Iron maiden tone...in a box??

[Power Stack \m/]

Im sorry Im sure these Marshall in a box pedals have been asked before lots of times but I have a specific question. I need a high gain Marshall sounding distortion pedal but I really love the maiden tone on number of the beast and power slave. I also like the tone of Priest on unleased in the east and their 80s albums and early metallica (they used marshalls on kill em all). Alot of players i like the tone of like Priest and Rhoads used plexis so maybe a pedal like the SL drive/ purple plexi/ plexi drive might work. Im also looking at the mxr 5150 overdrive and wampler pinnacle. This is going to go in front of a clean black star ht5 which sounds great its just noisy and as a result I cant play solos without sounding ****. Noise gates don't seem to help. I want to try some different sounding pedals anyway so suggestions would be great. Sorry for the long post and sorry if a similar post has been posted

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

Gain increases noise. There is no getting around that by using a pedal. It is all gain, which causes compression, distortion and as a result reduces the S/N ratio.
Given that you have a tube amp, some tubes have a better s/n ratio than others so that might help. Check out the EHX 12ax7 for low noise and high gain.
What pickups do you use? Are they humbucking? You might find that a really hot noise free design like the "hot rails" will have enough output to get you that singing, searing sustain purely from the amp or perhaps using a lower gain drive such as a tube screamer pedal as a signal boost (a tried an true method for metalheads the world over).
Last thing is to be aware of the limitations of a 5 watt amp. HT5s are excellent, but there is only so much a 5 watt amp can give. An integral part of the tone of a lot of great players is the amp and speaker combination, so while you have a nice little amp that has some excellent tones in it, no "amp in a box" pedal will turn it into something that it is not. The best thing to do is to make the most of what you have...so maybe fresh tubes and hot pickups are all you need (and maybe a tube screamer or sd-1, mxr zakk etc)

 

[Archer250]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

The Duncan Palladium (I've actually nailed the 2 Minutes to Midnight tone once in a store with it) or a good Crunch Box style pedal (CB, Super CB, Angry Charlie, ReezaFratzitz, Cruncher) WILL get you somewhere between Piece of Mind and Powerslave Maiden (and Rhoads too). SL Drive doesn't really do it, IMO. Purple Plexi sounds more like Van Halen, and so does the Pinnacle. The 5150 is GREAT, but sounds a bit too modern and refined to my ears.

Take note that Rhoads played a modded Marshall with an MXR Distortion AND a graphic EQ boosting it. Dave Murray did something similar, and from NOTB onwards, so did Adrian (but with a Tubescreamer instead of an MXR).

 

[sosomething]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

The only box I know of that gets that classic Maiden tone looks like this:

 

[TimmyPage]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

.
What pickups do you use? Are they humbucking? You might find that a really hot noise free design like the "hot rails" will have enough output to get you that singing, searing sustain purely from the amp or perhaps using a lower gain drive such as a tube screamer pedal as a signal boost

This would by my suggestion too. If you still want to go down the amp-in-a-box way going for a Plexi style pedal won't cut it. You might want to look into something like the Angry Charlie by JHS or the MI Crunch Box, both of which go for the JCM800 feel.

Maiden didn't even have super distorted sounds, (by today's standards) just a midgain tone that was boosted by a tubescreamer (or similar). Also remember that the band has two guitarists, so some of what you might think you hear as a fat gainy tone is actually two mid-gain guitar players who fill out each other's sound. It's more about nailing the feel and timing of their gallops and stuff than it is exact tone.

 

[Archer250]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

Maiden didn't even have super distorted sounds, (by today's standards) just a midgain tone that was boosted by a tubescreamer (or similar). Also remember that the band has two guitarists, so some of what you might think you hear as a fat gainy tone is actually two mid-gain guitar players who fill out each other's sound. It's more about nailing the feel and timing of their gallops and stuff than it is exact tone.

Their Powerslave-era tone (both live and studio) *was* somewhat high-gain by their own standards, though.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

I never thought Maiden was particularly high-gain, and certainly it isn't by today's standards. A boosted Marshall tone is essentially it- I would think a 5150 would be way over-the-top. But the Palladium Gain Stage can get either of those sounds- even out of a clean amp.

 

[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

The only box I know of that gets that classic Maiden tone looks like this:

Bingo,but w/a bigger box underneath it!

 

[Archer250]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

I never thought Maiden was particularly high-gain, and certainly it isn't by today's standards. A boosted Marshall tone is essentially it- I would think a 5150 would be way over-the-top. But the Palladium Gain Stage can get either of those sounds- even out of a clean amp.

It does. I can attest to that.

 

[Power Stack \m/]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

The Duncan Palladium (I've actually nailed the 2 Minutes to Midnight tone once in a store with it) or a good Crunch Box style pedal (CB, Super CB, Angry Charlie, ReezaFratzitz, Cruncher) WILL get you somewhere between Piece of Mind and Powerslave Maiden (and Rhoads too). SL Drive doesn't really do it, IMO. Purple Plexi sounds more like Van Halen, and so does the Pinnacle. The 5150 is GREAT, but sounds a bit too modern and refined to my ears.

