The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

[Securb]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

I play Fender enough said.

[DreX]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

TBH, I don't like the fact that an amp's gain channel is inseparable from the amp, and has been said, only sound right when cranked. I like that I can plug the same dirt box into several amps and sort of take that tone with me wherever I go, and get a combination of the amp tone and the dirt box tone. Even though my Mustang modeler has built in "OD" on top of the model amp gain, I don't want to use the on board OD because suppose I like it, it's still stuck in the amp. I'd rather form attachments with hardware that will at least outlive my cat.

I've noticed that a lot of the new entries on the market are sort of like Sans Amps, claiming to emulate the sound of a tall stack or an old tweed, so there's the reality of dense apartment living being at odds with the loudness of vintage equipment.

Also I think some player's aren't as picky about the character of the gain and can make almost any tone work for them. There are days when I don't care and I can make anything work well enough, but other days, usually when I'm playing alone, then suddenly I'm hyper critical and everything has to sound perfect.

I'm collecting cheap Tube Screamer clones even though I have a Maxon OD808, which is what they are trying to emulate, just because I like the small differences between them. The Biyang and Joyo clones are similar but different enough to be fun, and they have their own character, but I just got an EHX East River Drive, which I'm sad to say sounds so very close to the Maxon that it was a bit of let down in how it didn't bring much unique personality to the table, but it's great if you just want a Maxon OD808 for less than half the price.

[Hank-]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

I've played a Laney VH100R. It's high gain but a different flavour, nothing like a mesa boogie or diezel high gain sound, just old school high gain sound. It did have a clean channel. Here in this case it would be cheaper to get a distortion pedal that does some modern high gain sound & use it on the clean channel of the amp. Makes needing another amp & cab or combo and lugging it around a less of a hassle.

These days people tend to use in ear monitors so I've seen most people running just a pedal board with something like a Tech21 character series pedal preamp into other effects & straight into the PA or mfx floorboards into the PA. Doesn't sound bad either.

[sosomething]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

I guess I do forget that most people who play electric guitar don't play in a band or gig.

That's just not the world I live in. Literally all the guys I know and hang out with who play are in all the bands that make up our regional scene. A high-wattage tube head and a 4x12 is pretty much standard issue equipment with these guys.

I mean, we all have little stuff we have at home for noodling around and such, but the real rig usually lives next to a drum set.

Now that I think about it, a nice little 22-watt or lower Fender tube combo and a nice OD like a Timmy or something would be really nice to have around the house....

[Agileguy_101]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

You need a fuzz. Specifically a big muff.

[Liko]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

* Because $250 for a boutique OD/dist pedal is much cheaper than $2000 for a fire-breathing amp.

* Because that pedal will produce a distorted tone from any amp, from your 10W solid-state practice setup to a 200W double-stack monster.

* Because the pedal allows you to keep the amp itself clean, which is desirable to many players (especially those using solid-state)

* Because many pedals allow you to get a very different distorted tone than your amp will give you.

In short, because it's an extra tool allowing you to increase the versatility of your rig, which is much cheaper than replacing the entire back half of your guitar rig.

[Gearjoneser]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

I think the Hot Wheels/Star Wars/Ninja Turtles kids grew up and parlayed that toy addiction into their adult hobbies. You could consider it a separate hobby from music at a certain point.

I agree with getting better tones from tube amps that supply the exact sound you're looking for, and that's primarily what I do, with maybe a subtle boost for volume or tightness. That's in a rehearsal room where the amp can do it's thing. I'm only there once a week though.

Then, you mentioned a small combo and a good dirt pedal or two for playing at home....or lower volume gigs.
That's where it gets funner to have a few different flavors of gain pedals. As for "distortion" pedals, I feel I hit the end of the road with the Bogner pedals. The blue and red pedals actually sound authentic plugged into a clean combo......like a Bogner halfstack. Even the black Uber pedal is pretty darn good, if you want that tone.

Half my dirt pedals I could just sell and not miss them. I only own them because I got them all at below market value. The ones I'd keep are the Klon, Barber LTD, T Rex Moller, Bogner Red, and Bogner Blue.

[ItsaBass]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

Because people love gadgets, especially ones that have instant effect upon actuation. Buttons you can click on and off to do stuff will always hook people in somehow. Some bizarre semblance of instant control/gratification. Not much different than drugs, really.

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

* Because, somewhere out there, there IS a booteek builder that WILL build you a pedal with the sound that is in your head.
(...Black Arts Toneworks did that for me !)

* Unless you are a world famous guitar player - almost no one will build you a custom made amp with that tone that is in your head.

* And lastly - NO AMP can produce that fuzz tone in my head. Sadly, only a pedal can give me that !!!

[Agileguy_101]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

Not much different than drugs, really.

Uh, it's absolutely different than drugs.

You need a fuzz. Specifically a big muff.

