Distortion pedal recommendations???

[clutch71]

Ive got to ask you,,, why would you consider replacing the amp you have?
Especially because it can be hooked up to a cab.
IM wondering what amp you think will get the sound your after better than the ROV?
I cant tell too much of any difference from the ROV than a double or triple rec,. other than more wattage and more options and the option to use the rectifier tubes or solid state rectifier?
Anyways, maybe your not looking for a rec at all.. just wondering?
I just cant imagine a much more brutal distortion offered than a rectifier like the ROV. Good luck

As of now I'm thinking of replacing it with a 3 ch Dual Rec. I like the idea of switching between a clean, Raw or Vintage, and Modern channel at the flick of a switch. I like the idea of all tube rectification if desired. I like the idea of swapping 6L6's for EL-34's if so desired. Three of these things I cannot do with a series 1 ROV. This distortion pedal thread was not an attempt to acheive more gain. I was just looking to tighten things up without a compressor.

I bought the ROV by accident. I had been looking at DR's, TR's and Orange Rockerverb's. I had never seen one, read about one, or been pointed toward one by my local Mesa dealer. It was advertised at a ridiculously low price ($699) at Music Go Round. So I read about it on Mesa's web-site, researched what a few closed out for on eBay, and went up to buy it with the thought of selling it on eBay or Craigslist. I plugged into it and was impressed with the sound. Much to my wifes chagrin I kept it. I did have to re tube the power section and input stage but it was worth every penny.

I do think a Dual has a little more bite and before I buy a Dual I would like to pick up a 4x12 rectifier cab. I think mine would sound sweet with that and a 2x12. For the playing I do this cab will really be the deciding factor. I've also said it a 1000 times there's a part of me that would just like to have a Half Stack.

I know this...I love Mesa and I like the ROV but the Dual was the first thing I tried. I have not made up my mind and want to try a Roadster, RKII, and a Mark IV before I do. If I get a Mark though I will keep the ROV so I can have the best of both worlds. Russ will be proud!

 

[Guitarzan]

Still a fan of the Original Marshall Guv'nor pedal!

 

[clutch71]

Still looking tried an older tube screamer, not for me.

 

[mike]

The only distortion I keep in my line is a big muff for use with channel 1 on my dual rec.

 

[Newysurfer]

I've recently done a lot of testing of both metal & overdrive pedals. I have 2 pedal recommendations which are both THE best currently available IMHO.

1) Electro-Harmomix Metal Muff (with Boost) for a full range of metal tones. It's versatile, very low noise, doesn't suck tone, true-bypass and has fat, tube like tones.

2) Fulltone Fulldrive 11 Mosfet - best overdrive pedal on the market by a long way IMHO. True bypass, low noise, very versatile, big tubescreamer sustains, gives great british blues and overdrive tones that's quite different to the Mesa ones. It'll drive your distortion channel to heaven :lol:

 

[Crimson_Jonny]

Recently I've been running a ProCo Turbo Rat Pedal into my Mesa Quad for a little more sustain and bite. Its true that many of Mesa's amps have sufficient gain on tap, but I find that I can get a different sound if You don't run the lead channel full bore, and compensate with a stompbox. If You are running a quality distortion unit, then You can get some great tones. For example, the Turbo Rat brightens up the attack of my Quad and adds more upper harmonics. I do think its important to match Your amp with the appropriate sounding distortion pedal.

 

[clutch71]

OK, I just tried a TS808 reissue all I can say is wow! It did two things that really blew me away.

1) At concert volume (Modern/Bold Gain at 2:30 Loop bypassed master at 1 everyhting else at noon except presence at 3)) and the pedal set flat it added a smoothness and compression akin to older revisions of 2ch's I've played. It was the 1st time that I liked my EL34's for older Tool stuff. It had a punch and slam through my 2x12 that blew me away.

2) When I got home I pulled two tubes and 1 rectifier tube, plugged into the 4ohm jack of my 4x12. Loop bypassed Master at 8 gain at 3, set the bass to 1, backed the mids to 11:30 treble to 1:30 and kept the presence at 3. On the pedal bumped the OD to 1 with the rest still flat. Wow. Very similar to the concert tone acheived above.

I love my Dual but was starting to worry that, sonically, I had bitten off more than I could chew. The thing is just so loud and to get to that power tube saturation you just have to crank it. I was actually thinking of getting rid of it in favor of a SR or ROV head. Not any more.

My wife was actually impressed by the sound at low volume and I played last night well into after my 4 ankle biters went to bed. Too bad the pedal is not mine!

 

[Newysurfer]

2 other very good distortion pedal are

Crunchbox and
Fulltone GT-500

 

[stonedkirby]

how much gain does one need?
this is up to that person. it has nothing to do with skill , it is a change of sound and texture ,not playing ability. elitest snobs who are limited in mental ability are the ones would bash something like the choice someone makes to get their desired sound.
period.

 

[Russ]

I wouldn't consider myself an elitist. I am actually a veteran, a college grad, a journeyman in my trade, a licensed general contractor and a business owner. I wouldn't consider myself as having limited mental ability either. The last time I took an IQ test I was 4 pts shy of genius. That was actually about a year ago.

