Distortion pedals for tube amps.

E

ericlingus

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What do you guys think of distortion pedals? I have a Mesa Boogie F50 combo amp and I like the distortion on it but I want more a more variety of distorted tones without buying a new amp. I've been thinking about getting a distortion pedal or maybe an overdrive pedal. Are there any overdrive pedals that are guys like that sounds good for rhythem guitar? They usually seem to be geared more towards lead sounds. What do you guys think about the new Metal Muff pedal? Or how about the distortus maximus pedal. It has true bypass which is a plus. Both pedals seem to be getting good reviews. What do you think? I play black/death/doom type metal. My budget is about 150 or less. I have a schecter c1 xxx guitar, two mics (E609s and SM57) going into a firebox.
 
AH shit. I'm sorry about the triple post! Jeez and I thought double posting was bad. Please delete the other two threads mods.
 
The Mesa Boogie F50 is a tube amp right?

If so, try an Ibanez Tube Screamer (overdrive) and a Pro Co RAT (preferably the Deucetone which gives you a *huge* range of distorted sounds).

I use both. The Tube Screamer does one thing really - but does it well.
The Deucetone is amazingly versatile, due to its two channels and selection of four different circuits. The regular Rats are good too though. Be sure to try the Dirty and the Turbo versions as well as the regular 'vintage' Rat.
 
thanks man. Yeah it's a tube amp. I also am planning on buying a graphic EQ pedal like the MXR M-108 Ten Band Graphic EQ. They have a deal at musiciansfriend that you get amplitube live for free with it. There is a kerry king version of this eq pedal. Anyone know is there is any difference besides the Kerry King version having two outputs instead of one like the regular one?
 
ericlingus said:
What do you guys think of distortion pedals? I have a Mesa Boogie F50 combo amp and I like the distortion on it but I want more a more variety of distorted tones without buying a new amp. I've been thinking about getting a distortion pedal or maybe an overdrive pedal. Are there any overdrive pedals that are guys like that sounds good for rhythem guitar? They usually seem to be geared more towards lead sounds. What do you guys think about the new Metal Muff pedal? Or how about the distortus maximus pedal. It has true bypass which is a plus. Both pedals seem to be getting good reviews. What do you think? I play black/death/doom type metal. My budget is about 150 or less. I have a schecter c1 xxx guitar, two mics (E609s and SM57) going into a firebox.
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An overdrive pedal is not necessarily going to give you a very different distortion. It's just going to push your amp harder, but it's still relying on your amp's distortion. That's why most people use them for lead, becasue they just want that extra little push. Do you want to use a clean sound from your amp combined with a pedal for a heavy distortion? In that case, you don't want an overdrive pedal, you want a distortion pedal.
I'm just not sure what sort of sound you have in mind.
 
yeah i've decided i'd like a distortion pedal not an overdrive. I'd like to run it into the clean channel on my amp. Would is still sound like a tube amp with a pedal? My amp has a really good clean channel so that would help right? I am looking for a sound that is different from a mesa sound. Maybe like a 5150 esque sound. I'm not sure though. Two pedals im looking at are the distortus maximus pedal and the electro harmonix metal muff pedal. Or would you guys recommend a graphic eq pedal to shape my tone instead of getting a distortion pedal? I've been looking at the MXR M-108 Ten Band Graphic EQ pedal. It comes with amplitube live right now at musiciansfriend.
 
love the Barber Direct Drive SS model....

after a long search, that's the one i'm stickin' with.

i use it in front of a 60 watt mesa boogie mark2b head.
i set the lead channel for a really nice, full range 'crunch', and then add the DDSS for solo tones.
 
ericlingus said:
yeah i've decided i'd like a distortion pedal not an overdrive.

I like having lots of options when it comes to different pedal sounds for my guitars... Pod,Boss GT 5. I have a new one the MXR Zakk Wylde which is an overdrive pedal. It gives me a nice powerful and adjustable sound thru this rig which I must say has lots of push power. This Marshall JCM 800 along with the NiteFly Mojo is wonderful to listen to and experiment with. Also I use 2 other guitars a PRS & LP which each of them have their own special sounds...just can't seem to get down to one guitar. Have another amp a Fender Blues Deluxe that is fun to play around with too......it has some good clear sound if needed.
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I used to own a Fender HR Deville tube amp. I never really liked the distortion channel, so I ran my Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive into the clean channel. It still sounded like a tube amp - but the difference was more tactile. The Deville gain channel was harsh and flabby and had very little definition. The Sparkle Drive in the clean channel yielded much a tighter and faster response. So while it 'felt' more like a solid state amp, it still sounded tube-like.
 
Oops. Ericlingus, you may want to try both an Eq. and a distortion pedal on the front end or distortion up front and Eq. in loop. With Eq in loop you can "shape" the output of the preamp prior to the power stage. This will also allow you to drive the output stage harder without adding a bunch of pre-amp fizzies. Have done so with great success. Good luck. Report back. Thanks.
 
Choctaw lives in Missouri, where squaw is.

Thurgood said:
Don't mean to hijack: Choctaw, do you live in MS?

Yep Missouri for now.......my family came from OK. I might migrate to Tucson AZ soon where it's hot and dry......and the winter snow NEVER falls.
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choctaw said:
Thurgood said:
Don't mean to hijack: Choctaw, do you live in MS?

Yep Missouri for now.......my family came from OK. I might migrate to Tucson AZ soon where it's hot and dry......and the winter snow NEVER falls.
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Sorry to correct you but, MS is Mississippi, MO is Missouri.
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Kind of along the same lines, and I hate to kinda hijack this, but what if you want to go the other way and kick up your tube drive like a tube screamer? Is that what you would go with, or are there other options (I saw the rat mentioned)? I love the rythm sounds I get, but I need that extra lead tone. The ones I have tried (Pedals) just seem to cut some of the volume, but they do fatten the tone. I am looking for something to fatten and boost, Get what I mean?
 
you would want mostly an overdrive pedal for that. Like the tube screamer, boss ds 1(okay this is distortion but it's not real heavy distortion), zakk wylde overdrive, boss sd1, etc.
 
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