Favorite distortion pedal?

[mattd]

I recently started playing electric guitar in church again and I've been trying to use my Boss DS-1 pedal selectively, but I just can't find a good smooth setting on it to use. I'm going through a nice tube amp with the best distortion I've ever heard, but you have to crank it a bit to get that sound, which doesn't work in the small sanctuary. Anyone have suggestions on settings to try for the pedal, or have a favorite pedal you like to use in church?

[scooteraz]

Well, I have 3 that I like. If I am just boosting the input to the amp, I use a Zvex SHO. It is perfectly clean boost that allows the amp to go to natural OD if you have it on the edge to begin with. Then I have a Blackstone. When properly set, with both halves engaged, it is really nice. Lastly, a Fulltone OCD. When I want actual distortion, as opposed to heavy OD, I engage the Blackstone and the OCD.

I have a Keeley modified DS-1, but though it is better than stock, is still a bit harsh IMO. I only break that out on special ocassions. For actual distortion, I like either cascaded OD, or a nice fuzz with OD.

[Archaic]

I have an unmodified DS-1 but I hardly use it. I find it a bit harsh and buzzy at almost all settings.

I've got a few options split between my two boards. I've got a Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde, a Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret and an OCD. Throwing fuzz in there I've also got a Black Arts Toneworks LTSR and a Z.Vex Fuzz factory.

Of the 3 distortion/overdrives my favorite is definitely the Dirty Little Secret. It's not just a distortion box, at lower settings it's got a great overdrive, but turn it up and you head straight into this great cranked JCM800 type of tone. The tone controls are also really nice for shaping your sound giving you lots of options. The DLS is also one of the most touch sensitive boxes of the type I've ever seen. It responds incredibly well to both your pick attack and playing with the guitars volume control.

The OCD is a great pedal as well, but it's flavour is more in the realm of a cranked AC30.

If you're looking for something a bit wilder, check out the LTSR. It's based off a russian big muff but it's got a whole lot more going on. Everything from very touch sensitive overdrive to crazy all out muff tones.

[jazzrat]

For versatility sake I'm a fan of the VS Jekyll & Hyde.
Decent gear and tremendous customer service.

[MadHatter]

go to guitarcenter, goto the digitech section.... pick up the green badmonkey pedal, walk to till and shell out 27 dollars... plug in said pedal and be happy...

seriously, the best 27 dollars you'll ever spend... most underrated pedal out there...

[MusicChad]

I love my Fulltone OCD and agree with that one for sure.

I also wholeheartedly agree with the digitech Bad Monkey. WONDERFUL pedal and very versatile.

Honestly, I'd have a hard time justifying spending the coin for an OCD over a Bad Monkey if I were starting over... The OCD is probably a tad more transparent... maybe... but it certainly is NOT 5 times better (or whatever the cost difference is)

[mattd]

Yeah, I'm noticing that what is being recommended here is pretty pricey, at least compared to what I spent for the Boss (and I know that's one of the cheaper pedals out there). If I buy something new it needs to be in the lower range, say under $100.

[Archaic]

I've heard lots of good stuff about the BBE Green Screamer, if you don't mind tube screamer inspired circuits.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/bbe-green-screamer-vintage-overdrive-guitar-effects-pedal/584021000000000

[hasserl]

Get an attenuator for the amp so you can get the natural distortion at reduced volume level. This is something I've done for years, and it works really well. Then pushing the front end with a clean boost, like a Seymore Duncan Pickup Booster, will get you about all the attitude you need. On my pedal board I have the SD Pickup Booster and an old TS9 from the 80's that I bought new back then. Between those 2 pedals and an attenuator I have all the basses covered.

[Brad]

I lean more to overdrives that distortions, but a Dyna Red I used for a time was just great. Check out the Dano stuff too. They have an OCD clone thats real good.

