MXR Distortion + : tell me

[fretburner]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

i couldn't get a good sound out of it. or at least something that sounds good to me. get a shredmaster.

 

[Mats A]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

I had an MXR Distortion+ in the 80’s and i don’t even remember how it sounded. Some guitarists got some great sounds with them. If you Do like Wolf Hoffman and use the ouput control on the pedal and lower the volume you will get the same effect as turning down the volume on the amp and it will distort less. I believe Randy Rhoads had his distortion pedal on most of the time. He also had an MXR 10-band graphic eq to boost mids probably placed after his distortion pedal.

 

[Zombiwoof]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

The D+ was my first OD pedal, and I missed it when I sold it. The stock modern Dunlops are not the same, but the Custom Shop handwired Script one is supposed to be spot on. I instead got the Whirlwind Rochester Gold Box and it is awesome, the original Script circuit designed by a guy from the original MXR company, handwired with the extra LED and true bypass. Later got original block version and also the brown Ross Distortion which is a tweaked D+ circuit (a little smoother, warmer than the D+) for cheap on Ebay after searching for a long time, but the Whirlwind is my favorite. I have all 3 of the first Whirlwind MXR boxes, Gold Box, Red Box (script DynaComp), and Orange box (Phase 90), two of them are the very first ones with the designer's signature inside the back plate in gold or silver pen, all are great. I just wish they made a Phase 45 in that line with the LED and TB, as that has become my favorite MXR Phaser now. I got the Dunlop HW CS Script Phase 45 but I miss the LED and TB, although it is a good RI of the original.
Al

 

[evan47]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

I remember a friend having one of these in about 1982, around the same time time I had a Boss DS1.
The MXR gave a rather scratchy, thinner sound than the DS1.
I suppose it was ok for the time.
I seem to recall that Jimmy Page used the MXR for quiet some time with Led Zeppelin. (Listen to "The song remains the same" album).

 

[dystrust]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

I remember a friend having one of these in about 1982, around the same time time I had a Boss DS1.
The MXR gave a rather scratchy, thinner sound than the DS1.
I suppose it was ok for the time.
I seem to recall that Jimmy Page used the MXR for quiet some time with Led Zeppelin. (Listen to "The song remains the same" album).

The only MXR that Jimmy Page used AFAIK were a Phase 90 from about '75 onward, and a Blue Box on Fool in the Rain.

Regarding the D+, I agree with the comments up-thread regarding a NMV Marshall. I currently own a non-LED block logo, and used to own an early LED example from the early 80s. They sound great into a NMV Marshall set on the edge of breakup; jumped with both channels on about 4 and both knobs all of the way up on the pedal. I'm not 100% sure, but I remember reading a Randy Rhoads interview where he talked about running his that way and only turning it off when playing "clean". Even if that isn't 100% correct, it sounds great for early Ozzy or Maiden.

I could imagine it sounding thin, buzzy, and overly compressed into a higher gain amp. I've also heard others sound pretty good with one through a Fender Twin.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

distortion+ sounds amazing, in my experience, into a Marshall style amp already breaking up. In my Bumbox JMP clone it just screams ‘rock’. I also like it in my Lil Dawg Champ clone, but you have to crank it to the point where you run out of headroom. It then provides a singing, rich distortion that sustains right into harmonic feedback. On my EAST Studio 2, the distortion+ doesn’t sound so great. In fact, I have yet to find any kind of drive pedal that sounds better than the S2 with the gain cranked and a boost in front.

As a boost, the distortion+ will get the job done but it sounds very boxy.

 

[LLL]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

Exactly. Try a PAF-ish amount of output pickup into a NMV Marshall-esque amp circuit that needs a "push"... and it excels.

It's the cherry on top, not the ice cream. And it's an old-school concept.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

Very true, both of those amps are NMV.

 

[dystrust]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

Exactly. Try a PAF-ish amount of output pickup into a NMV Marshall-esque amp circuit that needs a "push"... and it excels.

It's the cherry on top, not the ice cream. And it's an old-school concept.

Very true, both of those amps are NMV.

NMV seems to be the bigger deal IME. My Distortion+ sounds great with poth PAFs and higher output pups, as long as it's run into the right kind of amp.

 

[Securb]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

I used a second gen (no led or power input) D+ for years in the 80's for my main gain with my master volume Fender stack. Seeing the Fender was super clean I used the MXR for gain and used the boost on my Morley PWB to goose the signal chain for solos. Here is a clip of the result.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

I used a second gen (no led or power input) D+ for years in the 80's for my main gain with my master volume Fender stack. Seeing the Fender was super clean I used the MXR for gain and used the boost on my Morley PWB to goose the signal chain for solos. Here is a clip of the result.



Cool!

Here’s my distortion+ in action:

 

[Securb]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

Cool!

Here’s my distortion+ in action:

Sounds great which gen of the pedal are you using if I may ask.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

Sounds great which gen of the pedal are you using if I may ask.

You may. It's current generation, maybe five years old?

 

[Mark Le Comte]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

I love using a super distortion then a D+ as a boost into a JCM800 for when Im going to late 70s early 80s metal. Its not my go to pedal for everything, but it has its place.

 

[dystrust]

Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me

I used a second gen (no led or power input) D+ for years in the 80's for my main gain with my master volume Fender stack. Seeing the Fender was super clean I used the MXR for gain and used the boost on my Morley PWB to goose the signal chain for solos. Here is a clip of the result.

You may. It's current generation, maybe five years old?

Others may disagree, but I don't hear a ton of difference between the supposed D+ versions. I currently own the same version Securb used on his clip and used to own a slightly newer one (LED, but no 9V). To my ears they sound pretty much identical, and I don't hear much if any difference with new ones either. IIRC they're basically a 741 opamp with a couple clipping diodes, so there really isn't much to tinker with.