Mid-line Distortion

[Aceman]

So - what do you guys know about all of these?

Rank them, rate them, give a one line/phrase description, add one I missed, pick a favorite:

Metal Muff w/ Top Boost
Duncan Mayhem
Rocktron Rampage
Vitoos Metallab Violent Distortion
BBE Crusher
MXR Fullbore Metal
Rocktron Zombie
DOD Death Metal
Digitech
Death Metal
Rat 2
Boss HM-3 Hyper Metal

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

My favorite sub-$100 distortion pedal is the MXR Distortion III. I did a shoot out of the various MXR distortion pedals not too long ago. The D3 did what I wanted it to do. That doesn't make it the best, though. Just the best at the application I was looking for. It is not transparent at all, is very thick sounding, and can get spluttery.

 

[dominus]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

So - what do you guys know about all of these?

Rank them, rate them, give a one line/phrase description, add one I missed, pick a favorite:

Metal Muff w/ Top Boost
Duncan Mayhem
Rocktron Rampage
Vitoos Metallab Violent Distortion
BBE Crusher
MXR Fullbore Metal
Rocktron Zombie
DOD Death Metal
Digitech
Death Metal
Rat 2
Boss HM-3 Hyper Metal

Having tried all of those except for the Rat 2 (Pretty sure I tried the Rocktron Rampage), I'd have to say the best out of all of those would be the Metal Muff (with Top Boost *off*). A lot of the rest get a bit buzzy sounding when you try pushing them too hard.

Spend just a little more and get an AMT pedal (just about any of them) and you'll be much happier.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

The Boss HM2 is my fave, but it's not a very usable pedal in any normal metal circumstance. You dime the EQs and fiddle with the gain level to get somewhere between a very boxy and even-clipped heavy OD to the buzzsaw from Sweden, especially when you push it with another drive pedal. The Rat's going to deliver for mid-gain, and the Muff seems more hi-gain to me.
The DOD and Digitech Death Metal pedals are ugly trebley things, as well as the Metal Zone from Boss. I guess they're good for an American death tone or with some delay to get the Norwegian shriek guitar sound...
but it's HM2 all the way for me. I wish I had a real one and not the Behringer version. I'd like to mod it.

This would be the album I bought slightly used that made me an HM2 addict.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

I have an HM-2 and...

Washburn Stack-In-A-Box
DOD American Metal
Catalinbread Supercharged Overdrive

 

[saladin]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

I've owned the following:

Metal Muff w/ Top Boost
Rocktron Rampage
Rat 2
Boss HM-3 Hyper Metal

I don't like any of them. It's hard to get convincing sounds
out of a pedal for high gain.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

I've owned/tried a few of those.. (Metal Muff, Dod/Digitech Death Metal, Rat 2, HM3, Fullbore & the Vitoos Metal lab I bought not too long ago..) My Fave would be the DOD death metal pedal..just for the oodles of gain & unbelievable bass/depth it has..Cannibal Corpse in a box..lol.

The Metal Muff is great..lots of killer tones , very versatile etc..the Vitoos actually comes pretty close ( a very decent clone) and sounds very respectable considering it costs $35...

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

may want to look into an amp clone pedal then, like a Dr Boogie/Slo100/Citrus. I also know Hovercraft amps will be popping the Ionostrophere v.2 soon, which is a pedal version of their nutso stoner amps in a fuzz box.

Wampler has made a ton of hi-gain pedals. Good ones too. I want to put one of the Triple Wrecks together one of these years.

 

[dominus]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

may want to look into an amp clone pedal then, like a Dr Boogie/Slo100/Citrus. I also know Hovercraft amps will be popping the Ionostrophere v.2 soon, which is a pedal version of their nutso stoner amps in a fuzz box.

Wampler has made a ton of hi-gain pedals. Good ones too. I want to put one of the Triple Wrecks together one of these years.

I had a Dr Boogey, sounded great but started squealing once you went too high on the gain. I did like having a presence knob over the AMT Legend pedals having B/M/T only. I'm actually using the AMT drive pedals with an EQ after them now. Even better tone shaping, and the drive pedals have a voice switch that gives you more tonal options. (The P-Drive seems to go from 5150 to XXX with the switch.)

 

[Aceman]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

oooh; SLO100 pedal...

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

So - what do you guys know about all of these?