Don't know if this is kosher or not, but I have a Vox Distortion Booster and a Tech 21 Double Drive listed on the local CL. If interested in either one, let me know. Both are great pedals. The double drive is the more versitile of the two, but the Vox has some killer tones. Both respond well to pick attack and clean up with the guitars volume control.

[scooteraz]

Make a pedal from one of the many kits out there. Less money, sounds good, and you can revise the circuit if you want to.

On the price issue, I've spent less on good pedals than on endless cheap pedals. The OCD is not cheap, but it has yet to be replaced. Previous to spending that outrageous coin on that pedal, I went through endless cheap OD/distortion pedals. Just my $0.02.

[stephen]

I dont like distortion pedals. I like Over Drive Pedals.

My fave is the Ibanez TS808

Delta Labs makes a good TS808 clone, the TS1 About 1/3 the cost of the TS808 RI.

[MusicChad]

I'm going to repeat just because I think it deserves it... If you are looking for a really solid pedal for a lower price, you cannot beat the Bad Monkey. Seriously... Try it out. I've yet to find a better, more flexible pedal that is even close sound wise.

[mattd]

The bad monkey was one I was looking at when I first started buying pedals. If I buy something now I may end up with that. I like the overdrive pedals more than true distortions.



I like the idea of an attenuator too, but the problem is that I'm running an 18 watt single channel tube amp - there's not a way to switch between overdrive and clean tones like that, is there?

[scooteraz]

The bad monkey was one I was looking at when I first started buying pedals. If I buy something now I may end up with that. I like the overdrive pedals more than true distortions.



I like the idea of an attenuator too, but the problem is that I'm running an 18 watt single channel tube amp - there's not a way to switch between overdrive and clean tones like that, is there?

Short answer is yes it can work great, just use your guitar volume.

I have been using a Princeton Recording amp at church, with a built in antenuator. I basically run it wide open with the antenuator set for desired volume. That gets me a bit of OD with my Fenders, quite a bit with my PRS. With the Fenders, I use a clean boost to get more natural OD(not needed so much with the PRS). In that condition I can go from clean to full distortion and back with the guitar volume. I use the OD and fuzz, then for other textures.

The only problem is if your guitar volume control doesn't have a bypass cap, is you can loose some highs in the clean condition. Almost all of mine have that little mod, so that setup works great. And it is faster for me than actually using the pedals.

[LesStrat]

I'm with Brad: I prefer overdrives.

My personal pedal is a Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Classic.

If I hadn't already owned the TTC, I WOULD have purchased a Bad Monkey when I test drove it. It's a great little pedal, and the price makes it a GREAT deal.

[stephen]

The Bad Monkey in my opinion, is a good TS9 Clone.

The Delta Labs TS01 is a good TS808 Clone.

If you prefer a darker OD tone, go TS9/Bad Monkey.

If your prefer a brighter OD Tone, go TS808/Delta Labs.

[hasserl]

Short answer is yes it can work great, just use your guitar volume.

I have been using a Princeton Recording amp at church, with a built in antenuator. I basically run it wide open with the antenuator set for desired volume. That gets me a bit of OD with my Fenders, quite a bit with my PRS. With the Fenders, I use a clean boost to get more natural OD(not needed so much with the PRS). In that condition I can go from clean to full distortion and back with the guitar volume. I use the OD and fuzz, then for other textures.

The only problem is if your guitar volume control doesn't have a bypass cap, is you can loose some highs in the clean condition. Almost all of mine have that little mod, so that setup works great. And it is faster for me than actually using the pedals.

^^^This! This is exactly how I play, I ride the volume control all the time. Up for leads/solos/fills, down for rhythm/clean. I do not have a treble belled cap in many of my guitars, and actually I prefer it without. Yes, you do loose some highs when rolling down the volume but that is actually a benefit IMO, I like the rolloff of the highs for clean chord work, that is desirable. Roll the volume up to push the front end of the amp harder and get it to breakup, you also get an increase in volume at the same time, and the added brightness helps you cut thru. It's a beautiful thing! That is how you work a single channel amp and how it was done back in the day before channel switchers. A clean boost adds more versatility, a light overdrive gives even more versatility, but it all starts with the attenuator and getting your overall volume right, then work the guitar volume for changes in OD and volume, and if needed kick in the clean boost for even more OD from the amp.

