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Thread: Looking for a Distortion Pedal

  1. #1
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    Looking for a Distortion Pedal

    I'm looking for a distortion pedal to go with this guitar. I just want something basic, just to add a little filth to the mix.

    http://www.amazon.com/Epiphone-Guita.../ref=pd_ybh_19
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  2. #2
    Member Jay G's Avatar
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    A couple of really nice ones are:

    JHS - Angry Charlie
    Wampler - Pinnacle, SLO Distortion
    Suhr - Riot

  3. #3
    Member No Pride's Avatar
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    Well there's a million distortion pedals to choose from; happy shopping!

    Though I prefer distortion generated by the preamp section of a good guitar amplifier, there's some pretty great sounding pedals. I've only tried a fraction of them, so I'm no expert, but one of my favorites is an old classic, the ProCo Rat.

  4. #4
    The Boss DS-1 is a good pedal for the purposes. So is their Overdrive pedal, I can't remember if it's called the OD-1 or OD-2, but you can get some good tones from those too, for "just a little filth" purposes.

    Is there a Sam Ash Music or Guitar Center near you? For that matter, is there any guitar store near you? You might go in and ask what they have and try out the different pedals and see if you find one you like. Bring your guitar and amp, so that you know you're getting something that sounds good with what you already have.

  5. #5
    Oh No! Bass Solo! klothos's Avatar
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    For frills: My personal fave is the Sparkle Drive but Im a bass player so what do I know?

    No frills: The Boss OS-2 is also always a good no-frills choice

    Of course, you can always get a small budget Multi-FX Unit, like a Line 6 or Zoom


  6. #6
    The Sparkle Drive is one I've always been curious about, but they never have one at any of the music stores around here, and when you see demos of pedals on Youtube, they almost invariably just play staccato riffs, "Oh here's what it sounds like when you play Paranoid, here's what it sounds when you it sounds like Smoke On The Water, etc", so you don't really get to hear how the pedal behaves, say when you play a note and let it sustain. If you're going for a "no frills" pedal to "add a little filth", I suppose that's not that big a deal, but if you're looking for a fuzztone that will help you dial in infinite sustain, as per Hackett or Fripp, the demo videos are useless.

  7. #7
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    I found that Boss DS-1 on Amazon. Nice price and eligible for Prime. I'm almost a hundred miles from a guitar store but I'll give them a shot first where I can hear the thing in action. I just want to add some filth to the mix to annoy my wife, cats, and neighbors.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  8. #8
    Oh No! Bass Solo! klothos's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    The Sparkle Drive is one I've always been curious about, but they never have one at any of the music stores around here, and when you see demos of pedals on Youtube, they almost invariably just play staccato riffs, "Oh here's what it sounds like when you play Paranoid, here's what it sounds when you it sounds like Smoke On The Water, etc", so you don't really get to hear how the pedal behaves, say when you play a note and let it sustain. If you're going for a "no frills" pedal to "add a little filth", I suppose that's not that big a deal, but if you're looking for a fuzztone that will help you dial in infinite sustain, as per Hackett or Fripp, the demo videos are useless.
    Like I said: Im a bass player, but I am always very impressed with the Sparkle Drive when they show up in players' pedal boards on the open mic/jam nights that I host


    I still think, for the price, getting a small multi-fx is probably the best route for what jerjo has in mind (and the description of where he lives)...no, its not the best but for just jamming around the house, it has distortion, chorus, delay, etc plus a drum machine (on some) and tuner built-in

    One like this, for example:

    http://www.amazon.com/DigiTech-RP55-...+effects+pedal

  9. #9
    Jazzbo manqué Mister Triscuits's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    I found that Boss DS-1 on Amazon. Nice price and eligible for Prime. I'm almost a hundred miles from a guitar store but I'll give them a shot first where I can hear the thing in action. I just want to add some filth to the mix to annoy my wife, cats, and neighbors.
    When you say "add some filth to the mix" it sounds like you're talking about overdrive, but annoying pets & neighbors sounds more like you want outright fuzztone. The DS-1 is great for the latter, but if you want a less drastic effect, go with one of the OD series (i.e., yellow, not orange )

  10. #10
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    Yeah, it would be outright fuzz. I'm not one for clean electric guitar.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  11. #11
    Geriatric Anomaly progeezer's Avatar
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    I always thought you were a dirty guy.

    Cats & neighbors I get, but do you really think wifey is going to take that s**t!
    "My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"

    President Harry S. Truman

  12. #12
    Member Sputnik's Avatar
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    I cannot more highly recommend the Visual Sound Open Road pedal. It is an overdrive, sort of like a Tube Screamer, but it has no "mid notch," so all the lower frequencies of the guitar come through, and you preserve more of your natural guitar tone. I actually have two of these on my guitar pedal board, set to different levels of overdrive. They can also be combined for a third level of overdrive, or combined with my EP Booster for a wide variety of overdrive sounds.

    I've tried a wide variety of pedals, and this is far and away my favorite. Not great for really heavy distortion, but I don't use that. However this pedal's overdrive range is useful form 8:00 to 5:00, so if you want a heavier overdrive, you can get it from this pedal set at max. For ~$120 new, I don't think this pedal can be beat. Tone control is also very responsive.

    http://tinyurl.com/pcenyuy

    I also like the classic Rat pedal, and if you want a heavier distortion, I think for the money the Rat can't be beat. But I'd still go with the Open Road. Or look for each used and for probably around $100-$130 you could have both, which would be a sweet combination.

    Bill

  13. #13
    Member Plasmatopia's Avatar
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    If you decide you want a LOT of filth, I have a DOD Grunge and a Danelectro Fab Tone that I will sell cheap...
    <sig out of order>

  14. #14
    Member progholio's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    Yeah, it would be outright fuzz. I'm not one for clean electric guitar.
    I've got one here for ya



    It packs one hell of a lot of filth and is only a buck-0-nine new or very cheap and accessible used.
    I played with one in a music store once and gave me a shit eatin' grin the hole time, been very high on my radar ever since and will own one someday.

  15. #15
    Oh No! Bass Solo! klothos's Avatar
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    gear porn alert!!!

    by the way, this is my current bass pedal board ( pic was taken during assembly which is why there are no cords in the pic)

    The funny thing is, the only thing I use is the dbx-163 compressor by itself on 90% of anything. i also keep the sonic maximizer on all the time (its not needed but I like it)......I will use compressor, delay, and some chorus for fake fretless ( tone rolled back, bridge PU soloed) or with real fretless. I use the Bass Synth on a few tunes ( I have a keyboard onstage for bass synthesizer or that would get used more). One song (the Bee Gees "Jive Talking") I use the bass synth and Octave Divider in the ME-20B and fret the bassline one octave up--it sounds exactly like the Moog bass on the recording ..... There are a few tunes I roll in slight distortion for a Prog/Geddy tone, but - for the most part - I carry all this garbage around and most of it hardly ever gets used The vocoder has been used but there is a Korg MicroKorg in the band so it currently doesnt get used

    It does make for great conversation at gigs or jam nights I host --- The distortion pedal is the no-frills OS-2 I mentioned above


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