pedal question.....

xerxes

X Marks the Toneologist
ok, basically im interested in some sort of distortion pedal....preferably true bypass.....something that isnt like insane distortion, but isnt bluesy either. also, the most "distortion" sound, i.e. no fuzz......thanks
 
Re: pedal question.....

ok so there are tons of pedals out there like this. One of the most famous is the Boss DS-1, i dont really like the sound of it but many people have had great success with it. There are many mods online that can be done to this pedal to make it sound different. Then there is the Ibanez TS-9 this is probably getting into the more bluesy sound that you were talking about but you can still get some really nice sounds out of it, there are also tons of mods that you can get for this pedal. My new favorite is the cusack screamer available at www.cusackmusic.com It is a tube screamer copy but it can have a lot more gain if need be, i saw someone useing it and ordered one myself and it has become my new favorite pedal. The sound clips on the site dont really do the pedal justice it has an amazing rythem sound as well as lead. hope this helps
 
Re: pedal question.....

Here is a few, Rat, Ibanez SD-9, Tonebone Hot British, Ibanez Fatcat, Ibanez Supermetal, don't let the goofy namy scare you;)
Maxon DS-830, D&S II for more old style dist, Old black Marshall The Guv'nor, only a few of those are screw flymass...but alot of other players have still mannaged to coax some nice sounds out of those;)
 
Re: pedal question.....

I think there's a Spina DS-1 for sale in the Trading Post, and I always have to recommend the Hermida Mosferatu in this scenario.
 
Re: pedal question.....

True Bypass can be so overrated. If you are using one, maybe 2 pedals, and use a 10 foot cable from your guitar to the pedals and a 2 or 3 foot from the pedals to the amp, sure go TB because your signal loss will be minimal on short cable runs. However, if you have more than 15-18 feet of cable running, having at least one pedal with a buffered bypass (like Boss and Ibanez) is a huge benefit.

Check out the ones Rid mentioned and also check out the Marshall Shredmaster (old black one), the Drive Master (another old black one), Marshall Jackhammer is good too. Distortion pedals are a dime a dozen. One of them will work for you. It's just a matter of dragging you and your guitar down to the shop and trying out what they have.
 
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Re: pedal question.....

ErikH said:
True Bypass can be so overrated. If you are using one, maybe 2 pedals, and use a 10 foot cable from your guitar to the pedals and a 2 or 3 foot from the pedals to the amp, sure go TB because your signal loss will be minimal on short cable runs. However, if you have more than 15-18 feet of cable running, having at least one pedal with a buffered bypass (like Boss and Ibanez) is a huge benefit.

Check out the ones Rid mentioned and also check out the Marshall Shredmaster (old black one), the Drive Master (another old black one), Marshall Jackhammer is good too. Distortion pedals are a dime a dozen. One of them will work for you. It's just a matter of dragging you and your guitar down to the shop and trying out what they have.

Very true on true bypass(Lots of hype)except on a wah and older tone robbing vintage pedals...Just wanted to make sure the guy gets the info he wanted,as he stated true bypass....
 
Re: pedal question.....

I have a Maxon 830 that Rid mentioned

I'm not sure if it's true bypass or not, but it's an excellent distortion, but not cheap. Their site will say if they're true bypass or not.
 
Re: pedal question.....

Wahs are almost a TB must although some of the newer ones have output buffers that help keep the signal up. With older pedals that do suck tone, a true bypass box comes in handy so those old pedals retain their vintage quality. I know if I had a vintage script logo Phase 90 I wouldn't be hacking it up for TB, although it would be a heck of a lot easier to do than today's everything-PCB-mounted reissues.

Let's no forget the PlexiTone. It may not be heavy heavy distortion but it sure does sound sweet and is just enough I think.
 
Re: pedal question.....

ErikH said:
Wahs are almost a TB must although some of the newer ones have output buffers that help keep the signal up. With older pedals that do suck tone, a true bypass box comes in handy so those old pedals retain their vintage quality. I know if I had a vintage script logo Phase 90 I wouldn't be hacking it up for TB, although it would be a heck of a lot easier to do than today's everything-PCB-mounted reissues.

Let's no forget the PlexiTone. It may not be heavy heavy distortion but it sure does sound sweet and is just enough I think.

The Plexitone is a phenomenal pedal...:dance:
 
Re: pedal question.....

STRATDELUXER97 said:
The Plexitone is a phenomenal pedal...:dance:
Heheh, have you heard his JMP pedal clips? It's a PlexiTone with an attitude. You gotta hear it.
 
Re: pedal question.....

yea i kinda wanted a heavey distortion pedal, just not stupidily heavey, and yeah, i really want true bypass....
 
Re: pedal question.....

Subdecay Blackstar: www.subdecay.com/bs.htm

The other guitarist in my band uses this pedal and it is amazing. True Bypass, very well built, and killer sound. Very high gain, low noise, no fuzz.

Barber Direct Drive: www.barberelectronics.com

All of Barber's pedals are built like tanks, have true bypass and sound great. The Direct Drive is a bit more tame than the Blackstar, but it's a wonderful sounding crunch pedal.

Cheers,

CJ
 
Re: pedal question.....

I'm really a blues guy myself, so maybe you'll want to read my comments with a grain of salt. Everyone out there is looking for *the* pedal. I have an Ibanez Tube Screamer TS808 ( which I guess evolved into the TS9 ? ) and it could be coaxed into some decent distortion in the right hands. Most people say this is the pedal of choice. Frankly, I'm not sure I can distinguish it much from my Boss Blues Driver BD2 - which was half the price - but then I may be an ignorant heathen. My personal fave of all time is the Ibanez Tube King, but my applications are really all blues oriented, as I have said. I also have a Digitech GNX4 Workstation, which does amp modeling, drum machine, recording, multiple effects, playback, mixing & more, but they go for over $500 I think ( I took mine in a trade ). I would very highly recommed one of these if you can swing it.

I've had various Boss overdrive pedals that everyone says are so great, but I traded mine cuz they sounded like mush to me. If you don't mind throwing money at the issue, some folks are saying that the BadCat Extreme, and Two Tone pedals are the best out there for everything from SRV grind to serious distortion. They run big money, and I haven't tried one. Here are some reviews. http://www.harmony-central.com/Effects/Data/Bad_Cat/
 
Re: pedal question.....

The true bypass thing is frankly a overblown thing, the real issue is what impendance the damm things have!
Some like Toadworks, have some really simple pedals, no buffers no nothing, so it is all in the hands of your guitar and amps impendance...meaning that it is somewhat unstable at best.
Some have high imp in and out....does not help in the noise department or statics or other wonderful things!
And so on...there are probally a few who can debate this to death and come with a thousand fantastic reasons why it should be like that....can't work me up:D
And if the state of your direct sound really was that huge a factor!!
Run the pedals like a rack, parallel....
Mix the stuff along with your normal direct sound.
That is how I used to run my gear, everything wet went through a linelevel mixer, everthing dry was directly into the input of the amp, always direct....
Well I have long since stopped caring much for it that way, now I just put something together that sounds good to my ears, high imp in and low out, less noise and not much troubles with long cords either, and my sound still has the same punch as if I went directly into the amp!
So it is the impedance that really matters.
 
Re: pedal question.....

Rid said:
True poppass as I usually calls it:D
That's priceless. :chairfall :laugh2:

Your last post makes very good sense, Rid. Good info.
 
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