Distortion pedals

[Sam.Clayton]

I'm looking for a distortion pedal for rock. Right now I have a boss blues driver, which is really just an overdrive pedal that can kinda get into distortion, but i'm looking for something more. I would like a pedal that would be able to cut well through in a band environment and would need to be able to have a large amount of gain. There is no set price point. I am willing to spend as much money as I need to be able to achieve tone perfection. Thanks!

 

[bodia]

Check out some clips of the Bogner Ecstasy. I have a Red, which is killer. Wampler makes some great pedals as well that would be right in your wheelhouse. If you're looking for some good video clips, and well done reviews, head over to youtube and search Brett Kingman. He does awesome pedal reviews, and has tasty chops.

 

[gball]

My experience with dirt boxes (distortion/overdrive/fuzz) is that they are very specific to your rig. The only way to evaluate one is using your guitar, through your amp, with your other pedals - everything else is just opinion and internet sound clips. A good place to start is a store with a varied selection and either take your guitar with you and play through an amp like yours or come as close as possible and make sure they will let you exchange for something else if it sounds like poo when you get it home.

Also, since there are soooooo many dirt boxes on the market you are bound to get just as many opinions about what will work best, but I will throw in my opinion based on your description, and what I think sounds good: Ramble FX Marvel Drive is amazing if you want to cop "dimed Plexi-style" tones, and the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra is a monster that does not only do Sabbath (but does it well). Those are my two favorites right now, but I am sure you will get a lot of great recommendations as a starting point.

 

[László]

I agree with Gball, they're certainly amp specific. But one that I've found works with several amps is worth investigating, the Bogner Burnley. It's a little different from Bogner's other pedals, because it incorporates a transformer designed by Rupert Neve, the famous classic recording console designer, whose work is certainly among the very finest in the world.

Neve consoles are known for their transformers, that color the tone in a good way, and add real solidity and heft to audio passing through them.

On the more conventional side, I can recommend the Fulltone Plimsoul, an excellent distortion pedal that allows you to dial in how "hard" or "soft" you want your clipping to sound. I use both on my pedalboard, and set the Plimsoul for a softer clip, so the Burnley is dialed in for a harder distortion.

Both are really useful, as are other pedals from both makers. Another one to look at is the Suhr Riot. All three of these have plenty of "cut".

As to your hope of achieving tone perfection, well, I'm not sure there is such a thing.

 

[garrett]

Like the other guys said, it'll depend some on your amp. Also depends on what you consider a lot of gain. Are we talking like cranked Marshall, or more? What's your music style?

If you're looking for perfection, prepare yourself for a lifetime of buying, selling, and trading.

I personally like a classic rock type distortion. I've enjoyed the original style Rat pedal in the past. I'm using the Xotic SL Drive right now and have been very happy with it. Gets that big, edgy rock sound out of my Fender amps. A bandmate has the Greer Sucker Punch and that thing slays, man. This guy has been through a ton of pedals over the last few years and it's my favorite so far.

 

[Huggy Love]

I'm going to be keeping an eye on this thread, I May be getting a pedal in the near future to use with a solid state Roland that has suckey distortion, for use slugging it out at bar gigs. For decades I used only the amp for overdrive, pedals pale in comparison to the real sound of overdriven tubes, especially if you have a Mesa. I'm planning on selling it and downsizing to a smaller tube amp but in the meantime I'm gonna be looking at distortion pedals.

These days I read all these funky cool names for the multitude of stompboxes and the vast amount of products is bewildering, so I'll be reading. I did see Garrett mention "the Rat" and I know what that sounds like, a lot of crunch but on the solid state sounding side. Back in my gigging days we would bypass those and others for the "Tube driver" which had the closest sound to a tube amp, but I bet things have changed since then. There's probably better items out there? I'm gonna check out the "sucker punch" online and the other suggestions I read on this thread.

 

[gush]

I have one for sale on vintage rocket. Check it out.

 

[Sam.Clayton]

Oh I am also using a Black Star Ht Stage 60 tube amp. Guitar is a PRS S2 Custom 24

 

[drdoom8793]

Oh I am also using a Black Star Ht Stage 60 tube amp. Guitar is a PRS S2 Custom 24

Just out of curiosity, what's wrong with the gain channel on your amp? I've got a Blackstar HT-5r that I picked up recently and I absolutely love the gain channel on it. IIRC, the gain structure on the HT Stage 60 was pretty much identical to my HT-5r.

