Distortion Pedal
 

Yeh my G&L has a really clean tone and i want a distortion pedal, what are some good ones?

I like my BOSS DS-1 distort pedal

its pretty good for 30-40 bucks

yeh i had that but it broke :\

like any other piece of gear it all depends on the sound you want and the cash in your pocket.

BOSS is known to make incredibly reliable pedals. they're little tanks made out of cast iron. the DS-1 is a classic and if you can find it close to the $40 mark you're laughing. it'll provide a nice hard rock fuzz sound for pretty cheap, and it won't eat batteries half as fast as most other pedals.

if you want more edge and control over your fuzz BOSS also has the MT-2 metal zone. don't let the name fool you, it can still provide a decent range of fuzz. it also has a split EQ knob so you can better tweak the distortion. they're usually closer to $80-100 though.

electro harmonix also has the 'big muff' line of distortion pedals (and a lot of people would call them the top of the pile). these are usually pricier, the 'mini muff' starts around $100 and the other models end up closer to $200. there are also russian made big muff's that are pretty good too (i scored one in a pawn shop about 2 years ago for $80). there's one pertinent issue with the muff though, a lot of people complain that the pedal sucks your tone when it's not in use so they end up having custom bypass switches installed. i just use mine with my bass and never turn it off hehehe.

you might also want to look into compressor pedals. again BOSS is usually your best bet. it's not something i'd use for a lot of rhythm playing but if you want neil young style buzzy lead action, it's the ticket. great for single notes, but it gets muddy when you play chords (at least from my limited experience with a compressor)

personally i've been using the DOD FX53 classic tube for almost 15 years. it's not really as fuzzy as the BOSS pedals but it gives a smoother distorted sound. it's got more mid range where the BOSS pedals have more highs and lows.

one other thing to keep in mind too is that most amps have some sort of gain channel built in. while they usually sound like crap on little 10-15W amps they usually start sounding pretty decent once you get to something big enough to jam over drums with. i've got more fingers than times i've used a distortion pedal through my 40W marshall over the last decade.



let us know what you end up getting when it happens.

HOW? you're the only person i've ever heard of having a BOSS pedal break.

i dont even know but it doesnt work anymore :(, hmmm the sound i want uhhh like Nirvana the kind of distortion that Kurt used.

Not to be funny, but nirvanas tones kinda sucked. Why don't you go down to your local store and try a few different kinds of pedals?

Oh and btw, go for the pedal which sounds best to your ears, not always the one that sounds closest to your influences. Saves a lot of hassle when your tastes inevitably change over time.

the DS-1 should have been pretty close. something else cobain used to use a lot too was an old boss chorus pedal to add an extra layer of shimmer to the fuzz.

as for your pedal it might just be a short in the battery connection. it's the most common reason pedals 'die'. any electronics repair shop should be able to fix it up, but at the price they sell for now it might be just as cost effective to save up for a new one.

I just got a DS-1 a little while back and it does nothing for my guitar. It sounds the exact same if I were to just turn the volume on my guitar all the way up. Or is it suppose to do that?

you have to mess around with the settings a bit...

On my pedal or amp? Because I tried both. =\

do you have a fresh battery in there or just whatever was left in there from the store? the DS-1 should add a noticeable amount of fuzz on your tone.

Yeh I changed the battery, and yes there is fuzz, but it's very weak and i'm really disappointed.

you still have the receipt?

you're the first person i've heard of being disappointed with the fuzz from a DS-1. are you running it into some sort of combo amp with a really nice gain channel? (like a midrange marshall or something)

Naw it's a Fender amp. Maybe it's my guitar, it has a super clean tone, the pedal just does really nothing. Idk maybe I should just get a different pedal. Maybe a metal distortion one?

Maybe you should have gotten a fender instead of a G&L...fenders have a muddier tone.

Yeh I really hate my guitar. I went to guitar center and played just about every guitar there, the ones I liked most were the Fender Jaguar with dual humbuckers, the Epiphone SG (which strangely enough sounds better than the Gibson), and the Epiphone dot, so one of those will be my next guitar after I sell my G&L on ebay or something.

Epiphone bodys actually sound better for some reason...but Gibson's pick ups are superior to Epiphone's...

Boss are a generic brand...and their distortion is the worst offender

electro-harmonix are the best mainstream pedal brand ive encountered
if you've got the cash go for a zvex box of rock or some beautiful (and hugely expensive) boutique thing

but the Big Muff is brilliant and gives you a way more interesting sound than the ds-1 ever could (ive had both) also way more grind.
there is no reason you're g&L cant be a filth beast

I'll definitely look into them.
What was the name of that brand you really like? I remember you were saving money to buy one of those guitars on ebay. I can't remember the brand though, are those any good?

