Looking for a new Distortion pedal . . .

[Winston Psmith]

I have a NYC Big Muff Pi, for that classic Fuzztain sound, and a Source Audio Multiwave Distortion for slightly bent sounds. I'll be using it with HB's, primarily the neck pups, which tend to be a bit dark; no active pups.

 

I've never liked any of the various RAT pedals, nor any of the Tube Screamer tribe, and I've tried a few of each, so thanks but no thanks, if you were going to suggest one of those. The old Boss DF-2 Feedbacker was my favorite dirt pedal in the late 80's/early 90's but I sold it when it hit vintage value. The new Feedbacker is a very different pedal.

 

I expect everyone has a favorite, so let's hear them. If nothing else, it'll be fun to see what we all prefer in terms of an OD/Distortion sound. Thanks, everyone.

[desertbluesman]

I use a Nady TD1 tube distortion pedal. I have 2 of them, one as a backup. However I tried to buy several more as backups because I like the TD1 so much, and they did not work at all just sent out a bunch of feedback.

 

But I think this one is similar it is not tube, but it has the exact same control options that the TD1 has.

 

http://www.tonebone.com/classicv9.php

[CEB]

I don't have a single favorite. I'm gig driven. What do I want to sound like? My thing is I need to copy other people's tone but when I do my own thing somethings I like are:

 

1) Sparkle Drive Mod - the heart of it is a TS808 circuit. I'm not a TS guy either. The Mod also has 4 other voicings. Mod 2 and 4 works well with humbuggies. Dirt pedals are basically compressors. They can kill your initial pick attack and highs. The key to the Sparkle Drive is it has a clean blend that brings uneffected signal. It can sound like two amps. I often run it 40-60% clean.

 

2) Wampler Hot Wired 2 combines a lo gain and higher gain dirt pedal that can be cascaded and one side can be used to do a clean blend.

 

The Wampler line has something for everyone.

 

3) The Voodoo Labs take on the Bosstone responds well to the guitar volume. knob.

 

4) If I wanted a Marshall in a box I like the Box of Rock by ZVex.

 

5) Jeckle and Hyde is a good general purpose tool.

 

Do you want something tight or open?

[Dannyalcatraz]

I have a lot of pedals. Below are listed ODs and Distortions. I didn't include any fuzzes.

 

Krank Distortus Maximus- one of my first pedals, and one I feel does not live up to its pedigree.

 

Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde V2- a nice OD/Dist 2fer pedal, delivering a lot of usable tones for a decent price. Since I bought it, Visual Sound has become TrueTone, and released the V3 iteration of this pedal (and a few others). As I recall, its OD side may be a TS variant, though.

 

Red Witch Famulus- another nice, powerful dual OD/Dist. Not as good a bargain as the J&H due to its higher price tag, but plenty good nonetheless.

 

Emma Electronics PisdiYAUwat- a true metal distortion pedal that lived up to the promise the Krank couldn't keep. If you can't get the distortion you want at the volume you have to play at, this is a solid option.

 

Empress Heavy- a metalhead's dream: a dual OD, with independent controls for each side. Use each separately or together.

 

T.Rex Michael Angelo Batio OD- a TS-based OD that can go from light crunch to pretty beefy.

 

Dr. No Drive-O-Matic- another modified TS that has a broader tonal package than the original.

 

Keeley Katana Blues Drive- a relatively transparent OD that can deliver just the right amount of dirt for blues & classic rock tones.

 

Magnetic Effects Satellite- another OD designed for clarity with just enough dirt for flavor.

 

WMD Gieger Counter- a powerful tone scrambler that crosses a lot of lines. It distorts, it fuzzes out, it rings. A nigh-uncontrollable monster. (I believe WPS had the Civilian Issue version at one point.)

 

Honorable mentions:

 

Okko Dominator (Red or Black)- another distortion pedal for metalheads. The Red and Black versions are similar but are actually differently voiced pedals. The only reason I didn't list it above is I don't own one...yet.

 

Visual Sound Double Trouble V2- a dual OD, with each side being a slightly differently voiced TS based circuit.

 

TrueTone VS-XO V3- the spiritual descendant of the Double Trouble, but with (supposedly) redesigned, non-TS OD circuits. Another one on my G.A.S. list.

