I need some input. I'm playing in a metal band and I need to buy a pedal because the overdrive on my amp isn't cutting it. I'm playing an Epi Les Paul through a Marshall Valvestate half stack and need a very heavy distortion that also has good highs. Any ideas?
Overdrive/Distortion Pedals - Help
# 1
My vote goes either to the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone, which has some quite versatile tone-shaping options and some really crushing rhythm sounds, or the MXR Dime Distortion, which is apparently great - unless of course the Dimebag sound isn't what you had in mind.
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- Attributed variously to Leadbelly and Louis Armstrong
If at first you don't succeed, you are obviously not Chuck Norris.
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# 2
I used to have the BOSS Metalzone but I think that the mids are kind of "nasally." The dime distortion is sweet but I don't like buying signature effects. If I don't find anything I'll probably go back to the metalzone.
# 3
check out the Boss OD20, it is very versatile and sounds great ! I have one and it is the only distortion pedal I will ever need !
It will even do the dropped octave thing !
It will even do the dropped octave thing !
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# 4
The Metal Zone might have a "nasally" tone to it on its own, but in a mix, that nasally tone is what will make you stand out and be heard. It's easily dialed out though, if you just take your time with it, and experiment. You might also want to check out the DigiTech Metal Master. It's supposed to be able to sound like several different types of distortion pedals. The best thing you can do is go to a music store and try some pedals out yourself.
# 5
How about an MXR Zakk Wylde Overdrive...
Get a good dirty tone from one of your channels on your amp then put that thing in front of it..... and you'll be plenty heavy with plenty of screaming highs.
Get a good dirty tone from one of your channels on your amp then put that thing in front of it..... and you'll be plenty heavy with plenty of screaming highs.
# 6
I swear by my Marshall Jackhammer. Best £50 I ever spent.
However I've been interested in hearing some of pedals i've seen with preamp tubes built in such as some of the electro harmonix stuff.
However I've been interested in hearing some of pedals i've seen with preamp tubes built in such as some of the electro harmonix stuff.
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# 7
The metal master has a great sound for a more modern metal distortion and is quite noisless.
the metal zone is great for thrash type sounds with either enhanced mids or cut mids.,
but be aware of the highs knob being to high it doesn't take much to do that. i would suggest lowering it's treble the louder you play.
the metal zone is great for thrash type sounds with either enhanced mids or cut mids.,
but be aware of the highs knob being to high it doesn't take much to do that. i would suggest lowering it's treble the louder you play.
" "this tone ain't workin for me" is the first thing a guitar player says when he hasn't done his homework"- Bob Rock
# 8
I've found that to achieve a great distortion, you need one very important thing...
EQ pedal
You can get pretty nice distortion with many pedals and effects, but to get to the real cutting edge of a distorted tone you must have an EQ pedal.
You can mess around with many parameters in you D_pedal but to get those fine tunning tweaking details (like when you need that extra HighMidCrunch parameter) you will need a EQ.
And it's funny cause you really don't need to much distortion to get a pretty Heavy sound, really give it a try and you'll be amazed of where you can get tweaking an EQ (before or after the Distortion), and it's really fun.
EQ pedal
You can get pretty nice distortion with many pedals and effects, but to get to the real cutting edge of a distorted tone you must have an EQ pedal.
You can mess around with many parameters in you D_pedal but to get those fine tunning tweaking details (like when you need that extra HighMidCrunch parameter) you will need a EQ.
And it's funny cause you really don't need to much distortion to get a pretty Heavy sound, really give it a try and you'll be amazed of where you can get tweaking an EQ (before or after the Distortion), and it's really fun.
Power corrupts. Absolute power is kinda neat.
# 9
I agree 100%... My EQ pedal is probably the most important pedal in my chain.
# 10
I think all u need is an electro-harmonix metalmulf it sounds really cool with a marshall... U can use it both rhytms and lead...
take a look..
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ElectroHarmonix-Metal-Muff-with-Top-Boost?sku=153339
take a look..
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ElectroHarmonix-Metal-Muff-with-Top-Boost?sku=153339
# 11
Originally Posted by: PRSplayathe DigiTech Metal Master. It's supposed to be able to sound like several different types of distortion pedals.
yeah, it does have lots of different models, but they all kinda sound the same.
DigiTech's distortion is really fuzzy.
I personally love the Big Muff Pi, but thats sort of an old school sounding stomp box, might not be your thing.
# 12
I don't play metal anymore, but when I did, my weapon of choice was an Ibanez SM-9 Super Metal.
These days, if I get nostalgic, I can relive the bad old days with a DigiTech Bad Monkey. Great range of very usable sounds, and enough adjustment that a separate EQ isn't really needed.
