I'm playing a glass slide on an acoustic-electric guitar. Have tried various pedals
looking for an overdrive that will fatten and
sustain while keeping enough clarity/high end
Distortion pedals seem to be too grainy
and harsh...some overdrives are muddy.
Does anybody have some suggestions?

Graag you've come to the right place . My preference for slide (I use a pocelain "MudSlide")is my Fulldrive 2 or my recently modded TS-9 . They're both really warm and not "fizzy" . Gentlemen and Ladies ... CHIME IN !

Graag, personnally I use ceramic slide "moonshine" as far as overdrive are concern... I've found that using the overdrive as a booster to push the amp input works better than to use it as the overdrive sound in itself.... my choice here is a first batch DOD Juice Box wich are no longer made... but a as Klasaine suggested a ts-9 might also do the trick really well... experiment with anything you can and let us know what you come up with... I would also try heavyer string gauge for slide... cheap to try and might help. My two cents.

Thank you both for the input. I'll be more
specific regarding my setup:
Yamaha thin-body acoustic w/piezo, strung
with phosphor/bronze 12-53 gauges.
My Mark II (Mesa) is too over-the-top for
acoustic, so I play straight to a Mackie PA
with split 15"/horn cabinets and a monitor.
The guitar sounds fine but needs balls
when I play slide. Most of the overdrives
I've tried sound a little too muddy...and
distortions actually thin things out.
I need to add punch and sustain while
keeping the basic clarity of the signal.
I'm trying various pedals and I welcome
any and all advice.
Thanks again!

Might sound foolish but you tried a compressor pedal?

That's a good idea Glorbz...I have tried an old MXR Dynacomp and it added sustain but squashed the hell out of my guitar's high end
I'll check out some other brands and see if
a more versatile unit works for me. Thanks.

Ever thought about a good compressor ? Or possibly just a "boost" such as Fulltone Fat Boost or Z Vex "super hard on".

Klasaine...being an unwilling victim of
geography, I live in central Illinois, where
mom & pop music stores deal DOD, Ibanez and
Zoom pedals. (Roland would be considered
boutique) Not that I would'nt make the drive, but Chicago or St. Louis would most
likely have the only stores where I might hear a Fulltone or Z-fex. A quality compres-sor is still a candidate...I'm looking.
I'm beginning to think that a decent EQ or
graphic pedal might be one solution to tailor
a more transparent guitar sound.
Thanks for the advice.

The problem with an eq pedal is that it will probably add some noise.
I would try a good compressor first, like Glorbz mentioned, or a boost, as mentioned by klasaine.
I haven't played slide for a while, so I can not be more specific on my recomendations, but if I were playing, probably my TS9 (with the brown mod by AnalogMan) would be my choice for fattening the sound and giving it sustain, though I would use it mostly as a clean boost.
Good luck.

The DOD "milk box" compressor I think is great and readily available . For just a boost try a Boss "Blues Driver" .

Has anyone tried the PE Germ?
Seems to be a good clean boost. I'd be interested in hearing your opinions.
Thanks.

A Ibanez CP-9 compressor (same serie as the TS-9) might be your thing it is knwon to have a bit of boost in the high end compared to a dynacomp... so I've heard and read but I still don't have one of these yet. You might get lucky and find one before me who knows.

Have you ever tried playing different slides?...A glass slide is cool, but every slide sounds different when playing on a different string gauge, different guitars..etc.....experiment..

klasaine, I tried the DOD "Milkbox" and it
sounded better than the Dynacomp, but still
colors the overall guitar sound too heavily.
My quest for the elusive transparent boost
continues. I think a road trip is in order.
fuzzbox, after trying brass,ceramic,chrome,
aluminum,porcelain, animal, vegetable and
mineral slides...glass is what works for me.
But I am experimenting constantly, trying
to channel heart to hands...and looking over
my shoulder for that damn transparent boost.

Sorry, that last blurb was to Fuzzface-71,
not 'fuzzbox'. (A Fuzzface is a fuzzbox tho'
right?)

quote:

---

Originally posted by Graag:

But I am experimenting constantly, trying
to channel heart to hands...and looking over my shoulder for that damn transparent boost.

---

Not to repeat myself, but has anyone tried the PE Germ?
Maybe that's what you're looking for
Another option would be the Calrl Martin compressor. I've used Carl Martin pedals and they don't alter my natural tone.
BTW, I love the tone of a glass slide. Last time I played slide live I used a steel one, since it gave me a more aggresive sound, but glass sounds better to me.

I know this is an ancient thread but I haven't really been satisfied with an OD for slide until recently.

Hey, I'm no Sonny Landreth, Warren Haynes, or Rory Gallagher. But I do enjoy playing slide in standard tuning from time to time and don't totally embarrass myself. The other night I whipped out the ol' glass slide for the first time since I received my Baby Blue OD. I must say that the BB OD is hands down the best OD I've played for slide.
Sounds fabulous.

just saw this thread---- hes playing into a PA--- I think a Sansamp is the ticket- it will have the speaker emulation to make it sound 'right', cheapest way to find out is by a tech21 tri-OD , it has 3 basic settings to start with, and they are cheap used , ...... Donner in St. Louis

as a slide player i get the amp crunchin a little then apply a boost that i have rolled a little highs off(at the tone knob of the ax or box)i prefer a klon or tc elec booster
but i like the new fat boost and my komet don't need a pedal! keep in mind how much
ax controls can taylor your slide tone so that your standard tone is not a secondary
thought.also food for thought duane Allman turned a marshall full up used the bridge pickup
with the tone knob rolled down, sonny landreth won't play with out a dyna comp, even with a dumble! and lowell george also a dumble ods user had two dnya comps chained togather! lots of options and so many different ways to use them. VDG

yeah -- it depends on what rig your using for what purpose--- again if your on a budget the ART LEvelar is a wonderful compressor-its tube and built like the old Vactrol compressors, its real natural with no compression footprints and used they are under $100 also,if they just had an onoff footswitch......once I got it dialed in even the dynas and saffrons sounded a bit fake.....