Just ordered a Dirty Little Secret. I’ll let ya know when it gets here!

I agree with Julian.. The comp helps out the organ sounds.. And you’d wanna put your chorus on the HOG effect for sure. Personally, I use mine after my OD (Guv’Nor) but before my fuzz (Little Big Muff). I also have an LBP-1 after the Muff for solos and such. I tried using the booster before the HOG, but found it was waaaay to easy to clip the HOG’s input.

Julian also mentions using the direct out. This is a great idea! I’ve been experimenting with sending the direct (unaffected) out to my POG 2. Only problem is, I can’t decide who gets to use the Muff!

Hope you enjoy your HOG. And I hope you got the foot controller for it to;)

TGM

To combine effects you will need one pedal for each effect you wish to use. IE, you will need two V256 to achieve the effect you are looking for. I have the Voice Box and have often wondered what the vocoder setting would sound like harmonized. Alas, I have not bought another Voice Box to find out… Yet;)

I also want a DLS.. Playing thru a Mesa Boogie 4Forty.. But their web site says out of stock. Also I’m interested in the Hyper Pak.. But their website doesn’t have any info on it at all.. Any one played a Hyper Pak before?

TGM

I’ll second the Marshall recommendation. I’ve been bouncing back and forth between my BOSS SD-1 and the Marshall Guv’Nor, fer the last couple weeks.. But I’ve finally decided I like the Guv’Nor better. It’s got the ‘deep’ control that does a pretty decent job of getting that low speaker pumping (excursion) sound from a 1960A. I also find it can run from slightly overdriven, to full on high gain, depending on how you have the gain and treb/mid controls set.

Compared to the SD-1, I find the Guv’Nor to be a little darker. And maybe not quite as much headroom as the SD-1, but it fills my needs. I run the Guv’Nor into a Little Big Muff, which sounds HUGE… But then I run the Big Muff into a POG2, and finally an LPB-1, just before my Mesa Boogie Rocket 4Forty. Having all these on at once is simply MASSIVE!

Good luck in your Overdrive hunt.. It’s a neverending story;)

TGM

Let me know how ya make out.. And if you haven’t checked it out already, here’s a link to Bill Rupperts sample settings and blank preset templates. https://www.ehx.com/forums/viewthread/3519/

These are very handy, as I have a lot more settings then the 6 presets the controller gives me;) Did you get the controller with yours?

TGM

What does your HOG sound like with the expression pedal compared to the switch? I also just received my HOG, and have had no problems.

I’ve been getting good results from DI’ing my Mesa 4Forty lately. It has a recording 1/4inch out, as well as send and returns. Also, Radial makes a nice little box you can use to put between the head and speaker as The Ghost of Sim Tut described. John Angus from the Trews has been using one for years, and they sound great.

That being said, I still put a mic in front of the speaker as well as the DI. Sometimes I use the SM57, but I love the old Sennheiser BF509. These are hard to find since they’re no longer in production. But they sound Amazing! In a pinch, the Sennheiser e504/604 doesn’t sound half bad either. I would also combine the close mic with a distant condenser mic. Something like an AKG414, or Neumann U87. But don’t forget the microphone 3 to 1 rule!

Of course, your mic choice and placement is only half (or less!) the battle. A good pre-amp and the right room/positioning are also key. For anything professional I do, I go with either the Avalon 747, or, when it’s available, the Millennia STT-1 Origin. But you can find decent preamps for much less. Something like the TLAudio Purple or Ivory series. You could even try the EHX 12AY7. I bet it sounds great on guitar;)

Hope that helps. As with anything, the perfect tone is a matter of taste. (And sometimes massive amounts of overdubs). Keep trying stuff until you find what works for you!

TGM
http://www.reverbnation.com/theghostmachina