The TS-808 has a nice distortion and the modded versions even better but what type of distortion you crave is the real issue. The TS-808 I think sounds best through a bassier speaker but it won't get you death metal distortion. You might even consider a low watt tube amp for a warm natural sounding distortion without going def. Most pedals sound to distorted and synthetic, for lack of a better word, to me. I would say an EQ will be needed to correct most distortion pedals.

Just my 2 cents.
You know I'm not a big distortion fan so take that into account. :)
BC