Whats your favourite distotion pedal after years of trying as many as i can ( including the hugely dissapointing Ibanez smashbox) im finally happy using the Digitech Metalmaster.

i use boss mega distortion. no bullshit.

at home I use the Boss metal zone, but i don´t like it very much, what about the "death metal, DOD"?

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the metal zone only sounds good scooped imo. and it sounds kinda thin. the metal master and dod grunge pedals dont even have mid controls, which is very important.. the dod death metal doesnt have any gain control.... the smash box just wasnt very impressive... the big muff sounds really cool, but not alot of tone shaping controls. the boss mega distortion seems like a thicker metalzone to me.

i just use my jmp 1 for distortion. it sounds better than any pedal.

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i dont really use dist pedals.but i guess ill go w/ the metalzone.dont really like it though.dod pedals suck

You use a pedal for distortion??

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Boss MT-2 Metalzone, it has a wide variety of tone which i can shape to just about any sound i want.

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^^^^ what he said.

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i like my effects processor, a old zoom 2020, i am gonna get a new eventually, if i can find one that gets a better sound out of one, i had a digitech metalmaster, as well as a ibanez tubescreamer, and i can get better distortion and overdrive with my processor.

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My pedal pretty big... its called a 5150

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hahaha

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...and no.

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Distortion pedals are for n00bs

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no, i use my jmp 1... it's my preamp, not a pedal.... so it's my "amps distortion"..
pedals just don't cut it in the real world. any serious gigging musician will tell you that. mostly because in order for a pedal to sound good with an amp the amp has to have a great clean channel that stays clean when turned up. and even then, just the overall power behind a good amps distortion is just something a pedal cant give.
when i went from pedal to my mesa vtwin rack preamp, the vtwin didnt have as much "gain" as some of the pedals i had been playing on, but when i turned it up the power and tone(that wasnt lost like with pedals )made me never look back. since then i've moved on to even better preamps with more gain and power.
i've owned my share of pedals in the past, but looking back now.... i should have just not bought a dozen different distortion/o.d. pedals(that just end up broken,stolen,lost,sold for less,ect.) .. instead i should have just bought a jmp-1 in the begining.

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xdislexicx, do you run ur preamp before your amp's preamp, in the effects loop, or is it the only preamp that you have and you use a separate power amp? i'm not very familiar with separate preamps...

\m/

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i run my preamp into a poweramp. so it works like a head only better

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depends what kinda gear is in the rack

distortion pedals suck, IMO.

theres only one I'de consider, thats the ProCon Rat. I used a metalzone in the past, its not that bad really, but I'll take the sound of overdriven tubes any day

im not a expert on prices so ill ask this here.

I have 100 euros to spend on a distortion pedal, what can i get for that price?

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I use the Boss MT-2 because I think it offers the best distortion and versatility of all the distortion pedals around. Amp distortion will always be better but I haven't got a good amp and I wouldn't be able to play it loud anyway!

Doc: You should be able to get a brand new MT-2 for that price. If not, you'll definitely be able to get one second hand.

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Amp distortion is not better than pedals from my experience. Even the "cheap" mt-2 gives better distortion that the dist. on the amp on a marshall stack in my opinion.

The very best thing is overdriven tubes

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In my opinion the metal master's morph control can be used like a mids control, it's got the same type of princeples as a mids control, infact i think they just renamed the thing a morph control to make it seem better than it already is.

[QUOTE=daggerfall]Amp distortion is not better than pedals from my experience. Even the "cheap" mt-2 gives better distortion that the dist. on the amp on a marshall stack in my opinion. QUOTE]

you're joking right???
i don't know what marshall stacks you've been playing, but any tube marshall could easily waste the metalzone, hell i'd take the mg,avt,m4 distortion channels over the mt 2 any day.
you must play some crappy amps at low volumes alot.

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i beleive the morph control is used to change which pedal it is imitating.

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I'm not saying it doesn't but when you increase the morph you get a scooped kind of distortion and when you decrease it you get more of i trebly sound, the same as you would get by increasing/decreasing your mids.

