The "Best" Distortion pedal

[Panamark]

Discounting AMP modelling,
what do you think are the best Distortion pedals out there.

As the distortion pedal is probaly the most important effect in
the chain. (For us Hard Rockin MoFo's)

My faves, Boss DS-1 Boss Heavy Metal -2 and the Ibanez Tube
screamer...

[Eyes of the Night]

I never understood why a peep would need a distortion pedal ... sure I had one back in the day but that was many moons ago ...

I'm into grunge so I used a RAT!!! ... there wasn't 1 pedal I liked for diztortion to be honest ...


(rippin' on pana's thread mode off)


:D

[The Scatologist]

tube screamer is a overdrive lol


But distortion pedals suck ass anyway. Too harsh for my tastes. I like overdrive pedals a lot better.


Panamark, try look for a Fulltone Fulldrive 2

They don't make em anymore, I think, but shouldn't be too hard to find used. You're gonna love these fucking things.

[GAR]

They call these effects distortions because they cause a square-wave distortion of the harmonic content as seen on a scope or curve tracer.

Fuzzes, gains, overdrives all qualify as "distortions" IMO for this reason.

In this case "best" being the most coveted? I'd vote

Vox Tone Bender 65-67
Colorsound Model Mk2
Bosstone 1967-72
Tube Screamer 1977-81

Of those my favorite multipurpose one would be the Tube Screamer.

[The Scatologist]

Overdrive is more round

Distortion is more square and looks a lot sharper

[Panamark]

Scat,

I mostly play directly into a Marshall 100watt stack.
No pedals. Just the humbuckers and me.
Thats how I get my distortion.
While you are technically correct, an overdrive and distortion
pedal (to me) are in the same family. I love the
Tube Screamer. (For when Im playing through pissy equipment
like Peavey etc)

Actually for a Peavey, the POD usually comes out...

[Nitro Express]

I like the DOD 250. It doesn't color the sound but just pushes the amp into distortion. It's the same peddle Yngwie Malmsteen pushes his 50 watt Marshalls with. This peddle even sounds good at low volumes. I don't even use a practice amp, I just turn my half stack down and use the peddle for practice. I get all the harmonics without mudding or farting out. So many distortion peddles mask your playing. This one won't.

[The Scatologist]

PODS suck ass. Trust me, try a fulltone fulldrive 2.

[Panamark]

To be honest, I cant beat the tone of my Destoyer plugged directly into the 100 watt Marshall, using the Marshall's own overdrive/distortion. The POD is a good toy if you want to record
when there are no real amps around or to play your axe through
a shit amp or stereo, but I dont use it that much..

Fulltone, hey ?? I'll have to check em out. I had someone try to
tell me a Zoom version of the POD was better, but that sucked.

[The Scatologist]

it's a 2 channel overdrive pedal. CREAMY

[Panamark]

So its not an AMP modeller, its an overdrive pedal ?

[The Scatologist]

Ah, here i've found a review.

Looks like it's still being made! Funny though, because i've never seen one new in a store


http://www.legendarytones.com/fulltone_fulldrive_2_overdrive2.htm

[Panamark]

Cool ! But that review pretty much says its a Tube Screamer.
How do you know that it kicks ass, if it hasnt been released yet ???
Just wondering ? :)
Do you get pre-sale test models ??

[The Scatologist]

Um, that pedal's been around for a LONG time

[ZahZoo]

My 1979 Tube screamer is the best I've ever touched... although I really don't use it for distortion... mostly just a signal boost to punch through. All of my distortion sound comes from the amp and those little glass thingys that glow orange when pushed enough!!!

[Panamark]

Love those little glowing glass thingys !!

[ELVIS]

In the 80's I used an old RAT pedal with my first Super Lead...

Finally, I had a good guitar sound...

The new RAT pedal sounds nothing like the old one...

[Panamark]

Never had the fortune of trying a RAT, you are not the first to have
commented on them in my life ELVIS. This is when you werent
cranking the stacks to "11" right ? :)

[ULTRAMAN VH]

I had an old MXR distortion box, it was incredible!!!!! My second choice would be an old Ibanez Tube Screamer. I could kick myself in the ass forever for losing these two gems.

