Pedal ideas?

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damaan

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Hello,
I'm looking to upgrade my rig with an overdrive pedal. I have recently upgrade my amp to a blackstar HT5 but I want now to give it a boost. I play metal covers from bands like metallica, guns n roses, anthrax etc. Can anyone recommend a good overdrive pedal to go with this rig.
I have searched and read a lot but no overdrive pedal stands out as being for metal. I've seen:-
Ibanez TS9 and TS808
Maxon 808 and 808x
Boss SD1 or SD1w
Seymour Duncan 805
MXR DOUBLE DOUBLE
Fulltone OCD V2
Electro Harmonix Soul Food

I want to use the gain of my amp rather than the pedal doing the work and using the clean channel. So I will put a noise suppressor on to setup as well. I hear the amp 'flat' when playing. I can crank up the gain/volume, but I lose sound quality of the notes as they all merge together. I thought by using a tube screamer, I could boost the amp without losing the clarity of sound.

It seems the pedals above all come recommended and not recommended when I read about them. Anyone play the music I play and therefore recommend a pedal. I've got about £100 to spend.
Thanks. :thumbsup:
 
My buddy Rob Keeley makes some killer pedals and they work great with my Friedman JJ Jr. to just give it that little extra "something". I have his D&M pedal which has a boost and an overdrive and you can flip the order via a switch. I have his "El Rey Dorado" and "Filaments" pedals and turn down the gain and crank the level to use them as boosts instead of typical overdrive pedals.
 
if you arent using the gain and just using it for a boost just grab any tubescreamer.

pedals dont have to be marketed for metal to be used for metal, thats just how they make more money lol.
 
OD808 is tried and true. It's a great place to start.
 
While I do think there are differences between the different type of Tube Screamers, the difference is quite subtle, especially if you set it to the typical Gain 0, Level 10 boost setup under lots of gain from the amp. I would recommend just grabbing whatever you can find cheaper, spending some time with it so that you can evaluate what you like and what you dislike about so that you can move on to the next TS-type... or not.

I have a cheapie TC Electronic El Mocambo that I like more than my more expensive Ibanez TS808 which I liked better than either the Maxon OD9 or OD808 I used to have. The Duncan 805 and Boss SD-1 were also cool, except their output isn't quite as hot as more straightforward classic TS-types (which isn't all that hot to begin with). The MXR Classic Overdrive/GT-OD/Wylde Overdrive is pretty cool with some amps (especially amps that are voiced tight already), but it's not as tight as the usual TS-type.

It's a matter of trying different stuff out.
 
romanianreaper":1yg3enn4 said:
My buddy Rob Keeley makes some killer pedals and they work great with my Friedman JJ Jr. to just give it that little extra "something". I have his D&M pedal which has a boost and an overdrive and you can flip the order via a switch. I have his "El Rey Dorado" and "Filaments" pedals and turn down the gain and crank the level to use them as boosts instead of typical overdrive pedals.
Click to expand...

Thanks everyone for the info.
@romanianreaper - just looked at the reviews of the "El Rey Dorado" and "Filaments" pedals. They look very good, especially the filaments pedal. This pedal could give me additional tones by using the gain of the pedal through the clean channel of the amp. But could you tell me if the filaments pedal is as good as the tubescreamer at boosting the front end of the amp? Could I use the gain of my amp, turn down the gain of the pedal and get the same sort of drive from the pedal through the amp? Or does it sound flat without a bit of gain (as it has been designed as a distortion pedal)?
Also, its expensive to buy new, however they are quite a lot cheaper second hand - is this because nobody rates the pedal?
Any advice welcomed :thumbsup:
 
damaan":2kur0x4p said:
Thanks everyone for the info.
@romanianreaper - just looked at the reviews of the "El Rey Dorado" and "Filaments" pedals. They look very good, especially the filaments pedal. This pedal could give me additional tones by using the gain of the pedal through the clean channel of the amp. But could you tell me if the filaments pedal is as good as the tubescreamer at boosting the front end of the amp? Could I use the gain of my amp, turn down the gain of the pedal and get the same sort of drive from the pedal through the amp? Or does it sound flat without a bit of gain (as it has been designed as a distortion pedal)?
Also, its expensive to buy new, however they are quite a lot cheaper second hand - is this because nobody rates the pedal?
Any advice welcomed :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

No problem man! :thumbsup: I have his Aria and DDR pedals as well. The DDR has delay/reverb and two different types of drives. One of them is like a Tube Screamer.

I don't think the Filaments would be as good as a Tube Screamer because those type of pedals are good at what they do, just basic, etc. The Filaments has alot going on and as you mentioned, sounds good into a clean amp. With that said, I use it a lot with the gain turned down and the level maxed like a boost and sounds good. I turn the amp down on my amp like you said.

I forgot to mention, back in the day when I was gigging I used a "Bad Monkey" pedal by Digitech. Basically a cheap version of a Tube Screamer. Worked great!
 
Hello again,
Got the opportunity of buying a Boss SD1W or a Ibanez NTS tubescreamer or a Keeley Filaments pedal. I would be interested in any thoughts people might have. They are all roughly the same price at the site I want to buy from.
Thanks.
 
damaan":3dgzsy4r said:
Hello again,
Got the opportunity of buying a Boss SD1W or a Ibanez NTS tubescreamer or a Keeley Filaments pedal. I would be interested in any thoughts people might have. They are all roughly the same price at the site I want to buy from.
Thanks.
Click to expand...


I would go with the SD1W or Ibanez NTS tubescreamer. As much as a Keeley freak as I am, I think it is a bit too much high gain distortion and really you need something more subtle.
 
VFE Standout is killer of your can find them also Friedman buxom boost is really nice. I like Klon clones like the soul food ,Tumnus, Ryra the klon etc cause it just boost the amp and gives you more of what you love about your amp. A Maxon OD808 is a pedal that never fails either. My favorite metal bands were all practically using the same amps but with different boosts Obituary/morbid angel used a rat into jcm800/900 Mastodon was using JCM's with tube screamer variants or the bad monkey.

Really it's hard to go wrong with any of the ones you listed. Check out Killertone Texas's YouTube account and Lasse Lammert's channel. You can get really good tones with various boost on amps that do or don't have lots of gain. Even an EQ pedal pushing the amp can do wonders. It's all down to preference.
 
I have bought the SD1 in the end. After reading and watch many reviews, it sounded (to me) as good as the TS9 or SD1W and was half the price! While watching the reviews, many people (especially those using high gain), use a noise suppressor. Reading around, 2 noise gates stand out. The TC Sentry and the MXR smartgate. Both are roughly the same price 2nd hand. Has anyone got any thoughts which one is better – or are they much the same?
Thanks.
 
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