Distortion pedals

[Coldsnow]

Over the last year or so, I've gotten the chance to try out and use a bunch of distortion pedals. These new units are anything like what I remember of some junky harsh fuzz dirt thingy. I'm talkin' rich, powerful, toneful, excellent gear like the Amptweaker TightMetal Pro, Blackstar HT Metal, Egnater Silversmith, Bogner Red, etc. I think these pedals are fantastic. In fact, they sound about 100X better than any processed tones to me.

Because I play local clubs in a big city, carting gear is not an option, and most places have some 1/2 decent combo amps. I rely on my pedals to get my sound.

Anybody here also use a newer distortion pedal for their tone?

 

[ProphetOfHatred]

What do you mean by processed? Like amp modelers? I think the Axe FX blows those pedals away but that's just me.

 

[metallkrieg]

My main rigs' distortion comes from a Balckstar HT-Dual. I run it into an AMT F-1 and an AMT TC-3, so that all I need is my pedalboard...

Must say I've found my tone right there!

 

[USMarine75]

The best clear/transparent distortion, with no fizz or hiss, I've ever heard is the Emma Pisdiyauwot. Tight bass, not overly compressed, dry but not too dry. Reminds me of a pedal version of a VHT UL or Diezel Herbert. Great for drop tuning or in standard.





Also, check out the AMT series of pedals:



Also a fan of the Amptweaker Tightmetal Pro.

 

[wakjob]

Love dirt boxes.

Mainly because I'm an at home player and always fight with 12ax7 clipping for low volume playing.
Op-amps and diodes are much better to my ears and fingers for this.
Modern digital modelling is just as good if not better on a case by case scenario.

Recent good ones are the Bogner Uber and Burnley pedals.
Fulltone Plimsoul was pretty decent as Fender style dirt.
Finally played a Hermida ZenDrive... yep, it was all that.

Oh god, too many to list...but the end result is really dependent on the clean channel of the amp you're using. Synergy is key here. My favorite dirt box has sounded like "amateur hour" when I try it on someone else's rig/amp whatever.

 

[Spinedriver]

I was looking at an Empress Heavy for a while but the price was a little bit steep for just a distortion pedal (I bought a used Ravelle Deluxe for only $50 more).

 

[vick1000]

Modern pedals are more akin to preamps, with noise gates, multi channels, loops, ect...

They are a far cry from the old clipping boxes of the 80s/90s.

 

[iron blast]

I'm rocking a bogner ecstasy red and love it my only gripe is its noisey. The diezel zerra is probably the best sounding pedal ive ever heard tho.

 

[Casper777]

Wampler Triple Wreck is a great pedal.

Also if you can find a used Damage Control Solid Metal pedal (discontinued dual tube pedals), do yourself a favor and jump on it!! those were amazing!!

 

[Spinedriver]

I'm rocking a bogner ecstasy red and love it my only gripe is its noisey. The diezel zerra is probably the best sounding pedal ive ever heard tho.

I picked up a Bogner Red this past summer. I will say though that my Digitech Bad Monkey works better as a boost for it than the one that's built in.

 

[Elric]

Anybody here also use a newer distortion pedal for their tone?

No. TBH, pedals suck as a primary distortion for the most part. Distortion pedals were a reaction to the fact that originally guitar amps had almost no preamp gain/distortion and it all had to come from the power section distorting at ungodly volume back in the day. So pedals are a work around... Now that we have rich distortion and high gain amplifiers of all stripes and sizes and wattages, pedals hold no interest for me as distortions.

Overdrives/boosts are awesome. Some distortions used as boosts: awesome. Fuzz: is its own effect.

But, basically boost->amp gain == win, anything else is not worth sifting through. Whenever I have gotten on a pedal kick in the past and A/B against a good amp it feels like time wasted. I'm so glad stuff like 6505s, Recto inspired amps, etc are a dime a dozen nowadays. I even built/designed distortion pedals back in the day; they are just never going to get into into real amp territory for me. At the really highest end you are basically getting a shrunk down solid state preamp in a pedal, anf if I'm going that route I'll get an amp.

