opinions on distortion pedals

[weezul]

Hey guys I'm looking for some input on distortion pedals. I'm looking for a pedal that can cover rock and alt rock(early van halen guns and roses/weezer) and metal(metallica,anthrax, and some nu metal). I own the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone which I don't mind, but I'm looking for a pedal with more scooped out mid-range. If you have opinions or info on any brand of distortion pedal out there please give me the pros and cons or personal info on the model that you may think would be useful. If there is a link or sound file that i can listen to that would also be greatly appriciated.

[JGB]

What kind of amp are you using?

[Rick S]

If you like Boss stuff (I do:) ) lookie here:http://www.bossus.com/interactive/vdg.html
Keep in mind a few of the newer pedals are not here like the Metal Core.

[isko]

Line 6 uber metal pedal

[short_circus]

I like my DigiTech Metal Master:
http://www.digitech.com/products/metalmaster.htm
(demo on bottom of the page):thumbsup

[sticktrix1]

If u want scooped mids, get a little Eq Pedal, i'm sure that'd do the job!!

Or get a Graphic rack eq, Great to get the van halen sound, Just crank up the Highs to get that early evh sounds:thumbsup

[pel666]

the modded Keeley pedals are insane! There is also a forum bros that does mods for Boss, Ibanez etc. :thumbsup

[mmmtacos]

Anything Boss is good:headbang

[TBDREE]

I just modded my ds1 to get a more tube distortion feel and it sounds great.

[Rick S]

Damn right Bro!:thumbsup


Anything Boss is good:headbang

One of my all-time favorite pedals is still my Boss HM-2. The original Heavy Metal pedal. That thing just oozes '80s metal.:drool

[tortfeaser]

It's pretty hard to beat the metal zone (It's one of my favorite pedals of all time). However, you may want to hunt down an ART extreme pedal from the early 90s. Think Pantera in a box. It also has some built in effects like delay and chorus so you get some pretty versatile sounds.

They don't pop up every day on eBay but I got mine for like $25 a few years ago. Worth every penny.

If this picture works you will be looking at an Extreme Plus which is a later model. As you can see, they do have quite the footprint on the pedal board.

http://www.musictoyz.com/images/jpg/vin1007.jpg

[mrcrazyhimself]

I've never found a use for a distortion pedal? :scratchhe They always sounded harsh and un-useable live...

[weezul]

What kind of amp are you using?

I'm currently using a Line6 HD147 and a 5150 cab. I'm looking into buying the matching Line6 4X12 hopefully soon. I guess that I'm one of those players that wish they could have everyone else's tone instead of finding their own. I play along with CD's in my room and I always try to get as close to the tone that I'm playing along with as close as possible. I think that I know what I want(tone wise) but just when I think I get there it sounds like crap to me and the search begins again. I have been doing this for too long and I'm sick of searching for that magical tone. I know that the main sound comes from the way you play and the guitar you play(Gibson Les Paul, Kramer 1984, and Wolfgang Special) but I wish that I could find that magical black box full of tone and my search would be over and done for good!!!

[PacerMedic]

Back when I had a pedal board, I used the DOD FX 56 American Metal pedal for distortion and nothing could touch it. :headbang It has exactly what you're looking for in terms of scooped mids and scalability from crunch to insane distortion. It's been out of production for a while and I don't know where you might find one; perhaps Music-Go-Round or Daddy's Junky Music Store. Pick one up: you'll dig it. :thumbsup

http://www.bostonguitar.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/dod-fx-56-mini.jpg

Found that one here: http://www.bostonguitar.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=BGWI&Category_Code=NUE-DIGI

Looks like it's held it's price pretty well.

[amerturk]

Through the years I think I've tried damn near every single unit pedal. The only pedals I recommend would be a good Digitech floor unit, Boss floor unit or line 6. The individual pedals sound cool for awhile and then lose the coolness. Believe it or not, I use a CHEAPEE RP50 unit for 3 tones only.

80's Metal
Clean 80's with slight echo and chorus
VH Phasing

That is all I ever use. I dialed in a tone and stuck with it.

With this little unit, I also have a wah pedal, a delay and a boss tuner daisey chained into it.

[JGB]

I'm currently using a Line6 HD147 and a 5150 cab. I'm looking into buying the matching Line6 4X12 hopefully soon. I guess that I'm one of those players that wish they could have everyone else's tone instead of finding their own. I play along with CD's in my room and I always try to get as close to the tone that I'm playing along with as close as possible. I think that I know what I want(tone wise) but just when I think I get there it sounds like crap to me and the search begins again. I have been doing this for too long and I'm sick of searching for that magical tone. I know that the main sound comes from the way you play and the guitar you play(Gibson Les Paul, Kramer 1984, and Wolfgang Special) but I wish that I could find that magical black box full of tone and my search would be over and done for good!!!


Tone and a guitar players "sound" can take some time to craft. Over time you'll devolop your sound, and as you say it mostly comes from you. Remember the amp is a tool, not a means to an end. Maybe your amp can't suit your needs, or you need to refine what you think your tone should be.

