MXR Distortion + : tell me
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Iron Horse
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Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me
At least I'm gonna buy one someday soon. I have SD-1 already, but the color of Dist+ (that slightly fuzzy thing) should work wonders for a Randy Rhoads -esque 80's metal tone.
At least I'm gonna buy one someday soon. I have SD-1 already, but the color of Dist+ (that slightly fuzzy thing) should work wonders for a Randy Rhoads -esque 80's metal tone.
S
shogunlegend
Guest
Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me
i didn't think it was that great. in fact, the only decent thing i tried from mxr that i liked a little bit was the double-shot distortion, but there were a couple of things that i didn't like about that either. the distortion + is ok, but i don't think you're going to buy it and start getting legendary tones with it. maybe you will, but i personally think the metal muff is far superior in terms of sound quality. the zack wylde pedal sucks in my opinion, and the new little red pedal isn't that great. if you take the zack wyld pedal and use it in conjunction with the red distortion pedal, you can get a pretty good tone. i've seen a few people do this before.
i didn't think it was that great. in fact, the only decent thing i tried from mxr that i liked a little bit was the double-shot distortion, but there were a couple of things that i didn't like about that either. the distortion + is ok, but i don't think you're going to buy it and start getting legendary tones with it. maybe you will, but i personally think the metal muff is far superior in terms of sound quality. the zack wylde pedal sucks in my opinion, and the new little red pedal isn't that great. if you take the zack wyld pedal and use it in conjunction with the red distortion pedal, you can get a pretty good tone. i've seen a few people do this before.
WhammyBar Allstar
New member
Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me
With a your Superbass wide open and using the MXR dist +, your tone will be pretty awesome. The older script logos sound better than the newer ones, but even the newer ones will send your amp over pretty good. The Zakk pedal works very well for boosting, not too good on it's own if you're only using that for your distortion.
So it really depends on if you're using these dirt boxes as sole sources for your distortion, or if you're using them as boosts. Most guys like Randy, Ed, Lynch, Dimartini, Hammet, etc don't use these boxes for distortion, they use them as boosts.
With a your Superbass wide open and using the MXR dist +, your tone will be pretty awesome. The older script logos sound better than the newer ones, but even the newer ones will send your amp over pretty good. The Zakk pedal works very well for boosting, not too good on it's own if you're only using that for your distortion.
So it really depends on if you're using these dirt boxes as sole sources for your distortion, or if you're using them as boosts. Most guys like Randy, Ed, Lynch, Dimartini, Hammet, etc don't use these boxes for distortion, they use them as boosts.
JohnnyGuitar
New member
Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me
I've experienced volume drops with it. Compared to the DS-1 (stock pedals comparison) the DS-1 wins in my book... both pedals are not the best you can find though...
I've experienced volume drops with it. Compared to the DS-1 (stock pedals comparison) the DS-1 wins in my book... both pedals are not the best you can find though...
Dr.Mavashi
neonderthalotonalogist
Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me
That's funny .... one of the all time Uber Metal riffs of all time was done with this pedal .... Here is Wolf Hoffman the machine behind Accept:
Question: That's funny because my very next question was: the old Marshall plexi you used on the early albums (Breaker, Restless and Wild, Balls to the Wall) created a sound that was a lot more "heavy metal" than say the typical "hard rock" plexi sound of AC/DC or Jimmy Page. How did you achieve that more metal sound?
Wolf: Right. That again was born out of necessity. If you cranked the Marshall all the way to 10 or to 7 or 8, you could use the Distortion Plus' Output control to regulate the Marshall's volume so that you could bring it down to a volume you could actually play with. In essence you have a master volume effect — the amp is still sweating, but you can control the volume. The Distortion control was set not all the way up, but almost all the way up. You can still do it today. The only bad part is you get a lot of noise. We always had to turn down the volume immediately if there was a break. I say "we" — whoever the other guitarist was at the time would use the same set up. We always kind of did that as a team. That trained me real well, and I still do it to this day, but with the advent of hush units you don't need all that stuff.
http://www.dinosaurrockguitar.com/interviews/Hoffmann.shtml
That's funny .... one of the all time Uber Metal riffs of all time was done with this pedal .... Here is Wolf Hoffman the machine behind Accept:
Question: That's funny because my very next question was: the old Marshall plexi you used on the early albums (Breaker, Restless and Wild, Balls to the Wall) created a sound that was a lot more "heavy metal" than say the typical "hard rock" plexi sound of AC/DC or Jimmy Page. How did you achieve that more metal sound?
Wolf: Right. That again was born out of necessity. If you cranked the Marshall all the way to 10 or to 7 or 8, you could use the Distortion Plus' Output control to regulate the Marshall's volume so that you could bring it down to a volume you could actually play with. In essence you have a master volume effect — the amp is still sweating, but you can control the volume. The Distortion control was set not all the way up, but almost all the way up. You can still do it today. The only bad part is you get a lot of noise. We always had to turn down the volume immediately if there was a break. I say "we" — whoever the other guitarist was at the time would use the same set up. We always kind of did that as a team. That trained me real well, and I still do it to this day, but with the advent of hush units you don't need all that stuff.
http://www.dinosaurrockguitar.com/interviews/Hoffmann.shtml
WhammyBar Allstar
New member
Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me
That's exactly the way it should be used to sound good like I said before. But to use any kinda dirtbox into a pre-amp or super high gain amp which generates all it's distortion in the pre-amp is most likely gonna sound like poo. When you got your output tubes all pissed and cookin, mixed with a medium dose of pre-amp gain, this is where this pedal is gonna shine. It's an application thing.
