Best "backup" distortion pedal

[natasinfected]

Cheers! Let's say you're going on tour with your Death Metal band and you are sure some venues will not have the backline you expect (let's say 5150 or any kickass tube distortion).

Your setup is:
guitar -> amp
So there's no need for delays, reverb, comps...

You will need to plug something to the provided amp in order to get a decent tone... Which pedal will you use in cases like this?

POD, Vamp, Tech21 GT2 are some pedals I got recommendation, however I haven't used any of them. What do you recommend?

 

[guitarguru777]

please dont take what I am about to say as being a dick ....

This forum concentrates more on Recording then live performance. While we do discuss it from time to time its not the major topic of discussion as the 2 are very different animals.

That being said ....

AxeFX everything else is shit. If you cant afford one then you have to suffer shit tone.

If the venues you are playing dont provide TUBE amps then they need to piss off and you need to find better venues to play.

Why are you not using your own gear?

 

[natasinfected]

Thanks. I do know the focus of this forum is recording rather than live sound, however there's a bunch of knowledge here that may be very usefull, anyways thanks for the reminder!

I can't use my gear in that situation as promoters will not pay the extra money so we can put 2 5150 heads in the airplane (plus all the stuff we may need to ensure the heads will travel safety).

I will check the AxeFX, thanks for the tip!

 

[Charlie E.]

I've used a pod x3 with decent success when playing out of town. It's also pretty decent for recording direct so you could use it in other circumstances too.
Of course the Axe Fx is getting lots of hype lately so you might wanna look into that if you can afford it.
Also, if I'm not mistaken, Mikael from Opeth uses a Boss GT-10 live.

 

[Full_Tilt]

Out of the gear you mentioned I'd probably say go with the Tech 21 PSA 1 as Ive just bought a good second hand PSA-1 you cant buy them new any more but it pisses over any other amp modeler under £300, I used to own a POD but it never floated my boat I just think they sound nasty , I wouldn't rule out the X3 though, from the demo's and YouTube vids it seems to be much better than the previous versions with dual amp blending etc .
The thing is this is an expensive market if you want to get the best sounds (£300 +) other wise your just limited to 2nd rate pod and Vamp set ups but they can still sound usable just not as good as a dedicated amp .
The Axe FX is obviously more powerful than the POD X3 but its not the sort of thing I'd feel comfortable traveling around with (too valuable) more of a studio FX IMO .
As a long shot you could try out the blackstar HT pedal range ,I'd go for the HT-DistX "pure valve filth" which are actually true valve preamps in a stomp size box (ive got one of those ) actually I recon this might be the sort of thing your really on about but not sure ?! They go for about £100 S/H on ebay here in the U.K

 

[Metal Overload]

Krank Distortus Maximus

 

[xFkx]

the Tech21 GT2 is the only one that was usable into a clean channel, maybe the pod would work too, didn't try that.

 

[Scottxx]

Biyang X-Drive

Product Description:

In the 70s, Maxon used the JRC4558 chipset and successfully created a much sought after overdrive pedal. Soon after, Ibanez, Boss and other pedal makers started to make use of this chipset and made JRC4558 so famous. With technology, we can use even better quality JRC4558 chipsets to get a better sound!


OD-8 biggest breakthrough in technology is that the OD-8 allows the user to change the chipset to create different tone he or she desires without soldering and the expertise of professionals, just like a changing a processor of a computer.

http://www.biyang.com.cn/Products.php?id=68

 

[amarshism]

if the promoters wont pay for you to fly the gear then dont play the show... either they ship your gear, or hire you gear of similar specs upon arrival

 

[guitarguru777]

if the promoters wont pay for you to fly the gear then dont play the show... either they ship your gear, or hire you gear of similar specs upon arrival

Yup Yup ... here in the states you can rent a 5150 / 6505 or a Marshall DSL for $75 a day from SIR .... so if they wont spring $150 then they are pieces of shit.

Oh and if you come play LA or Vegas let me know. Buy me some beers and you can use my 5150 ....lol

 

[Fredrik-Ablaze]

I use a Boss GT8 for live gigs since its a bit too expensive for me to fly my Invader everywhere, just plug it into the FX return of whatever amp is at the venue and I think it works out great, plus I get a tuner for "free".

If you just want a straight up distorsion I'd go with a blackstar pedal.

 

[jangoux]

Theres a brazilian pedal that's fucking awesome... Empower Burn Box. It is the closest i've seen to a tube tone from a pedal.

 

[MatrixClaw]

I'd say a POD X3 Live if you don't have the cash for an Axe-FX. You won't even need the venue's amp, you could just plug it straight into the board if need be.

It's small and portable, has a ton of effects and has all the footswitches built in, so you won't have to buy a separate expensive MIDI controller. You can even plug two instruments into it and run completely different models, so it could double as the other guitarist's or your bassist's backup as well. The advantage of modeling in this situation vs. just a distortion pedal is that with a distortion, if it's a low gain amp, it's still going to sound like non-metal amp, just with a lot of gain, with the POD, you can run it through the effects loop and bypass the preamp, or directly into the PA and have the modeling of an actual high gain amp (preamp, poweramp and cabinet).

 

[natasinfected]

That Openhaus pedal sounds amazing! I have to try one, thanks for the tips guys!

 

[aortizjr]

I currently use an RP500 or GSP1101 for live use. Saves my back a ton compared to dragging around my ENGL or Mesa. Especially to crappy bars in dangerous parts of town. I run them either with a Carvin BX500, or a Crate Powerblock into a beat-up Randall 4x12.

They work for me really well. Don't care much for the POD's tone.

For single pedals. The Sansamp GT2 I am a big fan of. Or the Rocktron Silver Dragon, damn I regret selling that thing.

Tech21 and Rocktron have some new pedals out too that I have yet to try.