| Generally, you're not going to want to use a pedal for the really "heavy" sounding stuff. Pedals, while great for leads, or for different shades of clipping, tend to obscure the pure chunk and grind of a really good "heavy" rig, at least in my experience.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Rivera Knucklehead or Laney GH50. Both of those all-tube heads can be had for extremely reasonable prices- and they will go head-to-head with virtually any high-gainer under a mic. The GH50 is really saturated and punishing, while the Knucklehead covers a wide range from great cleans to gnarly crunch to all out savagery.
If I were you, I'd get a Rivera Knucklehead 100 and also look into the Duotone (by Hughes and Kettner) as it is another truly phenomenal amp.
A Bogner 4x12 is usually ideal for these rigs, but Diezel also makes a great cab. Rivera's are also perfectly respectable and I prefer them greatly to virtually any other "non-boutique" cab.
As others have said, ease up on the gain a bit. That doesn't mean your tone needs to sound like a bag of wuss, but you should leave room for all of the other instruments, and consider the different high-end and low-end information that the guitars will be contending with. A lot of the gut wrenching tone of the guitars on modern records has to do with how well the bass guitar is recorded and how the cymbals and drums are treated. |