I have received a lot of help in the past when I have asked for help on recommended instruments, effects, etc. Last time I was looking for an overdrive pedal. This time I need recommendations for a pedal for lead distortion guitar. My setup is AmStd Strat and Fender Deluxe Reverb RI. Again, I'm trying to get rid of my POD 2.0, and replace it with great pedals (and amp, which I already have).

Tubescreamer, modded from analogman. The guitarist in my band uses it and it sounds great; much better than the Boss orange pedal or the big muff...

whats your budget? you're diving into a deep pool here...

I second this recommendation. analogman mods are truly magnificent.

Budget is $200 max. I'm looking for long sustaining lead distortion. The analogman mod TS9 (which I own) is great for rock leads, but it doesn't sustain enough.

try the lovely barber combo: Direct Drive with a Tone Press. If you look hard enough, you can find the 2 for a total hovering around your budget. you should be able to hold a note until Friday.

Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive.

It's the original Tube Screamer circuit with an added clean boost - very versitile, crisp, and well... sparkly pedal. Sounds like a tube screamer +, IMO.

Maxon OD-9 is great if you are already getting a bit of gain from your amp. (I have been told Maxon are the company that made the original tube screamers for Ibenez)

I like the sparkle drive quite a bit. Though i will say i bought one brand new and with in a few months of live use i started having problems with the switch. Sometimes it works sometimes not. I constantly keep hearing from others reporting the same problem. So i dont gig with it anymore at all.

I had a modded tube screamer that was alright but again started to have issues. You could touch a knob the wrong way and lose about half the output.

Over the last few years i've had the best luck with the boss blues driver. Its cheap as hell, more durable than any other overdrive pedal i've used and sounds fantastic. It has plenty of gain if you need it. It can cover so much tonal ground. It turned my little fender 1x12 into a baby marshall. You can use it with a totally clean amp for all out rock distortion or use it in moderation with an already overdriven amp and anything in between. Out of all the boutique pedals i've used over the years. Pretty much all of them have broken down at some point. I have a stack of misc pedals in my basement that just collect dust. The only ones that remain in my gigging pedal board just happen to be all boss pedals. They wont die. A lot of boss pedals sound ok some sound better than ok but i really think they got it just right with the blues driver.

I picked up a Fulltone Distortion Pro earlier this year and love it, more aggressive and tonally flexible than any of my overdrive-style pedals (Keeley-modded TS-9, Yamaha OD-10MkII, Durham Sex Drive, Keeley Java Boost).

sparkle drive is cool.

i also like the maxon overdrive pro.

the fulltone OCD is great, and alot of players i know have fallen in love with this thing.

my favorites would have to be either the menatone fish factory, or menatone king of the britains.thumbsup


sorry but i don't remember the prices of any of these.


-cd

Fulltone OCD, EMMA Reezafratziz, Blackstone Mosfet Overdrive, ProCo Rat.

Get yourself a secondhand Mesa V-Twin. Guts, cream, sustain and balls all in one.

You didn't say what kind of music you were going for. I like the following, in no particular order:

ProCo Rat
SansAmp GT2
Boss Metal Zone

I also like the TubeScreamer, but it's not really a distortion pedal. It's more like an overdrive/compressor which is (I think) best used to take your existing distortion sound to a higher level, like for a lead guitar tone. It's not enough by itself to really be considered a "distortion" pedal.

The V-Twin is really nice too. I think it's pretty kick ass for bass guitar distortion, which in the mix is (IMO) half of what the listener perceives as the guitar sound.

fulldrive 2

Bolt Thrower, that is exactly what I mean, the Tubescreamer is not the sustaining distortion I'm looking for by itself. It only goes so much. Great for overdrive rythm. How are you guys getting lead distortion with it? Together with another pedal?

I'd say the Matchless Hotbox, but it is out of your budget.
I use a Sparkledrive a lot but it is essentially a TS9 circuit so it will still not have enough gain.
Try a Voodoolab Superfuzz- sounds excellent for creamy leads.
I have mine on the front of a 63 bassman and it sounds insane.