That's exactly the way it should be used to sound good like I said before. But to use any kinda dirtbox into a pre-amp or super high gain amp which generates all it's distortion in the pre-amp is most likely gonna sound like poo. When you got your output tubes all pissed and cookin, mixed with a medium dose of pre-amp gain, this is where this pedal is gonna shine. It's an application thing.
Dr.Mavashi
neonderthalotonalogist
Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me
How accurate is the info that Randy Rhoads used his MXR dist+ as a boost for leads only versus a constant goose. Randy had very creamy thick gain for JMPs, I think he had it on all the time.
How accurate is the info that Randy Rhoads used his MXR dist+ as a boost for leads only versus a constant goose. Randy had very creamy thick gain for JMPs, I think he had it on all the time.
WhammyBar Allstar
New member
Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me
Hmm, right... not sure about that one, I know he had those Marshall's cranked all the time through Altecs which may have helped give him that fuzzy grit. Maybe he ran 2, one as a sublte boost on all the time, and another for a little more sustain on top of that. I think he also used high output distortion pickups, not sure if they were Duncan's or Dimarzio's. I never saw him live so, not too sure, but his recorded tracks are obviously double tracked or more. I'm sure you can probably find more detailed info on his specific rig somewhere on the net.
Big old Marshall amps such as the NMV plexi's or JMP's can do some pretty magical stuff when theyre cranked, that's not a new thing by any means. But yeah if you look at all the high gain amps of today compared to the smallish amounts of overdrive those amps offer up, it's really hard to believe, but volume is the key with those things. I had a pretty lengthy discussion with George Lynch about those old Marshalls they used in the 80's and he pretty much told me that all those guys, before modding was super popular, was just finding an old plexi or pre 73 NMV that sounded decently good and wouldnt blow up when you cranked it so much. That's it... better tubes (which makes a huge difference) was also more available at the time such as Mullards.
Hmm, right... not sure about that one, I know he had those Marshall's cranked all the time through Altecs which may have helped give him that fuzzy grit. Maybe he ran 2, one as a sublte boost on all the time, and another for a little more sustain on top of that. I think he also used high output distortion pickups, not sure if they were Duncan's or Dimarzio's. I never saw him live so, not too sure, but his recorded tracks are obviously double tracked or more. I'm sure you can probably find more detailed info on his specific rig somewhere on the net.
Big old Marshall amps such as the NMV plexi's or JMP's can do some pretty magical stuff when theyre cranked, that's not a new thing by any means. But yeah if you look at all the high gain amps of today compared to the smallish amounts of overdrive those amps offer up, it's really hard to believe, but volume is the key with those things. I had a pretty lengthy discussion with George Lynch about those old Marshalls they used in the 80's and he pretty much told me that all those guys, before modding was super popular, was just finding an old plexi or pre 73 NMV that sounded decently good and wouldnt blow up when you cranked it so much. That's it... better tubes (which makes a huge difference) was also more available at the time such as Mullards.
Dr.Mavashi
neonderthalotonalogist
Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me
Wow Dude you talked gear with GL, AWESOME! He is the reason I wanted to be in the band when I turned 16, he is the reason i use duncans. Yeah his tone on Beast from the East is amazing, and its TS808 pushed plexis. But I think that Randy had MXR on all the time, if you listen to Tribute there is no way those JMP had such saturation on palm mutes just because they were cranked. Same goes for the opening of Balls to the Wall and is confirmed by Wolf in the interview I referenced. I didnt know John Spina also worked on dist+, I LOOOVE his TS9 and I love Wolf's and Randy's tone, I guess its just meant to happen ..
Wow Dude you talked gear with GL, AWESOME! He is the reason I wanted to be in the band when I turned 16, he is the reason i use duncans. Yeah his tone on Beast from the East is amazing, and its TS808 pushed plexis. But I think that Randy had MXR on all the time, if you listen to Tribute there is no way those JMP had such saturation on palm mutes just because they were cranked. Same goes for the opening of Balls to the Wall and is confirmed by Wolf in the interview I referenced. I didnt know John Spina also worked on dist+, I LOOOVE his TS9 and I love Wolf's and Randy's tone, I guess its just meant to happen ..
Dr.Mavashi
neonderthalotonalogist
Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me
Now that I know that John Spina mods, I am getting one in the near future and shipping it to him. The key to vocabulary of good tone options is good amps and good overdirve/distortion boxes not mudulation pedals or a stable of guitars. Randy Rhoads and Wolf Hoffman of Accept is more than enough for me. That pedal has major "trophy case."
RockStarNick
New member
Re: MXR Distortion + : tell me
Yeah, the D+ definitely needs to be going INTO a gainy amp.
The DIII, however, works fantastic into a clean fender.
NOTE: IF you try out the Dist III into a clean amp, at low volumes, you're probably not gonna love it. Its kinda squishy, and dark. However, when you get your volume to gigging level, it REALLY comes alive. You realize why they voiced it the way they did, because the response and lack of brightness... it works well at louder volumes.
Yeah, the D+ definitely needs to be going INTO a gainy amp.
The DIII, however, works fantastic into a clean fender.
NOTE: IF you try out the Dist III into a clean amp, at low volumes, you're probably not gonna love it. Its kinda squishy, and dark. However, when you get your volume to gigging level, it REALLY comes alive. You realize why they voiced it the way they did, because the response and lack of brightness... it works well at louder volumes.
