Pedals, so many choices!

kneadmomunny

New member
Well i have a great little 50 watt amp and it has great crunch and distortion to give you a wet dream. But, when i go for a solo the sound always comes out... flat. I have tried messing with the eq but i think the transistors just wont let this thing scream.

I love the sound of my guitar and my pickups so i think i should get a distortion pedal or something. are there any good ones out there for 30-40 dollars? i don't gig so i dont need anything like professional. i just want a killer hard rock/ metal solo tone.

Also i was going to look for a chorus pedal because i like them.

If you have any info or prefrences on distortion/booster/chorus pedals, :feedback:
 
Re: Pedals, so many choices!

The best cheap pedal IMO for distortion type boost stuff is the digitech bad monkey. It's pretty much a tube screamer in a digitech package and sounds damn good for $30. As with most tube screamers, theyre good for solo boosts and warming up and fattening your tone.
 
Re: Pedals, so many choices!

I'd go with a boss pedal...depending on your preference... What kind of hard rock/ metal solo toen are you goign for? Do you have any band's tones?
 
Re: Pedals, so many choices!

Definetly a bad monkey (i love mine) or a booster like a Boss sd-1 will do the job nicely anything that has touch of midrange for solos, helps notes cut through a bit better with more attack.
 
Re: Pedals, so many choices!

I wouldn't add too much gain here, so a Digitech Bad Monkey, Boss BD-2 Blues Driver or Boss SD-1 SUPER Overdrive would be killer. Just keep your gain somewhat down, dime the output and play with the tone. The Bad Monkey is just like a TS-808, and definitly tightens up the bass and tone in general. It's a great pedal.
 
Re: Pedals, so many choices!

well that does sound like it would boost the signal, but i guess for band reference i want to go from acdc 70's metal for most of the song (which i get from my amp) and then kick it up into zakk wylde/yngwie territory (with a pedal).
 
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Re: Pedals, so many choices!

Zakk's rig is a JCM800 with a Zakk Wylde OD to boos (IIRC), which is based off of the Boss SD-1. What 50w amp do you have now? That might help us decide what you should get.
 
Re: Pedals, so many choices!

It is a gorilla gg-25 solid state 50w amp. like a 9 inch speaker. great crunchy channel, and a wicked distortion channel....for rythm work. I just need to get it brighter, tighter, and more distorted without having to turn up the amp until the neighbors complain.

it isnt a tube amp so i don't know why changing the volume changes the tone on this thing....wierd huh?
 
Re: Pedals, so many choices!

So, there is a slam punk and a classic metal cm-5 at my local pawn shop. both from ibanez.

has anyone here played either of those? would they maybe work?
 
Re: Pedals, so many choices!

kneadmomunny said:
I Can't Bump This Any Higher!!!
I've never tried either, but you should take your amp into that shop and try both pedals out! That's always the best way to go.
 
Re: Pedals, so many choices!

Both of those probably have a little too much gain to make good boosters, but you never know until you try. I have an old MIJ SD-1 that I really like, that's what Zakk was using in his pre-MXR days. But I can't tell you what they would sound like with your Gorilla....
 
Re: Pedals, so many choices!

kneadmomunny said:
I love the sound of my guitar and my pickups so i think i should get a distortion pedal or something. are there any good ones out there for 30-40 dollars?

Man . . . you've got to snag an Arion Tubulator. MF has them for $20. The bad news is that they were $14 only three weeks ago. But they're still a steal at $20. I bought mine on forum bro frankfalbo's recommendation. I took mine over to a friends house and he wouldn't give it back. Gave me $30 to get a new one instead. :)

Its typical Arion cheap plastic but with killer tone. Its not a powerful distortion at all. Turned up to max, its still gentle compared to most, but thats what makes it sound so good. Turn the distortion down, and the treble up, and you have a virtual Rangemaster.

I'm going to write a full review later this week. You can't go wrong for $20.

Artie
 
Re: Pedals, so many choices!

ArtieToo said:
Man . . . you've got to snag an Arion Tubulator. MF has them for $20. The bad news is that they were $14 only three weeks ago. But they're still a steal at $20.

I hate it when they do that. As soon as the Arion Stereo Delay started selling like hot cakes they kicked the price up $20 ($30 to $50) or so just to get some more cash of out of 'em. I won't be surprised if they do that with the Behringer stomps too...

Although I am impressed with the tone quality of some of these lower end plastic pedals...
 
Re: Pedals, so many choices!

Closed Eye said:
I hate it when they do that.

Yeah . . . this is the first time MF ticked me off a bit. I "clicked" it into my Wish-List just so I could look around the site for anything else I might want. By the time I added it to the cart, the price had jumped up and I didn't notice. I had to call them back after they shipped it to get a store credit. The guy on the phone said something like . . . "I'll have to take your word for it (being $14). I have no way to confirm that."

Huh!!??
 
Re: Pedals, so many choices!

Rushfan2112 said:
Boosting solid state will make a whole lotta much, in my experiences.


if this actually made any sense, it would probably be good advice. do you want to translate this to english for me?
 
Re: Pedals, so many choices!

I tried to boost a MG15 using various different pedals, and no matter what you do, in my opinion, you wont reach your goal.

Solid State is untight in its gain in alot of cases, and pedals will only do so much.

I tried to boost a not so good amp (JCM900 4501) and it never came out good, then i tried a new amp, and it blew me away.

You should seriously consider going for a tube amp.
 
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