Distortion pedal for blues/shredding

I'm going to buy (a) distortion pedal(s), but I'm not sure which one to buy. I heard the Boss Metal Zone MT2 and the Marshall Bluesbreaker 2 are pretty good pedals. Any opinion on them? I'd like to get a Petrucci-like tone, but I'd also like to get that warm Yngwie sound, like e.g. on "Blue" or "Blitzkrieg" (I play a Fender Strat).
Any advice? Maybe I'll have to buy more than one pedal.

I don't know about the bluesbreaker, but I've played a good deal on the metal zone pedal. While the metal zone is good for very distorted metal, it doesn't seem to me like it would be the right choice for you here. For one thing, its probably not the kind of pedal you want to play on a guitar with single coils. Its really better for tight metallica type distortion, not as nice for slightly overdriven warmer yngwie stuff. Remember, for a true yngwie tone, you have to use the middle pickup (I'm pretty sure he almost always uses that one) and it won't sound good if there is too much distortion related buzz. I dont know about the bluesbreaker, but i've heard its a good pedal, and for that tone where the distortion isn't really overpowering, just adding sustain and a bit of crunch on chords, my guess is you'd be better off with the bluesbreaker. The best advice tho, is to go your local guitar shop and play on both till you drop. One distortion pedal I love, but which will probably give you more distortion than you need, is the rat. With the rat you get lots of sensitivity, picks up harmonics well, but doesn't create too much extra noise, its still quiet if you have humbuckers. Well, that's my 2 cents, but you should choose based on sound.

I used Boss effects pedals for ages...even built a custom box to stick em all in. But as soon as I got a MultiEffects pedal (Boss ME-5), it made all my old stuff obsolete.
All of a sudden I had every effect I wanted plus MIDI control which is invaulable in live situations. I can't stand trying to remember to hit patches all the time... so everything I do is synced to cubase and all the patch changes are done automatically. One patch is left silent for the beginning of songs so I can tune up or practice a tough lead, then my part kicks in and it's there without even having to think about it.

I played with a Fender Strat on a Fender amp
and it was realy great sounding. Sounded extremely like the yngwie sound. And I believe the amps effect was some 25-30 watts.
So it can´t cost that much. Mail if you want me to check out what amp I played.

I've been using the Zoom 505 Multi-effects pedal since I started playing about 3 years ago, and it's done great. I've used it for eveything from blues, acoustic stuff, death metal, classic rock, and shred. For such a cheap piece of equipment (about 100 clams...) it's done me good. Check it out!

hey Daniel- where can I find "the rat"? I'm looking into buying a distortion pedal..and how much is it?

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Originally posted by Fender2336:
hey Daniel- where can I find "the rat"? I'm looking into buying a distortion pedal..and how much is it?

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Where do you live? If you live in the suburbs, and don't have any large guitar stores near you, I don't really know where you'd find it. If you live someplace near a Sam Ash, or Guitar Center, or any relatively large guitar store, even some small ones (I tried a rat out at 30th street guitars in new york, a small vintage guitar shop) will probably stock it. Its not as big a name as the boss, but it will cost you a bit less, ok like 10 bucks (I think the rat I saw went for about 70, whereas the boss metal zone was something like 80) and in my opinion the tone is at least as good. If you can find one to try out, I'd suggest you do so, compare it to the metal zone, also, if you are looking for a less intense distortion, more of a led zeppelin type grit than heavy metal growl distortion, try out the boss
ds-1 distortion, its a lot cheaper (talking 30-40 dollar range), and while the distortion isn't as intense or sensitive, it's good for what it's good for. It really depends on what kind of distortion you want. For a stevie ray vaughan edgey blues distortion, he used the ibanez tubescreamer, and you should too. That's more of an overdrive tho, it simulates what you would get by overdriving a tube amp. I could probably go on, if you have any more questions, feel free.

I use the Boss Blues Driver which is exactly the same as the Boss distortion D-1, but the settings they have in the owners manual are different so you can buy that and use it for blues or other distorted music (great distortion).

Yo.I use a Digitech RP 12.It has many cool tones.I have found THE blues tone.I also use a Fender Fat Strat modded with Lace Sensor Golds in the neck and middle and a red/silver dually at the bridge,fully tapped.So smooth it'll bring the girls 'a cryin'!For an amp,I just tried out what I belive to be a strong contender for THAT blues tone.Peavey(yes that's right) makes a smooth little jewel with 30 watts of all hot glass butteriness.It's called the Delta Blues and it is finer than frogs hair.2-10's in a gun metal gray(they prefer to list it as black tweed)case.Less than 50 lbs.SWEET!!I'm savin' up for one even as we speak.Gettin' it for 'bout $420.00.Even sweeter!Blow it out!

you might also try the ibanez tube screamer, lots of people have used it from srv to pearl jam to countless others..

jason

Have you ever played on a danelectro fabtone dist. pedal?..that might be what your looking for...you can get everything from death metal grind to blues overdrive on those things

The Jeckyl and Hyde pedal has similar circuitry and sound as the vintage tube screamers, you should check those out.

Atomic

MT2 really sucks if you want to be at least clear (Vai, Satriani) or even Malmsteen. I've built from scratch (and from a circuit from a friend) the Marshall Shred-Master and it's really a cool distortion, but I don't know if it's still on sale, because I can't find it in the Marshall website

I've got to agree with Jason, above .... The Original Ibanez Tube Screamer just kicks ass.
It responds very much like the volume knob on your guitar, turn the level and drive down and you get a very warm, tube-like overdrive .. but crank that baby and you can sound like Hammet, Dimebag, etc.
It's a very versatile pedal. I played in a very loud, heavy progressive-rock band back in the early 90's .... lot's of drop-D tuning, etc .... and my Tube Screamer gave me all the crunch and gain I needed .... later on , I joined a more "classic" rock band .. Stones, Hendrix, etc ... and the Tube Screamer adapted perfectly with a few adjustments .... now, I'm getting more into Traditional and Texas blues .... and the Tube Screamer is still my only choice.

I use a Tube Screamer (reissue) with an American Deluxe Strat and a 1968 Les Paul Custom and a Fender 1965 black-face Super Reverb. You should be aware that the Tube Screamer responds very differently to single-coil and humbucking pickups. If I need a clear tone with some edge, I use the Strat. If I need a heavier sound with full-tilt distortion, I use the Les Paul. I have to crank the amp pretty good to get serious distortion with the Strat, and that's not always possible. I really like the Tube Screamer. You might want to try the Turbo Tube Screamer which has a low-end boost that is supposed to work well with Strats.

I recently got a Boss DS-1 that is very much perfect for what you're asking. I use it with a '65 Fender Bassman and for blues and a sweet lead tone it's excellent. I was able to get better sounds out of that setup than my Mesa/Boogie gear, although once I'm more familiar with the latter I'll probably change my mind. Take care.

Atomic