I have only been playing guitar since junior highschool though if that means anything. For the most part, it was a bit of humor to ask just how much distortion does any one person need. I have actually been talking to clutch71 for quite a while during his search for his ideals through PM's. From our messaging, I am pretty sure that he could see the humor in what I asked. It was just me being completely facetious. Sorry if I absent-mindedly negelected to put a little emoticon there so that you would not feel as though someone was trying to pick on someone.

I have played most of your classic amps and pedals (you might call them vintage nowadays). I also try to keep up on current gear as well as modern music. I totally see the necessity to be able to get whatever you hear in your head and how getting a truly individual tone is difficult at best. I myself have layered various boxes in front of amps just for unique sounds. This included a stint with various racks as well as plenty of time with conventional heads. I would never condemn someone for wanting something in particular. Most of us aren't completely satisfied ever. As soon as we might think we are, something comes along to prove differently.

However, there are those that do hide behind distortion. I would never bash someone for having an opinion or for making a choice other than making an ignorant ass out of themself.
period.

 

[Russ]

OK, I just tried a TS808 reissue all I can say is wow! It did two things that really blew me away.

1) At concert volume (Modern/Bold Gain at 2:30 Loop bypassed master at 1 everyhting else at noon except presence at 3)) and the pedal set flat it added a smoothness and compression akin to older revisions of 2ch's I've played. It was the 1st time that I liked my EL34's for older Tool stuff. It had a punch and slam through my 2x12 that blew me away.

2) When I got home I pulled two tubes and 1 rectifier tube, plugged into the 4ohm jack of my 4x12. Loop bypassed Master at 8 gain at 3, set the bass to 1, backed the mids to 11:30 treble to 1:30 and kept the presence at 3. On the pedal bumped the OD to 1 with the rest still flat. Wow. Very similar to the concert tone acheived above.

I love my Dual but was starting to worry that, sonically, I had bitten off more than I could chew. The thing is just so loud and to get to that power tube saturation you just have to crank it. I was actually thinking of getting rid of it in favor of a SR or ROV head. Not any more.

My wife was actually impressed by the sound at low volume and I played last night well into after my 4 ankle biters went to bed. Too bad the pedal is not mine!

Patience... :wink:

I am glad to hear that you are finding your way. Sometimes it just takes tweaking things a little. I think your decisions so far were to your benefit. If you do go SR then you will only limit yourself and the ROV might be an option but you were already there.

Besides, your wife was impressed. I find that if I like something and my ol' lady likes it then it is an easier transition to get one in the house than if it is something that she doesn't like. I also find that the more time I play stuff that she likes the better off I am later that night. Looks like a good sign to get one.

 

[metalblitz84]

I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would throw down serious dough on a Mesa Boogie, and then run a distortion pedal through it.

I agree. Pedals sound nothing like a good tube amp cranked up. The only pedal that has ever impressed me in the slightest was the Metal Zone Boss Pedal. But all you really need is a good Mesa amp and a good parametric EQ and all of your wildest fantasies will come true!

 

[MetalMatt]

Dude the Boss HM-2 has got to be one of the weirdest and coolest sounding distortion pedals, I have to get one. Pure old school death metal buzzsaw grind, just awesome. The infamous Entombed tone. :twisted: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=45759829

I also agree that using distortion pedals is a bit overkill. But hey! sometimes overkill is good when your recording, and have only one amp, gives it a different layer.

 

[metalblitz84]

Wow, that did sound pretty good...for a pedal!!

 

[mindseye]

For whats its worth i dig my digi. bad monkey for a little color...........its a great little pedal for the $35 i paid new.
YMMV

 

[bmenary]

V-twin

 

[supramax]

The Fulltone Fulldrive-2 offers some fine overdrive/boost which won't affect your amp's tone to any conciderable degree

 

[jab]

using a Stiletto, I only have 2 channels so that's why I shopped for a distortion pedal. After extensive testing, I like the MI Blues Pro Deluxe and the Xotic AC+ and ended up with AC+ because it changed the overall tone the least. So I've got one channel clean, and can use the AC to give it a very slight crunch, and the other channel on a moderate level of classic rock gain and use the other side of the AC+ to overdrive it for solos. Feels like a quality 4 channel amp now. That's why I use a pedal on a great distortion amp like Mesa.

 

[HunterGatherer]

Have to agree with the above post

But a serious distortion pedal I own is a Hughes & Kettner Tube Factor. You could plug into a Pignose with that and sound like a million bux

+1 on the TF; I swapped out the Ruby 12ax7 that came in it with an old Mullard 12at7; IMHO, the TF is way too hot if you already have a medium/high gain amp. With the 12at7, you have to crank the output up pretty much all the way, but if you do that and keep the drive low, it sounds massive and allows you to back your preamp gain down for a bit more clarity and better playing dynamics...you can get the brutal ultra agressive recto sound with less buzz and fuzz. The gain is so much clearer and tighter, and that thing has enough gain on tap that, even with the 12at7, channel 2 is still a monster. I'm looking over the preamp section of the schematics trying to figure out Okko's mods which don't seem too difficult as well as the best way too rearrange the clipping diodes to bring the distortion back into the stratosphere. :wink:

 

[RoadstarII]

MXR Distortion+ Is the best distortion pedal ever made I only use it through my clean channel on my stiletto deuce when I want the extra chunk and it delivers nicely. Since I bought a mesa I use my stomp box less and less I must admit.