Distortion Suggestions

[Kap'n]

I'm looking to get something a little more aggressive sounding and less mid-humpy in my rig than the pre-flat mids Fulldrive II I'm currently using. Maybe a bit more distorted, and meaner.

It would need a lot more definition than a Rat, but sort in that territory. True bypass would be a big plus, as would a smaller box.

I used to use an Ibanez SD-9 for a long time, and liked it a lot, but dumped it when it started bleeding effect through on bypass. I'm wondering if the new Maxon version is going to do it for me. Unfortunately, there's no good effects stores near me anymore.:wah

Any thoughts?

[sliding-tom]

Ever tried a Barber DD?

[pc]

For the last few weeks I have seriously been considering ponying up the dough for a Landgraff Dynamic Overdrive. It's a lot of money, but every time I hear one in use I'm really blown away. Check out almost any of GuitarG's jamzone entries.

Also, the overdrive Robben Ford gets out of that Zendrive is scary good. Not nearly as expensive (unless you want to "buy it now" on Ebay) but otherwise currently unavailable from the maker for at least 12 weeks.

[Kap'n]

I've actually got an old, script logo Direct Drive. Not as mid-humpy, unless you pull the knob, but similar enough to the Fulldrive to not be what I need. I'm actually thinking of pulling the Fulldrive, and replacing it with the direct drive and the other box.

Those Landgraffs are really expensive, aren't they? Something like four bills.

[curtisstetka]

I've got a flat mids era FD2 but I understand your dilemma. Sometimes it's a little too polished and polite sounding.

I've found that the FD2 itself takes other pedals very well. That is, there can be some wonderful interaction with other pedals. Right now, I'm using my FD2 in conjunction with an EH 10 band EQ pedal. The two together are totally righteous. I can make that FD sound any ol' way I want it to by boosting or cutting different frequencies. Also, putting the EQ after the FD or before it renders different effects.

At one point I had a Bad Bob booster pedal before my FD2. In a fit of insanity I sold it. Anyway, the Bad Bob was capable of really slamming the FD into worlds of grit and distortion it couldn't reach on its own.

If it's the mid hump that's bugging you, it's my understanding that altering it is not a difficult mod. You may be able to shoot Mike Fuller an email and ask him what to do. He's gotten a bad rap on various forum and HC but I've emailed with the guy a couple times for support on various things and he's always been just fine. I think he's just really busy so his answers are brief and may sound cold but he always gives a reply when you give him a serious question.

Maybe running a fuzz in conjunction with the FD would be groovy. I dunno. Never tried it. But it might be able to add the hair to your sound that you're looking for.

[curtisstetka]

Oh yeah - it's been my experience that when I'm playing alone, I want the mid to be more even. If I'm with the band, I want a mid hump. Those frequencies belong to the guitar and you'd better fill them up if you want to cut through.

[detuned]

Visual Sounds Jekyll & Hyde.

In the vein of the FDII, but with the option of getting much more agressive on the "boost" or "Hyde" side, & very flexible mid controls.

Wouldn't save you any space though...

[Offshore Angler]

Gee, I'm so tradtional, I still like the old BOSS yellow box the best.

[Kap'n]

Gee, I'm so tradtional, I still like the old BOSS yellow box the best.

Is that the SD-1? I dunno, I've never run into a Boss distortion I agree with.

Curtis, there'll still be a Bad Bob on the board. I'm just looking for something that gets me more 70's Rock tone in addition to the low gain and boost tones I've got.

[chuckocaster]

kap'n, i modded an sd1 for one of my good friends and i was totally blown away by it. kind of like a ts, no mid hump, great overtones, and gets a little heavier. i was pretty impressed. for under 100 bucks i think you could get a great dirt box.

[Gtrplyr]

I always liked the Boss OD-1 but the Fulltone Fulldrive II does it better.

Kap'n you ever try a Tonebone Hot British? It's very aggressive and can be very bright. It's true bypass as well. It's very Marshall sounding and that about all it will do. No mild OD with the Hot British.

[Kap'n]

I'm still musing what I want to do. I'm gonna dump some stuff on ebay in the next couple of weeks, and get the cash together.

Those Tonebones were THE pedal for a few months. I'm not sure why folks cooled to them. Maybe it was the OCD that became the next flavor. They're a big box Don't think it would fit on the board.

[Offshore Angler]

I keep getting confused. You said distortion but people keep reccomending overdrive devices. Are you looking for good ol' Rock and Roll distortion or an overdrive?

PS, Sorry if I added to the confusion saying yellow. I mean the world-renowned litle ORANGE box.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Boss-DS-1-Pedal-...QQcmdZViewItem

I think alot of people get confused between distortion and OD, Kap'n.

[pc]

I'm the same way. Pedals that made things fuzzy, whether lightly or heavily, were always called "Distortion pedals" in my neck of the woods all through my youth. Even when my local music store started selling the Tube-Screamers back in early 80s, they were called "Tube-Screamer distortion pedal" on the tags.

