Favorite Distortion Pedal(s)?

[Noah Berends]

Hey fellas, I’m having some tone issues. For years now I’ve used two overdrives stacked in order to make a distortion tone, and by all means it’s pretty good, but sometimes it’s just not all there. So I’m thinking maybe I’ll invest in a good distortion pedal. I’ve tried a few now, but I’d like to know what everyone here uses or recommends.

 

[TheMighty Jambi]

What kind of amp do you have?
I’ve used distortion pedals but mostly I don’t care for them. I like the gain from a tube amp and then use a tube screamer to push it.

 

[Noah Berends]

I have an Orange 35 watt solid state amp. I currently live in a college dorm so getting a head/cab setup isn’t exactly within the realm of possibility, unfortunately.

 

[TheMighty Jambi]

I gotcha. I know little tube combo’s can get spendy too.
You could still try a tube screamer or I know a lot of people like the TC Electronics MojoMojo.
For the more metal stuff I know people like the Boss ML-2 Metal Core. Hopefully some others will chime in with what they use and like.

 

[Jake Young]

Sell everything and buy a Fractal!! Hahaha that’s a joke..or was it?

 

[TheMighty Jambi]

As much as I am not the biggest fan of the digital stuff I can’t lie I am eyeing the Axe-FX 3. I have a kemper and it’s the only thing holding me back from joining the fractal wait list.

 

[idssdi]

At the moment im using an equalizer distortion pedal and overdrive but ik very interested in the tight rock

 

[Jake Young]

I just invested in the Axe FX II XL+ about 2 months ago. I absolutely love it!! When they called after ordering it to make sure I wasn’t some kid who stole his dad’s credit card lol the guy said “you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it” he was right! I would love to have a colored screen and more cpu would be useful I guess? But the III for me isn’t in the cards right now. I’m not just settling. But the II is more than a enough for me!

 

[Brian Haner Sr.]

Lots of good choices out there. Just depends on your needs. Tube Screamer is still the “go to” for most classic rock guys. If want a Tube Screamer and MORE – OCD is a great pedal. I’m using a Wampler Dual Fusion right now. It’s a 2 channel stacked OD/distortion in one box. I absolutely love it. It has an old school OD and a newer sounding distortion. And the really cool thing is – you can stack them either way, so you can go from channel A into B or B into A. The possibilities are amazing.
Also another pedal I absolutely love is the ZVEX Box Of Rock. Marshall in a box. I haven’t heard another pedal come close to capturing the brown sound as well as this one does.
Cheers!
PG

 

[Kent Lindsay]

I use a MXR Fullbore Metal pedal. It has a built in noise gate also. Play it through my Marshall JCM900 with my Ibanez 412 which I had EMG81 and EMG85 pickups installed.
The setup produces a brutal metal tone if that is what you are into.
Also have a Boss Distortion DS1 that I use occasionally. If you muck around with it, it is possible to pull out some real bluesy tones. You also go for that Kurt Cobain sound. It was his preferred distortion pedal.

 

[Christopher Lonski]

Xotic effects makes some great stuff. I used a boss Super overdrive ala zakk wylde for years and it worked well. I also have the Xotic BB Preamp and it is much more versatile I would say, but a bit more expensive. The MXR Zakk wylde, speaking of Zakk, is great and has a bunch of useable low end. Misha Mansoor recently came out with the Precision Drive specifically for pushing the front end of an amp and it sounds pretty phenominal. Im with Jake though, save up for the Axe FX. Ive had the Axe FX II XL for a few years and I dont think Ill ever go without an Axe FX again if I can help it. Im selling my whole Axe FX II XL and MFC 101 Mark III rig with 9 cab packs now so I can upgrade to the Axe FX III, but the truth is, tonally the II is every bit of good as the III right now and I dont really NEED to sell it. But yeah man, that fractal stuff can do basically anything you want once you know how to work with it. Tone for days!

 

[KellyOnley]

Hi...I'm currently using an MXR Bass DI for distortion on guitar and bass. With a noise gate, a blend knob to mix in the cleaner signal and a 3 band EQ with an extra clean channel to switch to, it's too versatile not to use. Kind of a wacky addition, but functional. Also love the Fulltone OCD for overdrive and I second the Boss DS-1 for total distortion.

prototype pcb

 

[Calvin Phillips]

Honestly? Digitech grunge pedal is my lead distortion. It's so beefy and thick. AND discontinued. I have 2 of them.