Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

Status
Not open for further replies.
metalmantiss

metalmantiss

New member
Hi all, I have a problem. I don't have a tube amp so I'm trying to get the best possible distortion out of a pedal. Yea I know, buy a tube amp, well, I don't have that kind of money laying around right now. What I do have is an MXR Full Bore Metal pedal and I hate it. It's been almost a year since I purchased it and I cannot find a good tone, distortion is not a problem, but finding a good tone is. I also have a MXR Distortion +, I really dig the tone but the distortion falls flat, not enough gain for my liking. When I run it with a ZW OD pedal it sounds good, something I can almost work with. Problem is losing the OD pedal to add more gain. Now, my question is this: What can I do to get the distortion of the Full Bore and the tone of the Distortion +? The other thing I like about the D+ is the simplicity of the pedal, distortion and output. Fantastic. That's what I'm looking for. How in the world did Randy Rhoads get such killer distortion out of his?

:banghead:
 
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

Rhoads actually got pretty terrible tone, if you ask me. But the good parts of it didn't come from the D+, it came from his Marshall. You're best off ditching that terrible Fullbore and picking up a more natural sounding distortion. Some kind of "Marshall-in-a-box" would be great. Luckily there are plenty to choose from. I suggest either a Lovepedal Purple Plexi, or a Wampler Pinnacle.
 
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

the fullbore is a terrible pedal, i don't know how they sell.

check out the Blackstar HT Pedal line. They have a good reputation for sounding great for high gain tones.
 
Last edited:
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

You're halfway to discovering the last trend in TGP-approved overdrive generation practices: dirt pedal stacking. In Randy's case, a lot of his sound came from the Marshalls, with the Distortion+ adding the little something extra. As you've discovered through your clean SS amp, the D+'s "little something" isn't so great by itself.

So, yeah, try a Marshall-in-a-box type pedal, and also try it with your Distortion+ in front. The Catalinbread DLS (Dirty Little Secret) is highly regarded, as are the others Nacho mentioned. Another classic is the MI Audio Crunch Box. While you're trying things, out, find and play a Rat. It's not a MIAB, but it's a classic everyone should experience. (For true '80s sound, try a Rat into a MIAB pedal.)

Another way to approach the problem is to ignore what we tell you. Electro-Harmonix has been going crazy over the last year, bringing out all sort of great dirt boxes at super-reasonable prices. Grab a few of them from your local GC, try them in various combinations through your amp, and see what you like.
 
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

Well I certainly will not disregard most of what's suggested. :19:

The only Marshall pedal I've heard of is the Jackhammer, I see one on craigslist once in a while for $40, not sure if they're any good or not. I really like the simplicity of the D+ so I'm basically looking at that. Another pedal I've been looking at is the SD Dirty Deeds, but again I"m not sure if the local GC has one to try out or not, it seems like it wouldn't be abig deal to set up. And, since no one has suggested it yet I'm guessing that's not a pedal I'd want, lol. Thanks for the suggestions so far!

I really liked my Digitech 2120, but someone decided I wasn't worthy and stole it.

ETA 2: The other Marshall pedal I've seen around was a Drive Master.
 
Last edited:
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

what he meant wasn't a pedal made by marshall but a pedal that gives you marshall-ish sounds
I would recommend the plexitone by carl martin, or getting a cheap OD like the bad monkey, east river drive or the soulfood and stack it with your distortion plus.
 
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

Get your hands on an Electro-Harmonix Metal Muff w/ Top Boost. The most versatile metal pedal I've ever owned. Has 3 band eq and lots of range in the gain knob to get anything you could ever want. I even dialed in a nice bluesy distortion once. They usually go for about $90 new.
 
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

Yeah, sorry I didn't mean an actual Marshall brand pedal, just one that gives you the sound. If you like MXR stuff, I would check out the Super Badass Distortion. It's got the same layout (and color scheme) as your Fullbore, but its tone is so much better, and its cheap!

 
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

Try pushing the distortion + with your ZW OD , turn the gain up all the way on the MXR set the volume where you want it. put the OD before the MXR set the gain on 1/4 set the tone in the middle and turn the level all the way up. Try that with the OD after the MXR too , sometimes they will react better that way.
 
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

@ Oinkus, yea I did that and it sounded better but then I had no OD pedal.

@ Nacho, yea I was kind of lost there for a minute, lol.

I just got back from GC and I tried a few pedals after talking with an old friend that works there. I told him what I had and what I wanted.

He suggested a couple pedals, I tried them but couldn't find one that sounded as good as the EH Metal Muff, so I went with that for now.

Thanks to skyydogg for suggesting that pedal, it seems the tech agreed with you. I actually took one of my guitars and played through the same amp.

Many thanks to all who chimed in and offered suggestions, you really helped me get something that works with all of my guitars.

\m/(-_-)\m/

ETA: I gave everybody likes for responding. =D
 
Last edited:
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

Try a Wampler Pinnacle into a clean amp.

The tone you hear Rhoads get on album (like any guitarist's tone on album) had been processed in the studio. In Rhoads' case, he double and sometimes triple-tracked parts.
 
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

Awesome! That is a great pedal, I had one a long time ago and used it for all my metal tones. You won't be disappointed!
 
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

so which solid state amp "are" you using

it kinda makes a difference
 
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

Take a short jumper cable and run the distortion into the fullbore. Then play around with the dials. That should give quite a wide range of boost options.
 
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

Proco RAT. Has more gain on tap and works well into clean and overdriven amps.
To get the MXR Distortion + to really work like you want it to, you'll have to run it into a dirty and/or cranked amp. It actually is more like an overdrive than a distortion.
 
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

skyydogg01 said:
Get your hands on an Electro-Harmonix Metal Muff w/ Top Boost. The most versatile metal pedal I've ever owned. Has 3 band eq and lots of range in the gain knob to get anything you could ever want. I even dialed in a nice bluesy distortion once. They usually go for about $90 new.
Click to expand...

+1 to this. I have an EHX metal muff and I can vouch for the versatility. Granted it isnt a Marshall 'emulator'(for want of a better word), and it takes a while to find that tone that works for you, but if you play with the settings a bit you can get nearly any distortion out of it. It may not be the simplest pedal,but you cant argue with a 3 band EQ (or the price as a matter of fact)!
 
Re: Distortion pedal question(s) Help!

@ ehdwuld, it's in my sig, a Marshall MG102CFX. :13:

I tried the Proco Rat and I really didn't like it. It's kind of odd because I could have sworn I had one at one time, lol.

The more I play with the Metal Muff (lol) the more I like it. I must say that I am impressed with being able to plug 4 guitars into my rig and not have to adjust anything.

That is a big plus for me, as with the Full Bore I had to do some tweaking, so that was a pain in the butt that I no longer have.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
Charvel Super Stock 1888-no pickup sounds good.
Replies
12
Views
279
Mincer
Mincer
C
NPD: Sparkly Orange Hockeypuck
Replies
5
Views
214
Mincer
Mincer
S
Distortion neck magnet swap suggestions please ?
Replies
16
Views
430
jeremy
jeremy
S
Distortion Split vs. Parallel Tones
Replies
11
Views
345
Mincer
Mincer
C
Ain't nothing like coming home
Replies
5
Views
197
jeremy
jeremy
Back
Top