amp/preamp suggestions

[RJ2213]

so, the other guitarist i'm working with is finally realizing he needs to ditch his POD and get a real amp. but he is so stuck on good cleans that he refuses to look at anything but fender and vox, the problem is that we play metal and i think something more like a mesa or peavey atleast would be more suiting. so his idea to get the distortion is to use a pedal in front of the amp, he is currently talking about getting a Damage Control Solid Metal Dual Tube Distortion Pedal for the high gain sounds.

any opinions? shall i just slap him now? or do you guys know of any pedals that can get a good distorted sound.

to give you an idea of the sound i'm talking about, well i'm playing my triaxis on ld2 yellow and red most of the time. and we're playing music similar to nightwish, sonata arctica, dream theater, opeth all kinda mixed into one, so the distortion needs to be brutal but not ear piercing.

 

[Rocky]

A Stiletto would do him well...nice cleans, great distortion AND the clean channel takes pedals REALLY well. He could still use that pedal that he seems to be keen on.

 

[RJ2213]

yeah, i was thinking he needs to suck it up and get either a stiletto or a roadking if he is that picky about cleans but wants to make the amp usable in our project.

but he's stubborn.

 

[AustinK]

how about the roadster.

But i have heard some great sounds out of the tube distortion pedals into a clean amp.

 

[RJ2213]

how about the roadster.

But i have heard some great sounds out of the tube distortion pedals into a clean amp.

but which pedals?

 

[Geiri]

Stiletto deuce or trident with an od in front gives you IMHO one of the best distortion sounds available. I'm using an mxr zw in front and I use it as boost for solos or to brutalize the gain and crunch up the fat clean. So in fact it's like an 4 channel amp. Trust us, drag his a$$ to a mesa dealer have him play a stiletto head through a recto cab 2x12 or 4x12 with an od in front. If that won't set him on fire well......then maby he should just pursue a career in computer graphics or womens footwear.


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

There is one distortion pedal I've heard that is very mean thick and amp sounding. I heard that thing played through the clean channel on a fender combo. It's called the MM-X metal monster and it's from guyatone. If he's set on being anal about cleans maybe he should check that out. You can hear sound samples on their website under artists/ Pat Lachman, here is the link.

http://guyatone.com/MmxPopup.php

Hope this helps.

 

[AustinK]

but which pedals?

my buddy gets some good tones out of the seymour duncan twin tube one.

 

[HalfDeaf]

I've never heard a distortion pedal that can come close to the tone of a good high-end tube amp. I think your friend would be much better off with a channel switching amp.

If price is no concern, I'd definitely recommend something from the VHT pittbull line, perhaps the ultra lead. Crystal clear cleans, very brutal distortion, and an excellent "in-between" channel as well. Also check out Soldano stuff, very pricey but very tasty.

Mesa stuff is less expensive, still great tone. +1 on the Stilleto. Lonestars are also known for their cleans. Vox is in this range too, but for crystal cleans favored by metal, I think Vox falls a little short. The Fender Twin Reverb is a standard clean amp for a reason and should be considered.

For a bit less $$, there's the Roland JC120 - lots of metal guitarists use this solid state amp for cleans. In fact, a solid-state amp can deliver more accurate and technically precise cleans than any tube amp. But most people think that pure clean electric guitar sounds a bit sterile, and I agree.

 

[Anonymous]

Tell him to get a used Rivera. They go for cheap, the cleans are as good (if not better than) Fenders, and they're brutal.

Otherwise I'd say a Road King since this is a Mesa forum. But they're expensive!