Best Distortion Pedal Within 100-200 Bucks?

[Fardeen]

Hi guys, I just bought my first ever electric and I've been playing it for about a fortnight using my friends Zoom 505 II multieffects processor. The only setting I really like and use regularly is the distortion I've made using values I found on a website. Anyways, I've now decided not to waste money on an expensive processor and slowly accumulate various expression pedals instead, starting with distortion first. Firstly, is this a good idea? And secondly, could you guys suggest some good distortion pedals within 100-200 US dollars that would be suitable for playing all genres of metal well, especially heavy and thrash? I've got my eyes on the Boss Metalcore, but reading the user manual makes me wonder whether it'll be suitable for playing the main genres of metal rather than the sub-genres. Could you guys suggest some better alternatives, if there are any?

[marnold]

I haven't tried one personally but you might want to look into the new Digitech HardWire Metal (http://www.digitech.com/products/Hardwire/HW_MetalDistortion.php). Some pretty cool clips on their site.

[Andy]

I don't have a heavy distortion pedal yet, I know the boss mt-2 and mxr "dimebag" pedals are popular.

*correction , I forgot I do have an mxr distortion+ it only works well to me, if the amp is already breaking up, it does a good job of pushing it over the edge, I just havent found a tone I really like alot from it ,so it's not on my board for now.

[tunghaichuan]

I have the Metal Core and the Metal Zone. Stay away from the Metal Zone, it has a nasty, thin sound that you can't dial out with the quasi parametric EQ. The Metal Core is better, but it is more suited to Death metal. Actually one of my favorite metal Pedals is the DOD/Digitech Death Metal, although it is really more for extreme metal sounds.

One pedal you might want to check out is the MI Audio Tube Zone (http://www.mieffects.com/TZinbrief.htm). It is very versatile and can cover lots of different styles of metal. It is like a Mesa Dual Rectafier/hotrodded Marshall in a box. Downside is that it costs about $200 new, so I'd try to find a used one.

Matt's suggestion on the Digitech Hardwire metal pedal is good. The clips sound very good for most kinds of metal.

Finally, the Digitech RP series is pretty good. They are multi-FX processors and modelers, but they do very good Soldano SLO, Mesa Dual Rec, and Marshall impersonations. The RP-150 and RP-250 fit your price range, and can be edited on a PC using software.

tung

[Spudman]

At the upper end of the scale is the Radial Tonebone Classic or Hot British. Search YouTube for clips. Both use a tube in the circuit.

[Robert]

Save your money and get a Cool Cat Metal or Metal II

See and hear and grin

http://www.coolcattone.com/metal.html
http://www.coolcattone.com/metal2.html

You can get each for under 30 bucks.

:)

[Katastrophe]

$100 to $200? Our very own Duhvoodooman might be able to hook you up with something quite nice...:AOK:

[Fardeen]

Hey guys, thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I'll definitely take a look at all of them within the next few days. Btw, what do you think of the Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer? A lot of my favourite artists seem to use this, so I would like to know your opinions on it.

[marnold]

Hey guys, thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I'll definitely take a look at all of them within the next few days. Btw, what do you think of the Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer? A lot of my favourite artists seem to use this, so I would like to know your opinions on it.
Tube Screamers and its million clones are awesome, but they're overdrive pedals. They are meant to push an already distorting amp over the edge. I really like my Behringer TO800 and it's dirt cheap.

[Blaze]

The Digitech Hot_Head is cheap and powerfull ...

Better to me than the Boss Ds 1.

A bit more expensive but big sounding is the Marshall Jack Hammer ..

[sunvalleylaw]

I suggest you look into the souped up Rabid Rodent (BYOC Proco Rat Clone) built my DVM here on the forum. http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=9571&highlight=rodent DVM put up some clips, and I linked some clips inside that thread as well that you can get to after a little clicking. I am not sure if it is the metal sound you are looking for, but it sure is a versatile distortion pedal, and is well within your budget, and I believe is an excellent bargain from one of our own.

[Robert]

Yeah, Duhvoodooman's pedals are awesome, and you get nothing but 1st class customer service! :AOK:

[Blaze]

I suggest you look into the souped up Rabid Rodent (BYOC Proco Rat Clone) built my DVM here on the forum. http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=9571&highlight=rodent DVM put up some clips, and I linked some clips inside that thread as well that you can get to after a little clicking. I am not sure if it is the metal sound you are looking for, but it sure is a versatile distortion pedal, and is well within your budget, and I believe is an excellent bargain from one of our own.


