distortion

phaeton

Alrighty, this is more of an equipment question really,

I've never been totally happy with my distortion sounds (I have a spider II solid state that is horrible and scrawly and a Digitech RP50 processor that just never quite gives what I want) So I'm wondering what you use or would recomend getting for a great distortion, don't worry about difference in taste, just tell me what works for you.

Tell me anything from amps to pickups to pedals, strings, processors, whatever combination.

AnotherTool

Back in the day i used to have a Fender Twin (possibly the cleanest amp ever) with a sustain punch creamy dreamer running through it (possibly the greatest distortion pedal ever).

They aint cheap, probably near

MuffFuZZ

I'd recommend you to get a clean tube amp. You don't have to go crazy with a boutique kinda thing or anything, but in my experience, I've found that a good clean tube amp with a couple of nice analog pedals in front will get you a great palette of tones. Digital amps are nice to practice with, but if you are planning to play beyond bedroom levels you'll need a good tube amp.

I don't know how many amps I've had by now, jcm's, plexi, jubilees, rectos, soldano. (no I'm not rich lol, I'm a sound engineer 😁 ) and I've ended up with a twin. I've had great results with it, and since it takes pedals so well, you can always change your tone orientation by simply switching stompboxes or pre's.

If you were to take that route -depending on your budget- I'd check into either one of these:

Fender blues jr

Roland JC120 (this one is a solidstate, but it's very warm and has a lot headroom to play with)

Ampeg J-20

Fender twin reverb

Mesa studio pre (this, if you can find one, is a nice pre with awesome cleans and a rather nice distortion channel.... you'll need a power amp and a cap though)

Or... if money is not an issue a MARK IV 😁😁

But if you only care about a good distortion channel... do yourself a favor, do try one of those marshall jubilees 😎

nirvana23freak

ds-2 gets me nice sounds.

jace

I have the Fender Twin 100w tube amp. It has the best sounding clean tones and also has a distorion channel that is good for a classic rock blues type of sound. I use a DS-2 for a more hard rock thrash kind of distortion. I also use a Damage Control Solid Metal for several different types of distortion, with the drive only about halfway I get a thick Black Sabbath type tone, turn the driveup to about 3/4 and I get a heavy metal tone from it like Sepultura, Slayer, Pantera. The Damage Control Solid Metal has two tubes in the pedal so you get real tube distortion, you should check it out. It is a very versatile pedal.

Fran

I use a Marshall JCM2000 DSL 401 Combo. I'm happy with that because personally i dont think anything sounds better than a roaring Marshall valve distortion (just my opinion), it also sounds decent clean.

If i was looking to play more heavy metal stuff i would look at getting cab extension, because you just cant get that scooped mids low end on an open back combo. Or maybe look at getting an EQ pedal to shape the low end and mids a bit better.

I've had thousands of pedals and they all sound good at home on room volume but when you belt them out at rehearsals they never seem to match a valve amp for quality.

But, again anything with EQ; Boss MT2, Marshall JH-1,...

BanditGuitarist1

I've used Solid state distortion and now use my Orange's distortion channel, the advice about a nice tube amp with a distortion pedal is very sound!

Clean channel on a tube amp and just put a DS-2 or English Muffin whatever your taste in distortion pedals into a humbucker guitar will get you a really nice distortion tone.

phaeton

Clean tube and distortion pedal, got it.

But which one? I don't have a whole lot to spend (my jag needs re fretting)

I tried an MD-2 through a Vox AD100VT and wasnt that jazzed, but I was playing single coils at the time.