To actually answer your question:

Firstly, I'm assuming you've made the distinction between overdrive pedals and distortion pedals and that you understand why the latter are as popular as they are.

On my board, I have six different types of dirt pedals. Three are fuzz (Fuzz Face, Big Muff, Tone Bender clones) two are overdrive (Timmy, Klon Centaur clone) but only one is a true distortion (Weehbo JMP Drive, basically a JMP in a Phase 90 size box). I use the distortion pedal because it is better sounding (and more suited to my taste) than pretty much any amp I've used under $2K. Plus, it lets me use the incredible cleans of my Fender.

I firmly believe that with the right amp, there are a select few pedals that are as good as or better than a great amp's dirty channel (though there are even fewer of the latter). For example, my band started rehearsing at a studio that has amps set up for use so all I have to do is bring my board and guitars. I was astonished to see that I would be using a real deal Silver Jubilee, which is pretty much the same territory as my JMP Drive. For such an acclaimed amp, I was expecting the heavens to open at least a little bit when I slammed a power chord. But it was just about as good as my JMP Drive into my Fender. To illustrate my point about the right amp for the right pedals though, the JMP Drive into the clean channel of the Marshall wasn't nearly as good as running it into the Fender.

Another reason I like pedals is that if I decided I wanted to start a Tom Petty tribute band I could get a really nice AC30 pedal and run it into my Fender, I would get that sound. The're like switchable preamp, if you get the right pedal for your rig.

[sosomething]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

I almost consider fuzz to be its own category apart from regular distortion pedals. It's a very specialized sound.

That being said, there are some amp circuits that do get a pretty intense, crushing wall of fuzzy doom.. I'm thinking some old Matamps or the newer stuff made by Electric Amp Co.

I'm not really chasing a specific tone in my head. That's a trap anyway, because it changes over time. For me, it's more like a series of check boxes an amp needs to hit to be pleasing to play through with my style.

I'm a modded Marshall guy. Give me that Plexi / JCM 800 foundation with some extra gain and thickness, and I'm happy. I like that chewy midrange with the top end crunch. There are actually a lot of amps that you can get that from without any pedals. My Splawn was designed to do that one thing specifically, so it's perfect for me.

[Agileguy_101]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

* Because, somewhere out there, there IS a booteek builder that WILL build you a pedal with the sound that is in your head.
(...Black Arts Toneworks did that for me !)

* Unless you are a world famous guitar player - almost no one will build you a custom made amp with that tone that is in your head.

* And lastly - NO AMP can produce that fuzz tone in my head. Sadly, only a pedal can give me that !!!

You're definitely wrong on the last two - there are plenty of amp builders that will build you exactly the amp you want, even if it's a retarded incest amp baby. Perhaps there aren't as many custom amp builders as custom guitar builders, but there are plenty out there that will take anybody's money, not just the money of rock stars.

Also, there are more than a few builders doing fuzz in their amps - Electric, Dunwich, Hovercraft, and I believe Wizard amps as well. Bonus - the last three will build you whatever amps your heart desires.

[ItsaBass]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

Uh, it's absolutely different than drugs.

How is what I was musing about "absolutely different" than doing drugs? While everyone's reasons for using pedals may not be the ones I listed, the ones that I did list are really no different in psychological effect than any form of habitual self medication.

[Agileguy_101]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

Nevermind, it's not worth sullying up a good thread with a stupid argument.

[MetalManiac]

Re: The distortion pedal - why are they still so popular?

Here are my Od's;

Clark Gainster handwired; Its ,to me, a great pedal for voicing a Marshall to sound like an old Bassman.

Ive got some pedals that are simply classic used with a old Marshall- you'll get classic sounds from them; A Marshall Bluesbreaker, Shredmaster, TS-9 tubescreamer, Vintage Duncan Powergrid, Analogman YJM308 modded to a clone of a old Gray box 250,Boss Od-1 , Fuzzface copy( I mean, right now I don't have 1500 bucks to throw at a real fuzzface), Duncan Tweakfuzz, and then I have some really superb new age pedals to boost the front end of a Plexi( Box of Rock, The newest MI Audio Crunch Box, Rockett Animal, Rust Drive).

IMO though , pedals do quash dynamics of the Pure tone of a guitar straight into vintage amp cranked up, if you have one.It doesn't ruin it though necessarily I guess... and I think the key about it is is getting some flavor at lower volumes I think .The different pedals hit the amp at different Frequencies it seems, and gives a different feel and push to the mids or low mids.

I've even been advised to use a TS in front of my new 6505 fire belcher, but thats the extent of my familiarity with Od's in front of high gain amps..

One other thing to remember is that are some great priced boosters on the market now that when used judiciously with a fair amount of pure amp gain , can sound pretty great.

I might add that there a bunches of OD pedals I want to try; the Dirty Deeds, the Plexi-drive, the DLS, the LTD,Lovepedal.