Agree !

[Andy]

agree I just recieved the 5 knob compresor from DVM and it's excellent in sound and build quality.(half the cost of a keeley and just as good)

[piebaldpython]

At the risk of being the CLASS DOPE; AHA, tell us about the 5 knob compressor. What's it do? Why is it a good thing to have?

[duhvoodooman]

1) Thanks, guys, for all your kind words! :o

2) Wow, what a question! Asking for the best distortion pedal in the $100 - $200 range will get you about as many different answers as asking who's the best guitarist or what's the best guitar. S-O-O-O subjective and personal in nature. And, of course, you have the whole range of signal distortion from mild overdrives to mid-range distortion boxes, to the various types of fuzzes and ultra high-gain metal pedals. No one pedal is obviously going to cover all that tonal ground, so it's a matter of focusing in on the particular type of distortion character and gain range you're looking for.

I would definitely suggest poking around on the web and listening to some of the many, many audio clips that are out there to try and pin down a few pedal types that are in the ballpark of what you're seeking. Here is a good link to check out; many popular pedals included:


http://www.noiseon.com/effects/Distortion/default.aspx

I offer assembled and finished versions of the Buildyourownclone.com (BYOC) kits for sale, very high quality pedals based upon classic effect circuits. These include the Ibanez Tube Screamer, ProCo Rat, Electro Harmonix Big Muff, Marshall Shredmaster, DOD 250, Univox Super Fuzz, Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, Sola Sound Tone Bender Professional Mark II, and more. I'll let the above comments from other Fretters who have bought my pedals speak for themselves as to the quality of my work and dedication to customer satisfaction. You can see the BYOC kit lineup HERE (http://www.buildyourownclone.com/fxkitindex.html). Examples of finished versions of many of these pedals can be seen on THIS PAGE (http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/diy_effects_image_select.html) on my website.

[Andy]

At the risk of being the CLASS DOPE; AHA, tell us about the 5 knob compressor. What's it do? Why is it a good thing to have?

It sweetens the tone a little . It can add more sustain and smoothness to the notes as well. If you listen to any modern country picking style music you can almost guarentee they are using a compressor, it enhances the attack yet levels out the notes overall. kind of hard to explain.

I wanted to paint and decal it myself , so once thats done I'll post a video review of it.

[Fab4]

If metal is your game, consider fuzz pedals, too. I just picked up a Barber Trifecta ($150ish) and it gets huge metal tones...probably with a little different flavor than a true distortion, but nasty-rasty fuzz was good enough for Hendrix, which says something or the other. (It probably just says that it was all he could get at the time.)

To hear a lot of different pedals in one place, check out http://www.proguitarshop.com and search through their video library. They have tons of pedal demos of all types, so you might be able to get a better handle on what you want. Their demos helped guide me to the Trifecta.

For my money, I keep coming back to the Keeley-modded Tube Screamer. It ain't metal, but it sure is nice.

[Rocket]

You might want to check out a BSIAB2 (Brown Sound In A Box - Version 2) kit from General Guitar Gadgets (http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=21&category_id=7&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=45). A $60 cranked Marshall amp sound might just be what you're looking for:

VYP_BdNu5oo-f2fWdaqUCe0

[Ch0jin]

I have a BSIAB and it is truly rockin, but one thing I feel compelled to point out is that it doesn't do a wide variety of sounds.

It's fatter and chunkier in general than a Metal Zone (I got one of those too), but the MZ has loads more sounds. I prefer the BSIAB for sure, but know that the two controls for drive work much more like pre and master volumes on an amp than a level and gain control on a pedal. You have to dial them together to get your overall gain sorted and as far as gain goes, it's not like 0-10, it's more like 8-OMG!

It might be a one trick pony, but she sure is a rocking horse (gettit)

[Suhnton]

It might be a one trick pony, but she sure is a rocking horse (gettit)

...Whereas other pedals give you night-mares. Would you say it's your mane OD pedal?

boo-boom-ch

[Ch0jin]

Haha Nice :)