Rank them, rate them, give a one line/phrase description, add one I missed, pick a favorite:

Metal Muff w/ Top Boost
Duncan Mayhem
Rocktron Rampage
Vitoos Metallab Violent Distortion
BBE Crusher
MXR Fullbore Metal
Rocktron Zombie
DOD Death Metal
Digitech
Death Metal
Rat 2
Boss HM-3 Hyper Metal

I've bolded the ones I've tried. Of those, the Metal Muff was the only one that I didn't immediately hate. It's quite usable if that's the kind of distortion you're after. The rest sounded Gord-awful IMO, except the Rat which was pretty cool, but didn't do the shreddy metal thing as well as the MM.

If I were looking for a pedal like this, I'd consider:

- Wampler Triple Wreck (seriously awesome, does exactly what it claims to)
- Blackstar HT-DistX (also seriously awesome, very amp-like character)

If you're on a budget, I'd personally take a modded DS-1 or Rat over anything you listed.

 

[dominus]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

I just picked up another Krank MMV pedal. Pushed with a TS pedal and EQ'd afterward it does metal just fine. (And it was only $60 delivered.)

Also grabbed the black Bogner (Uberschall) pedal. Not too bad, but pricey for what I'm doing.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

So - what do you guys know about all of these?

Rank them, rate them, give a one line/phrase description, add one I missed, pick a favorite:

Metal Muff w/ Top Boost
Duncan Mayhem
Rocktron Rampage
Vitoos Metallab Violent Distortion
BBE Crusher
MXR Fullbore Metal
Rocktron Zombie
DOD Death Metal
Digitech
Death Metal
Rat 2
Boss HM-3 Hyper Metal

Metal Muff w/ Top Boost - GREAT value for your money !
Duncan Mayhem - very under rated if you ask me !
Rocktron Rampage - never tried.
Vitoos Metallab Violent Distortion - never heard of.
BBE Crusher
MXR Fullbore Metal - tried it / did not like it / sounded like a pedal, not like an amp.
Rocktron Zombie - Mesa Recto in a box - so 'they' say !
DOD Death Metal - ermmmmmm
Digitech Death Metal - mid gain ????
Rat 2 - GOTTA LOVE THE RAT !!!
Boss HM-3 Hyper Metal - thought this is wayyy OTT Gain !???


Other DIST boxes that i like :


* Duncan's own Lava Box - seriously !
* Fulltone Catalyst - LOVE this 'lil orange box !!!
* TC Electronics Dark Matter - JTM45 in a box
* Pigtronix Polysaturator - modern style gain, in a good way ;-)
* Radial Tonebone Classic - super realistic amp tone in a box.
* Wampler SLOstortion - not 100% accurate, but a great hot rod tone non the less.
* T-Rex Mudhoney II - so good, i am getting mine in a few days time - come on FEDEX !!!
* Black Arts Toneworks - Revelation - my NEXT box !
* EHX Hot Tubes - LOVE mine (the older big box with two 12AX7s)

 

[James Rock]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

Modded Boss Metal Zone... Havent played one personally but heard great things are possible especially as a 5 band eq allows lots of sculpting. I am gonna say the only METAL pedal I have which is an Ibanez CM-5 cool for that 80s sound want to mod it just to make it less harsh and a little more open.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

Forgot to mention;
Black Arts
Vfe
Walrus Audio
Earthquaker

Those four companies make some really awesome pedals. The Black Arts Pharoah is my #1 want for fuzz/distortion, Vfe has a handful of pretty epic dirtboxes with very deep control ability, Walrus Audio Iron Horse is brutal, and are all really sexy looking, and Earthquaker is...well, Earthquaker. It's all beast-mode.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

I really wish I could get hold of a Landmine LD-1. (There's a guy in a band we share the stage with sometimes who has one and it's just insane.. too bad he won't sell.. The search goes on..lol)

Hands-down the best distorted metal sound I've ever heard coming out of a pedal....thick & heavy like a ton of bricks but still very fat, open and growly with none of that fizz/noise/over-saturation you get from other really high gain pedals.. .

I also really like My Digitech Hardwire Metal..it sounds amazing.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

Rats work best (IMO) when boosting a hot tube amp rather than being used as the soul source of distortion.

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

I was at a show last night where one of the guitarists was using a Jekyll and Hyde into a Silvertone and a Pro Junior, and his distortion sounded pretty great. I'd definitely be interested in that pedal, especially since there's probably nothing sturdier available anywhere.

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

Black Arts Toneworks make some cool stuff. I had a Pharoah... but my Bass player stole it.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Mid-line Distortion

J&H into Pro Jr. ???? That's just wrong. I LOVE IT!