 

Thorpy FX Gunshot- the first of 3 Thorpys on my G.A.S. list*, this is a very flexible medium to high gain OD, literally made with military precision by one of Her Majesty's former demolitions expert. If you're the type who likes to look under the hood, you're going to be impressed by this guy's attention to detail.

 

Thorpy FX Warthog- his Distortion pedal, made with the same exacting detail.

 

Thorpy FX Peacekeeper- a low-gain cousin to the Gunshot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* I have the Fallout Cloud- formerly known as the Muffroom Cloud- which is a hell of a Big Muff clone

[CEB]

VS-XO is really cool. That another Visual Sound design. Yes the OD in the Jeckl & Hyde is a TS. It is the same OD they put in my Route 66 also. VS did a great job combining effects in their double pedals to make something you could use on the job. The H2O was a nice chorus echo also.

[Caevan O’Shite]

I have a NYC Big Muff Pi, for that classic Fuzztain sound, and a Source Audio Multiwave Distortion for slightly bent sounds. I'll be using it with HB's, primarily the neck pups, which tend to be a bit dark; no active pups.

 

I've never liked any of the various RAT pedals, nor any of the Tube Screamer tribe, and I've tried a few of each, so thanks but no thanks, if you were going to suggest one of those. The old Boss DF-2 Feedbacker was my favorite dirt pedal in the late 80's/early 90's but I sold it when it hit vintage value. The new Feedbacker is a very different pedal.

 

I expect everyone has a favorite, so let's hear them. If nothing else, it'll be fun to see what we all prefer in terms of an OD/Distortion sound. Thanks, everyone.

 

OK- disclaimer- not everything I'll mention here is necessarily a "distortion" pedal...

 

I love my Foxrox Octron, particularly going into either an overdriven/distorted tube-amp, or my Radial Tonebone Plexitube, a Marshall-flavored dual-channel hybrid tube/SS distortion pedal with a LOT of controls and cool features.

 

Once in a while I'll feed the Octron into my VFE Fiery Red Horse (V1) "Saturated Fuzz", which is like an extremely versatile, enhanced/upgraded "triangle-era" Big Muff Pi. It is also capable of convincingly impersonating the V4 and V5 "IC/Op-Amp" versions of the BMP, as well, and a lot more...

 

The Plexitube and Fiery Red Horse are each pretty cool distortion pedals by themselves, too.

 

I really, REALLY want a Wattson Classic Electronics EFY-6, which is a super cool badass fuzz-pedal based on the rare and venerable Shin-ei FY-6 Companion/Super Fuzz, but with a couple of added, very useful controls that make it much more versatile.

 

I am going to get a B.Y.O.C. Scrambled Octave Fuzz kit, which is an excellent recreation of the very rare Ampeg Scrambler. I'm expecting to be very pleased with it.

[Larryz]

I'm not into distortion all that much and like playing clean. However, back in my wilder days I used:

 

1. An Electro Harmonix Boost pedal in front of a Tube Screamer plugged into a Fender Twin Reverb...things got a bit loud LOL!

 

2. A nice clean Boss Blues Driver combined with a MXR Compressor plugged into a Fender Hot Rod Deville...

 

3. A cheap little Boss DS-1 with an MXR Compressor or a MXR Dyna Comp [you can have them both on the board but you must choose one or the other] and these can send even a 30 SSWatt Pignose into oblivion enough to keep up with drums and bass in a practice room...imagine what it would do with a 100 SSWatt ZT Club 12 or better yet, the 60 TubeWatt Fender DeVille...want to talk about some long sustain, just run a compressor in front of a DS-1...

 

4. If I were looking for an all around make anything fry pedal, I would go with the Boss Metal Zone like my heavy metal lead man that blows the doors off of everything in between LOL!

 

5. Now, I can just plug in my Fender Floor and get with the program if I ever need to, but like I said, I'm mostly a clean kind of guy LOL!

[ashevillecabbie]

I'm really interested in the Seymour Duncan twin tube pedals (I've only been exposed to them on YouTube). The original sfx03 sounds like overdriven fender while the sfx11 sounds more like overdriven Marshall or maybe tube screamer. Then there's the sfx04 mayhhem which is said to go into Iron Maiden territory.

