wrong amp", because I look up to the guy's tone and playing, but can't come to believe my precious amp is the issue.
Here are some of my thoughts on the differently "voiced" pedals based on what I've read.
- LTD and LTD SR. Everyone seems to prefer this flatter voicing of SR over regular, but I have no idea what kind of gear and style of music they're talking about. It might be a good always-on pedal, but then, what else do I need to buy for mid to heavier gain? Would using my BD-2 as a clean boost into one of these guys do it for high-gain?
Direct Drive. Is the slight mid-hump that detestable? Why do people dismiss tubescreamers so much?
Direct Drive LG vs unLTD. Thoughts?