The only 'dirt' I have is the reverb unit cranked up kinda high . Since a Fender reverb unit is pretty much a Champ driving a spring tank instead of a speaker , there is some overdrive going on when its turned up . I certainly don't use and additional OD or distortion via pedal HOWEVER I use an Xotic RC boost with the gain at about 10 o'clock (pretty low ) that pushes the reverb unit a little .
when I use my Blackface Bassman I can hear the growl from the amp that is not there when I use one of my twins ( MM 130 and SFTR ).

I like a bit of dirt in a trio situation. I tend to get a little from the amp, a little from a pedal. Prefer the "transparent light overdrive" thing. Also the occasional fuzzrite but I dont think that counts on this topic.

Dre
Delstroyers Facebook
Delstroyers Bandcamp

I use a tube boost pedal to beef-up the clean tones of the amp when cannot turn my amp up very high to suit the room. Occasionally, I use a klone to add grit for some garage-y Link Wray sounds.

Lorne
The Surf Shakers: https://www.facebook.com/TheSurfShakers
Vancouver BC Canada

I almost always use a sort of medium level of overdrive, as I'm also a fan of Link Wray and 60s garage music (and 70s/early 80s punk, among other things). For more surfy stuff, I'll turn it down a bit but almost never play totally clean.

On a side note, I think playing with more overdrive makes it easier to sound good when you are playing sloppy, whereas a totally clean sound more easily reveals imperfections in playing. Which means I should practice more often with a totally clean sound, but laziness usually wins out.

I'm not a big fan of overdrive pedals for surf. Fuzz yes, but overdrive no. That said I do us a Fulltone 2B after my surfy bear to add little more level and make sure that a good strong signal is hitting the front end on the amp (usually a Vox AC15 clone or sometimes a Mesa Maverick). I'm more inclined to use an opto style compressor pedal if I want the sound to compress a little.

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So some of you are getting grit out of your 6G15? How and how much?

Guitarist for Black Valley Moon & Down By Law

Vince_Ray wrote:

Interesting to hear about pedal choices for a Link Wray sound here. Will check them.i love that 'clean but dirty, dirty but clean' sound. Not easy to achieve...and WAY too many covers of Rumble on the tube with bucket loads of distortion.

As another Link Wray fan, I have played around quite a bit with getting that just dirty enough sound. My overdrive pedal is a Digitech Screamin' Blues, which gives me a good sound set around 12 o'clock (depending on the guitar). But I've gotten the best Link sounds from a couple of amps I have, Tech 21 Trademark 30 (and Trademark 10) and a Session Rockette 30. Sure, they're both solid state, but they do the ragged out sound really well.

And in terms of overdriven/distorted surf, I always dug the early 80s stuff by Agent Orange. Not classic or pure by any means, but I like the variation.

Keeping in m8 d that my website is Your text to link here..., I obviously go for the clean sounds. That isn’t to say that I never end up with some overdrive, but if I do, it’s the natural consequence of how I am using the amp, not as the result of driving the amp with a pedal.

Also, clean does not have to be harsh. Most of my amps are capable of delivering a clean sound, but retain a character each their own. I’m old enough to remember when The Stones came out with Satisfaction, which really pit distorted guitar sounds into the public consciousness. I never cared for that sound and, more to the point, I’ve never used that sound to express myself, at least to any extent. I’ve experimented with drive pedals, but have always found myself going back to the basics, a clean amp, some reverb and, on occasion, delay.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Back in my twin reverb days and blackface showman days I used an MXR Super Badass distortion to add a slight amount of drive for quiet playing. I also used a Soul Food a bit. With the brown amps and using my quilter as a post reverb pre to my amps gives me a slight gain boost so no dirt needed. I still use my fuzz face clone during certain parts of songs. The FF clone is set with very low voltage via trim pot that makes it sound very vintage. I use a boutique clean boost that has a touch of treble boost and is incredibly transparent as an always on pedal to boost the drip. I also have an EP Boost on the pedal board but found that it cut the drip boost so I don't use it at all for surf.

The Kahuna Kings

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I usually run my guitar clean through Nocturne F-Bomb Reverb tank, but the sound I really love is pushing the tank with my Fez pedal to add a little dirt.