Favourite distotion pedal ??

  • Thread starter Thread starter David Player
  • Start date Start date
Newbie-Doo said:
I wonder if the distortion side uses the same chip as the old proco rat because it sounds almost identical to my vintage Rat, but with more tweakability.

i couldn't tell ya. all i know is that i really, really, really love the sound of both sides of this thing. i don't have a vintage Rat, and thanks to my being happy with the J&H, i'm not going to be seeking a vintage Rat anytime soon.

a coworker's got a rat, though, so i might have to kick this thing to him for a comparison (provided i can manage to live without it for a couple days :D).

Newbie-Doo said:
ALSO, you can use BOTH sides at the same time to create a sound all your own. So it's kind of like having a 3 channel amp in a pedal.

totally. unfortunately, though, i've found that if you set each side so they work perfectly on their own, that when you combine the two, the sound goes to ass pretty quickly. the combining sides seems to work a LOT better when you setup both sides to work together (which then limits their usefulness on their own).

....so i find myself rarely using both sides at once.


Newbie-Doo said:
I second the recommendation on this one.

i can't say enough good things about it. it's the first dist/od pedal i've ever had that's worked with both my ibanez/vox rig *and* my tele/champ rig.


cheers,
wade
 
Boss metal zone is my favorite. you can get a bluesy sound out of it. You can get a crunchy punk sound or you can get an all out death metal sound from it and any where in between it's not jus a metal pedal you can trully get anything you want from it.
 
a_new_ending said:
Boss metal zone is my favorite. you can get a bluesy sound out of it. You can get a crunchy punk sound or you can get an all out death metal sound from it and any where in between it's not jus a metal pedal you can trully get anything you want from it.

That's my favorite one to. It's hard to get a good sound out of it though on anything under 80w. Well atleat a sound I like.
 
Has anyone tried a "vintage" (in "" because it was made before I was born... I think...) DOD Overdrive/Preamp FX50? I scored it for around 15 bucks on e-bay, and out of all the others i have tried and/or own, it is by far my favorite. Use it in front of a clean amp, and it puts a beautiful color to the tone. Use it in front of a distorted amp and it spits fire! :D
 
Before I started using my Marshalll JMP-1 I used to use a Boss Turbo Overdrive which I still think has a smooth, saturated distortion. :eek:
 
This thread made me dig out my old Zoom 5000 and dust it off. I just hooked it up to my new amp and it has a pretty good metal sound. I have not played through it for 8 or more years. :eek:
 
I have a fairly large accumulation of analog OD & distortion stomps, maybe a dozen or more, but I *never* use them. They're just more trouble than they're worth and OD/distortion stomps sound hideous and cheap to me -- not just mine, but every one I think I've ever heard, at least unless the sound's been hugely reprocessed by a top engineer to salvage the track.

For a while, I got some almost usable sounds out of a Wasabi OD, but it only worked for one or two of my many axes and wasn't all that compared to native amp overdrive.

If you're serious about your music, never sound cheap as that's what the people who matter notice immediately. These stompboxes in the hands of most guitarists invariably sound like change from a dime and reflect badly on you as an artist.
 
I kinda agree with bongolation but to really get a "good" distorition from the cheap amps most people own is really hard. If you can spend a few grand on an amp go do it to get the best possible sound, but if not I'd recommend the Digitech Metal Master. I've used it for a few years now and really have enjoyed it.
 
bongolation said:
If you're serious about your music, never sound cheap as that's what the people who matter notice immediately.These stompboxes in the hands of most guitarists invariably sound like change from a dime and reflect badly on you as an artist. [/FONT]

I used to think along these lines, but humping that 4 x 12 on the tube was a bitch during rush hour.

Rocktron Taboo Artist split 60/40 through stage amp and PA - kicks ass.
 
bongolation said:
If you're serious about your music, never sound cheap as that's what the people who matter notice immediately.

I respectfully disagree. Never make the mistake of focusing your playing to satisfy musicians or audiophiles. They are not the ones that come to the club, buy the recordings and pay the bills. For years I wanted "the people who matter" to think I was good. The other 99% of people, who some think don't matter weren't getting it. I want all (or most) of the people to get it and that is the goal I am working toward.

Depending on the type of distortion sound that is your tone, a stompbox can be a vital component. Thick thick thick distortion does sound like crap through any fuzztone, though. If you are like me and like it clear and bright and just enough breakup to make it sing/sustain, then alot of different analog units are great. I have used a rat box for like 20 years. I have it dialed up so that it is at like 25% or less "distortion" and leave it on all the time. The amp is set clean and bright with no effect. I don't know if new rat boxes are the same or even if they make them anymore. I still have the one I bought in '84.
 
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