Distortion advice

littlewing52 · 04-03-2009, 08:19 PM

I just got a new amp - Vox AC15!!! It's my first tube amp and it doesn't have a drive channel (which is new to me, also). I have a Maxon OD808 overdrive but it isn't giving me the dirty tone I'm looking for. It seems like I could use it more as a boost pedal. Would it be worth it to look into a distortion pedal? I am considering a Boss DS-1 simply because of price. What do you all think?

**thesteve** · 04-03-2009, 08:21 PM

In the amps I've used it in, the DS-1 has been a solid, generic pedal. It's nothing special, but I find it to be very usable.

littlewing52 · 04-03-2009, 08:31 PM

Let me add - is there any other distortion pedal that anyone would recommend other than the DS-1 that is in the same price range.

**thesteve** · 04-03-2009, 08:39 PM

The Danelectro CD-1 might be worth checking out: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...dal?sku=482330
The Danelectro CO-1 also has had some good reviews: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...dal?sku=482323

There really aren't a ton of options in the price range of the DS-1.

littlewing52 · 04-03-2009, 09:36 PM

Ooooh what about the Fulltone OCD (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4diQzCr87qA) Quite a bit more but oooooh!!

**akaukal** · 04-03-2009, 10:06 PM

I would save your money and by a Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde. Great distortion and overdrive all in one for close to the same price as the Fulltone.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...dal?sku=150481

k-lub242 · 04-04-2009, 01:25 AM

Does overdrive count? If so then get a digitech bad monkey. Seriously. It has epic tone and is only $50. I love it, and i know a LOT of other people do too.

ibanez_dude · 04-04-2009, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by akaukal

I would save your money and by a Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde. Great distortion and overdrive all in one for close to the same price as the Fulltone.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...dal?sku=150481

+1. two pedals in one housing, and they're both awesome!

littlewing52 · 04-04-2009, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by k-lub242

Does overdrive count? If so then get a digitech bad monkey. Seriously. It has epic tone and is only $50. I love it, and i know a LOT of other people do too.

Any other opinions on the Bad Monkey?

Joseiy · 04-04-2009, 11:01 AM

I'm a fan of the SD1 over the DS1 and have heard nothing but good about the Bad Monkey.

S.B.Nichols · 04-04-2009, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littlewing52

Any other opinions on the Bad Monkey?

The bad monkey pairs excellently with my ac30. Good/natural sounding breakup, and nice tone control. It is a tube screamer clone, but if you max out the bass and treble controls, you get a nice full range OD.

**thesteve** · 04-04-2009, 12:17 PM

My only thought on the Bad Monkey is this...and maybe others have more experience than I do. If the BM is a TS clone, is it going to achieve what is needed any better than the Maxon OD808 does?

Major Tom · 04-04-2009, 12:20 PM

+ 1 more on the Bad Monkey. Like SBN, I turn the bass and treble all or mostly all the way up to give it a transparent tone. Its only drawback is that it is not true bypass (correct me if I'm wrong) - which isn't really an issue (at least for me) unless you have a lot of other non-true bypass pedals. IMO it is a good idea to have one buffering pedal (non-true bypass) first or second in the chain. As a plus, it has an additional crude "amp modeling" output, basically an eq sculpt that you can use to go direct to the board, its good enough IMO to use in an emergency - might come in handy in case of amp failure. Great bang for the buck.

You could also try the Danelectro Transparent Overdrive. Its $40.00 and it does have true bypass. It is similar to the Bad Monkey. I have both and prefer the tone of the BM, it seems more "transparent" and a bit more tweakable tone-wise to me than the TO, which I think colors the tone a bit no matter how I set it. The differences are fairly subtle though, and other players I'm sure would prefer the TO. Either one should work fine with that amp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesteve

My only thought on the Bad Monkey is this...and maybe others have more experience than I do. If the BM is a TS clone, is it going to achieve what is needed any better than the Maxon OD808 does?

The BM has a treble and bass control. In the 12:00 position, it has that TS mid-heavy tone (yuck). Turn them both up all or most the way, and it is very transparent sounding, and does not add any "color" of its own.

**thesteve** · 04-04-2009, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Major Tom

The BM has a treble and bass control. In the 12:00 position, it has that TS mid-heavy tone (yuck). Turn them both up all or most the way, and it is very transparent sounding, and does not add any "color" of its own.

Interesting...I guess I was thinking of "tone" more in terms of available distortion rather than EQing options.

littlewing52 · 04-05-2009, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesteve

Interesting...I guess I was thinking of "tone" more in terms of available distortion rather than EQing options.

Yeah, I have the tone knob on my OD808 turned all the way to 11 and still am getting some muddy-ness with harder picking.