distortion pedals

rogercollege · Post by **rogercollege** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 5:10 pm

i know there are countless streams about this but do you guys have any suggestions for distortion pedals that can produce quality subtle distortion?

I'm basically looking for something that can bring a smooth, slightly dirty, sound.

jrsgodfrey · Post by **jrsgodfrey** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 5:24 pm

I love my zvex Box O' Rock. Does subtle. Not cheap.

Judas Jetski · Post by **Judas Jetski** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 7:32 pm

Original Tube screamer? I've got an original SD-9 which is similar. I like what it gives me.

I've also got a Charlie Stringer Very-tone pedal which I use to overdrive amps (or provide more ... saturation?... to the distortion channel's inherent fuzziness). That gives me what I consider to be a very natural distortion. I really like it.

blackdiscoball · Post by **blackdiscoball** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 7:40 pm

A boss DS1 will probable take care of your needs. A boss blues driver might as well. I'd go to guitar center or some other big music shoppes and play a couple different ones till you find one you like.[/i]

blackdiscoball · Post by **blackdiscoball** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 7:42 pm

A boss DS1 will probable take care of your needs. A boss blues driver might as well. I'd go to guitar center or some other big music shoppes and play a couple different ones till you find one you like.

DrummerMan · Post by **DrummerMan** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 9:03 pm

Dude, I've said it before (not to you, but I have said it) and I'll say it again: Presonus BlueTube.

The best guitar distortion I've ever gotten, AND the best use for one of these things, IMHO. It's gain and drive knobs are designed for mics, so they're alot subtler/smoother than most stomp pedals I've seen. Dialing in that perfect spot right at the threshold of breaking up is a snap.

And, there's one on ebay right now for $0.99, the auction ends tomorrow, and you could probably get it for, like $5 in the end.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Presonus-Bluetube-S ... .m14.l1318
Granted, it's lacking a power supply, but still...

I'm pretty sure you and everyone else won't believe me, but I'm going to keep pushing this thing until it becomes every guitarists secret weapon

...or until I just get bored with caring whether or not anybody uses one, which.... should be happening in about 3 minutes...

If you want to hear a track that I know has this setup on the electric, go to this site:
http://endup.org/artists/balthropalabam ... ittletown/
and listen to the tune "Explode". At about 1:14 an electric guitar comes in pretty hard panned to the right. That's me

playing a tele through the BlueTube into an Ampeg Gemini I. Now, of course there are other factors to this sound, like the amp, and the fact that it was tracked to tape, and then EQ'd to fit the mix. And you can think whatever you want about the mix... The point is, I felt like I was able to reach a point where if I pushed a little harder, it would break up pretty well, but when I let back (like on the chime-y-esque arpeggios at around 1:21), it would clean up just to where I wanted it, AND it was really easy for me to dial in that threshold point with the BlueTube.
That's the only example that I could pull out right now, and, of course, you may listen to it and say, "that sounds terrible, I'm glad he put that up 'cuz now I KNOW I'll never get a BlueTube!!!!" I'm just sayin', it continually makes me, and other guitarists who I've worked with, very contented on the distortion front, though.

OK. I'm done. Enjoy whatever you get!

kayagum · Post by **kayagum** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 1:42 am

Menatone Red Snapper
Barber Electronics LTD
VoodooLabs Sparkledrive

.... among others

j_howell · Post by **j_howell** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 7:59 am

Fulltone Full-Drive 2. Recently got one myself and I've been really, really pleased with it. I hear good things about the OCD as well.

MXR Distortion + could be a real good thing for ya. There are so many options out there...I hear some good things about the BYOC boxes lately too, if you're handy with a soldering iron.

mattwhritenour · Post by **mattwhritenour** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 8:24 am

j_howell wrote:Fulltone Full-Drive 2. Recently got one myself and I've been really, really pleased with it. I hear good things about the OCD as well.

The OCD is excellent

Brett Siler · Post by **Brett Siler** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 9:51 am

DrummerMan wrote:Dude, I've said it before (not to you, but I have said it) and I'll say it again: Presonus BlueTube.

So is your signal chain Guitar -> Bluetube -> Amp
or
Guitar -> Amp-> Mic-> Bluetube?

DrummerMan · Post by **DrummerMan** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 10:28 am

InvalidInk wrote: So is your signal chain Guitar -> Bluetube -> Amp
or
Guitar -> Amp-> Mic-> Bluetube?

Guitar -> BlueTube -> Amp
It's got unbalanced 1/4" ins and outs.

I find the BlueTube pretty useless as a Mic pre, except in location situations where I need some gain and/or phantom power, and can't bring something bigger/better.

I should also add that I wouldn't buy one new (again), but at 99 cents, or if you can get one cheap (or already have one sitting around collecting dust), it might be worth it.

Also, my only experience is with the older model with the blue face. I don't know what the more recent models are like at all.

infiniteposse · Post by **infiniteposse** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 10:55 am

There's a whole genre of low-gain pedals out there for subtle grit and warmth. I've tried or owned many of them and they're my favs of the distortion world. They also tend to stack on top of one another nicely.

I've never been a fan of the TS variety of pedals. I've tried them all, modded and unmodded, boutique and normal GC varieties. Just not my thing...

The one's that are on my board at the moment are the Fulltone OCD, The Timmy and the Menatone Dirty Blonde. The OCD is not dissimilar from the Zvex BOR above at higher gain settings, but I'd say the OCD does better low-gain sounds to my ear. I have both, but I just prefer the OCD for subtle grit. The Timmy is very subtle, has great EQ and does a lot in the realm of low-gain. It's also great in front of or behind other pedals. The Menatone Dirty Blonde is just amazing. They're rep as a company is makers of pedals that sound like amps and they really achieve this. The DB is a Blonde Fender sound. Super warm, round, great EQ and varying levels of grit depending on what you want.

Another amazing pedal is the Throbak Overdrive Boost which covers a ton of ground. It's based on the basic idea of the old Colorsound overdrives, but it's got a lot more up it's sleeves. It's a great swiss army knife pedal that can do many many different things really well. It also cuts in a mix really nicely.

Good luck!

jaguarsg · Post by **jaguarsg** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 9:29 pm

rogercollege wrote:I'm basically looking for something that can bring a smooth, slightly dirty, sound.

what is your budget?

lotusstudio · Post by **lotusstudio** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 9:07 am

PROCO RAT PEDAL!

rogercollege · Post by **rogercollege** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 9:46 am

My budget cap is $200. I've got a nice booster, the Zvex Super Hard On, but I want something that distorts subtly without too much volume boost. I think I'm going with the Fulltone Full Drive 2.

I've also heard about the Bixonic Expandora EXP-2000R Expandora Reissue. Seems like an interesting pedals as well. Any thoughts?

Message Board

distortion pedals

distortion pedals

Re: distortion pedals

Who is online