Take note that Rhoads played a modded Marshall with an MXR Distortion AND a graphic EQ boosting it. Dave Murray did something similar, and from NOTB onwards, so did Adrian (but with a Tubescreamer instead of an MXR).

Thanks!! Ill be sure to check it out. Seems its quite popular around here.

 

[Power Stack \m/]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

I have a jackson RR with humbuckers so no issue there. Im thinking of pedals, mainly because of different tones like I said. But also because I am used to played solid states because I was a beginner not too long ago and my ht 5 is just a lot noisier than my peavy transtube. the tube replacement sounds like a great idea though. Thanks very much

 

[Power Stack \m/]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

The Duncan Palladium (I've actually nailed the 2 Minutes to Midnight tone once in a store with it) or a good Crunch Box style pedal (CB, Super CB, Angry Charlie, ReezaFratzitz, Cruncher) WILL get you somewhere between Piece of Mind and Powerslave Maiden (and Rhoads too). SL Drive doesn't really do it, IMO. Purple Plexi sounds more like Van Halen, and so does the Pinnacle. The 5150 is GREAT, but sounds a bit too modern and refined to my ears.

Take note that Rhoads played a modded Marshall with an MXR Distortion AND a graphic EQ boosting it. Dave Murray did something similar, and from NOTB onwards, so did Adrian (but with a Tubescreamer instead of an MXR).

Whats your opinion on the wampler plexi drive. I thought it could do only vintage gain, but after watching a sweet water demo I realised it can get pretty gainy. Anyone else tried a plexi drive, can it get tones like judas priest/randy rhoads/maiden etc?

 

[Aceman]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

What I find hilarious about this is that people have been nailing Maiden long before any of the uber-boxes mentioned tin the OP's post above were ever conceived of.

If you can't hit that Blackstair with a Tube Screamer/DS-1 or whatever and get in the Maiden zone….

Maybe throw a SuperD in a strat.

And 2nd post this month where turn the gain down is the absolute correct response.

 

[Archer250]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

Whats your opinion on the wampler plexi drive. I thought it could do only vintage gain, but after watching a sweet water demo I realised it can get pretty gainy. Anyone else tried a plexi drive, can it get tones like judas priest/randy rhoads/maiden etc?

The Plexi-Drive Deluxe can get gainy. It's basically a Tubescreamer into a mid-gain Plexi circuit. Never tried it though; it's always out of stock around here.

Personally, I vote for this one


It's versatile, yet easy to dial in. What's more: as far as I'm concerned, I have a similar pedal, and it's not picky with amps at all. I trust this one will be the same.

 

[ThisDyingSoul76]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

Also, if budget is an issue, many of the pedals suggested here that have been around for a while have been cloned by several Chinese companies and can be had for significantly less money. From there, if you like the sound, when you've got more cash available you can upgrade to the real deal.

My experience with the clones though, is that while they seem well built and are usually very close sounding, some do have a higher noise floor. The originals usually are a bit quieter and better built, but some of these clones are pretty good too. Joyo, Mooer, Caline and Eno are the 4 brands I would say would be the ones I'd look into if you go this route.

 

[Power Stack \m/]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

Hey guys thanks so much for the advice. I knew the AT would be a good pedal but no idea that the palladium would be good at all. Yes I am aware that the feel and sound of a tube amp can't be captured in a pedal but I'm mainly looking for a pedal that sounds good and kinda like a marshall. With the Palladium I notice that it has TWO knobs that control gain and two mid controls. I hate gear with two many options because I have no idea where to start! I know the best way around this is to play around with the pedal and find what's good and I hope to soon in the next month, but in the mean time is there anyone who has tried it that can give me some settings. Some here seem to really like it. Thanks guys!

 

[Power Stack \m/]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

The Duncan Palladium (I've actually nailed the 2 Minutes to Midnight tone once in a store with it) or a good Crunch Box style pedal (CB, Super CB, Angry Charlie, ReezaFratzitz, Cruncher) WILL get you somewhere between Piece of Mind and Powerslave Maiden (and Rhoads too). SL Drive doesn't really do it, IMO. Purple Plexi sounds more like Van Halen, and so does the Pinnacle. The 5150 is GREAT, but sounds a bit too modern and refined to my ears.

Take note that Rhoads played a modded Marshall with an MXR Distortion AND a graphic EQ boosting it. Dave Murray did something similar, and from NOTB onwards, so did Adrian (but with a Tubescreamer instead of an MXR).

What settings did you use? Sorry I'm really bad at dialing in things.

 

[Archer250]

Re: Iron maiden tone...in a box??

What settings did you use? Sorry I'm really bad at dialing in things.

Unfortunately, I don't remember. To be honest, I don't commit to memory knob settings at all, be it guitar, pedal or amp.