One problem though; the switching is not true bypass, so when it's turned 'off' it's a major treble-rolloff tone-suck. Use it as part of a switchable FX loop, and you'll love it. A lot of pedals are like this. You should definitely try before you buy.
These days, if I get nostalgic, I can relive the bad old days with a DigiTech Bad Monkey. Great range of very usable sounds, and enough adjustment that a separate EQ isn't really needed.
One problem though; the switching is not true bypass, so when it's turned 'off' it's a major treble-rolloff tone-suck. Use it as part of a switchable FX loop, and you'll love it. A lot of pedals are like this. You should definitely try before you buy.
# 13
boss metal zone! all the way, that pedal rocks. you wanna wake up the neighbors? Boss metal zone is the way to go!
# 14
Originally Posted by: LordathestringsI don't play metal anymore, but when I did, my weapon of choice was an Ibanez SM-9 Super Metal.
These days, if I get nostalgic, I can relive the bad old days with a DigiTech Bad Monkey. Great range of very usable sounds, and enough adjustment that a separate EQ isn't really needed.
One problem though; the switching is not true bypass, so when it's turned 'off' it's a major treble-rolloff tone-suck. Use it as part of a switchable FX loop, and you'll love it. A lot of pedals are like this. You should definitely try before you buy.
A few questions about the Monkey vs/ tone suck for ya. Can't you compensate for that with EQ? What freq bands? I have one, and havn't really noticed the treb tone crapping out.
[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Still learning. One riff at a time. [/FONT]
# 15
If my amp is set up clean, then the tone through the Bad Monkey sounds like there's a blanket thrown over the speakers. I don't have an EQ pedal, so I don't know what frequency bands. Upper-mid & treble, I'm guessing. Above 1 kHz?
Trying to boost those frequencies after the pedal will just raise the noise content. Boosting before the pedal will require some serious tweaking of the pedal settings to compensate.
I like to keep my rig as simple as possible. I use a home-made A-B switch to isolate my pedals into a separate chain. That allows me to pre-set the effects and switch them in/out with one switch. Most of my sound is the mighty Ampeg, with on-the-fly changes made at the guitar. I over-used pedals back in the day, and I tend to avoid 'em now.
Trying to boost those frequencies after the pedal will just raise the noise content. Boosting before the pedal will require some serious tweaking of the pedal settings to compensate.
I like to keep my rig as simple as possible. I use a home-made A-B switch to isolate my pedals into a separate chain. That allows me to pre-set the effects and switch them in/out with one switch. Most of my sound is the mighty Ampeg, with on-the-fly changes made at the guitar. I over-used pedals back in the day, and I tend to avoid 'em now.
# 16
I had the Digitech reverb pedal, and eventhough it had some great reverb tones, it was a major tone sucker. A lot will depend on your amp, as to how much tone the pedal will suck. Some amps aren't as pedal friendly as others, and amps like LATS's ampegs, that are pure tone reproducers are very sensitive to what you put in front of them.
# 17
Metal Zone is my least favourite distortion pedal - I find it a bit of a tone killer. Like everyone else I used to think putting distortion to 10 on the dial got the heaviest sound, this of course is very wrong. The heaviest sounds come from lower levels of distortion - from between 6 - 8.
As far as pedals/stomp boxes go, the best I've used is the Line6 DM4
http://line6.com/stompboxmodelers/dm4.html
The Metal Zone tone is in there along with just about every other distortion/overdrive pedal you can think of including the Ibanez Tube Screamer. The sound is leagues ahead of PODxt distortions to my ear - much more ballsy and real. Usually I'm not a big fan of Line6 but the DM4 is a great piece of gear. Worth checking out as a one stop shop for metal tones.
As far as pedals/stomp boxes go, the best I've used is the Line6 DM4
http://line6.com/stompboxmodelers/dm4.html
The Metal Zone tone is in there along with just about every other distortion/overdrive pedal you can think of including the Ibanez Tube Screamer. The sound is leagues ahead of PODxt distortions to my ear - much more ballsy and real. Usually I'm not a big fan of Line6 but the DM4 is a great piece of gear. Worth checking out as a one stop shop for metal tones.
# 18
I have been looking at Line 6 products. i'll look into that modeler. But I was checkin out the Uber Metal specifically. Does anybody have any feedback on it or any info?
# 19
i'm using a Pod line6 set up right now. its actually pretty good. I'm not sure which one it is cause someone gave it to me pre-used. The distortion's are great for playing rythem but i really have to tweak it to get a good lead tone. I still like the metal zone better though. and i totally agree with super human, that you dont have to crank the distortion to make your stuff sound heavy. if write a heavy riff, chance are, it'll still sound heavy with a clean tone. You shouldn't rely on distortion to make your stuff sound heavy.
# 20