[mattd]

^^^This! This is exactly how I play, I ride the volume control all the time. Up for leads/solos/fills, down for rhythm/clean. I do not have a treble belled cap in many of my guitars, and actually I prefer it without. Yes, you do loose some highs when rolling down the volume but that is actually a benefit IMO, I like the rolloff of the highs for clean chord work, that is desirable. Roll the volume up to push the front end of the amp harder and get it to breakup, you also get an increase in volume at the same time, and the added brightness helps you cut thru. It's a beautiful thing! That is how you work a single channel amp and how it was done back in the day before channel switchers. A clean boost adds more versatility, a light overdrive gives even more versatility, but it all starts with the attenuator and getting your overall volume right, then work the guitar volume for changes in OD and volume, and if needed kick in the clean boost for even more OD from the amp.


Any suggestions on where to look for an attenuator?

[refin]

I have been using these together (sorry about the sloppy photos---these were taken before the board was painted and I was laying out stuff).



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/refin/Steve%20Stuff/pedalboard.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/refin/Steve%20Stuff/greenscreamer002.jpg

[MusicChad]

Any suggestions on where to look for an attenuator?

I have a weber mass 50 lite seen here:

http://www.tedweber.com/atten.htm

I think it works extremely well. You do loose speaker breakup when you crank it down and there is certainly some change in the tone, but not a ton. At least with the model I've got where you can tweak the highs and lows separately. More attenuation = more tone change. I also use it as a dummy load regularly. I really like mine for what it is and use it all the time.

FYI, I bought mine from eurotubes.com along with some tubes when I got it... Weber's website was out of stock, and eurotubes had it on the shelf...

[Old Believer]

http://iheartguitarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/CustomBadass78Distortion-alt-A15sk.png.jpeg

I've been using one of these for about six months. MXR Custom Bad**s '78 Distortion. It's very versatile and sounds great. And all at a pretty good price - around $80.00

[Crunchyriff]

I've had many OD & Distortion boxes over the years. I do lead towards OD pedals, as many distortion boxes are quite buzzy and shrill, IMHO. That said, many TS-types can be overtly middy and narrowly-focused and lacking on bottom, and top clarity/transparency.

These are some of my faves
Bad Monkey- BIG bang for little $$ (but there are better for not much more money)

Fulltone FD-II Expensive, and sorta pickup & amp particular, but awesome

MAXON OD808 Great OD box, better IMHO than the tube screamer.

MI Blues Boy Deluxe- probably my FAVORITE OD box out of any I've tried in 37 years. Not cheep, not Expensive ($80-$100). IMHO better than some OD boxes costing triple. This is the OD box I use. Lots of tone control with this unit, too. Fabulous. You can also swap-out the IC chip for another for whatever sound you want. (a great plus!) MI makes some great, quality stuff for a fair price. This is my second MI product. I like suggesting their products.

[stephen]

This is my second MI product. I like suggesting their products.

Huckster! Cat-Caller! Carny-Shouter! UN-PAID SHILL!

rofl

[hasserl]

Any suggestions on where to look for an attenuator?

