recommend me a good distortion pedal?

[Brave.Archangel]

I've been playing about a year (mostly acoustic) and I wanna get a good distortion pedal for my crappy stratocaster and marshal amp... I guess it doesnt really matter the type of guitar or amp for now, but I want something that sounds good distortion wise.
I'm a big fan of the type of distortion that doesnt sound like killswitch engage.. you know, that metallicy metal zone pedal type thing. I'm looking for something along the lines of katatonia and opeth (even though i guess the atmosphere of their music really adds to the distortion texture)
i'm thinking about the damage control demonizer cuz thats what anders uses but I don't wanna be a copy cat...

any suggestions from you guitarists?

 

[m0rtis]

try Boss' DS1, DS2 and Proco Rat2

maybe Metal Zone (MT2) from Boss.


but you gotta try those pedals on your own =) Dont just take consensus and buy it without trying


I am using Boss SD2 - Dual Overdrive pedal for distortion purposes. Sounds really nice for me since i dont use much gain in my tones.

 

[strangedays]

Ive always been seeking the same sounds just for my own fun really.

Katatonia use MATAMPS, basically classic hand wired orange amps and the sound they get is from that. The lead tones and effects are from the Boss GT effects pedals which can sound crap through a cheap amp.


I've finally gotten close but you need a tube amp, if you have a solid state amp, you will not get katatonias sound.

I have a marshall JCM 800 and a seymour duncan twin tube, and I can tell you now that up loud it can sound just as good.

Katatonia amp sound is classic distortion up loud, its not actually very high gain stuff (ie its actually not got much distortion in there compaired to todays nu metal stuff) its just pushing the amps drive hard to get a big sound, Jimi Hendrix used to be a fan of the same thing.

If you listen to them live on the new DVD you can hear that its just a big fan midrange sound, but not really that distorted. Thats the sound I love -- FAT!!

 

[affinityband]

The marshall Guv'nor is a pretty decent pedal, you get this great clear distortion that gives a hearty punch.

 

[Brave.Archangel]

Ive always been seeking the same sounds just for my own fun really.

Katatonia use MATAMPS, basically classic hand wired orange amps and the sound they get is from that. The lead tones and effects are from the Boss GT effects pedals which can sound crap through a cheap amp.


I've finally gotten close but you need a tube amp, if you have a solid state amp, you will not get katatonias sound.

I have a marshall JCM 800 and a seymour duncan twin tube, and I can tell you now that up loud it can sound just as good.

Katatonia amp sound is classic distortion up loud, its not actually very high gain stuff (ie its actually not got much distortion in there compaired to todays nu metal stuff) its just pushing the amps drive hard to get a big sound, Jimi Hendrix used to be a fan of the same thing.

If you listen to them live on the new DVD you can hear that its just a big fan midrange sound, but not really that distorted. Thats the sound I love -- FAT!!

absolutely. interesting stuff the sound world is. im new to it. it's interesting katatonias sound and equipment isnt your generic "metal" type stuff. Tube amps I assume are a lot more expensive and high quality?
so you have that JCM 800 and the seymour duncan twin tube (a preamp that gets a regular amp to sound like a tube amp?)
and can you please explain to me exactly what GAIN is in the sound world? and what effect more gain vs less gain?

thank you!

 

[Hobo]

If i may recomend a fairly cheap and fairly good sounding sollution, I´d say go for a good amp with built in distortion.
I have a Laney top that kicks arse, and it only cost me some 400€ for a awesome sound.
(which i know is expensive for distortion, but hey, you need an amp anyway, heh )
It is a half tube model (dont know what it is called in english) with tube pre-amp in it. (dont know how it works.. but it does..)

I know also that laney makes combo amps with the same sound that will cost you even less, and still be a good amp you can live with quite a while.

In general I think that amp-distortion tends to sound better than pedal-dist.. but its all personal

 

[Skaldir]

GAIN is in the sound world? and what effect more gain vs less gain?

thank you!

Gain is the degree of the distortion. Less gain, less distortion.
You should have a gain knob on your Marshall amp.

 

[strangedays]

All amps are a bit different, but most have a similar set up, a pre amp and a power amp. Generally most of the sound shaping is done at the pre amp stage with the power amp providing the volume.

However power amps when pushed give a great powerfull driven sound, hard to describe unless you get to play with it yourself.

The gain on most pre amps allows you to push the pre amp tubes into that crunchy sound, or on solid state amps usually its a bunch of transistors/diodes - a far less creamy roar sound, more fizzy, not necessary that bad but not my cup of tea.

Now combine the 2 and you can get a nice roar with a lot of power.

Theres so much more to it than that, like how the EQ works differently on tube amps and a bunch of other things.

On my marshall JCM 800 I have placed the seymour pedal on the effects loop, now this comes out after the pre amp - smooths over the pre amp sound to make it sound more "vintage" and then its back in before the power amp, therefore I can drive the sound harder into the power amp stage- to be honest it was by luck that I found it gave me a similar sound to the matamp that Katatonia use, and means I am not in too much of a rush to spend over £1200.

