Which distortion with fuzz face and ts808?

[Halvorsenb]

I am building a very basic pedalboard for recording. I would like to have 1 of each kind of dirt pedal. I already have a TS808 Tube Screamer, and I am looking at a germanium fuzz face for my fuzz. I am undecided on my distortion. I like to stick to "industry standard" type pedals, so I am looking at the MXR Distortion+, the Boss DS-1, and the Proco Rat.

In your opinion, which of these would be the best addition to the fuzz face and TS808? I am leaning towards the rat as of now.

Thanks!

 

[superpete]

i'm a big dist+ fan, but the rat is gonna be more versatile and sound just as good in it's own way. ds1 has its own charm, but that'd be in third place for me.

 

[dystrust]

I am building a very basic pedalboard for recording. I would like to have 1 of each kind of dirt pedal. I already have a TS808 Tube Screamer, and I am looking at a germanium fuzz face for my fuzz. I am undecided on my distortion. I like to stick to "industry standard" type pedals, so I am looking at the MXR Distortion+, the Boss DS-1, and the Proco Rat.

In your opinion, which of these would be the best addition to the fuzz face and TS808? I am leaning towards the rat as of now.

Thanks!

The correct answer is one of these with a power supply and whichever pedals you need for the take you're recording clamped to it. A lot of those vintage-style pedals have lousy bypass or don't play nice with various buffers, so the type of board you're suggesting isn't super practical.

Edit: I suppose I didn't pick a pedal in the poll, so I'll choose option D: 'All of the above'.

 

[Securb]

Take a look at the Decibel 11 Dirt Clod it will give you MXR, Tube Screamer and more in one box. And no it is no a digital modeler it is analog.

 

[Aceman]

I went with DS-1. It is a standard, down the middle, classic distortion.

The MXR is an OP amp Distortion. It's a different thing than the other two.
The Rat ventures into Fuzz territory, so covered by the Fuzz Face.

If you are going Rat - go with a Proco Solo. Everything a Rat can do and a lot more.

Or think about a Distortion modeler.

 

[PFDarkside]

What amp(s) and music style?

 

[Halvorsenb]

What amp(s) and music style?

I play through a Marshall Origin 50H, and Vox AV60 (but I only use the Fender Twin and AC30 models). I play a lot of styles within the rock umbrella. 70s style classic rock is my favorite to play, but I enjoy the ability to venture into other styles.

 

[Highway Chile]

I played a 70s D+ from 1980 to at least 1988 and I loved it then, but I wouldn’t get one now. In fact, would not get any of the OP’s choices as there are better pedals these days. I recommend an OCD as the “distortion” pedal to sit between a TS and a Fuzz Face. Ymmv.

 

[Bogner]

Check out the Revv pedals. All of them are fantastic. Same with the Bogner pedals...all are very good for what you play through and are looking for. I would also be foolish not to mention Suhr's pedals. All very nice.

 

[PFDarkside]

I think I’m inclined to agree with OCD or Wampler Pinnacle, Suhr Riot, something like that.

Then again you can get a DS-1 for pennies, and trying that is a piece of cake.

 

[dave74]

I'd go with a DS-2 instead, if you find one cheap that is.

 

[dystrust]

I went with DS-1. It is a standard, down the middle, classic distortion.

The MXR is an OP amp Distortion. It's a different thing than the other two.
The Rat ventures into Fuzz territory, so covered by the Fuzz Face.

The BOSS DS-1 and MXR Distortion+ both use op amp gain stages with clipping diodes. The parts are different, but the basic idea behind them is pretty similar. Of the 3 pedals you mentioned, the ProCo Rat clips the op amp itself far more than the other 2 pedals.

 

[GuitarStv]

It depends on how you want to use them. I like combining mid cut pedals with mid boost pedals, but rarely end up running more than two gain pedals at a time.

fuzzface - slight mid cut
Big muff- big mid cut
tubescreamer - big mid boost
Rat - big mid boost
Ds-1 - mid cut

Fuzzface/tubescreamer will work fine together. Rat/fuzzface should work well too in a similar way if you keep the rat gain very low on the Rat. Rat/tubescreamer is probably going to sound too middy.