[Danzilla]

My board contains the following dirt pedals:

 

Keeley Fuzz Head: Not a wild & super raspy killer bees fuzz, but a full pretty warm fuzz/overdrive.

 

Tech 21 Comptortion: I think of this as a "stack in a box" type pedal.

 

Danelectro Fab overdrive: great Bluesdriver type pedal; best $15 I ever spent on gear.

 

Acoustic Imaginearing Quantum Drive: a "normal" overdrive channel, that's a bit bright but can be tamed, and the Quantum drive, which has a fizzy fuzzy phasey aspect to it. At your gig on Saturday, ask Allen Myers of Ezekiel's Wheel to set you up with one, since he designed & manufactured it.

[Delta]

2 original Boss pedals- FZ-2 Hyperfuzz and SD-1 Overdrive.

[Winston Psmith]

Thanks, everyone. I've tried, or even owned, a bunch of these already, but some I'd only considered, and quite a few I hadn't heard of.

 

Danzilla, thanks for that recommendation in particular. From some brief contact via FB, the folks from Ezekiel's Wheel seem like people I want to know. We'll all be in Linthicum on Saturday . . .

[Lokair]

BK Butler Tube driver is my favorite,

But the Pete Cornish G-2 is on my short list to get next.

 

I too have owned a few different ones and they all have their place (even if its propping up a broken desk leg), But the BK is like having another channel on my amp.

 

That is all

 

Lok

[hurricane hugo]

here's some: http://www.magazine.tonereport.com/mag/0673678001477073565/p14

[Dannyalcatraz]

Happy hunting, WPS!

[Bluesape]

A bud has a Wampler Hotwired 2 stage pedal. Both channels can be blended. Gary Moore sounded like he was coming out of my Roland Cube 30x! I was floored! He happens to be a great player with a LP at the time. He also owns a Kemper and lots axes and amps. Serious gear freak.

 

[Caevan O’Shite]

I've never liked any of the various RAT pedals...

 

Neither did I. Between the "IC/Op-Amp" V4/5 BMP that I had, and my tube-amp's own overdriven and distorted sounds, those felt and sounded kind of anemic and lackluster to me.

 

...nor any of the Tube Screamer tribe...

 

I've never felt much need for those, myself, though the clean-blend feature on the Sparkle Drive pedals seems very interesting; I really like that option on any kind of fuzz, overdrive, or distortion pedal.

 

 

I think you'd really like the Foxrox Octron or Octron 2, Winston, especially if you fed it into one or more of your existing overdrive, distortion or fuzz pedals, or an overdriven/distorted tube-amp.

 

I'm certain that you'd find either the V1 or V2 VFE Fiery Red Horse to be better and MUCH more flexible than your NYC BMP

 

 

 

Danelectro Fab overdrive: great Bluesdriver type pedal; best $15 I ever spent on gear.

 

Those silver Danelectro D-2 Overdrive pedals are particularly great with single-coils and yes, great dirt-cheap deals! An excellent match for a friend's Strat. I also got him an equally inexpensive red Danelectro D-1 FAB Distortion, which was also excellent with his Strat. I didn't care as much for either of them with my Les Paul's humbuckers, though.

 

Acoustic Imaginearing Quantum Drive: a "normal" overdrive channel, that's a bit bright but can be tamed, and the Quantum drive, which has a fizzy fuzzy phasey aspect to it. At your gig on Saturday, ask Allen Myers of Ezekiel's Wheel to set you up with one, since he designed & manufactured it.

 

You've got my interest there. I couldn't find any clips or videos of them, though!

 

 

 

A bud has a Wampler Hotwired 2 stage pedal. Both channels can be blended. Gary Moore sounded like he was coming out of my Roland Cube 30x! I was floored! He happens to be a great player with a LP at the time. He also owns a Kemper and lots axes and amps. Serious gear freak.

 

 

Brian Wampler's distortion and overdrive pedals are excellent! If I needed a distortion pedal, his would be at the top of my list to consider.

 

 

 

...the BK is like having another channel on my amp.