JR

Yes! I put the TubeScreamer in front of whatever pedal (or amp) I'm using for my main distortion sound. Lately, what I've been doing is using the SansAmp or Metal Zone to set up my main sound. Then I click into the TubeScreamer for leads; since it compresses the signal I don't think it's a good thing for rhythm sounds, which should retain dynamic range whenever possible (I'm only referring to the core guitar sound, not mix compression). But when it comes to lead tones, the TubeScreamer really helps bring out harmonics and the sound of pick attacks, which are so crucial to the character of a distorted sound.

For old-school deathmetal and blackmetal sounds, the Rat is really great. For huge doom sounds, I like the Metal Zone and SansAmp. What's great about the TubeScreamer is it can work with any of these and really bring out your lead tones. I don't have a use for it in rhythm situations, but perhaps I will in the future as I mature musically.

Although you specified pedals only in your original post, there is the question of the amp/mic (modelled or otherwise). If you totally remove the Pod from your signal chain, I assume you'd need to either mic a real amp or model it in some way -- plugins, SansAmp, a cabinet sim, whatever. Not sure what you have in mind, but if you do plan on micing an amp, you might find the best distortion sound from a small combo amp. I have a 1x12 Bedrock tube combo that is TERRIFYING, and when mic'ed up sounds positively enormous. In this arrangement, I'd plug my guitar into the TubeScreamer and then go straight to the amp, again clicking into the TubeScreamer for lead tones, but avoiding it for rhythms.

Brian Friend Blender ...blends dry signal with smooth/fat fuzz ...much better than going completely through a fuzz.

http://www.bbenderguitars.com/

Bolt Thrower, I have a Metal Zone picking up dust in my studio, I'll try it with the TubeScreamer and see if I like it. I never thought of using two dist/overdrive pedals together but it just might work!

And it case that it doesn't, I am checking out the audio samples at fulltone (specifically the OCD and Distortion Pro). Man, they sound good. I guess if the MetalZone+TubeScreamer doesn't work, I'll try one of those out. Which one do you guys think is better for the Strat+Fender Deluxe Rev combo?

And regarding my first post, I want to mic the Fender Deluxe Rev amp. As soon as I got it, I recorded my clean strat for a rock song and it was so much better than what I was getting with the POD.

Keeley also mods the Metal Zone for a Bogner/Diezel sound. I have one that wasn't done by him, but follows his specs. I dig it after my Bluesdriver.

The Fulltone stuff is pretty cool. I play keyboards tough.... I play "lead distortion Moog".

Stein Tore

The Barber Small Fry is VERY VERY amplike. If you're not trying to radically change the sonic signature of the amp, just more gain / volume, ampish compression, it's the best I've come across.

Thanks for the replies. I'll let you know what I get and how it sounds.

definitely don't be afraid to use two dist. pedals...i believe trey anastasio uses two tube screamers, and he gets a hell of a lot of sustain. granted, he IS playing a semi-hollow guitar, but i'd give two of 'em a shot. dave.

I would second the sparkle drive... but say that it also matters what amp!

For old fenders and especially Marshalls the Keeley Modded Boss SD-1 has become my first choice. HOLY cow it's so nice for leads!!!

It's great at lower settings for crunch rhythm's too!! My favorite boost pedal to date... and I have just about all of em... lol.

+1 !!!

My one word answer to the this question:

KEELEY

My one URL answer to this question:

http://www.robertkeeley.com/home.php

Specifially, any of his Tubescreamer modded pedals, the DS-1, or more likely the SD-1.

My second answer would be Barber. The Direct Drive is a great piece of stomp, and the Silver LTD might be unique. For your purposes, either might serve.

whoever suggested the combo of the Tone Press and Direct Drive was very wise. I have the Tone Press, and it's a fantastic compressor.

I've never gotten along well with Fulltone, don't know why.

HomeBrew Electronics makes some tasty stuff, too. The Power Screamer, Big D, or Germania might work for you.

I like the nick greer black fuzz....

This just started happening with mine as well. Wicked bummer - I love that pedal.