There are a lot of attenuators out there, I usually use one of my own homebrew attenuators, but I also have and use an older Weber Load Dump that works just fine. There is a slight loss of high end, that could be compensated with using a capacitor to bypass the load, but it works well enough just as it is. They incorporate a treble compensation with the new models. These are inexpensive resistor based attenuators: https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/lpld.htm

A resistive attenuator is probably the safest type of attenuator to use, and IMO tend to be the most transparent. There are a lot of much more exotic designs out there to do all sorts of things to add some reactance to the load, to try to mimic the load a speaker places on an amp, but the simple resistive attenuators are actually very transparent. Some treble compensation helps, but mostly any change in sound you experience is mostly caused by the Fletcher Munson effect, that is the effect that a lower volume has on our ears and the way we hear things (and why hifi systems use a "Loudness" switch to boost the bass frequencies at low volume to help overcome it). Google Fletcher Munson Effect or Fletcher Munson Curve for information on this.

[SAguitar]

I have several. I use the VS Jekyll & Hyde a lot, an old TS9 Tube Screamer, a Keeeley modded Boss Blues Driver, and probably a few more I can't remember right now!

The best value I have in one is Digitech's Screaming Blues. It's a great little pedal for the money.

[Randy]

Here are my favorites:

An old (2000 - '01) Route 66:
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l19/Zaphod_01/R66.jpg

And since I usually play my Strat with stock single coils a SD Pickup Booster provides a bit of -umph- when needed ;)
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l19/Zaphod_01/SDPB.jpg

Add a Boss tuner, velcro all three to a chunk of painted wood and thats my pedal board :)

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l19/Zaphod_01/Board.jpg

All three have served me well over the years. However, the last two or three years I've been using my Boss GT10 :embarassed: and tweaking to taste

~Randy

[MusicChad]

If you are handy with a soldering iron, another good route would be to get boss pedals and mod them… I really like the kits offered by Monte Allums (www.monteallums.com). He provides very clear instructions and all the parts you need. His mod kits are like $20-$30. I’ve done quite a few and have always been pleased with the results. There are lots of sound clips on his page as well.

That being said, I’m certain a guy could find mods online and get the parts for less money. I just like getting the kit all at once and not having to mess with it… I’m willing to pay the extra for the convenience and excellent instructions.

[scooteraz]

How low does your volume need to go? Where are you able to play your amp today on the volume control? I ask because it is really easy to build one that is safe if you don't need a lot of cut. Otherwise, an antennuator is probably more expensive than any of the pedals mentioned so far.

What most of us need are really inefficient speaker drivers.

[Crunchyriff]

Huckster! Cat-Caller! Carny-Shouter! UN-PAID SHILL!

rofl

:yeah::clap::headphones:

Stop it, please... LOL.

In the interests of complete transparency, I must say I sold the first one, as I already had that base covered. (MI CrunchBox... essentially a Marshall-in-a-box).

[hasserl]

How low does your volume need to go? Where are you able to play your amp today on the volume control? I ask because it is really easy to build one that is safe if you don't need a lot of cut. Otherwise, an antennuator is probably more expensive than any of the pedals mentioned so far.

What most of us need are really inefficient speaker drivers.

Actually the 25 watt load dump is only 60 bucks. It would work fine for what he's trying to do.

[scooteraz]

Actually the 25 watt load dump is only 60 bucks. It would work fine for what he's trying to do.

Fair enough. Never tried one. But yes, it appears that at around 12 dB (that is, not trying to crank in all 50 dB) should do what he needs without much ill effect on tone.

[MDK2323]

It's interesting to read through this thread with all of the ideas on what folks like and how they get to where they want to be with stacking pedals and using different stuff.

I think it's all trial and error Matt. Honestly, I've had success with a lot of different gear. When using a distortion pedal, I would just suggest that you keep the tone knob down, somewhere lower than 10 o'clock, and that will round off the ice picky-ness of it.

Right now, I have 3 drive pedals on my board. For higher gain stuff, I have a Vox Satchurator, gain anywhere from 2 o'clock to 4 o'clock, tone at 9 o'clock. For overdrive/lower gain stuff, I have a Blackstar HT-Drive, which sounds great. Again, tone settings are lower, around 10 o'clock. And for a boost, I have a Way Huge Pork Loin Soft Clip Injection pedal, which is just ok IMHO. I haven't tweaked it too much, so I'm just using it for a boost and nothing else.