 

That's how the Radial Tonebone Plexitube is with my Fuchs Lucky 7 head- in fact, it's like adding two channels to that amp, with more and still more gain.

[Danzilla]

Caevan - the Acoustic Imaginearing website has a few clips, from Roine Stolt (Flower Kings & Transatlantic), Bret Kull (Echolyn) and a demo from "BassFuzz.com". At one time I had seen a good Tony Levin demo with it, but I can't seem to find that anymore.

[CEB]

Brian just released a majorly improved version of the Pinnacle. Way more versatile and now able to handle hotter pickups without the old sagging issues. Brian and Jace are great guys and always open to hearing product ideas. Brian helped me with a compressor issue last week.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Caevan - the Acoustic Imaginearing website has a few clips, from Roine Stolt (Flower Kings & Transatlantic), Bret Kull (Echolyn) and a demo from "BassFuzz.com". At one time I had seen a good Tony Levin demo with it, but I can't seem to find that anymore.

 

Thanks, Dan! I had already been to their 'site, and either it wasn't working properly, or it was my computer and/or ISP that wasn't (quite possibly the latter). I'll try again later!

 

 

Brian just released a majorly improved version of the Pinnacle. Way more versatile and now able to handle hotter pickups without the old sagging issues. Brian and Jace are great guys and always open to hearing product ideas. Brian helped me with a compressor issue last week.

 

Yeah, I'd seen that. I believe that the "sag" can still be had in the new pedal if you want it, OR it can be eliminated. Very cool.

[CEB]

Speaking of Double dirt pedals. Way Huge is coming out with a Camel Toe. It is a Red Llama and Green Rhino in one pedal. I really like the Rhino. The Rhino is basically a TS circuit but the 100hz and 500hz cut and boost control makes it really versatile. The Camel Toe toggles between the two sides. There is a series switch when on sets it to be Rhino active and when you hit the toggle the rhino drives into the llama..... which for me is to much. I don't like high noise floors. But those are two cool circuits.

 

Speaking of Way Huge .... The Pork Loin is a favorite of mine also. Every dirt box should have a blend circuit.

 

Fat Sandwich distortion is neat too. Way Huge is another one of those lines that does a good job of differentiating their products.

 

I like my old Rat Pedal into my 65 Twin. When I quit using the Twin out in place of Boogie the Rat lost favor. DS-1 is an enigma. I generally hate it but with LP style humbucker guitars it can really nice on stuff like Journey. The chords to Stone in Love can have nice clarity using humbuckers through a DS-1.

 

I never had a Tube Driver pedal. I have the original Rack unit that Chandler distributed that was part of my 80s rack setup.

 

I have the Original 90s Danelectro Fab Tone. I bought unheard for $15. It wasn't an overdrive. It is an insane distortion. All the way down it still sound life a chainsaw. It is crazy. I could never find a musical use for it. LOL

[Winston Psmith]

I never had a Tube Driver pedal. I have the original Rack unit that Chandler distributed that was part of my 80s rack setup.

 

I have the Original 90s Danelectro Fab Tone. I bought unheard for $15. It wasn't an overdrive. It is an insane distortion. All the way down it still sound life a chainsaw. It is crazy. I could never find a musical use for it. LOL

 

I remember the rack-mount Tube Drivers, we used to sell then where I worked. I had the Blue Tube version for a while.

 

I'd been wondering about the original big Fab Tones, as I see them going for $20-25. I have the Daddy-O OD, and I like it, though the pot metal knobs make me nervous.

 

@Danzilla - spoke with Allen yesterday, he showed me some waveforms from the Quantum Drive. The OD waveform was very smooth, almost like the old Boss OD-1, and the more extreme settings were even more twisted than the notorious Boss Hyper Fuzz. Looks like something I'd enjoy! Really impressed with Ezekiel's Wheel, too. Thanks again.

[Caevan O’Shite]

I'd been wondering about the original big Fab Tones, as I see them going for $20-25. I have the Daddy-O OD, and I like it, though the pot metal knobs make me nervous.

 

I found the silver FAB Overdrive and red FAB Distortion to sound pretty good with single-coils, but not my Les Paul's humbuckers.