jellybelly

With single coil I'd say two big shouts are the Big muff and the RAT (doog will back me up there no doubt) but I'm gonna throw an extra spanner in the works: the best distortion pedal I have ever, ever used is the Blackstar HT-drive (though they have a range which includes heavier-sounding pedals as well as a dual channel one). It had, to my ears, a very very close approximation of a smoother, fatter rat through a tube amp (it runs of a tube on high voltage). Guitarist gave it a 'choice' rating and they are gaining credability (apparently a few were used on the newest foo fighters album: anything that gets picked alongside mesa amp distortion has got to be pretty good). I don't use mine anymore (my bassist is using it at the mo) as I have just got a mesa express 5:50 2x12, but it was a tough choice whether I would use that pedal or the mesa's dirty channel. It's ace, plus I doubt you'll find a solid state pedal that has the sort of attack that only a driven tube will give you; you'll know it when ou hear it, like the amps on the verge of breaking. It's special. Also pickups make a huge difference; no matter how good a pedal you have, a strat or somthing won't sound like a les paul, humbuckers are, for better or worse, a massive part of what a 'good' distortion tone is (though I stress that is not set in stone!). Ireckon a quick way to get an amazing distorted tone is a seymour duncan JB humbucker. They are ace. FACT. My two pence anyway, hope that helps!

BanditGuitarist1

phaeton said: Clean tube and distortion pedal, got it.
But which one? I don't have a whole lot to spend (my jag needs re fretting)
I tried an MD-2 through a Vox AD100VT and wasnt that jazzed, but I was playing single coils at the time.

This is when you go the store and try out all tube amps and distortions, I got a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, I normally use a Boss OS-2 and I like the distortion sound maybe try out some Fenders and Boss distortions.

Spitfire

I have 7 or 8 different overdrive/distortion pedals and can't get on with any of them. The only sound that really works for me is the AC30 together with a Seymour Duncan pickup booster to drive it. Even with heavy gain it still has a clarity that seems to get lost with pedals.

MuffFuZZ

jellybelly said: With single coil I'd say two big shouts are the Big muff and the RAT (doog will back me up there no doubt) but I'm gonna throw an extra spanner in the works: the best distortion pedal I have ever, ever used is the Blackstar HT-drive (though they have a range which includes heavier-sounding pedals as well as a dual channel one). It had, to my ears, a very very close approximation of a smoother, fatter rat through a tube amp (it runs of a tube on high voltage). Guitarist gave it a 'choice' rating and they are gaining credability (apparently a few were used on the newest foo fighters album: anything that gets picked alongside mesa amp distortion has got to be pretty good). I don't use mine anymore (my bassist is using it at the mo) as I have just got a mesa express 5:50 2x12, but it was a tough choice whether I would use that pedal or the mesa's dirty channel. It's ace, plus I doubt you'll find a solid state pedal that has the sort of attack that only a driven tube will give you; you'll know it when ou hear it, like the amps on the verge of breaking. It's special. Also pickups make a huge difference; no matter how good a pedal you have, a strat or somthing won't sound like a les paul, humbuckers are, for better or worse, a massive part of what a 'good' distortion tone is (though I stress that is not set in stone!). Ireckon a quick way to get an amazing distorted tone is a seymour duncan JB humbucker. They are ace. FACT. My two pence anyway, hope that helps!

Pu's ARE going to make a big difference.

What kind of sound are you shooting for? That'll determine what kind of setup you need.

and as far as cheap tube amps go, the fender blues jr is a great option. You could also try to get your hands on an used peavey classic 50 for around $200 or $300 easily.

but then again, they type of music that you play is what will ultimately determine what it is that you need.

phaeton

Well, I saw a demo of a marshall dsl 100 and thought thats the sound i want but thats way out of my league and not practical for my needs.

I like a sharp tone with plenty of raw zang (the kind you can play chords on the 3 higher strings with) that isnt muddy or sludgey.

The kind Metalica had on the load/reload albums, that kind of thing.

Which probably means a duel rectifier but mesa are way out again.

MuffFuZZ

phaeton said: Well, I saw a demo of a marshall dsl 100 and thought thats the sound i want but thats way out of my league and not practical for my needs.
I like a sharp tone with plenty of raw zang (the kind you can play chords on the 3 higher strings with) that isnt muddy or sludgey.
The kind Metalica had on the load/reload albums, that kind of thing.
Which probably means a duel rectifier but mesa are way out again.

hmmm.

The only good & cheaper alternatives that I can think of right now would be to look into Traynor, the YVC series specifically. Or again, perhaps the peavy classic 50 might suit you well.

Orange makes some nice amps too, but they are a bit more expensive.. other than that.. marshall,man.

And you might also want to reconsider your guitar as well, if you are going for that type of sound that is.

GL 😉