I use the guitar's volume knob a lot to roll off the gain a bit.

A lot depends on your gear, what types of pickups you're using, and the amp that you have. I think it's all just a taste thing. They say that tone is in the hands. Well, if I can ever get a firm grip on it without it slipping out and getting away, I'd be happy to share.

[MDK2323]

Post number 666!!!!!!!!!! :yikes:

roflroflroflrofl

[MrMike]

I'm about to try a Monte Allums mod on a Danelectro Daddy-O overdrive. In its stock form, it's a bit of a buzz bomb, but he claims that the mod makes it a Marshall in a box. I love the fact that it has a 3 band eq. Stay tuned.

[refin]

I still say---"Find an amp that tickles your fancy,and then slightly drive that with a clean boost."
If the amp sucks lemons,then you are only trying to "induce/create" tone through an external pedal.The bad amp will still vomit any effort to change it's basic tone offerings.

[Randy]

I still say---"Find an amp that tickles your fancy,and then slightly drive that with a clean boost."

I think thats the best sounding option yet :)

~Randy

[MrMike]

To paraphrase my father in law, "You can't make chicken soup with chicken droppings."

[scooteraz]

To paraphrase my father in law, "You can't make chicken soup with chicken droppings."

I beg to differ. You can, it just tastes like chicken .... Uh..... Um.... Oh yeah, droppings.rofl

[mattd]

How low does your volume need to go? Where are you able to play your amp today on the volume control? I ask because it is really easy to build one that is safe if you don't need a lot of cut. Otherwise, an antennuator is probably more expensive than any of the pedals mentioned so far.

What most of us need are really inefficient speaker drivers.


I was at practice last night and thought about this and was surprised when I paid attention to where my amp volume was at; lower than 2. I have a nice custom built tube amp and I think the problem is that I have to keep it so low that the tone just can't really shine through. I'll be looking into the attenuator tonight.

[mattd]

Although I'm not sure I could connect an attenuator; I use a small (but powerful) combo tube amp, those pointed out here look like they are meant to use with separate heads and speakers.

[hasserl]

Most combos can be used with an attenuator, I do it all the time. If the amp has a Speaker jack(s) and a speaker cable plugs into that jack and connects to the speakers, than you can use an attenuator. You just unplug the speaker cable from the back of the amp, plug the attenuator into the amp and plug the speaker cable into the attenuator. A few combo amps do not have the Speaker jack, the speaker cable is wired directly to the output transformer. In that case, no, you can't use an attenuator. But that would be the exception, not the rule.

[mattd]

I thought that was the case but I'm not home right now and don't have one to look at; the specific amp I use is at church and I won't be able to get my eyes on that until Sunday.

[Brad]

As far as fav pedals, the only one I won't (or at least haven't yet!!) ever sell is an old black box Marshall Bluesbreaker. As I said before, it's pretty much a one trick pony, but it does that trick better than any other pony I've had! Just a killer low gain overdrive with a supurb musical voice. Very dynamic in how it responds to your picking attack and the guitars volume control.

I had a George Blekas designed Texas Two Step for a while. Another wonderful pedal. Plus, he's a great fella to work with. His Cactus Crunch pedal is ACES!

In addition to the bluesbreaker, the only other overdrive I have (and DIG!) at this time is a Tech 21 Double Drive...one of the old orange ones. Class A and Class B drives for Voxy/Fendery/Marshally drive tones...It goes from just 'on the edge' blues sting to a 'take your head off' face melter with the turn of a knob. It's also a spectacular clean boost.

Another good one I had to let go was a Vox Valve Tone. while I have heard it said it's 'nothing more than a TS clone', the darn thing sounded better than any of the various ilks of TS's I've had.

Now...don't get me started on fuzz pedals!

[Telekaster1999]

I like my sparkle drive.