Has anyone played the Line 6 distortion modler? Dm4 i think it is

well that shit rules, the heavey distortion on it sounds alot like a hi gain tube head to me, plus you can use the other channels for lead boost or what ever you want

I don't get why you don't just use a head? At least that comes with an preamp and a power amp. BTW, what kind of poweramp do you use?

\m/

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dist pedals r not better than tubes.your amp just sucks

I dont like to use distortion pedals...they piss me off. The ones ive used made me feel like i had no control over some of the crap i was playing. I mean no control as in killing the strings and muting and so on...

right now i'm using a peavey cs800 poweramp until i can afford a mesa simul class 2:90.
and one reason i find rack gear is better for me is flexibility. i can control my jmp 1, and tc electronic g major with one midi controller so i don't have to tap dance over a huge pedalboard.
a head is just a really simple rack(preamp+poweramp) in the same chasis.
but with a true rack rig you can mix and match different brands and types of gear. tuners noise suppressors,sonic maximizers, effects,preamp,poweramp,powerconditioner,eqs,compressors,filters, and so on. once i complete my rack it will be capable(hell it is now) of doing more than any head.

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you have a g major??? Man i heard those things kick ass

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Well, i like the mt2 metalzone best too. I have used also a big muff pi pedal, a zoom multi-distortion pedal, and distortion from a multi fx board from boss, but the multi stuff sounded horrible, and i didn't like the big muff because there was only one tone control.
I agree that amp distortion sounds way better than any pedal, but i'm still saving money to buy myself a good amp.

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yeah they do, when i get rich i'm gonna buy a g force which is like "the best" rack fx unit on the planet(at $1,500 u.s.a. dollars!). but the g major is fuckin awsome too but the pitch shifting as well as a couple other features arent as usable as the g force. but with a digitech whammy4,dunlop mr. crybaby/volume, and dan electro shift daddy. i wouldnt really need those features from a rack unit anyways.

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I was think of building up a rack rig. Do you have much trouble with troubleshooting problems? Personally I wouldnt have much in my rack, preamp, poweramp, eq, BBE sonic maximizer, and maybe an effects unit if my preamp didnt meet my needs(which it will since I'm basic in my sound). And do you have any suggestions of preamps? I already have my eyes on that Carvin all tube power amp.

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Not sure about preamps. They are personal in taste. I would just try as many as I could and decide.

Don't forget a power conditioner/protector and maybe a noise gate if the preamp doesn't have one. Plus a midi pedal bourd to control it all.

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i don't have any trouble shooting problems. i just plug everything in and leave it like that, show up for a gig, plug into my pedalboard, hook up my cabs, turn on my powerconditioner, watch my rack light up(looks sci-fi ) adjust my volume, tune my guitar, and then help the rest of my band get there shit up.
some things like my ibanez msp 1000(compressor/15 band graphic eq/notch filter) don't even need to be on. so if it did malfunction my rig would still work but my sound would change a little because it wouldnt be going through the eq/comp/notch part, but nothing crucial. none of my shit has ever really crapped out on me.
the only thing that has been pissing me off lately is my midibuddy controller, but thats because some dumbass(me ) knocked over a can of orange soda on it and now it's starting to get pissy with me.

i have a bbe 462 sonic maximizer and the way it helps my setup is absolutely amazing, it tightens up my lows and helps me cut through the mix better without turning up my amp. i recommend one to everybody with or without a rack.

a power conditioner is always smart to have especially if you have alot of things in your rack, i got my furman rackrider with lights brand new for $60. but they have all sorts of fancy ones with voltage meters,tuners, ect. that will cost more, but i just needed the basic power conditioner. the lights are always good to have on dark stages and shit.

as for a preamp, it depends on what sound you want. you don't seem like the kind of guy that digs the mesa sound, but you might be suprised with some of the preamp shit they got.
some people hate valve midi preamps like the ada mp-1,marshall jmp-1, mesa triaxis, h&k access, ect. because they arent 100% tube. so you just got to decide what you want in that area, tube,valve, s.s.(analog), or digital

alot depends on how much you're willing to spend. the best preamp buy for the money imo is the ada mp-1, you could snag one off ebay for under $150, and the mp-1's were practically made to be modded. but they still sound great stock.
if you go to www.adadepot.com they have a bunch of mods/schematics available. so if you're interested in the mp-1 you should check that site out.

