I'm looking for a decent/relativly cheap distortion pedal- does anyone recomend anything? thanks.

The Pro-Co Rat

Zakk Wylde Overdrive

only two I like that I've tried

stay away from the DOD Death metal and the Boss Metalzone. A lot of people like the metalzone but i am not a fan of it.

I've heard good things about MXR's products...but I don't pay attention since I have sick tube amps, guy

I love the Metal Zone but it's not the cheapest pedal out there. Then again, it's not like thread starter exactly explained what kind of sound he's going for.

well, depends on what you call 'cheap,' but my vote goes on the line 6 uber metal. 2 band mid EQ and built in noise gate.

any distortion pedal is best used with your amps distortion.

I use a metalzone with the gain all the way on 0 in front of my crate schockwave and it sounds perfect.

brian_dc said:


Really, Brian makes the best point. A solid amp is its own reward. Own a tight piece of equipment for an amp, and just turn the volume knob on the guitar to like 5 when you want clean and 10 when you want it dirty.

i can never set aside my love for the metal zone...running it through a thick clean channel produces some of the best distortion i've heard aside from les pauls and tube amps haha

it records kind of thin, but i love it live

A good tube amp, 5150, Rectifier, etc and toss a tube screamer in front of it. Run the screamer's volum on 10 and gain on zero or just above. Best, natural distortion you can get in my opinion. Never been a fan of pedal distortion my self, too artificial and fuzzy... but thats just my opinion.

there's no substitute for a good tube amp w/ maybe just a noise gate to get rid of unwanted feedback. simple.

-but-

DOD grunge pedal is pretty sick. i've had mine for like 11 years. i only use it for my practice amp though.

the old Ibanez tube screamers are the fucking tits, and big muffs are awesome too.

maybe i'm crazy, but i think the Metal Zone fucking blows. never liked the sound of that thing. i once saw a band where the guitar player had a triple rectifier, and he ran the clean channel w/ a metal zone for distortion, i wanted to hit him over the head with his metal zone and steal his mesa so that it would get proper use. why the hell would you do something like that?

that is a good question, maybe i just lucked out with the amp i got(Ibanez ToneBlaster Half-Stack) and it works real well with the metal zone

Adam from KSE started this trend where bands are using Maxon OD-808 pedals like a TubeScreamer, I guess it really solidifies the tone and brings everything together. I haven't tried it personally, though...and i'm pretty sure it runs upwards of $100

Boss metal zone is the way to go. Run it through A behringer. Those things scream. I highly recomend them. Does anyone know if blackout friendzy is still looking for a new hired gun. If so please put a good word in for me. I really have gotten that Disturbed style down if anybody is interested. Dan Donegan is one the top metal guitarists today without a doubt.

BUMP

sacreligion said:

its called 'boosting' and its really not that much of a trend, seeing as bands have been using it extensively since the early 80s to get great high gain sounds. i swear by it, it really tightens up MOST amps.




still, for a 'all in one metal pedal,' ill stick with the line 6 uber metal.

right now i've been playing thrashy/melodic death kind of riffs.
I'm so sick of hearing mesas and 5150's and all that bullshit tho.

I'm actually rocking an boss super overdrive into a big muff into my music man hd 130. it sounds quit fucking amazing. midrange exsists more metal bands need to use it.

you can get some really nice mids out of those amps. People just don't do it enough.

blue said:

that's a true statement...i was talking about the maxon model specifically though, just to clarify. from what i've been led to understand a lot of the guitarists he's worked with have started using it

MadOakDevin said:

i want that head.

sacreligion said:

I wouldn't say he started the trend, anyone who knows gear pretty much is aware that an OD with gain down/level up before a tube amp on the edge of breakup is the way to go for killer tone. Typically this is more associated with blues and rock tones, but with some modification, the same can be had for a slamming metal tone. I bet you hear this same tone on more records than you are aware of, it's fairly common technique.

I personally used an EQ set with a bass cut/mid + level boost before my Boogie DR in my last band, it's basically the same thing as a tubescreamer - level boost, bass cut, mid boost. This reduces the woofiness of the bass, really tightens up the sound, and the mid boost causes the guitar to really cut through the mix. Of course, getting the bass back in post-distortion is the tricky part, and if you're too liberal with the mids, you risk fighting the vocals with your guitar tone. You have to get a bit creative to get the bass back in your signal, use a graphic EQ or a in the loop for the most control.

But, honestly, the best piece of gear I've come across lately for cheap tone is the Roland Micro-Cube. 120 bucks and that little amp is slamming, direct or through the 5 inch speaker. I did a 14 hour studio session last saturday, with both guitar scratch tracks being recorded through Micro-Cubes direct. On the rectifier setting, that little amp made our scratch tracks sound better than some records I've heard. Best 120 you'll ever spend. Honestly, if you're not willing to spend 75-125 (which is barely even money in terms of gear), you're not going to find much. Try Craigslist, for used stuff, in that case.