That being said, I'm a big fan of the Fulltone OCD. I don't use it very ofter with my amp anymore, but I use it all the time when I play at my church. You can get anything from light bluesy crunch to a heavy cranked Marshall-y sound. Overall, it's a very usable pedal with a good range of tones.

 

[GADonis]

When I bought my Rockett Blue Note I had also played around with an Earthquaker Devices Talons. I thought it did real well in a classic Heavy Metal style. It also seemed to have a pretty usable range of gain levels. It didn't do the "ballsy and bluesy" as well as the Blue Note so it didn't come home with me. But I'd definately check it out again if I was looking for a headbanger pedal. I also used to have a Metal Zone that I liked. They seem to get a fair amount of hate but if you are willing to spend some time twiddling knobs it sounded pretty good with a scooped mids tone. Mine literally went up in smoke. One day I'm playing and I smell an awful aroma and then see smoke coming out of my pedal! That's what happens when you live with a crazy cat lady and cat hair gets into EVERYTHING.

 

[gball]

Just out of curiosity, what's wrong with the gain channel on your amp? I've got a Blackstar HT-5r that I picked up recently and I absolutely love the gain channel on it. IIRC, the gain structure on the HT Stage 60 was pretty much identical to my HT-5r.

That being said, I'm a big fan of the Fulltone OCD. I don't use it very ofter with my amp anymore, but I use it all the time when I play at my church. You can get anything from light bluesy crunch to a heavy cranked Marshall-y sound. Overall, it's a very usable pedal with a good range of tones.

Yeah, those Blackstars have plenty of gain on tap. I revise my recommendation - all you need is a really good overdrive/boost. Get a Timmy and never look back.

 

[Whitecat]

The Suhr Riot in front of a clean amp will cause your jaw to drop. I don't understand how they do it but they do. Face-melting!

 

[jeztone]

I used to use the Blackstar HT Dual. But it is a bit cheaply made regarding footswitches etc. now I use a Goosoniqueworx 7thvn. There a bit obscure but the hi gain is a meaty slab of tone & the low gain is a really warm dynamic drive. It's JFET & I run mine at 12v DC.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rShfcQpgxF4

 

[dsiew]

I used to own a MI Audio Crunch Box and loved it. Since then they have released the Super Crunch Box which looks and sounds even better!

 

[CVS]

I use a Rockett Blue note as well on classic rock and blues songs (and I have been happy with it for years). Not sure how well it will work on heavy metal type songs

 

[toothace]

I agree with Les on the Bogner Burnley...it sounds amazing! Also try the newer Klon, the KTR. It's a bit of a wait(about 6 months for me) unless you are willing to pay double from an auction site. I've only had it a couple weeks so it's still in the "what does this knob do" stage, but so far the tones are killer!

 

[squirrel211]

For Marshall-style distortion, I'd also check out Menatone King of the Britains, and Barber Direct Drive. I find them to land right where OD transitions into Distorion land, and they should both stack very well with you Blues Driver. I have those 2, plus a Plimsoul, Menatone Red Snapper, and an A.R.C. Klone on my board; I stack the Direct Drive (which has some compression) into the Red Snapper (which is pretty compression-less) for really good results, and also the Klone into the King of the Britains for tasty tones as well.

As for pedals that have more gain, a lot of my answer depends on whether or not you're doing any palm muting. For tight, chugging distortion, (don't laugh!) I found the old D.O.D. Grunge pedal to be really great! I have a RAT from 1997, the good chip era, and the Grunge pedal was WAY tighter with more gain. I could also turn down the gain and stack it into my old Vox Valvetone for a smoother more singing gain.

For non-muting, fuzz type sounds, I really like the Basic Audio Tri Ram. I have an original Russian Big Muff that sounds awesome when playing by myself, but it gets lost in a mix; no mids. I had to wildly reEQ my amp in order to get even passable results. The Tri Ram has a mids knob and it works like a charm! Also, being a fuzz, it cleans up pretty well!