Distortion Pedals ..............

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griff10672

griff10672

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If you use one at all .... which one do you go to ??

Is there something about it that makes it better than others in your opinion ?

does it chug ??
 
For chugging/metal I far prefer amp distortion over a pedal. That said, that’s 90’s/00’s me talking as I haven’t tried any of the current high gain pedals.

I’ve got a shitload of dirt pedals for various tones, when I don’t do chugga chugga shit I’m pretending I’m Gilmour/EJ, usually stacking drives into a clean or broken up amp. I’ve got a few more since I took this pic. Whenever Lovepedal does an SNS, it’s really hard to turn away $100 handwired ‘boutique’ pedals. The Dovers are awesome for the EJ kinda tones and can go from distortion to fuzz depending on which version.

Out of those below, I’m a big fan of the Tchula into the Vintage Modern into one of the Dovers. Those 3 could cover a shitload of territory of music right up until the change from hard rock to metal comes in. I never really understood the stacking drives thing until I started doing it, there’s some fun to be had in there and tones I wouldn’t expect to get.

IMG_4452.jpeg
 
RevDrucifer said:
For chugging/metal I far prefer amp distortion over a pedal. That said, that’s 90’s/00’s me talking as I haven’t tried any of the current high gain pedals.

I’ve got a shitload of dirt pedals for various tones, when I don’t do chugga chugga shit I’m pretending I’m Gilmour/EJ, usually stacking drives into a clean or broken up amp. I’ve got a few more since I took this pic. Whenever Lovepedal does an SNS, it’s really hard to turn away $100 handwired ‘boutique’ pedals. The Dovers are awesome for the EJ kinda tones and can go from distortion to fuzz depending on which version.

Out of those below, I’m a big fan of the Tchula into the Vintage Modern into one of the Dovers. Those 3 could cover a shitload of territory of music right up until the change from hard rock to metal comes in. I never really understood the stacking drives thing until I started doing it, there’s some fun to be had in there and tones I wouldn’t expect to get.

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I'm just learning the magic of stacking myself ................... I've got a few projects I'm starting to design with basically 2 pedals in one ..... the first one I'll probably do is the screamer with the Klon ..... man does that one work
 
griff10672 said:
I'm just learning the magic of stacking myself ................... I've got a few projects I'm starting to design with basically 2 pedals in one ..... the first one I'll probably do is the screamer with the Klon ..... man does that one work
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Yep, that exact Klon territory is where I started noticing some subtleties that pop up with stacking. And that’s how fucking rabbit holes get started, because once that realization kicks in you just want to try everything!
 
The JPTR FX Katastrophe. It can act as a preamp into a power amp as shown here in my demo.

 
I personally don't like stacking pedals much. Seems like you lose more clarity the more boxes are on. I know a guy, somewhat well known who has a bunch of OD"s on his board. He'll rip it and you can't even hear what he's doing there is so much OD mud. And that's with a strat and supers/dumbles. I have a hard time wrapping my head around a better sound coming from a $200 box vs a $2000 amp, but that's just my opinion.

I don't play rock I play good loud blues so no chugging. I like a cranked Twin with a good low OD pedal with volume a little past unity and the gain goosing the amp just a small amount so leads get a little more sustain. Ride the volume knob to set OD levels. I been using a J Rockett Blue Note on the low gain setting for some time for that but have been considering trying the Keeley Noble Screamer cause it checks a few boxes. I like the Blue Note because it doesn't color up the sound a whole lot and has a lot of smooth low gain tones that complement the amp, which is where most of the gain is coming from. There are no "bad" settings on that box.
 
I have 3 distortion pedals: Analogman DS1 with mid knob, Okko Diabalo and Satchel's Butthole Burner.

The Okko sounds like a good Marshall JCM, capable of more gain. Hitting it with an od makes it chug. Probably the most versatile, as it can do a great crunch up to Jubilee levels of dirt. Open and articulate.

The DS1 has plenty of gain, will grunge, chug, and can get so saturated it starts pushing towards fuzzy. Not as articulate as the other 2. It sounds most 80s sleazy hair metal to me. I love it. Wish it had more volume output.