I think it was the metal stuff of the later 80s that made us all start calling the one sound Overdrive and the other Distortion.

So yeah, the FD2 is an overdrive, but Lord knows it goes into distortion territory with certain settings, certain pickups, and esp. if a compressor or other boost is used before it.

The DS-1 is definitely a distorition pedal, but roll off a bit of this and that, and you can get some overdrivey tones from it.

The other distinction between pedals like this is, are they meant to give your amp a completely different sound than it normally produces (I'm thinking DS-1 through Roland JC amp), or is it designed to work in conjunction with a particular type of amp? Fuller marketed that FD2 (extremely successfully) with that idea in mind.

Kap'n, I'm starting to think you and I should just switch our FD2s. :lol I keep thinking I'd like a bit more mids, and you keep thinking you'd like a bit less.

[Kap'n]

I keep getting confused. You said distortion but people keep reccomending overdrive devices. Are you looking for good ol' Rock and Roll distortion or an overdrive?

PS, Sorry if I added to the confusion saying yellow. I mean the world-renowned litle ORANGE box.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Boss-DS-1-Pedal-...QQcmdZViewItem

I think alot of people get confused between distortion and OD, Kap'n.

Yep, when I grew up, everything was a fuzzbox. I'm thinking glorious distortion is what I need. I've already got my overdrive covered.

As for the orange box. Had one. To my ears, perhaps the worst distortion ever. Just this wheezy mosquito tone if you turned the tone knob to the right, and it disappeared when you turned it to the left. It was also so compressed that the harder you hit it, the quieter it got.

Other folks swear by them. I think those are way more amp-dependent than most pedals.

[Kap'n]

Kap'n, I'm starting to think you and I should just switch our FD2s. :lol I keep thinking I'd like a bit more mids, and you keep thinking you'd like a bit less.

Yep. It's funny. Sometimes the mids are just perfect. Other times it drives me nuts. I think it has to do with barometric pressue.

[hi-watt357]

I personally love my Boss DS-1 (Distortion), but it's an older made in Japan model. It does sound better than a made in Taiwan one that I have.

I also use an MXR Distortion+. I have an old script-logo model as well as one of the newer ones with the LED. Both are good sounding pedals, and I would use the Distortion+ on the 2 KISS covers we used to play (She and Cold Gin). The Distortion+ just had more of the 70's rock tone to me (I was running a Les Paul into a Fender Twin running clean), so it sounded better on those songs.

But I primarily used the Boss DS-1 for most of my stuff.

[JAM]

The DS-1 is nearly the same circuit as the Dist +. Both use cheap-ass 741 op-amps. The first distortion pedal I bought was the Distortion +. Hated it. Later on got the SD-1 which IMO was a much better sound.

hi-watt,

The type of diodes used on your two DS-1 might be different. Germaniums will give a different sound than silicon for example.

[Gtrplyr]

I'm still musing what I want to do. I'm gonna dump some stuff on ebay in the next couple of weeks, and get the cash together.

Those Tonebones were THE pedal for a few months. I'm not sure why folks cooled to them. Maybe it was the OCD that became the next flavor. They're a big box Don't think it would fit on the board.

Yea, I ended up with both the Tonebone Classic and the Hot British,. I think that there's just way too many knobs and toggle switches on these boxes and them having a real 12AX7 tube is more of a gimmick plus it uses a 12v power supply.

My Hot British is currently in the repair shop for the second time to replace the the on/off stomp switch. :dead

The HB worked great with a Twin Reverb to get a Marshall crunch and I still like it with my Marshall on a few songs to get an extra heavy distortion with enough high end to cut through a mix. Muddy it's not!

I'm sure there are other pedals out there that would do the same but the Tonebone just happens to be a pedal I chased down. I'd like to try the OCD.

[ragtweed]

I'd like to test drive the Barber Silver LTD, but its only mild OD not heavy distortion. For 70's Marshall tones its hard to beat the original Guv'nor.

[jrgtr42]

I'm pretty partial to the Bixonic Expandora. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top uses those a lot (or he did a few years ago, anyways)
the origionals and nowq the newest version have little switches that can change the sound from overdrive to crunch to distortion to a completely unpredictable, uber-fuzz tone (not designed for that but it works)
the difference is the origionals you had to take off the back to switch sounds, the newest has the wswitches on top.

[Coque]

Any thoughts on the Xotic AC and RC booster? I heard Brad Paisley use one and he has a killer sound.

[Rickenjangle]

its hard to beat the original Guv'nor.

Absolutely. Although, it's more of an '80's Marshall tone.

I really enjoy my Boss Super Overdrive (I know, not a distortion) but it gets me in the high gain distortion territory pretty well.

I also owned the DS1 and hated its guts. I had heard that a lot of metal guys (like Jake E. Lee) used it, but he was using humbuckers into already-distorting Marshalls, which is where this pedal seems to shine. With my tele and my Ric, the DS1 just made ant-bugle noises. Suckadelic!

A bandmate has the Jekyll and Hyde, and I think that pedal rulez!