The guvnor pedal can do a similar thing, but works with transistors - still a good pedal just a bit sharper sounding (I own both but dont use the guvnor much anymore)


Basically my advice is get a resonable valve amp that sounds good to you and go from there, you can play about with one and get much better sounds than out of a solid state amp, and if you get an old second hand one like a marshall, in some cases you can get as good an amp as something worth 2 to 3 times more new - and sometimes with better parts as they are all cutting corners these days.

 

[BlueSky]

I'd personally say it depends on what your aim is. If you're more into finding unique sounds by tweaking different effects go with some pedals, If thats your aim try and find a multi effects processors such as this board in your price range because there is so much you can do, and learn from them with the right amount of tweaking.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Boss-GT8-Guitar-Multi-Effects-Processor?sku=151422

But if you want to become a guitarists guitarist then play the majority of the time on an acoustic because it's a lot harder to hide your mistakes on an acoustic, and it forces you to really play to sound good then when you feel like playing electric you'll find it so much easier.

I say do both, but try and understand the instrument itself at least for a few years the majority of the time.

 

[Katatonic89]

I have a boss gt-6 and I can never get a distortion sound that Im pleased with. Does anyone else have a gt-6,3,8 that can recomend some settings? And I cant get the acoustic sim to sound good either.

 

[Phoenix5]

I had a Line 6 Pod-XT that I loved.

 

[BlueSky]

I have a boss gt-6 and I can never get a distortion sound that Im pleased with. Does anyone else have a gt-6,3,8 that can recomend some settings? And I cant get the acoustic sim to sound good either.

I don't use pedals for distortion, and always bypass the pre amp so nope. Acoustic sims always sound too thin.

 

[CF87]

I'm running a Line 6 Dr. Distorto module. I have an old Ampeg solid state head that sounds like shit past 2 and when playing with drums would be doomed without it. I still do not get my ideal tone, but can always add to it in the future

"The Dr. Distorto Module from Line 6 delivers classic, full-bodied distortion tones and gives you the ability to achieve incredible sustain at any distortion level using an innovative harmonic feedback circuit. The feedback switch turns the distortion circuit on and off. When off it disables other controls allowing you to use the Dr. Distorto effects pedal for distortion only. A Sustain switch gives you a choice of sustain on the note played or sustain an octave above the note played. A Rise knob adjusts the length of time it takes for sustain to begin and a Fall knob sets the duration. A Blend knob adjusts sustain volume. Other controls include a 3-way gate switch (off, mild, and clamp), level, tone, and drive.

All of the ToneCore modules can be placed in either mono or stereo ToneDock stompboxes allowing you to collect the modules you want and swap modules as needed (See recommended acccessories on this page)."

I use to have a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal and this thing is ten times better especially when you're running through a solid state which sounds like shit especially if it's old and does not digitally emulate a tube amp.

 

[glasscutter]

I recommend you try Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde v2. It hums considerably less than the older version. I don't know how it reacts with
cheap amp or guitar, though. And I use it with a compressor and an EQ, so the range of tones is more varied.
MXR also makes quite passable distortions.

 

[gumtree]

I'm after a new pedal myself, and I hear really good things about the boss GT-8 but it's way out of my price range.
Has anyone tried a Boss ME-50? A shop here has one for a decent price and I'm after something better than behringer stomp boxes

I have a very good quality amp (Laney GH100L in top of a (blue) Marshall 30th anniverasry quad), so I don't need it to make a crappy amp sound good, but to make an awesome amp even better.

 

[myownsilence]

(ive been posting under strangedays my old sign in name for some reason)

I recently sold my JCM 800 to my guitarest in my band and bought an orange amp, both amps are great I just wanted something a little closer to the matamp sound.

However I have realised the way a distortion pedal works really depends on your amp.

I've tried the Demonizer .. ive even tried asking Anders about it but i guess he's quite busy at the moment to respond (its good that they make an effort to talk to us about things at all!). Problem with distortion pedals in front of amps is I find they crunch up and go really muddy sounding if you are not carefull, and the gain can swallow up your sound. However go the other way too much and it goes thin and fizzy sounding.

I also have used my seymour duncan twin tube, and I have a tube screamer (ibanez.. great pedal). They all give idfferent outcomes each with its own flavour. Personally I would always try it first before buying. Its really a pick and mix process and I know the usual view is that everyones taste is diifferent, but also a number of pedals will just sound shit in front of the wrong amp and if you like that then you need your ears checking cos your tone will not cut it live - ie a solo will vanish and you will feel like a muppet trying to play with little volume.

Im still searching, I love my new Orange amp, and i can get really close to katatonias sound, but i still find matching pedals to amp a tricky process and only when you are playing regularly live do i think you will appreciate what your requirements will be.