BB is the tightest, chuggiest, modernest sounding. I think it's made by KHDK, but not sure which pedal it's based on. Wish I had this back in the early days, when all I had was a clean Fender amp.

I could make a clip comparing if anyone is interested.
 
VonBonfire said:
I personally don't like stacking pedals much. Seems like you lose more clarity the more boxes are on. I know a guy, somewhat well known who has a bunch of OD"s on his board. He'll rip it and you can't even hear what he's doing there is so much OD mud. And that's with a strat and supers/dumbles. I have a hard time wrapping my head around a better sound coming from a $200 box vs a $2000 amp, but that's just my opinion.
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I’ve had $40 pedals that can make a $350 amp sound like a $2000 amp…?
 
LPMojoGL said:
I have 3 distortion pedals: Analogman DS1 with mid knob, Okko Diabalo and Satchel's Butthole Burner.

The Okko sounds like a good Marshall JCM, capable of more gain. Hitting it with an od makes it chug. Probably the most versatile, as it can do a great crunch up to Jubilee levels of dirt. Open and articulate.

The DS1 has plenty of gain, will grunge, chug, and can get so saturated it starts pushing towards fuzzy. Not as articulate as the other 2. It sounds most 80s sleazy hair metal to me. I love it. Wish it had more volume output.

BB is the tightest, chuggiest, modernest sounding. I think it's made by KHDK, but not sure which pedal it's based on. Wish I had this back in the early days, when all I had was a clean Fender amp.

I could make a clip comparing if anyone is interested.
Click to expand...
What? Clips of gear, some modded. Gear a lot of us haven’t seen or heard? Nah, we’re good.

?
 
VonBonfire said:
I personally don't like stacking pedals much. Seems like you lose more clarity the more boxes are on. I know a guy, somewhat well known who has a bunch of OD"s on his board. He'll rip it and you can't even hear what he's doing there is so much OD mud. And that's with a strat and supers/dumbles. I have a hard time wrapping my head around a better sound coming from a $200 box vs a $2000 amp, but that's just my opinion.

I don't play rock I play good loud blues so no chugging. I like a cranked Twin with a good low OD pedal with volume a little past unity and the gain goosing the amp just a small amount so leads get a little more sustain. Ride the volume knob to set OD levels. I been using a J Rockett Blue Note on the low gain setting for some time for that but have been considering trying the Keeley Noble Screamer cause it checks a few boxes. I like the Blue Note because it doesn't color up the sound a whole lot and has a lot of smooth low gain tones that complement the amp, which is where most of the gain is coming from. There are no "bad" settings on that box.
Click to expand...
I don't even own a distortion pedal I don't think ... if I do .. it's old and I've forgotten about it ... I figure 95 % of the people in here are getting their " gain " sounds from their amp ...
I thought stacking always led to a muddy mess myself ..... till I put a screamer in front of a Klon ...
and putting treble booster's in front of Muff variants .... Woo Hoo
I'm looking to add a distortion / pre amp to my list ...... and wondered what people were using ... if anything
LPMojoGL said:
I have 3 distortion pedals: Analogman DS1 with mid knob, Okko Diabalo and Satchel's Butthole Burner.

The Okko sounds like a good Marshall JCM, capable of more gain. Hitting it with an od makes it chug. Probably the most versatile, as it can do a great crunch up to Jubilee levels of dirt. Open and articulate.

The DS1 has plenty of gain, will grunge, chug, and can get so saturated it starts pushing towards fuzzy. Not as articulate as the other 2. It sounds most 80s sleazy hair metal to me. I love it. Wish it had more volume output.

BB is the tightest, chuggiest, modernest sounding. I think it's made by KHDK, but not sure which pedal it's based on. Wish I had this back in the early days, when all I had was a clean Fender amp.