[skipclone 1]

I use the Rodenberg Tom Reipl signature OD/distortion which I run through a VHT Valvulator. You can hear a clip of the Rodenberg on Tom`s website here:

http://tomriepl.com/cms/tomtone/

 

Here`s a review of the 909, which the signature pedal combines with the 808:

 

Guitar Tech Rodenberg GAS-909

From Germany comes the GAS-909. Made by Rodenberg Amplification with Germanengineered components, this pedal is designed to blend seamlessly with your amp. Its actually a step up from Rodenbergs GAS-808, except with three times the gain. This increase in gain gives the pedal a totally even frequency response throughout the gain structure, while maintaining the crisp and accurate lead sounds that the original 808 offered. The pedal is extremely even when boosting the amplifiers sound, so the guitars tone shines through.

 

 

[Winston Psmith]

I'd been wondering about the original big Fab Tones, as I see them going for $20-25. I have the Daddy-O OD, and I like it, though the pot metal knobs make me nervous.

 

I found the silver FAB Overdrive and red FAB Distortion to sound pretty good with single-coils, but not my Les Paul's humbuckers.

 

I've seen the small FAB series pedals, but this is the one I'm thinking of . . .

 

http://static.musiciansfriend.com/derivates/6/001/478/695/DV019_Jpg_Regular_151852_top.jpg

[Caevan O’Shite]

I'd been wondering about the original big Fab Tones, as I see them going for $20-25. I have the Daddy-O OD, and I like it, though the pot metal knobs make me nervous.

 

I found the silver FAB Overdrive and red FAB Distortion to sound pretty good with single-coils, but not my Les Paul's humbuckers.

 

I've seen the small FAB series pedals, but this is the one I'm thinking of . . .

 

http://static.musiciansfriend.com/derivates/6/001/478/695/DV019_Jpg_Regular_151852_top.jpg

 

Aaaaahhh... These is the cheep bastids I was referring to:

 

 

_

_ http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hwuAQAHOL._SL500_AA300_.jpg _ http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41jIiN8JxfL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

 

_

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'd been wondering about the original big Fab Tones, as I see them going for $20-25. I have the Daddy-O OD, and I like it, though the pot metal knobs make me nervous.

 

I found the silver FAB Overdrive and red FAB Distortion to sound pretty good with single-coils, but not my Les Paul's humbuckers.

 

I've seen the small FAB series pedals, but this is the one I'm thinking of . . .

 

http://static.musiciansfriend.com/derivates/6/001/478/695/DV019_Jpg_Regular_151852_top.jpg

 

Looks like an owl with the face of a spider...

[CEB]

I'd been wondering about the original big Fab Tones, as I see them going for $20-25. I have the Daddy-O OD, and I like it, though the pot metal knobs make me nervous.

 

I found the silver FAB Overdrive and red FAB Distortion to sound pretty good with single-coils, but not my Les Paul's humbuckers.

 

I've seen the small FAB series pedals, but this is the one I'm thinking of . . .

 

http://static.musiciansfriend.com/derivates/6/001/478/695/DV019_Jpg_Regular_151852_top.jpg

 

That is the one I have. From the name I expected it to sound like something Beatle related. But no it sounds nuts.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Looks like an owl with the face of a spider...

 

http://static.musiciansfriend.com/derivates/6/001/478/695/DV019_Jpg_Regular_151852_top.jpg

 

 

Niiiiice...

[Winston Psmith]

Looks like an owl with the face of a spider...

 

Check out the Daddy-O, with all those 'eyes' . . .

 

http://media.guitarcenter.com/is/image/MMGS7/Daddy-O.-Overdrive-Effect-Pedal/000000112643531-00-180x180.jpg

 

I like my Daddy-O very much. Doesn't have that squishy TS tone. There's a used Fab Tone at my nearest GC for $19.99. I'm tempted to check it out, if I can get up there this week.

 

EDIT: Just watched a video of some guy demoing a used Fab Tone. Brutal, but not what I'm looking for right now. Hey, Youtube just saved me a drive and $20! I'm already ahead for the day!

[CEB]

If you were close and I knew which Rubbermaid tub it was in I would give you mine. You might be able to use it for Cookie Monster metal.