 

[BlueGrot]

MXR has a really great pedal, the Fullbore. We A/Bed with a powerball and it sounded quite close but in no ways any worse than the PB.

 

[Spinedriver]

No. TBH, pedals suck as a primary distortion for the most part. Distortion pedals were a reaction to the fact that originally guitar amps had almost no preamp gain/distortion and it all had to come from the power section distorting at ungodly volume back in the day. So pedals are a work around... Now that we have rich distortion and high gain amplifiers of all stripes and sizes and wattages, pedals hold no interest for me as distortions.

Overdrives/boosts are awesome. Some distortions used as boosts: awesome. Fuzz: is its own effect.

But, basically boost->amp gain == win, anything else is not worth sifting through. Whenever I have gotten on a pedal kick in the past and A/B against a good amp it feels like time wasted. I'm so glad stuff like 6505s, Recto inspired amps, etc are a dime a dozen nowadays. I even built/designed distortion pedals back in the day; they are just never going to get into into real amp territory for me. At the really highest end you are basically getting a shrunk down solid state preamp in a pedal, anf if I'm going that route I'll get an amp.

I think you're partially right when you say that distortion pedals aren't very good as a primary source. Cheaper/older pedals like the ProCo Rat and Boss Metal Zone are fine if all you have is a single channel "clean" amp and are practising on your own. However over the last few years they have been getting exponentially better. If you take into consideration pedals that are considered "pre-amps" like Amptweaker, AMT, Bogner, Tech21, etc... They tend to cost a little more but sound SO much better than older generations of pedals.

The thing is, the pedals are for people that either can't afford something like a Rectifier or Uberschall. That or it's impractical to have such a high powered amp for bedroom/apartment use. To that extent a modeller is even better but many seem a bit intimidated by either the price or the complicated looking interface.

 

[BlueGrot]

IMO for modern metal tones, you still can't beat amp distortion.

 

[Gmork]

at home i use a magnum44 power amp and bounce back and forth between a tightmetal pro, mesa throttlebox, digitech death metal , and a tech21 sansamptgt2. all of which are really awesome sounding. (the deathmetal pedal aint pretty but sometimes thats ok , the tightmetalpro is amazingly amp like and has the grit and growl of a 6505, the sansamp gt2 has an amazing scooped low mid thump to it which i have not seen/heard anywhere else without some serious eq or an actual highgain amps resonance. and the throttle box is just pure quality sound, it doesnt have a lot of diversity in its sound but doesnt really need it as its tuned in by default to sound great, ive ABd it beside the tightmetalpro and can get them to sound IDENTICAL. ALL of these (maybe minus the deathmetal pedal are absolute quality preamp/dist pedals. keep in mind i ALWAYS use an ibanez or maxon OD to boost as well as an eq after.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

IMO for modern metal tones, you still can't beat amp distortion.

Not when rental amps suck.

I quite like the Boss ST-2, the AMT Legend pedals, Bogner XTC red, and AMT Tightrock.

 

[wakjob]

If you ever see one or get the chance to try a Himmelstrutz FETTO Custom... do it.

Himmelstrutz Fetto Custom - Great Wide Distortion

That new Sinvertek No. 5 looks pretty interesting too.

 

[Spinedriver]

If you ever see one or get the chance to try a Himmelstrutz FETTO Custom... do it.

Himmelstrutz Fetto Custom - Great Wide Distortion

That new Sinvertek No. 5 looks pretty interesting too.

I was really pretty close to snagging a Sinvertek but ended up buying a Fernandes Ravelle instead. The only thing is that I don't think they're very easy to come by in North America, so being able to try one before buying it might not be very likely.

 

[ray666]

my favourite for metal is the wampler triple wreck. the mid knob is what makes this pedal great. it sounds like a mix of a 5150/ rectifier. i use it with a mrx dyna compressor, tube screamer and noise gate into a clean solid state amp. sounds rad as hell! just as good if not better than a real high gain amp. i personally prefer relying on pedals because i like to tweak more and am not satisfied with my tone being just okay.

 

[jarnozz]

I use a Boss adaptive distortion 2. really nice sounds for a great price

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbjteEdSGBc