I am a decent guitarist, but terrible at developing tone for my electric rig. Maybe you guys can help (please!).

I'm looking for a solid rock sound, a good lead tone, and a good blues tone for my rig. I play through a Les Paul Standard (60's neck) and a Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue. I was hoping this combination would allow me to have the crunch and sustain that the Les Paul provides, but still allow crisp tones using the Fender, and get that good blues sound too. To me it seems nontraditional (except maybe to BB), but that's kind of what I was going for.

The guitar and amp are set in stone. I can't afford to buy new gear that expensive. Here's the part I can change. I am open to buying pedals as long as it isn't too much, but it would be better if I can conform what I have to fit my needs. I realize there is probably at least one piece missing. Here are the pedals I am working with (not including the tuner):
Boss Blues Driver BD-2
Boss Distortion DS-1
Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi
Dunlop Cry Baby
Danelectro Daddy-O Overdrive

I realize that's some redundancy. I typically just use the blues driver and Big Muff and that's it. It has a decent rock tone with good sustain when I use the Muff, and a decent blues tone with the blues driver, but there's obviously a gap in getting a really good tone. I am terrible with these things.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

It looks like you have both extremes covered in dirt (BD-2 and Big Muff). I think something in the middle would probably satisfy. You have a Boss DS-1 and as much as I hate to trash it like everyone else, it leaves a lot to be desired. I would go after an older ProCo Rat, personally (not the current Rat 2). That pedal can go from slight breakup to crazy fuzz, but for me it really shines as a solid hard rock tone. That pedal with an LP through a Deluxe Reverb is hard to beat.

I have about four or five Rats and my favorite one so far out of all of them is the Whiteface '85 Reissue Rat. Do some digging as some dealers are getting rid of them pretty cheap at the moment.

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2012 Screw the Past Rig

Thanks! I need all the help I can get.

Yes. ^

My setup's fairly similar to yours, although I use a Boogie F50 for distortion and keep the Fender for cleans these days. Still, I've used Muffs and a Blues Driver through the Deluxe Reverb, and it's a really nice amp. Definitely a keeper.

I reckon you have a fair bit of redundancy in your rig too - I'd second the motion to replace the DS-1 and Daddy-O with a RAT. The better-sounding versions that Braunz0 mentions have the LM308 chip in them, which sounds noticeably better than the newest versions. They're pricier but would fit into that elusive middle ground.

Try tracking down a whiteface or reissue of one...some 'home build' pedal makers do very good clones of them; a UK-based pedal guy rebuilt my RAT 2 to vintage spec, and it sounds fantastic.

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Guitar rig: CIJ Fender Jazzmaster/CIJ Fender Mustang -> TU-3 -> RV-5 -> OD-3 -> custom IC Muff -> PS-2 -> DD-3 -> RE-20 -> LS-2 -> Fender '65 DRRI & Mesa/Boogie F-50

Bass rig: Fender MIM Jazz Bass -> TU-2 -> RAT 2 -> Sansamp BDDI -> RV-3

"...So now you know the true secret to great tone: all the espresso you can handle."

Rat is a good call. Are you happy with your clean tone? You've got a nice guitar and a nice amp... the pedals are pretty good too. I'm not a big fan of the Boss dirt pedals but I've heard people get good results with the Blues Driver.

This might be a dumb question but have you had a chance to crank up and play it really loud? Often pedals into a good tube amp can sound OK at house volume but amazing at gig volumes. I hadn't done any gigs for a while and was starting to think that my Blue Boy Deluxe and Rat setup was lacking and that I might need to get a new dirt pedal... then once I started gigging with it again I realised it was capable of some serious magic.

Also, I have a bit of a love/hate thing with Big Muffs... love them to death but they can really be a mess live. I now use a Rat for everything I used to use the Big Muff for... at first I thought it wasn't sounding big and bottomy enough, but live it sounds much better.

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Crustaceo ergo sum

Sell them all and buy one or 2 really good gain pedals to start with.

You have a $2000 guitar, a $1000 amp and a $30 dollar distortion pedal. You will ONLY ever sound as good as your weakest point.

OCD's are cheap and plentiful. Used around these parts they are about $99 bucks. Or maybe look into modding some of that stuff. It will help it come to life, though you can only make a BD-2 sound so good. I have a special hate for the bass boost in that pedal.

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No one has to be alright all of the time.

I like the MXR 78 custom badass distortion, but it requires the right sound coming from the amp, which may be tough given you have to have the amp set up for other pedals. You could also try saturing an existing pedal or the OD channel with an overdrive pedal.

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Talking about wireless pedals...

I agree an older ProCo Rat is a great pedal, great tone.

+1 on an old Rat. You can get an early 80s Rat for a reasonable price. That and any TS (Tube Screamer) pedal will get you a lot. I use a Bad Monkey. They're around. $40 new. It's a TS pedal with tone controls. Can be a little hissy, but who cares live. Another thing. If you can't dime your amp. You need a smaller amp. That's where the magic happens. For me, for most clubs, an amp of no more than 20 watts through a 4x10 or 4x12 can works great. Saturated amp + cone area. A DR is probably fine. But you need to cook it, lol. Also, put a good NOS 12ax7 in V1.

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Stage Guitars: '80s Thin line LP Custom, '70 LP Standard, '83 Squier Black Headstock Strat w/ Dan Torres pickups, '59 Black Danelectro DC, sometimes others.

Pedal Board: Nady UHF 10 -> TU2 -> Rocktron Big Crush -> 70s MXR Phase 100 -> Cry Baby -> Bad Monkey -> Early '80s Rat -> Early '80s Ibanez CS 9 -> Ibanez DE 7 -> Behringer Dr 100 Stereo Reverb

Stage amps: '63 Blonde Tremolux w/ two original 2X10 cabinets with a '60 Ampeg Rocket/18 watt VTB Marshall clone/ Epi VJ into a Mashall 1965A