[Coque]

Yeah, I myself am looking for a Fulltone Fulldrive II or something of that ilk. I used to have SansAmp pedal int he 80's that was pretty good. I coupled it with a Chandler Tube Drive and could get an array of good tone.

Any thoughts on the EH Big Muff PI, The Snarnling Dog Blue Doo, The Tech 21 Double Drive or American Woman OD?

I have a gift certificate to AMAZON and they carry limited pedals. I want to add it to my analogman TS-9 to get a wider selection of tones.

[detuned]

Those Tonebones were THE pedal for a few months. I'm not sure why folks cooled to them. Maybe it was the OCD that became the next flavor. They're a big box Don't think it would fit on the board.

OCD? That's soooo five minutes ago!

We're all angling for the new double tube secret ossifier humidorium Zendrive. With the unobtanium chipset.

For the moment.

:-)

[ragtweed]

Huh?

[photoweborama]

I really like the DS1 Chucko gave me. He told me what the mods do, but I totally forgot.

What I've been doing now is the TS9DX in the first Turbo mode driven by my Arion Tubulator. WHOW BABY!

[stratcat55]

How about an EH English Muffin, or a Fuzz Face. Clone your own sells some boxes with extra parts to mod it yourself. For 70's stuff I still use a Fender Fuzz Wah from time to time.Way different than my Tube Screamer or my Ibanez Super Metal boxes. Some people like them some don't. I used it with my Twin and it had more fuzz than Bigfoot. The biggest fattest fuzz sound I ever had.

[DrFramus]

What about the Keeley Fuzz Head? Kind of a cross between fuzz and distorion. I have been trying to get my hands on one but have not had the cash yet. The sound clips he has sounds pretty great though.

[Don]

I've got a bunch of resistors, caps and LEDs coming from Mouser to do a mod to a DS-1 that I bought last week just for the sake of modifying it!

Yes, it's come to me buying a pedal that I don't need and might not even want just for the fun of modding it! So much for Boss' 5 year warranty!!!

Actually, I'm looking for some Marshall like grind to go with my Les Paul Junior and wanted some good cheap fun at the same time.

[hudpucker]

I'm sure there are other pedals out there that would do the same but the Tonebone just happens to be a pedal I chased down. I'd like to try the OCD.

FWIW, I sold my OCD in favor of a Tonebone Classic which I then sold in favor of a Tonebone Trimode which backs up my Chandler Tube Drivers.

Wicked web we weave, no?

[OneL]

:lol

I sold my Tonebone Classic in favor of the OCD.

:bwa

[Gtrplyr]

FWIW, I sold my OCD in favor of a Tonebone Classic which I then sold in favor of a Tonebone Trimode which backs up my Chandler Tube Drivers.

Wicked web we weave, no?

:rofl

Sure is! I also have the TB Classic which is gathering dust. With these boxes it takes awhile using them to figure out if they are something you really like.

Too bad there's not a Netflix type of outfit that rents you an effect pedal and when you're tired of it you just send it back for another make/model.

[Kap'n]

Too bad there's not a Netflix type of outfit that rents you an effect pedal and when you're tired of it you just send it back for another make/model.

That's actually a brilliant idea.

I know lots of folks (myself included) who buy stuff used on H-C and Ebay, knowing they'll only eat the cost of shipping, if that, if the pedal doesn't work out. I've probably turned a couple of thousand dollars worth of FX that way. Pedals are the best, because storing the boxes and shipping is a breeze compared to guitars and amps.

[hudpucker]

Too bad there's not a Netflix type of outfit that rents you an effect pedal and when you're tired of it you just send it back for another make/model.

I'd subscribe to such a service, for sure.

[guitars247]

i am probably going to get flogged for this, but I really love the sounds I get from my TS-9 reissue. Then again I never played through an original TS-808 or TS-9......

For my money (actually it was a gift, so for no money) it gets me where I want to go. I like the dirty blues sounds I get from it. I also had a yellow Boss SD-1 that I used to use....but the TS-9 RI feels more at home for me.....

[Offshore Angler]

All I'll say is this: On the GuitarPort software, when you choose "Classic Distortion" a picture of a furry little rat comes up. I'm a RAT guy through and through. When they build a better box, I'll buy it.

One thing I've noticed about RATs, is off the battery they get pretty humpy, but when you run them off a brick they get scooped and much more Rangemastery. Yep, classic distortion either buy the RAT or go down to Radio Shack and bring home $20 worth of parts and build a Rangemaster. It's all about treble boost and clipping.

[wstandis]

Too bad there's not a Netflix type of outfit that rents you an effect pedal and when you're tired of it you just send it back for another make/model.

Its called musicians friend

[usc96]

Too bad there's not a Netflix type of outfit that rents you an effect pedal and when you're tired of it you just send it back for another make/model.

Its called musicians friend

So I'm not the only one who does that? :rofl :rofl :rofl

[Don]

When I wanted to replace my POD 2.0 I went to GC bought a PODxt and a Vox Tonelab and kept the one I liked best and returned the other.
I kept the PODxt, btw.