I saw an interview with EVH and he recently said, "I've been chasing tone all my life". He didn't say he has it now, he's chasing it. And he's Eddie Van Halen! I think if you ask most guitar players there still trying to nail it down.

Make a list of players you'd like to shape your tone after, and find out what they're using to get their sound.

[junior]

Back when I had a pedal board, I used the DOD FX 56 American Metal pedal for distortion and nothing could touch it. :headbang It has exactly what you're looking for in terms of scooped mids and scalability from crunch to insane distortion. It's been out of production for a while and I don't know where you might find one; perhaps Music-Go-Round or Daddy's Junky Music Store. Pick one up: you'll dig it. :thumbsup

http://www.bostonguitar.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/dod-fx-56-mini.jpg

Found that one here: http://www.bostonguitar.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=BGWI&Category_Code=NUE-DIGI

Looks like it's held it's price pretty well.


:thumbsup I liked that pedal myself, Still have it! haven't used it in a while (3 years) hehehe but it does have a great sound!

[PacerMedic]

Another effects unit that had some surprisingly good distortion was this little gem:

http://www.joelski.com/FX-500_002.JPG

I think I snagged this around 1990 right before I got my Mark IV. It has great modulation as well from chorus to delay as well as an awesome flanger. :thumbsup

[TBDREE]

The Pro CO Rat is a good pedal too when modded .. Recently did a turbo rat for a guy and it sounded like canned bees before and a great tube amp after.. I may get one of them for myself.

[ferengi-bri]

All,

I have and still like the DOD Americian Metal FX56 pedal shown in pictures above. It kicks for that 80's sound! I could be convinced to sell it!

Regards,

Brian

[halo71]

Believe it or not, I use a CHEAPEE RP50 unit for 3 tones only.


With this little unit, I also have a wah pedal, a delay and a boss tuner daisey chained into it.


Dude!!! Glad to know I am not the only one here that like that little pedal! For the money, its got a lot of bells and whistles!! Hell the noise gate in it alone makes it worth it! :thumbsup

EDIT: Wait a minute, I'm thinking now that mine is the RP80!

[G.A.S. Ackward]

The Pro CO Rat is a good pedal too when modded .. Recently did a turbo rat for a guy and it sounded like canned bees before and a great tube amp after.. I may get one of them for myself.

Keeley does an awsome mod of Pro CO Rat. It has a 3 way selector and is just amazing. Check it out:thumbsup

http://www.robertkeeley.com/product.php?id=7

[toneboner]

I used to use a SansAmp distortion pedal through a bass amp at one time and it was really natural sounding...it responded to pic attacks yet was also very versitle..you could get pretty much any tone you could want and you could choose which type of amp style you want...its like an amp mod. Not too cheap though...i should have hung on to it.:banghead

[TBDREE]

Keeley does an awsome mod of Pro CO Rat. It has a 3 way selector and is just amazing. Check it out:thumbsup

http://www.robertkeeley.com/product.php?id=7


Keeley makes good stuff but its to pricey. I will stick to doing my own mods. :toast


I wonder what pedal he decided on and if he liked it.

[pel666]

I got a Nady TD-1 from the 80's, has a tube and plugs straight into 110V's without external trafo. Just like adding another 2 gain stages for your amp, perfect for that old Marshall :headbang The new ones sound more modern, but they are sweet as well :thumbsup I got both ;)

Got the Keeley modded Ibanez pedal which is top notch, and great for speed/trash metal, the Nady is the one I use on-stage to drive my amp into great overdrive. It did die on me the other day, opened it up and replaced a cap, and expected the 12AX7, but found a 12AU7 in there heheheh. It looks really good so I think it's a NOS. Took it out (and stored it safely ofcourse) and put on of those gold plated Electro Harmonix 12AX7's in there, it really makes a difference for the better IMHO. I think a blues guy probably had it before I got it and put a really nice tube in there!

[lostinthemasses]

DS-2 all the way for me, nothing even comes close.

[Warlord]

hey I was trying to get some distortion like the NWOHM season, like the revelations from ol' maiden because my amp, spider 3 75W combo, have very dist. but don't from the music that I mostly play. or maybe I should buy a marshall next year?

[_xxx_]

If cost is not a problem: http://www.tonebone.com/tb-plexitube.htm

http://www.tonebone.com/images/plexitube-top-dds-tube-370w.jpg

Or the good old Tubeman II, also good is Carl Martin Plexitone.

For the more US-sound look at my thread about the Tonebone Trimode, but no scooped mids there.

[Rippin Rod]

I always played metal or country. Nothing in between. This Classic Rock band I am in now has me all f'n confused. Seems like I need more pedals than a pipe organ now. For one song I need distortion, the next... fuzz. Oh wait! That's too much fuzz. Too late now. Oh shite! The level is too low, hit the EQ, that'll give it some boost, crap! what happened to my high end, that's cool, the delay is just right, only a slap-back, until I hit the Metal Zone, dammit., why is it repeating multiple times now? WTF!?