[Panamark]

I still posess the old Ibanez Tube Sreamer, its green. Same size as
a BOSS pedal.

[Panamark]

In fact it fits in one of those old BOSS pedal carry cases that turn into
a floorboard.

[ULTRAMAN VH]

I would hang on to that one. Do you still incororate it into your rig.

[ULTRAMAN VH]

incorporate, sorry can't spell today. Anyway that particular stomp box really helped my tone with out it getting to muddy.

[ELVIS]

Ebay

[GAR]

eBay..

[ELVIS]

;):rockit::D


:elvis:

[Hardrock69]

An original TS-808 Tube Screamer can sell nowadays for 500 bucks.

The next generation is the TS-9, and they can sell for several hundred as well. That is the one I have, and I love it. It is the ultimate.

Go to this site to find the guru of Tube Screamers. He can fix them if they are broken, or make them sound exactly like they did when they were brand new, or he can do cool things like modify at TS-9 to sound like a TS-808.

He also has a history and many photos and kewel details about this kickass overdrive pedal:

http://www.analogman.com/ts9.htm

[jojo2371]

i dont think fulltone makes anything thats bad ,all there pedals r sweet ,but custom handmade so they cost $$$$
i have a rat and its great for that old school garage band distortion ,my tube screamer is also cool never lets me down ,kinda give ya that extra kick in the balls when needed ,my 2 fav's right now r the sansamp tech 21 gt2 and the radial tone bone classic !!!!!

[jojo2371]

route 66 makes a kick ass distortion/overdrive pedal ,my lil bro has it ,sometimes it even makes him sound good !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Scatologist]

I would rather pay $200 for the best overdrive money can buy, then buy 5 boss DS-1s. (Although I DO know a use for them that a few guitarists know as well, but it's not used as a distortion ironically)


Think about it, with this thing, you can basically have 3 channels on a 1 channel amp, with some of the best sounding overdrive you've ever heard.

[Panamark]

I would rather buy a Plexi and destroy my hearing until "8" sounds
like a nice practice level.

[BrownSound1]

Me too Mark.

I would never spend 200 bucks on an overdrive pedal....hell, you might as well save the money towards an amp that has some balls. I mean really, with today's high gain amps you really don't need fuzzboxes anymore (and yes, no matter how you slice it they are ALL fuzzboxes). For that matter, you could buy a THD Hotplate and crank the shit out of your old Marshall and sound better than most of the new amps.

Let's face it, the FUZZBOX was designed to sound like an overdriven tube amp....so why not just overdrive the tube amp and get the tone they were trying to recreate.

[SweetSecrets]

Best destortion....

Ha! A Les Paul and a Marshall stack turned to "eleven"

[SweetSecrets]

Other than that....Boss pedals and Tube Screamer (Ibanez)!!

[SweetSecrets]

Originally posted by Panamark

My faves, Boss DS-1 Boss Heavy Metal -2 and the Ibanez Tube
screamer...

Am I meant for you or what?

[Panamark]

YES ! :)

[BrownSound1]

Geezus....after reading the last two posts I just had "Made for Loving You" by KISS pop into my head. Thanks a fuckin' lot. :D


BTW, the Boss HM-2 is my personal fav....along with a Tube Screamer. Wonder if there is such a thing as a Tube Moaner. :D

[Coyote]

Originally posted by Panamark
Discounting AMP modelling,
what do you think are the best Distortion pedals out there.

As the distortion pedal is probaly the most important effect in
the chain. (For us Hard Rockin MoFo's)

My faves, Boss DS-1 Boss Heavy Metal -2 and the Ibanez Tube
screamer...

Never needed one, I have a Marshall. :D

[kentuckyklira]

If you get the opportunity, check out the Okko Diablo.

If I didn´t already have a rack full of 19" gear I´d get one of those!

[Big Troubles]

Originally posted by Panamark
Discounting AMP modelling,
what do you think are the best Distortion pedals out there.

As the distortion pedal is probaly the most important effect in
the chain. (For us Hard Rockin MoFo's)

My faves, Boss DS-1 Boss Heavy Metal -2 and the Ibanez Tube
screamer...

