Distortion advice

metropolis4 · 04-05-2009, 09:31 AM

I don't know about you, but I've always felt that Vox and Vox style amps are very difficult to find distortion pedals for. To me, pedals that are supposed to sound more like a tube amp end up sounding compressed and fizzy through a Vox, while pedals that are more smooth and less natural sounding end up working beautifully. I personally never liked the sound of the DS-1 through a Vox. It's such a fizzy, buzzy sounding pedal to begin with that it doesn't work with that amp. Anything that is supposed to sound like a Marshall is probably good to stay away from also (like the OCD). I was never as excited about the tone of my GT-500 through a Vox style amp and it is very close to the tone of the OCD.

I would go for one of these three:

VS Jeckyll & Hyde
ProCo Rat
Boss Blues Driver

I've had good experience with these pedals into a Vox amp and I thought they worked better than most others that I tried.

Another thing to try with these style amps is using a boost pedal and setting the amp so it's almost breaking up. Then hit the boost to push it into overdrive. Vox amps work really really well this way and it is a reallu fun way to play if you've never tried it before

S.B.Nichols · 04-05-2009, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metropolis4

I don't know about you, but I've always felt that Vox and Vox style amps are very difficult to find distortion pedals for.

That's actually why I went for the Bad Monkey when I got a vox. I figured that if all the tone snobs over at the vintage amp forums were going all ga-ga over a 30 dollar pedal, it was worth an investment.

k-lub242 · 04-05-2009, 04:11 PM

Also, it actually is true bypass

**thesteve** · 04-05-2009, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by k-lub242

Also, it actually is true bypass

Uh...no it isn't.

***BillSPrestonEsq*** · 04-05-2009, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by k-lub242

Also, it actually is true bypass

what pedal is or is not? Digitech bad monkey is not. VS J & H is not. TU-2 is not. Korg Pitchblack and the Danos and the OCD are the only TB pedals mentioned this thread.

Unlike Tom, I far prefer the danelectro transparent overdrive to the bad monkey. I really, really like mine, though I agree it colors the sound when it is on. I just happen to really like the coloring it does. YMMV. I think your opinion of BM vs TO is one of pure taste. Both are quality pieces of equipment, and for the prices... a steal. (The TO is true bypass though, so no coloring when its off) Also, for higher gain, I suggest going to a pawn shop, grabbing a DS-1 and Keeley modding it with an SEM/Ultra mod. Seriously easy, and seriously an outstanding pedal after the change.

littlewing52 · 04-07-2009, 09:22 PM

I got to crank my amp in a larger room tonight and my OD808 sounded awesome. I think I'll stick with that!

rockin' ryan · 04-08-2009, 12:22 PM

I have a digitech grunge pedal,and it's been great so far.
You can crank up the gain all the way and get a heavy metal sound or you can turn it dow and get a crunchy
blues tone.

***BillSPrestonEsq*** · 04-08-2009, 01:04 PM

its always best when ehat you really want is what you already have.

pooleman0 · 04-09-2009, 10:48 AM

I would go with a tried and true Ibanez tube screamer or a new Fulltone GT 500. The Fulltone will run about $150-$170 but worth every penny. Also, some Fulltone dealers will cut a deal on the price due to the economy if they have a few of them in stock. I picked up a Fulltone Ultimate Octave and got about $50 off because they had so many. The same may hold true for the GT 500 or OCD. What I do is run two OCD's next to each other. I set them at different levels for different levels of overdrive but with them both switched on it gets pretty intense. I would bring your guitar and amp to the music store and just try all the different effects until you like what you here.

**tenwatt** · 04-09-2009, 12:23 PM

I've had every version of the Fulltone GT-500 and haven't liked any of them. I LOVE the boost side but I hate the distortion side.

My Fulldrive 2 with MOSFET, on the other hand, is irreplacable. Since the poster was questioning spending $30 on a DS-1 I don't know if that would be the way to go though.

guitargeek6298 · 04-09-2009, 04:10 PM

I'm quite a fan of my TS-7 tubescreamer, which has a "hot" switch that kicks up the bass and distortion. I modded it to let more bass in, and it really sounds pretty fat now. Those can be had pretty cheap, too, like around $40 or so.

***BillSPrestonEsq*** · 04-09-2009, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littlewing52

I got to crank my amp in a larger room tonight and my OD808 sounded awesome. I think I'll stick with that!

Posters, please note the above post by the OP.

THE METAL · 05-18-2009, 04:06 PM

ok my faves are the line 6 tone core uber metal pedal or the boss metal core the both are good for metal or rock i use my boss petal in church so with some tweaking you can get a more melow sound add a lil delay and you have the mos awsome lead soun eva