Need your opinions of dist. pedals

[philiprst]

Just a quick comment on the Metal Zone. I've noticed that people either love or hate this pedal. I owned one for several years and, in my opinion, is produces tones that sound similar to 80-90s Marshalls. It doesn't do the scooped Mesa tone very well. That's probably the reason opinions of this pedal are so polarized. In any case, users of this pedal had some of my favorite lead tones: Gary Moore and Steve Hackett.

As far as the original question is concerned I agree with other people that a multieffects would be your best option for practice. If you just need a distortion tone then any of the many Tube Screamer clones would be work. Maybe you should also try the old DS-1 from Boss. It is not very expensive and is quite simple compared to all the modern stuff but it sounds great.

 

[Bierschinken]

Oh dear lots of replies
thank you guys!

JohnnyD19: I think the Radial doesn´t give me enough distortion for the heavy stuff. But I´ll try that.

TNT: Money ain´t a poblem No serious, I´m looking for a real goo pedal and no bargain that will do for the money.

greeko: I´ve got an V-Amp. All those knobss and stuff is just too much. I just need an overdrive. So I don´t want a multieffect in general.

Rossie: The Crunchbox looks pretty nice. Will I get heavy tones out of it?
I´ll try the MI audio stuff, they have some cool looking things.

fbecir: You´re so right man. Playing the pedals before buying is always the best, but in my region there are not many dealers, especially when it comes to boutiquestuff I often have no chance of testing em before buying
But it should be a "better" pedl than average because I´ll take it to sessions etc. so it will be played at higher volumes.

matty: I had a monkey a while ago. It was nice but it lacked distortion, but it´s nice for boosting to get screaming lead tones.

Spud: The cheap Thomann-stuff really sucks. Sure they are cheap but they are also bad sounding.

philiprst: TS´s don´t give me enough distortion. They´ra perfect for blues and classic rock stuff but beyond they won´t do the job.

Okay my list of "hotties" now contains:
MI Audio - Crunchbox
Fulltone - OCD
Okko - Diablo

Can anyone do some soundclips with the crunchbox?
Or has anyone further tips?

Thx!
Swen

 

[Spudmurphy]

Spud: The cheap Thomann-stuff really sucks. Sure they are cheap but they are also bad sounding.

Swen

Shame about that - I was going to get one to see what it was like.
Have you actually heard one?

If it's distortion you want then the Rat is a unit that has been out a long time and has a good track record. The Boss pedals are very good too.

I see that the price of Pod 2's are low. Also you could get a Pod XT for a good price
I have one and it is a great piece of kit with loads of effects to dial in.

I have just got a Seymour Duncan pickup booster which although shouldn't be considered as a distortion unit, will thicken single coil pickups or just give you a great volume boost when you kick it in.

 

[roburado]

But one thing for sure, I personally am no fan of ANY of them nor do I use ANY of them - EVER!! Pure Valves all the way!!!!!!!

Rock on!!

I'm mostly in agreement with TNT. My favorite distortion pedal is the footswitch on my Mesa.

That being said, I do have a Maxon SD9 that I like. My buddy gave me an old Boss Blues Driver that he has no use for. Personally, I like it. I have been meaning to send them in to Keeley for a little mod work. I'd like to get the Freak Fuzz mod on the Blues Driver.

I might consider the Keeley Modded Boss DS-1.

 

[Spudmurphy]

I'm mostly in agreement with TNT. My favorite distortion pedal is the footswitch on my Mesa.

That being said, I do have a Maxon SD9 that I like. My buddy gave me an old Boss Blues Driver that he has no use for. Personally, I like it. I have been meaning to send them in to Keeley for a little mod work. I'd like to get the Freak Fuzz mod on the Blues Driver.

I might consider the Keeley Modded Boss DS-1.

big +1 on the boss blues driver.

 

[roburado]

Even without the Keeley Mod, I like the Blues Driver. The Keeley Mod just gives me more of what I like about the Blues Driver.

 

[Jonny Dubai]

I am going for something from Japan

A Sobbat Drivebreaker 3.

Check out the Sobbat website for details.

J

 

[dougiefresh]

I like the Xotic BB preamp - very transparent, it doesn't color the sound of my amp.

 

[fbecir]

That being said, I do have a Maxon SD9 that I like.

Hello Roburado
I think the Maxon SD9 is a reissue of an Ibanez model (that was made by Maxon ...). I own an original Ibanez OD9. Great pedal (hard to find I believe). The sound is great, but it is noisy, so for studio or high volume gig, it is a problem. Did Maxon resolved this problem with the reissue ? If so, did they kill also the GOOD sound ?

 

[Rossie]

Rossie: The Crunchbox looks pretty nice. Will I get heavy tones out of it?
I´ll try the MI audio stuff, they have some cool looking things.

Oh yes it can! Mainly with a booster though.
I've tried it with a Keeley DS1, it can get darn heavy.
The Tube Zone too, but a total different kinda heavy, a tighter low-end.

On the note of Keeleys, my current main distortion is the Keeley DS1 boosted by the Keeley BD2. A very nice and fat saturated metal tone

I would say go try both the Crunch Box and Tube Zone and see which one you like more.

 

[MrMusashi]

some of my fellow guitarists like the maxons better than the ibanez.. say its got more bottom end.. all depends on if you like bottom end or not. a small keeley mod on either and you should be in tone heaven

you could also check out stinkfoots page on mods.. nice info there
.: diy home :.

MrM

 

[JMB27]

I like the Xotic pedals - AC Boost or BB Pre-amp

and, also a big fan of the J-Drive by Diamond Pedals

 

[morsecode]

I have to support my fellow Canucks here by recommending either the Radial Tonebone Trimode (or Classic) or the Plexitube (Hot British).

I personally prefer the subtleness and the purity of the Classic/Trimode as doesn't take away from the tone. I have sustain for days on the lead channel of my Trimode. I believe that Luke and EJ have this in their setups.

But the British has a bit more of the heavy metal raunchiness that you may be looking for. It also has a pure tone to it as well and doesn't sound phony. I believe that Slash and Kirk Hammet have or have had the Hot British on their pedal boards as well.

Check out the Radial website for some sound samples.

 

[roburado]

Hello Roburado
I think the Maxon SD9 is a reissue of an Ibanez model (that was made by Maxon ...). I own an original Ibanez OD9. Great pedal (hard to find I believe). The sound is great, but it is noisy, so for studio or high volume gig, it is a problem. Did Maxon resolved this problem with the reissue ? If so, did they kill also the GOOD sound ?

Yeah. I believe Maxon made some of those old Ibanez pedals. The SD9 doesn't really give me a lot of noise. Just a little bit. I think it still sounds good. But, I don't really use a lot of gain with it. Just a moderate amount. With my Mesa, I get a good high-gain sound out of the amp. So, I use the SD9 for less distorted tones. Think along the lines of "Don't Take Me Alive" by Steely Dan.