I have not been playing long enough to have a prof. opinion, but in the year I have been playing, I use the Boss MT. It packs a punch, kick in the high's and low's and voila.

But I also just tend to crank my drive and reverb to get a pretty good "distortion" sound. Its cleaner, but still turns it up some what.

Pedals I barely use are the DD6, Stereo Chorus and MXR 90 shifter. (prob because my amp has all those channels) ;)

I was told a good overdrive beats out any distortion pedal anyways...I guess epending on the sound you are trying to get.

[Terry]

Pro-Co Rat always caught my ear. Useful when living in an apartment and want some distortion without creating a noise ordinance. Still use it.

Had an MXR Distortion + years ago and remembered digging it, so went down and checked out some of the new ones. Had a mind-fuck and didn't bring my amp and axe with me, so I tried out the pedal with a store guitar and amp. Sounded ok. Got it home, messed around with it a few times and it's been gathering dust ever since. Works fine, but just doesn't sound that great.

Best distortion to my ears was always obtained by cranked amps, but can't be bothered playing that loud anymore. Used to have a little Marshall 50-Watt that had the best natural distortion, even better than my 100 watts.

[Hardrock69]

One of the best Marshall amps I ever heard was a 2 X 12 50-watt JCM 800 combo amp I had about 1986. Had to sell it cause I needed money.

Wish I still had it....

[houseofpain]

Dude, I had a 1995 Fender Blues Deluxe Custom. Man the cream from that amp just dripped out. Now I know it's not exactly a gigging amp, but the sweet tones from those orange glowing thingys was pure heaven. But like a dumbass in 1995, the band that actually supported my music addiction was a grunge band, and I needed something that was just dirtier than this nice creamy sounding bluesy amp with the tweed cabinet. That and the pre-amp blew. So I traded it back to the music store and got a (gulp, dare I say this) Fender Stage (read as Solid State piece of crap). I suppose that for a SS amp, it sounds decent. It definitely sounds better than a Peavey Bandit and it will produce some distortion sounds that aren't exactly unpleasant to hear. It has the contour knob on it, which helps the distortion not suck as bad. But I hear what your laying down brother...once you've had your hands on the piece of equiptment by which you judge all others, everything elose makes you cry. Especially if you were stupid enough to let it get away.

I find those Fender Blues Deluxes on Ebay every now and then. One of these days, I'm going to get the balls to ask my wife to let me buy one!

[houseofpain]

oh shit, this is a pedal thread...
Um...I have a Marshall Guv'Nor which I rarely play with, but sounds decent enough. And I like the MXR Wylde Overdrive. I'm like you guys though, the best distortion is your amp's lead channel.

[Matt White]

When not using my jcm 900's lead channel, I use a Rat pedal. I've had it for forever and a day, and I still dig its tone.

[Seshmeister]

Originally posted by The Scatologist
(Although I DO know a use for them that a few guitarists know as well, but it's not used as a distortion ironically)



Ah yes, the old Boss anal plug. Haven't done that for years...

[Nitro Express]

My practice amp is a Sovtek MIG 50 ran through a Marshall 1X12 speaker. I just push it with a DOD 250 overdrive peddle and it sounds great! I also use an Electro Harmonix Double Muff peddle to get more of a Zeppelin thing going. With these two peddles, my rig sounds good at any volume. I can't push the 1x12 too hard because it starts to fart out but for in home practice, it's all you need.

[Turd Fergusson]

http://www.barberelectronics.com/images/Burneq.jpg http://www.barberelectronics.com/burnunit.html

I couldn't afford a new master volume amp right now, but I could afford the $200 for this pedal and I love it. I compared it with a bunch of new and old pedals including an old Tube Screamer and there was no comparison. I run this in front of an early 70s Ampeg V-4 (no master of course) and it gives me 2 channel operation and lots of natural sounding tones. Try it.

TF

[Nitro Express]

I have found you have to match the peddle to the amp. An Electroharmonix Big Muff can sound good or sound like shit depending on the amp you are using. So that's where you have to be careful! It might sound good in the store on the amp you are playing it through and then you get it home and it sounds like shit.

You deffenatly want to check the peddles compatability with your rig. Everything in the signal chain has to match or something might sound like shit.