I could make a clip comparing if anyone is interested.
Click to expand...
I never shy away from comparison vids !!
I've modded several DS-1's with some good results ..... but in the end ... what ever I did ... once you get the gain up high enough ... it almost turns into a Rat ..
 
griff10672 said:


check it out when he gets to the Behringer pedal .......... the friggin thing sounds as good if not better than everything else .... and Amazon has it for 25 bucks ...
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The Apex sounded like a 5150 in a box. I have an Eyemaster but can’t get it to sound anything like I saw in video‘s. It’s a hot mess.
 
For some reason I have moved away from my klone, Mythical OD.
My main gain is coming from my amp.
But I have a modded SD1 by Analogman that slays!

I own a Barbershop, but havent been into that much lately as well as my PoT.
The PoT though is pretty cool with single coils.

I will hit my Lightspeed as a boost at times though, gain a touch less than halfway.

Humbuckers though I dont tend to hit a pedal unless i want to go into territory I probably dont belong in, lol...
 
dcburn said:
I own a Barbershop, but havent been into that much lately as well as my PoT.
The PoT though is pretty cool with single coils.
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Ok great you cut hair and run a dispensary. What does that have to do with guitar tone though? Pot and single coils? I thought stoner rock was mostly humbuckers?
 
griff10672 said:
I don't even own a distortion pedal I don't think ... if I do .. it's old and I've forgotten about it ... I figure 95 % of the people in here are getting their " gain " sounds from their amp ...
I thought stacking always led to a muddy mess myself ..... till I put a screamer in front of a Klon ...
and putting treble booster's in front of Muff variants .... Woo Hoo
I'm looking to add a distortion / pre amp to my list ...... and wondered what people were using ... if anything

I never shy away from comparison vids !!
I've modded several DS-1's with some good results ..... but in the end ... what ever I did ... once you get the gain up high enough ... it almost turns into a Rat ..
Click to expand...
Yes, kinda Rat like, but with a more flexible eq on the Analogman. Not nasal like a rat, not scooped like a ds1.
 
I had the suhr riot reloaded and it was nice but it just didn’t do it for me. Someday I’ll grab a cheap hm pedal just because to me that is the death metal sound that I prefer. But I’m not using anything. I have never really owned very many. Now Nik (Techdeath) recommended the black coffee distortion. I think that’s the one. Maybe he will chime in.
 
I rarely use dirt pedals, I prefer getting what I want from my amp and use an EQ pedal for variation (e.g., different rhythm tones or lead tones); but my favorite dirt pedal is my Source Audio UltraWave.







edit: my fav EQ pedal is my Source Audio EQ2. When I want effects, my HX-Effects covers just about anything.
 
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man I've got a bunch of dirt boxes. Right now i'm using the original JHS AT, the mini Nobels, a TS 9, a Nux clone of the Vertex SSS, and my favorite hidden gem - the Behringer SF300 super fuzz (it kicks ass and was $39). i've got some pricey pedals too, but that's just what I'm tinkering with now. Obviously i'm not a chug guy lol.

I used to try and jam a pedal with the gain dimed into the front of a really clean amp and then wonder why the tones sucked. There's an art to pedal stacking, and the sum of the parts often sounds better than the independent parts themselves. the big revelation for me was to take the gain back when stacking and play more with the level controls. Also, ive found I much prefer the amp starting to break up or even mild levels overdrive when using pedals in front (especially with fuzz pedals, i hate them in clean amps).

Just my 2 cents.
 
VonBonfire said:
Ok great you cut hair and run a dispensary. What does that have to do with guitar tone though? Pot and single coils? I thought stoner rock was mostly humbuckers?
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Did I offend you at some point?

I don't really understand the passive/aggressive insults?
 
griff10672 said:
I'm just learning the magic of stacking myself ................... I've got a few projects I'm starting to design with basically 2 pedals in one ..... the first one I'll probably do is the screamer with the Klon ..... man does that one work
Click to expand...
The duality dx from deadweald was a huge hit. The tube screamer and tc boost in one pedal...with gates! Sold out fast. Been outta stock for a long time. I loaned mine out and have been wanting another one ever since...because I don't want to ask for mine back. My bro said he looooves it.
https://www.deadwealdaudio.com/duality-dx
 
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