heres an mp-1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...3726255561&rd=1

i've gone through several preamps to try and find the right tone and each time i find something better for me. first a mesa vtwin(rack), then i got stuck on an mp-1... then the bogner/hafler triple giant came along(i still have, and i'm selling), and now i'm in love with my jmp-1.

one thing with digital/valve/midi preamps like the mp-1 and jmp-1 is they have a battery that needs to be replaced every few years so you can store and save your presets. no biggy though.

some people also get pedals rackmounted in drawers like noise suppressors,tone boosters,eq's, and so on. and they just leave them on.

some good tube poweramps especially for the price are the peavey classics. i myself am going for the mesa simul class 2:90 because it is really powerful(i can use one side and keep the other for a backup),simul class(class A and class A/B running simultaniously),only two rack spaces,stereo,and it has few more cool options.
heres a 100w tube carvin poweramp.. not bad but you could do better for the price range.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...3726370390&rd=1
mesa 2:50
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...3727070698&rd=1

2:90 like what i want
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...3727070808&rd=1

an oldschool simulclass 2/95
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...3726678509&rd=1

peavey classic 60/60 & 50/50
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...3726868982&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...3727361989&rd=1

and this is just fucking awsome, i think def said he wanted one of these....
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...3726921816&rd=1

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Yeah i have a lee jackson perfect connection preamp and power amp and the distortion on the preamp kills anything else ive ever played in person. The only prob is the eq on mine does absolutely nothing (except for treble which its just a pot and cap and the mid shift which is very useful), dont know if its supposed to be like that or its just broken. I dont have a cab yet but ive played the poweramp through one and it sounded pretty damn awesome. All i need is a cab, furman power unit, and im thinking about getting a rocktron xpression because its pretty cheap and seems to do everything i would need.

As far as distortion pedals go every guitar guy uses at least one basically according to guitargeek.com. i guess they just feed that into their super expensive killer amps. A good pedal that noone has mentioned is the seymour duncan pickup booster, just adds gain without changing tone at all. I havent used it but ive read reviews and it does exactly what its supposed to. So that way you can get crazy output out of a strat or somethin.

I use the DOD Death Metal on my bass, sounds good to me. But, that's my opinion.

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I want some of what this guy is smoking.
Does anyone here have any of the Boss HM's? What is your guys opinion over the MT-2?

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Hm is basically one tone... very trebly. Mt-2 has mroe variety of tones, they both sound like ass and are a waste of money

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MT-2 hands down.

QUESTION: I heard that the MXR is a good pedal, but none of the local stores have them to try, so I ask you is it good or not?

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The hm is boss Heavy Metal right? I've also seen a Boss Hyper Metal of which I havent played.
My friend has the Heavy Metal one and it sucks ass. Metalzone is WAY better.

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yes it does sucks, i used one with my 15 watt crate when i started.. it made me not want to play guitar cause the tone... or lakc of sucked.

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which mxr? the dime one is unusable unless you only play fuzzy scooped out korn type music that needs no real tone... i like the clean distortion that comes from good amps, not cheap fuzz boxes that sound like you just stuck your head in a metal garbage can and had somebody smack it with a baseball bat. but anyways, the majority of gear that says dime on it is complete garbage(except the wahs).

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that dime pedal sucks. But his wah's are cool... but i think their just painted 535 q's

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I used to use a boss MT-2, Zoom Tri-Metal, Boss DS-1, and I have had various multi effects boards, and all of the boards blew, I used ot have to use an EQ pedal with the Boss MT-2 to get the tin sound out if it and I hated the other boss, the only one I liked was the tri-metal, but when you turned it on, to get a good sound out of it, you had to turn down the volume, and then it was far lower then the clean channel, it would be great if you had no use in a clean channel, but that was how I set it when I had it, but I could probably get a much better sound out of it now that I have had a few more years of playing... but amp distortion is far easier to deal with live, and there is no worry about a battery or an extra plug or cord or any of that bull shit that happens...

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Thanks!

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I dont know much about this shit but i prefer the multi effect pedals (GNX3) but if im wrong please tell me so...

at least its not one of those crap rp's.... but any decent, hell any half decent amp could still get better distortion. decent effects though imo.

