What is your all time favorite distortion pedal?

DanHeron · Post by **DanHeron** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 6:45 pm

Zaphod wrote:
I guess you like it then!

I loves me T.Rex mudhoney personally.

Yeah its good! I really like it.

It's the only one I have though, so there isn't much competition

r40f · Post by **r40f** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 7:05 pm

rat2
mxr dist+
big muff

SonOfLimp · Post by **SonOfLimp** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 7:05 pm

I actually picked my boss from some selling it in craigs list for 25$. It was kind of a rip-off though considering you can buy them new for 35 bucks.

mickie08 · Post by **mickie08** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 7:15 pm

SIB varidrive...hands down.

Will · Post by **Will** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 9:27 pm

IDK. I like the Fuzz Face, but it doesn't sound goo through any of my amps ATM. It may come back whe I finally get my Ampeg Jet in the mail.

I have a DS1 with the Keeley mods, which is quite nice with the distortion at 0 and the level cranked. It still sounds like ass at all other settings.

Fuck it - Danelectro Pastrami Overdrive. It's like a less ratty DOD 250.

serfx · Post by **serfx** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 9:56 pm

EHX/Sovtek Big Muff (70's version)

that's about the only pedal i use anymore.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:03 pm

Zaphod wrote:
DanHeron wrote:

I guess you like it then!

I loves me T.Rex mudhoney personally.

I used to have that pedal. I also had the Ultra Fuzz from that series.

It's all good stuff Zoom made back then. A shame they discontinued them

LimpDickCheney · Post by **LimpDickCheney** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 1:52 am

Hiwatt DR103

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 2:22 am

the ripco lazzzzrroeus 7k shit's the best $325 i've ever spent.

Mr Mustache · Post by **Mr Mustache** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 5:34 pm

It's hard to pick one. Everything has it's place, and in the world of fuzz, distortion, and overdrive it's to pick one to do it all.. but i do love :

TGD
Box of Rock
Klon Centar
Rams Head Big Muff
T-Rex Mudhoney
Barber Tone Pump
Way Huge Pork Pie

Post by **Doog** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 5:42 pm

LimpDickCheney wrote:Hiwatt DR103

But.. that's an amp!

kim · Post by **kim** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 5:46 pm

Z*Z*Z · Post by **Z*Z*Z** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 9:02 pm

Proco Rat

65erSC · Post by **65erSC** » Fri Dec 26, 2008 4:32 am

ram's head muff
ts-808 (ok not really distortion)

ultratwin · Post by **ultratwin** » Fri Dec 26, 2008 1:21 pm

Mo Rocca wrote:what is the difference between distortion, fuzz and overdrive?

I'm curious about this one, too. Doesn't the way the signal clips (symmetrical vs. asymmetrical) somewhat define the line between the sound that OD and Dist pedals produce? Maybe Mike or others could fill us in with some pedal trooth.

As for my setup, for some reason the BJF Dyna Red Distortion just sounds like medium to heavy overdrive w/o the fuzzies on most gain settings, and since I can still hear the guitar shining through even when the gain is chunking away, it seems to feel like an OD, with a little more of the dynamics still there...somewhere. Conversely, the added gain and compression of he Dano Cool Cat Distortion most likely makes it a dist pedal at heart, basically doing a slightly fuzzy JCM-800 thing from what I can tell...yet doesn't completely fizz out like a DS-1. ultra blab blab blab.

Post by **Mike** » Fri Dec 26, 2008 3:36 pm

Generally it's defined as the way the signal is distorted or clipped, but there is a large amount of overlap generally between these things and you can have Fuzzy Overdrives and Fuzzy Distortions, and Overdrive pedals that have Distortion sounds at the end of their gain settings.

But in broad strokes:

Overdrive - is characterised as reminiscent of the soft-clipping achieved when you overdrive a tube amplifier. Tubes impact a soft-clipping of the waveform and a gentle compression, which often also has a dynamic nature to it. Pick softly and your guitar is cleanish, dig in and you get nice barky overdrive and some mild compression of the sound.

Distortion - is hard clipping and has a more wild metallic or punky sound, you're getting more of a square wave hard-limiting effect to the waveform at the onset of clipping which means you don't get a nice compression effect but more of an aggressive corruption of the waveform. You also don't get the dynamic effect, softly played notes are generally as distorted as hard strums

Fuzz - is the least easy to define and can be achieved in myriad ways, but often uses a triangular clipping characteristic to the sound, or even a massive information loss in terms of gating out frequencies to fuzz up the sound as in treble boosters.

ultratwin · Post by **ultratwin** » Fri Dec 26, 2008 3:53 pm

A-ha I see...

Muchos gracias, SeÃ±or Miguel.

william · Post by **william** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 7:38 pm

my favorite so far has been my reissue MXR disto+. not super over the top or anything, but its amazing the variety i can get from just the two knobs it has. no tone knob, but you can dial in the low end by backing off the "distortion." its really amazing how much low end is preserved, almost like a trebly middy dirty channel blended into a bassy clean channel. also, batteries last forever in it and it fits nicely into my melody maker's case.

also also,

guy picciotto of fugazi

matt sweeney of chavez

EDIT: not sure why guy modified his D+ to have the input on the left.

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 7:50 pm

So fat, so thick... so creamy!

Armchair Bronco · Post by **Armchair Bronco** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 10:50 pm

I get all the distortion I need stock from my Tiny Terror, but what I'd really like to get is one of these for some vintage fuzz -- an Electro Harmonix Germanium OD pedal. The tone at 1:59 is what I'm looking for.

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