Soloing pedal

[pdadda]

Hey folks. I play lead guitar in a rock band (if you want to hear ourstyle check out the link in my signature line). Anyway, I run my Fender '72 Tele Deluxe through an older Fender Princeton chorus. I just use the amp's distortion channel for heavier stuff. Here's the deal: when I switch from playing chords to playing lead, I feel like the lead part doesn't stick out enough. I switch between bridge and neck pickups, but it is still not quite what I want.
What would you guys suggest? Is there a pedal that will help me out here? Should I be looking at different pickups? I sometimes solo so clean it is almost jazzy, but more often I use a grittier distortion tone.

 

[Outlaws]

Clean boost.

Some might say use an overdrive, with the gain down, and that would work too. -but with the gain up, you might loose some definition in the notes....or it might sound fantastic.

 

[Jacko]

what about a seymour duncan pickup booster? havent tried one but i hear good things about it

 

[Codmate]

I sometimes use my Ibanez TS-9 as a level boost - just turn the gain down and the level up on one and the effect is quite nice.

You might also want to look at something like the Mango Tone Ranger Boost Pedal:
http://www.mango-amps.com/accessories.htm

A change of EQ can be as good as a volume boost. A treble boost or a cut in bass and a small volume boost can mean the difference between cutting through the mix and being a muddy indistinguishable mess.

 

[David Katauskas]

If you want to keep the clean sound, then look at EQ pedals.

 

[metalhead28]

I use a BOSS EQ pedal. That way you can boost just the right frequencies and keep a nice smooth sound or a bright edgy sound if that's what you're after.

 

[metalhead28]

If you want to keep the clean sound, then look at EQ pedals.

whoa, you just beat me to that one

 

[lovegoodsoul73]

I sometimes use my Ibanez TS-9 as a level boost - just turn the gain down and the level up on one and the effect is quite nice.

I did this for years, and it works quite well. I also used a Marshall Drivemaster for the same purpose, but it actually had a three band EQ on it as well. I could EQ the sound a little bit and add a slight bit of overdrive. It worked well for me.

 

[ggunn]

One thing you might consider is the "old school" appraoch - turn the guitar down and the amp up to where it's right for rhythm, then max it for solos.

 

[Dani Pace]

I use a Princeton Chorus a lot too. My thinking was along the same lines as yours, the easy solution for me was to hook a 10 band stereo EQ into the effects loop on the amp, it worked wonders.