Favorite distortion pedals ? - Gearslutz.com

Gearslutz.com

All Advertisers
Go Back   Gearslutz.com > The Forums > So much gear, so little time!


Favorite distortion pedals ?

New Reply New Reply Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 30th March 2009   #1
Gear addict
 
Brett 123's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: London
Posts: 436

Thread Starter
Favorite distortion pedals ?

Hi ,

Was wandering what peoples favorite distortion pedals were ?
I'm particulaly interested in , the guitar sounds of the strokes first album and also the Yeah yeah yeah's first album , if anybody knows what they are ?

Thanks ,

Brett .
Brett 123 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 30th March 2009   #2
Gear maniac
 
Mr. Man's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2006
Location: San Diego
Posts: 288

Lovepedal Death of a Vox


Love it!
Mr. Man is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30th March 2009   #3
Lives for gear
 
Cameron Johnson's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2008
Location: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Posts: 886

Send a message via MSN to Cameron Johnson Send a message via Skype™ to Cameron Johnson
The VOX Top Boost pedal, or whatever it's called, lol. It's the pedal that simulates the top boost channel on an AC30.
__________________
"I don't care whether it was recorded in the digital or analog realm - using the best or the worst in gear. To be honest, I've heard plenty of good and bad from either... The question for me at the end of the day is: does it sound GOOD?"
Cameron Johnson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30th March 2009   #4
Lives for gear
 
lord_bunny's Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2006
Location: Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,280

Send a message via MSN to lord_bunny
Line 6 Dist. Modeler.

I owned a few of the pedals it covers, and I've never missed them since. The important thing for me though, is to use an amp either cranked ala fender deluxe on 6 or something or whatever it takes to get some real tube thing happening before you use the pedal.
__________________
Adam Miner:
Songwriter, producer, mixer, studio owner
www.adamminer.com
lord_bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30th March 2009   #5
Lives for gear
 
Joined: May 2004
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 2,979

good old Big Muff Pi.. I've got 2, a late-70's original and a green russian.. they sound different, but both great.

Everything else I have is homebrew, sorry.
biggator6 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30th March 2009   #6
Gear maniac
 
Mr. Man's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2006
Location: San Diego
Posts: 288

Just remembered another great pedal for distortion:

Fulltone | OCD
Mr. Man is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30th March 2009   #7
Gear nut
 
Joined: Jan 2009
Location: kansas
Posts: 112

+1 on the big muff pi. i've got 2, one original and another reissue with the feedback mod (it's fun sometimes).

i also really like the danelectric daddy 'o overdrive... it's cheap but it actually sounds pretty good. using it as a boost before a tube amp is where it really shines.
chuchurocka is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30th March 2009   #8
Lives for gear
 
tropicalhotdog's Avatar
 
Joined: Mar 2008
Location: NYC
Posts: 531

+1 on the OCD. Fulltone makes great stuff.

For me the best pedal varies, depending on what I'm using it for.

When we're rehearsing and I need different distortions at low volumes, I like the ToadWorks Death Rattle - it has two very different types of distortion and a boost, so it's very flexible. OCD is a good workhorse too.

For recording, my favorite interesting distortion was plugging my guitar into a Tascam 2488 Portastudio, turning everything up to 10, and then plugging that directly into the board. Sounded like brain synapses sizzling.

For live, it's a Marshall amp on 10. Then I add a Boss Super Feeback Distortion pedal for real ugly painfull stuff. That through a wah pedal will give you ungodly noises. That chain has been serving me well on stage for 20+ years. Subtlety isn't really my thing in guitar tones though.

But I am on the waiting list for an Analogman King of Tone. Unlcear which will come first: the pedal or my AARP card.
tropicalhotdog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30th March 2009   #9
Gear maniac
 
aidyhall's Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2004
Location: London
Posts: 209

I read that a lot of the Strokes first record was done with a Visual Sound Jeckyl and Hyde pedal ... don't know if it's true, but the pedal certainly is great. It's one of the mainstay's here ...

Klon Centaur is amazing, if you can find one. Keeley-modded Tubescreamer rocks, too ...
__________________
Adrian Hall
Producer/Engineer/Mixer

www.adrian-hall.com
aidyhall is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 30th March 2009   #10
Gear maniac
 
Martin Dubka's Avatar
 
Joined: Jul 2008
Location: London, UK
Posts: 201

The old ProCo Rat. Not the massive one, but the slightly older small one with larger knobs. That isn't guitar effects snobbery by the way - I'm not a guitarist. The model I have sounds nothing like the one available today. Apparently it's a different opamp or something. Looks like this...

http://www.pisotones.com/RAT/mbello/imgs/RAT.jpg

you DON'T want the Rat 2 with smaller knobs and sloped top.
Martin Dubka is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30th March 2009   #11
Lives for gear
 
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: St. Louis MO
Posts: 2,636

It's more of a metal sound but can do much more than that but my favorite at the moment is the EH Metal Muff. Very flexible pedal and great for more modern tones.
Jonboy79 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #12
Gear nut
 
Halexx's Avatar
 
Joined: Mar 2008
Location: Montréal
Posts: 128

Mesa Boogie Rocket Bottle overdrive.

No transistor, all-tube at full voltage : a pre-amp in a pedal, in reality.

You may never buy another overdrive again...