DS-1/TS will work great. DS-1/fuzzface may work OK, but will require some experimenting (mids may drop enough that it tends to get lost in the mix). The dist+ will do a similar cut thing to the mids as a DS-1.

Once you figure out where you want your mids to be combining pedals, then it's time to figure out how much gain you're aiming for.

TS - low gain
Rat - high gain (can do low gain too)
DS-1 - medium gain
Dist+ - medium gain (little lower than ds-1P)
Fuzzface - medium/highish gain

Personally, I'd be inclined to go with fuzzface, rat, and ts . . . But would never kick on the rat/ts at the same time.

 

[Lewguitar]

I'll suggest a Wampler Ego compressor pedal. It makes all of my overdrive pedals sound better. More even, less spitty, fatter and more focused.

It's a good gain boost pedal too.

And since it has a blend control you can adjust how much compression vs. unaltered signal you want.

So it can be adjusted for an extremely transparent tone or a haevily compressed tone or anything in-between.

Works beautifully for enhancing overdriven tones and also clean tones.

I use it with my National Resonator guitar which has a Lace Thinline pickup when I play slide.

Sounds very natural and sustains more evenly.

Also works beautifully for enhancing the sound of my Boss CE-2W Chorus pedal.

Gives it a tone that reminds me of a 12 string guitar.

 

[GuitarStv]

I'll suggest a Wampler Ego compressor pedal. It makes all of my overdrive pedals sound better. More even, less spitty, fatter and more focused.

It's a good gain boost pedal too.

And since it has a blend control you can adjust how much compression vs. unaltered signal you want.

So it can be adjusted for an extremely transparent tone or a haevily compressed tone or anything in-between.

Works beautifully for enhancing overdriven tones and also clean tones.

I use it with my National Resonator guitar which has a Lace Thinline pickup when I play slide.

Sounds very natural and sustains more evenly.

Also works beautifully for enhancing the sound of my Boss CE-2W Chorus pedal.

Gives it a tone that reminds me of a 12 string guitar.

Do you run your compressor into your gain or after? I'm always torn where to put mine. Before and it can be kicked on for extra crunch, but the distortion box gets less touch sensitive to picking - seems to play better with light OD. Afterwards it can be used for volume boost, and you can change the gain easier by picking harder/lighter - seems to play better with medium gain.

 

[Mincer]

I always put the compressor before gain. Gain wil add even more compression, but that's where it sounds the best to me. There are no rules about this...I say, experiment!

 

[jeremy]

what fuzzface? i ask because they dont always play well with other dirt boxes. i love my sunface but it doesnt play well with a vox overdrive i wanted to pair it with. i run it into a dls and it works great. if you dont plan to stack, then it doesnt matter

 

[Bogner]

Compression before gain unless you are insane.

I made up that line years ago to help remind me but there are no rules and it always depends on what pedals are being used but it is "typically" a wise rule of thumb to put compression early and before gain.

 

[GuitarStv]

Compression before gain unless you are insane.

I made up that line years ago to help remind me but there are no rules and it always depends on what pedals are being used but it is "typically" a wise rule of thumb to put compression early and before gain.

I did it that way for years, but a friend always ran his compressor after his ODs . . . and sounded great doing it. He could change the whole gain structure of the OD with his volume knob and picking dymanics but didn't have to deal with drops in volume.

 

[Bogner]

I did it that way for years, but a friend always ran his compressor after his ODs . . . and sounded great doing it. He could change the whole gain structure of the OD with his volume knob and picking dymanics but didn't have to deal with drops in volume.

That way can work well if not using super high gain...at least in my experience. I am always on the heavy side and doing it that way for me hasn't;t been as successful as the way I initially mentioned. Everybody is different, likes different things and has different gear and all of that can change things for sure. The key is finding what can work for you and what you have and be at peace with it. (sometimes easier said than done).