Questions for the pedal mod guys.

[agentzero12]

Anyone ever use Monte Allums mods? I'm looking at doing a few mods in the near future. I want a "metal" pedal and his mod for the metal zone is supposed to be really good. And I like my distortion III but I could use a bit more "overdrive" response from it so I'm considering doing his tri-gain mod for it.

My other question, is does anyone know a mod to get more volume from a Rat? I like the tone of the pedal so I'm not specifically looking to change any of that, but unity is at almost full volume which is over compressing a bit. I get a better sound with the level down, but its too low at that point. My cleans and other pedals drown it out.

 

[metlking]

Re: Questions for the pedal mod guys.

I did a CE-2 mod and a DS-1 "Roxx Tri-Gain Plus Mod"........great stuff and easy to follow directions! The CE-2 sounds better than ever and the DS-1 is now a usable pedal!

Here is a thread I started a while back.......https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?228818-Ordered-Some-Monte-Allums-Mods

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Questions for the pedal mod guys.

ive installed monte mods on an sd-1 and ge-7. They were really good and got me started down the path of making my own mods and building a few pedals.
The way to get more gain from a Rat is by bypassing some (or all) of the clipping diodes. There are many mods on the net out there, but bear in mind that removing clipping stages also reduces the harness of teh clipping so the sound of your rat will change.

 

[jimijames]

Re: Questions for the pedal mod guys.

I do think he has good kits, and the instructions are easy to follow. Of course you can always get the parts yourself for cheaper, but that's not the point. The instructions are really what you pay for.

I wish I still had my old computer from when I was modding a few SD-1 pedals. The Boss Pedals are buffered and there's a little mod that uses a capacitor and a transistor that makes them sound so much better when the effect is off. I had the link to the mod bookmarked but I have no idea where it went to.

If all you want is a better boss metal zone, then go for the monte allums. If you're interested in picking and choosing your own mods, there are places like diystompboxes.com and stuff that are where the pedal tinkerers hang out. There are more (like freestompboxes.org) but those two are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head. Great resources if you want to mess around with pedals.

It seems like people pay a lot more attention to mild overdrive pedals though (vs. the high gain metal ones).

FWIW when I played the doubleshot distortion I figured it was about the perfect pedal for high gain metal. Take it with a grain of salt though because I don't play a lot of metal - about the metal-y-est I get is Master of Puppets-era Metallica. Early thrash stuff. They don't make the doubleshot anymore but if you can find one used they're great pedals, especially at 18 volts.

 

[dominus]

Re: Questions for the pedal mod guys.

The Metal Muff is also a good pedal stock, and can be had used in the $60 range easily.

If you just want more out of your Dist III, check out the Super Badass. I've got the Custom Badass and that has *almost* enough gain, and the Super Badass is the next one in line.

If you want to spend around $100 used, any of the AMT Legend pedals will get some awesome sounds too. The P1 and S1 are my favorites, but the R1, B1, and E1 pedals are also nice.

Up your budget to around $150, and you might be able to find a used Amptweaker pedal, the TightMetal and TightRock pedals are great, and have very usable noisegates.

Just throwing those out there.

 

[agentzero12]

Re: Questions for the pedal mod guys.

Thanks guys. I pretty much figured the rat would need to stay the same. I'm ok with it as is, just figured I'd check.

I am looking at the metal zone just because its so cheap and apparently has some great mods. I want to cover the soaked metal stuff like Bullet For My Valentine.

As for the distortion III I already have the super badass and I love it. I actually use the distortion III for my low gain stuff. The mod is supposed to give it more overdrive tones.

 

[dominus]

Re: Questions for the pedal mod guys.

I am looking at the metal zone just because its so cheap and apparently has some great mods. I want to cover the soaked metal stuff like Bullet For My Valentine.

Yeah, but once you pay for the Metal Zone and the mods, you're in the price range of another pedal that will do that stock. I'm pretty sure the AMT pedals will kill a modded Metal Zone, and retain their resale value.

As for the distortion III I already have the super badass and I love it. I actually use the distortion III for my low gain stuff. The mod is supposed to give it more overdrive tones.

I'll have to grab the Super Badass one of these days. Also, throw an OD in front of it, it may do the super heavy stuff you're looking for.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Questions for the pedal mod guys.

I wish I still had my old computer from when I was modding a few SD-1 pedals. The Boss Pedals are buffered and there's a little mod that uses a capacitor and a transistor that makes them sound so much better when the effect is off. I had the link to the mod bookmarked but I have no idea where it went to.

That mod pertains only to the SD-1 to fix the issue where the clipped signal leaks in to the bypass signal. To really hear it you have to have a clean amp and the drive up a considerable amount. The SD-1 is the only Boss overdrive that has this behavior.

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: Questions for the pedal mod guys.

Love the Monte Allums mods. And by mods I mean mod. And by mod I mean SD-1 GT mod. It turned the pedal from a blah piece of unused electronics to one of my best pedals. It worked wonders, made it versatile and was very easy to follow. And he's a great guy, and his prices are next to nothing. I couldn't recommend his kits higher.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Questions for the pedal mod guys.

Used his GE-7 mod years ago. super easy to follow and did exactly as described, still on my board today.

Recommended.