Halexx is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #13
Gear nut
 
Dav Iridium's Avatar
 
Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 120

Boss MD-2 Mega Distortion.
Crowther Hot Cake.
Nobels Overdrive.
Bixonic Expandora.
Tech 21 XXL.
__________________
If it's not fat, it can f**k off.
Dav Iridium is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #14
Gear interested
 
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 2

Forget about Strikes guitar distortion, they use lots of eq, sometimes it hurts my ears

Favorite
Sansamp classic
lots of knobs but when you are used to it plug into a power amp, amp or boogie one!
sound like heaven

Like said before procoRAT is good but you will need a pretty good amp system or eq pedal
guelfo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #15
Lives for gear
 
swafford's Avatar
 
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Black Gnat, Kentucky
Posts: 1,441

Fulltone Fulldrive 2
swafford is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #16
Lives for gear
 
Kronos147's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2008
Location: Burbank, California
Posts: 1,492

Quote:
Originally Posted by tropicalhotdog View Post
+1 on the OCD. Fulltone makes great stuff.
+2 for OCD
Kronos147 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #17
Gear maniac
 
Black Dirt's Avatar
 
Joined: Mar 2009
Location: Southwest NY State
Posts: 202

perscription yardbox
zvex fuzz factory
homebrew germania and power screamer and ufo
Black Dirt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #18
Lives for gear
 
flail19's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 760

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Man View Post
Just remembered another great pedal for distortion:

Fulltone | OCD
+1......simply beautiful....
flail19 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #19
Gear interested
 
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 4

Boss ' Metal Zone MT-2' is a current fave. I laugh every time I plug it in.

This pedal has a lot of eq -- and I mean a lot. The tonal range is extreme.

When I need to go way over-the-top, this pedal is a studio go-to.

Cheers

steven drake
steven drake is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #20
Gear addict
 
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 480

The Marshall Guv'nor is an excellent distortion pedal which really works great with Marshall amps of which I have two.
357mag is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #21
Lives for gear
 
elambo's Avatar
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: Up here
Posts: 6,181

My two favorites are the Cornish G2 and BJF Emerald Green Distortion Machine. The Tim gets an honorable mention but is technically more of a clean boost which happens to sound more like an incredible distortion pedal.
elambo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #22
Gear maniac
 
Farm sounds's Avatar
 
Joined: Jan 2003
Location: Wisconsin,USA
Posts: 268

I got a foxrox Zim which is 2 channels. Channel A is similiar to a Rat, and B is a tubescreamer like od. There are cards you can swap out for different flavors too.
Farm sounds is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #23
Lives for gear
 
BLueROom's Avatar
 
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: SF, CA
Posts: 1,411

Xotic Effects BB Preamp kills! The most natural sounding distortion pedal I've used.
BLueROom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #24
Gear Head
 
Joined: Dec 2008
Location: Sydney
Posts: 32

Blackstone Appliances MOSFET Distortion Pedal

If you like REAL TONE and not a box that will destroy the tone of your guitar, there is only one choice: The BLACKSTONE APPLIANCES MOSFET Distortion from New York.

Blackstone Appliances - guitar overdrive devices
benjamin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #25
Lives for gear
 
rectifier's Avatar
 
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: Belgica
Posts: 1,756

And so there you have it, the twice yearly GS competition to name a favourite distortion pedal that no one else has mentioned yet in the same thread.

Good luck

rectifier is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #26
Gear maniac
 
sweetmojo's Avatar
 
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: The City of Angels
Posts: 172

Quote:
Originally Posted by BLueROom View Post
Xotic Effects BB Preamp kills! The most natural sounding distortion pedal I've used.
+1 for the BB!!! Rocks!!! Smoothest, warmest distortion/OD I've heard! For a bit more crunchy/plexi screamer type pedal I really like the Maxon OD-9.
sweetmojo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #27
Lives for gear
 
nomoreflakes's Avatar
 
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 653

Red Snapper (menatone)
nomoreflakes is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #28
Gear addict
 
Joined: May 2007
Location: London, UK
Posts: 366

Lovetone Big Cheese, MXR Distortion+ (Script Logo), Green or Black Sovtek Big Muff are among my favourites.
TapeOpAl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #29
Moderator
 
sniperschool's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 4,686

yeah the big cheese is nice
going to say at the moment it is either a tube damage control 'solid metal'
or a lovetone brown sauce
__________________
Souviens-toi que tu vas mourir...
sniperschool is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st March 2009   #30
84K
Lives for gear
 
84K's Avatar
 
Joined: Oct 2004
Location: right coast
Posts: 3,857

Dirty Boy Pedals
84K is offline   Reply With Quote
New Reply New Reply Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook  Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter  Submit Thread to LinkedIn LinkedIn 



Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread Thread starter Forum Replies Last Post
Overdrive and Distortion Pedals theGeek instruments, guitar, bass, amps 39 25th July 2008 08:37 AM
Best distortion pedals exfakto So much gear, so little time! 59 5th December 2005 04:32 PM
Worst Distortion Pedals cgarges So much gear, so little time! 61 30th August 2005 01:32 AM
Geetar Pedals - What are the best distortion pedals? faeflora So much gear, so little time! 44 13th March 2003 05:46 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 04:42 PM.

Home - Search Forum - Contact Us - Terms Of Use - Advertise on Gearslutz - All Advertisers - Archive - Top
 
 
Powered by vBulletin®
Gearslutz.com LTD - UK Company Number 7597610.
Registered Office - 35 Ballards Lane, London, N3 1XW.
Hosted by Nimbus Hosting.

SEO by vBSEO ©2010, Crawlability, Inc.