I have a Danelectro FAB distortion pedal. It's a cheapy 40 dollar pedal, but I really like the distortion I can get from it.

Oh, and Speaking of Epi Dots, how do they sound? I held one to get a feel for it at a music store (cuz feel is way more important than sound for me), and I liked it.

Yeh, I really love the sound not too heavy but not too clean, probably the next one I'll get.

I'd look for a fuzz pedal next sweet.

i'm not really sure i follow here.

if your guitar has a really clean tone naturally the effect of the pedal should have been even more distinguishable.

you have a couple of song examples with the tone you're looking for?

When I bought the pedal I thought I would get that tone that Kurt Cobain had.

To get a Kurt Cobain-ish sound I'd recommend Electro-Harmonix BigMuff for the fuzzy but not loud parts, Electro-Harmonix Polychorus to get that nice phat chorussy reverb effect he had, DS1 with lots of gain but not too much morph for that distorted tone. He probably had some form of volume limiter for the songs where the volume increase is more subtle.

How much that cost at a guitar center? Hopefully the same as my DS-1? And what if I wanted the sound of Jonny Greenwood's guitar on tracks such as 'Just'? Because that's what I really want.

About 80 on the BigMuff, about 230 on the Polychorus, and 45-50ish on a DS1. So about 350-ish in pedals, and maybe an extra 30-40 for the volume pedal.

I'm not sure about Greenwood, I haven't played around with pedals enough to come across anything remotely close to emulating his sound. Though if I had to take a guess I think he'd use a lot of pedals as there's typically a lot going on sound wise.

Thanks, you guys have really been a big help.

i remember reading an article that johnny greenwood actually made a few of his pedals himself. might be kind of tough to properly emulate his tone.

plus he has about 10 million pedals...and rack units

Yeh I found this list of what he uses.

Guitars:
Fender Telecaster Plus
Fender Starcaster

Effect Pedals:
Boss TU-2 Stage Tuner
Digitech Whammy WH1
Demeter Tremulator
Dod 440 Envelope Filter
Electro Harmonix Small Stone
Akai E1 Headrush
Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive
Boss RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay
Boss LS-2 Line Selector
Boss FV300H Volume Pedal
Marshall Shredmaster
Roland Space Echo RE-201

Amplifiers:
Voc AC30
Fender Eighty-Five
Fender Deluxe 85
Fender Twin Reverb

Other:
Keyboard - Fatar Keys CMS-161
Sampler - Akai S3000XL
Moog Rogue
Analogue Systems French Connection
Hammond XB2 Digital Organ
Korg Prophecy
Fatar Keys SL-161
Korg Prophet
Ondes Martenot
Rhodes Suitcase Piano Mark I 73

i know his main box is a marshall shred master
i think they made them in the 80's so i dont know how u'll go
pro co rat may be the better option there as i think theyre similarish

definitely a whammy and a volume pedal

he uses a roland space echo as well but im not sure how often

there are many others
but i dont know what they are

oh i was beaten to it

Holy **** you guys my DS-1 is actually working properly my question is why wasn't it working right when I got it like 2 weeks ago?

weak battery? short in one of the connections? weak cable / input jack? might have even been dust on one of the circuits.

so it's providing a little more 'oomph' right?

Yeh alot, a completely different sound :)

boss - Google Product Search

I'll sell you mine for £90 Which is cheaper than anything on the google search. I've not used it in 2 years and it's been kept boxed away. Let me know if your interested.

How much would that be in American dollars?

I remember when one of my Boss pedals wasn't working right it was because I over tightened the washer over the input jack, once I loosened it up a bit it worked fine.

I was recommended the Boss Metal Zone when I first started playing guitar (1994)... since I didn't really know what kind of sound I wanted, this pedal was awesome due to the EQ feature. I recently wanted to go for a more natural sound as the metal zone sounds more digital/flat to me. I was recommended the Ibanez tube screamer (which I enjoy), it seems to boosts the amps natural signal giving it a thicker distortion (more like British rock I guess). I actually did a little experimenting and found I really dig the sound of the Metal Zone (EQ'd accordingly) going into the Tube Screamer and then to the amp. On occasion I will start the chain with a Wah-Wah pedal and use it as a treble booster for those solos that need to cut through.