:arrg

[JimmyDenton]

I always played metal or country. Nothing in between. This Classic Rock band I am in now has me all f'n confused. Seems like I need more pedals than a pipe organ now. For one song I need distortion, the next... fuzz. Oh wait! That's too much fuzz. Too late now. Oh shite! The level is too low, hit the EQ, that'll give it some boost, crap! what happened to my high end, that's cool, the delay is just right, only a slap-back, until I hit the Metal Zone, dammit., why is it repeating multiple times now? WTF!?

:arrg

rod get a wah and rotovibe in that mix and an octave should keep you busy a while :) :thumbsup

[lostinthemasses]

get a ds2, it'll never do you wrong.

[livebiz]

Through the years I think I've tried damn near every single unit pedal. The only pedals I recommend would be a good Digitech floor unit, Boss floor unit or line 6. The individual pedals sound cool for awhile and then lose the coolness. Believe it or not, I use a CHEAPEE RP50 unit for 3 tones only.

80's Metal
Clean 80's with slight echo and chorus
VH Phasing

That is all I ever use. I dialed in a tone and stuck with it.

With this little unit, I also have a wah pedal, a delay and a boss tuner daisey chained into it.

I second that, I use an RP 300 in the loop for delay/reverb/eq to get various 80s metal tones, though I think my EVH Phaser up front sounds much better than any of the RP settings. Also, as much as I like to crank the gain, better tone usually involves turning the gain to the left.

[Warlord]

some time ago i got a TS7 tubescreamer and it sucks. sounds more overdrive than distortion. too weak

[Rippin Rod]

I actually just scored a 70's model MXR Distortion II just like the one I had as a kid back in the ... well ... 70's.

I REALLY like the beefy and smooth tone this dude offers. It has taken the space on my board once occupied by my Heavy Metal Pedal. This is the tone I have been working for.

I highly recommend one. I think this is the type Randy Rhoads used.

http://www.effectsbay.com/images/auctions/8f8a_2_mxrdistortion.JPG

[BeN5150]

I just got a Digitech Bad Monkey in the mail the other day, sounds great! Its more of an overdrive than a distortion though

[Phatonion5150]

some time ago i got a TS7 tubescreamer and it sucks. sounds more overdrive than distortion. too weak

Thats because it is an overdrive not, a distortion.

[Warlord]

damn never trust a local shop guy

[Rick S]

I like the TS. Especially if you really crank it up. Nice OD for sure.:thumbsup

[weezul]

has anyone tried the boss ml2 metal core pedal yet. I heard some demos on the boss web site and it sounds pretty tough. Just from the demos it sounds beefier than the mt2 metal zone. If anyone owns this pedal, does it sound good for 80's metal, grunge and 90's rock or is it only good for metal? Please give me any info or feedback that you can.

[TBDREE]

has anyone tried the boss ml2 metal core pedal yet. I heard some demos on the boss web site and it sounds pretty tough. Just from the demos it sounds beefier than the mt2 metal zone. If anyone owns this pedal, does it sound good for 80's metal, grunge and 90's rock or is it only good for metal? Please give me any info or feedback that you can.

The metalzone can be modded to sound 100x's better. Its a pedal Id like to have one day. Ive done these and they sound great.

[Rick S]

The Metal Core is really heavy. Definetly not '80s at all. Its nothing like the Zone. If you really dig the super heavy newer type metal this is it. It is however still quite flexible and has a decent range. You can actually get something of a classic metal out of itbut its not quite right to me. Goto your local music store to try it out. You'll hear what I mean. Personally this is one pedal I will never own.


has anyone tried the boss ml2 metal core pedal yet. I heard some demos on the boss web site and it sounds pretty tough. Just from the demos it sounds beefier than the mt2 metal zone. If anyone owns this pedal, does it sound good for 80's metal, grunge and 90's rock or is it only good for metal? Please give me any info or feedback that you can.

[Phatonion5150]

I might be hijacking the thread :guns but what do you guys think mxr distortion plus?


I think this is the type Randy Rhoads used.




And Rod i think he used the distortion plus.

[floydkramer]

the old RAT pedal is a pretty good one ...if you can find one.

[TBDREE]

Hey man why not get a cheap DS-1 and send it to me and I'll mod it for ya for a small fee haha. Serious though I can make a ds1 sound alot better than stock. The one I currently use has been modded twice by me. It used to be balls out and louder but I backed it off for more a saturated tube tone. Its more my sound now.

[muttznmongrelz]

Ibanez SM9 Super Metal

Boss MT2 Metal Zone/Keeley Twilight Zone Modded

Sans Amp GT 2

DOD Big Pig Phat Distortion

[Phatonion5150]

The other day, I was looking at guitar center for the mxr distortion + and they didnt have any in stock, so the offered me the dist. III for the same price. Im so glad I took the deal. real great sounding pedal. It doesnt have amount of distortion you'd expect from a DS-1, but when I plugged it in to my mid 70s Hiwatt custom 50 stack, it sings! It can go from warm tube break up, to AC/DC like crunch, to Randy rhoads. And with the strat, it can achieve Hendrix type tones. I highly recommend this pedal!:thumbsup

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/regular/1/7/3/486173.jpg