Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

[Dave Locher]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

Torn speakers are probably one of the most irritating distortion sounds that I have ever heard.

You obviously never heard me learn to play with a black Ross distortion box cranked into a puny solid state Radio Shack amp from the '70s! THAT was irritating!

[Demanic]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

Try playing through a Randall ES-100 half stack with the Jaguar speakers. Except some idiot has kicked holes in the bottom two speakers, because the Randall didn't have enough gain on tap.
Thankfully, after a few years of this, the bottom two speakers were finally replaced, and now it sounds fantastic.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

[evan47]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

Save your pennies and go for a used blackstar pedal. Any one with a valve and 3 band eq would do. Revalve it if you like (I did from day one), mine is the HT Dual, I put a JJ ecc83s gold pin in it to give it a smoother type of grit and it is like having a selection of custom marshalls at your feet. I dislike distortion pedals on a clean amp.

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

Save your pennies and go for a used blackstar pedal. Any one with a valve and 3 band eq would do. Revalve it if you like (I did from day one), mine is the HT Dual, I put a JJ ecc83s gold pin in it to give it a smoother type of grit and it is like having a selection of custom marshalls at your feet. I dislike distortion pedals on a clean amp.

+1
The HT duel kills. So much so that I have 3 of them. Lol

[SweetClyde99]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

I've had both a Blackstar HT Dual and a Distx. Both very cool pedals, but it's hard to find them cheap.

I do have a Blackstar LT Dual (the non-tube version) that I got for a very reasonable $50 when everyone was blowing them out after they were discontinued. It's definitely another cool pedal. I do miss the 3-band EQ from the HT though. Also, I'd like to try it back-to-back with the HT version to see how much the tube is really adding.

[Dave Locher]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

Try playing through a Randall ES-100 half stack with the Jaguar speakers. Except some idiot has kicked holes in the bottom two speakers, because the Randall didn't have enough gain on tap.

Ha! That does sound pretty gross. I think I would have bypassed those suckers.

[Dave Locher]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

I got outbid on a Tech 21 Hot Rod Plexi (not surprised, the retail on those is high!), got outbid on a fully modded DS-1, so I bought a Joyo US Dream. I shall report my findings in a week or so.

[ehdwuld]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

sweet
I love those Joyo pedals

my Ultimate Drive sounds awesome

its more OCD than the US Dream

my SS Laney thought it was Meh
but my EL84 Carvin LOVES that thing
strummed it once with the Carvin and ALL the neighbors came outside

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

RAT

[Dave Locher]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

Holy H*ll, what a pedal for $25! Joyo US Dream, $25 brand new including shipping.
Volume from zero to serious boost, gain from almost totally clean to too much, and really good sounds at many different settings. I do not like it more than my amp's gain but I do like it a lot and would be willing to play out with it if I had to. Definitely good enough to prove to me that I could find a pedal I could use as my main sound.

So, let's talk a little higher quality:
any pedals out there that go "K-K-K" instead of "Ch-Ch-Ch" when you palm mute chords"?
That is the only thing that is keeping me from adopting the Joyo as my stage sound, it's just not quite tight enough for my taste.

[allstarrme]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

The bogner ubershall and the Duncan palladium gain stage are both great drive sounds with a boost even and used go for ~150. Both have a full eq for dialing in your sounds and tightness. Plenty of videos on YouTube for both. To me they are more amp in a box than just pedals.

[Nightburst]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

Wampler Triple Wreck.
Rocktron Silver Dragon.

There is a video of rabea on that pedal show where they test a bunch of distortion pedals, you might enjoy watching that one.

[SweetClyde99]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

A Tube Screamer in front would tighten it up some.

It’s a clone of the Suhr Riot. I can’t attest to the Riot being inherently tighter, but it does have a couple of other clipping options that might be more to your liking.

Otherwise, there are a lot of good distortion pedals out there. My favorites have been the Blackstar HT pedals I’ve tried. The Friedman BE-OD is getting a lot of buzz right now too. The JHS Angry Charlie has been a popular choice for a while, though JHS in general seems to be a somewhat divisive topic.

[ehdwuld]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

A Tube Screamer in front would tighten it up some.

It’s a clone of the Suhr Riot. I can’t attest to the Riot being inherently tighter, but it does have a couple of other clipping options that might be more to your liking.

Otherwise, there are a lot of good distortion pedals out there. My favorites have been the Blackstar HT pedals I’ve tried. The Friedman BE-OD is getting a lot of buzz right now too. The JHS Angry Charlie has been a popular choice for a while, though JHS in general seems to be a somewhat divisive topic.

Im sure you mean that the other way round
the Riot is a clone of the Screamer

the Green Joyo Vintage drive is a clone of the Screamer
the Ultimate Drive by Joyo is supposed to be similar to the OCD

[toowrongfoo]

Re: Cheapest distortion pedal that can plausibly replace amp gain?

I'm not even going to read through this because I'm too OCD, but OCD is probably (maybe depending on generation) the greatest gain pedal ever. They are beyond flexible.