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Guys you should try AMT Effects The Fatal tube and tube maginum are awsome check them out at www.kgbamplification.com

Mmmm.... spam

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Does anyone know if the Marshall Jackhammer pedal is any good, i might buy one.

As said by Soulinsane, Mmmmm Spam

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The line 6 DM4 is the best distortion pedal ive ever played, and ive used lots of em

i mean its got soooo much range and heavey distortion sounds quite good on it

only thing about it is sometimes(not a whole lot, but a little) it lacks clarity

i use a rat, theyre the shit dude. ive ran it through a laney tt100 and a marshall jcm800 and it sounded terrific

when you ran the rat through a jcm 800 where you getting a good Morbid Angel sound??

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I just got a shitty early 90's DOD preamp/effects processor for my guitar pretty hilarious. But here's a dumb question, can I use it with my bass too, or is that just a bad idea?

And to whoever said pedals are for noob's is actin' a fool, come on just think about what you said, how many band's do you listen to who use at least one pedal?

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most bands you will listen to will be using a good amp or boutique pedal for dist... and their tone is good.

the only way i'd use a pedal was if i had a medium/low gain amp like a fender hotrod,peavey classic 30,ect.... but i'd use a good o.d. pedal, not some cheap digitech or boss metal pedal.

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The Fatal tube sample didnt sound too bad... but that extreme three is buzzy as fuck. I myself use a peavey Xl Supreme, a BBE sonic maximizer 362, a 2 channel 32 band Eq, and a retrofitted ampeg Cabinet with V30s. i get my dist from the amp and the eq.

that setup sounds like it'd be pretty heav' sounding.... maybe a better head.... but good job on the bbe and graphic eq, huge help for anyamp. plus v30's rock my socks....

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yeah dis, im either gonna get a crate gt3500h (i hear it uses the same circuitry as the ampeg vh140c, which my favorite band, suffocation uses) or if i get rich enough, a engl 530 and vht 2/90/2

my vote goes 530 + 2/90/2..... i want a 580 and the 2/90/2..... but the 530 is awesome too.
but.... this is a dist pedal thread so i'm gonna stop my off topic posts.

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tube amps are great, but if you take a pedal and run it through the clean channel and crank the poweramp, you'll get a great sound.

well, yeah we should get back on topic, but yeah ill get those items if and when i ever get the money because the 530 is discontinued now i think.

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depends on the amp and the pedal.....

no it isnt, rocksolidamps.com sells them..... but i buy used, it's cheaper.. the 630 is distcontinued, i think thats what def has.... 630 or 620 or something...... i like the 530 more... but the 580 is the end all be all....

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i like the metal zone that i use, but i havent tried many

is the 580 discontinued? DerekB from rocksolid posts on harmony central user forms, and im on there too, so weve posted about stuff like this, the 530 is the one that just says 4 channel pre amp then right?

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the 580 is still made.... the 530 is the 4 channel one....

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both are still made.

anyways, my favorite distortions are the Proco Rat (the original 80's one, I've got one from 84...) the fulltone Fulldrive 2 (boutique pedal, us handmade) and the TS9DX tubescreamer....

the Rat takes off where the TS leaves you, and the fulldrive can make any amp sound good. though its not as heavy as you'de expect.

i almost bought a rackmount rat when i bought my mesa rack vtwin.... i was going to use them together for a ridiculously heavy distortion, but i was like $50 short.....

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rackmount rat???? I didn't even know they made them, got a link or something?

I've only seen the rat I's and I's and the turbo rat's. I've got one from the first few series which looks all worn out but still sounds good, right now its at my friends place kicking the living shit out of a farting old jcm 800

ha, they don't make em any more.... very rare... when i went to music go round to try out some rack stuff they had a mesa v-twin rack pre and a rack mounted rat through a mesa simul 3:95..... i was playing it all through a marshall 2x12 with g12t-75's.... it sounded like a big muff on crack, it was soooo cool....

but yeh, there is a keely modded rat pedal on harmony central's classifieds... $100 bones.

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eh, so you got a pic of it?

I really don't see the use of getting a stompbox with 3 knobs in rack format

i don't have a pic of it... it was just at the used gear store.... you can probably hunt on the net for some info or maybe even pics of it....

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