I've been on your quest before and there's no easy answer. Basically the tone your shooting for, is the sound of the old cheap 80s/90s casio keyboard 'Distorted Guitar' patch. In NIN early albums he was quoted as saying "We started with a real tight/heavy 'Pantera' tone, then ran it through both hardware and software eqs and amp modelers until we had something that sounded digital and electronic" He also used/still uses, a lot of Zoom multieffects, simply because they were cheaper and easier for him to acquire on his then budget. The BOSS metal zone will always be the most versatile stand alone dist pedal, imo. But, alas, I've long since graduated to the epic distortion of tube amps.
That being said about the recording end of it, you wanna know where to go w your live rig...
Well, after having seen more than a few Darkwave and Industrial bands live and being a guitarist of 16 years I've noticed two typical setups.
1)Amp Stack - (My personal choice) Most the bands that have that 'digital fuzz' on their records actually have a live 'MESA/Marshall' sound that would make Joe Satriani proud. This includes Marylin Manson, Razed in Black, KMFDM, Pig, Front Line Assembly, Ministry, etc.
In my rack, I have two 31 band eqs in the effects loop (Laney VH100R All Tube Pre and Post Amps) that I can toggle with an A/B switch, one tuned for that digital fuzz, the other for a tighter more bottom-end punch.
I dont even use dist pedals anymore, it's really about the eq. You're on the right track w a 31 band, cuz you can get that huge mid scooped guitar sound and still bring in specific mid freqeuncies to create a well produced or mangled digital fuzz sound without ever touching a peice of recording hardware or Zoom pedal.
Also, different speaker sizes help, I run 2x12 and 1x15. Though 2x12 and 2x10 sounds great, as well as 2x10 and 1x15, allowing you to hear and tune/eq more frequencies than your typical 12 inch cab setup.
Then, there's typical live rig #
2) Using the PA system as your power amp and speakers for a more 'home stereo' and hence, thinner, more digital/electronic sound, live. Rather than a really loud or mic'd amp. This is usually done by going from the guitar into dist pedal, then rackmount preamp or high gain amp head, then eq(s), then line out to PA.
Always remember there's no right or wrong when it comes to tones and FX. *Experiment!* Try one of those setups i described above or variations of both, like have your amp and cab(s) dialed in for a tight sound and mic the cab or line out to an eq and/or PA with totally different settings. Keep reading threads and guitar magazine interviews, you'll get there! ^_^
There's only a handful of bands that have sold more than about 1000 - 5000 copies of each album world wide."
