Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Simon D on June 30, 2008, 10:32:00 PM
-
Now that I've got my amp (A Mesa 5:50 Express) sorted and had a chance to play around with it properly, I've found there isn't quite enough gain there for the more mental metal moments - think In Flames, Nevermore, Metallica, Motorhead, Disturbed - I'm sure you get the idea.
So, I'm looking for a high quality distortion pedal that will give me a really good amount of gain. I've tried a ZVEX Box of Metal, but found it too fizzy and harsh (and if I'm being really picky, I couldn't get on with the noise gate either).
So, I'd be really grateful if you guys could give me some ideas. I'm open to trying almost anything - tube-driven or solid state, made in America, UK, or elsewhere - the only essential is that it has hard bypass. I'd be using it with a few different guitars, but for metal mostly my Tremonti, SE Singlecut and Warmoth.
Cheers for any suggestions,
Si
-
Zvex Box of Metal?
I have heard a lot of clips and have been impressed. I really like the gate functionality too.
-
Damage Control Demoniser or Liquid Metal. There are clips on their site and they sound pretty cool.
Digitech Metal Master - I've played with one of these through a clean amp and a USA Tele and it nailed metal tones really well. One of the best stand alone distortions and it's not too fizzy.
Seymour duncan Twin Tube Mayhem - all clips I've heard have sounded sweet.
-
Steve, cheers for those suggestions, I'll check them out.
Lamp, I was impressed by the clips too, that's why i tried one, but I just didn't like it. It was that little bit too over the top.
-
since you already like the amp's gain, why not a clean boost of some sort - RC Booster, Uno Mos
-
since you already like the amp's gain, why not a clean boost of some sort - RC Booster, Uno Mos
I've got a BB Preamp for crunch tones and solo boost, but I'm after something I can plug straight in for a good metal sound, letting me set the amp's drive channel for something else, if that makes sense? (It was a better organised thought when it was in my head :? )
-
Electro-Harmonix Metal Muff should do the trick ;)
-
since you already like the amp's gain, why not a clean boost of some sort - RC Booster, Uno Mos
I've got a BB Preamp for crunch tones and solo boost, but I'm after something I can plug straight in for a good metal sound, letting me set the amp's drive channel for something else, if that makes sense? (It was a better organised thought when it was in my head :? )
understood :) :)
-
Electro-Harmonix Metal Muff should do the trick ;)
oo yeah. I've played with one of those before and it was alot of fun. Made a thin sounding strat sound huge through a little Hiwatt combo.
-
I would consider the Toneczar Openhaus. I would get one but I was advised against it by the maker, as I was going to use it with a low powered amp with a small speaker. I'm using a Box of Metal at the moment and think it's excellent and I've had a Keeley Metal Zone and a Boss Metal Zone.
-
Blackstar pedal's
-
Demonizer.
-
Blackstar pedal's
Not really metal enough IMO
-
not even the dist x?
-
Ah - not tried that one...
-
I did chickened out as was way too metal(even though was looking for that) and bought the Dual
-
I'd say use an OD or TS type pedal and set the gain to 0 - trust me, i do that with my Maxon OD808 (bodenhamer modded) and it makes anything sound metal! I sometimes even use it with my OCD on full gain to do stuff like In Flames! Trust me it works...
-
Cheers for all the replies guys.
Really liking the sound on the Seymour duncan Twin Tube Mayhem - the demo with the guy from SD using the ESP V sounded great. I'll have a look at the Blackstar Dist X too, got a couple of dealers near me, so that's not a problem at all. Damage Control stuff looks interesting too. Being able to try whatever I end up going for is a must though - I've had trouble with that before! :wink:
-
let us know how you get on with the blackstar and damage control stuff.
I am really interested in the dist-x
-
It's not the most versatile but the Boss Metal Core is worth a look.
-
Digitech Grunge - I find the distortion from this pedal to be perfect, the
name throws people off. it has nothing to do with grunge, just really
saturated distortion
ProTone Body Rot II - Obscene amounts of gain
-
It's not the most versatile but the Boss Metal Core is worth a look.
no it's not!
I heard a guy playing this in the shop and felt physically ill.
There's a real surprisingly small number of nice sounding metal-style dist boxes around I think.
If mesa released something like the V-Twin but for metal rather than blues I think they'd do extremely well out of it!
The Soldano supercharger gto is something i'd like to try.
-
This may make you feel ashamed of me, but my friend lent me a Digitek X-Series Metal Master, and surprisingly it has a couple of nice tones. I expected to hate it, but he's had it for ages so he knew how to dial it in so it's actually pretty useable.
-
I'm playing a Damage Control Solid Metal through a clean solid state amp, and it sounds really good, especially when it's LOUD. It's definitely worth a try. It makes the EH Metal Muff sound thin. The only down side is that ven at minimum gain, it's still a bit ballsy, so it's not the most versatile.
The EMMA ReezaFRATzitz has a really nice musical distortion - slightly more rock than metal, but impressive. The Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde has a great metal distortion on the Hyde side too. If you can find them, it would be worth trying both of these out.
Lastly the Blackstar HT Dist-X has had some great reviews. I remember not being particularly impressed with the sound samples that accompanied the Guitarist review, but everyone's taste is different and they were only demoing one possible setting. I'm going to see if I can try on out today.
For the record, I also had a VOX Bulldog - I think this would be best suited in front of a sympathetic valve amp, rather than as a full-on pre-amp in front of a clean sound. (Effectively the way I'm using my amp currently is as a power amp, with the Solid Metal acting as a pre-amp. The amp's EQ controls end up as further post-preamp tone shaping.)
Good luck.
-
It's not the most versatile but the Boss Metal Core is worth a look.
no it's not!
I heard a guy playing this in the shop and felt physically ill.
But was he playing it with Warpigs? :twisted:
-
The Bodyrot II is nice.
No mention yet of the Krank pedals? everyone was going nuts about them when they came out.
-
I just got an award session JD10 mainly to muck about with through as a preamp for recording (cant have too many recording options) and partly as a boost for my TSL
Well, on its own, through the clean channel, this this is FAR more metal than I expected. B00talz. It does bluesy breakup best, and (after a little dicking about) I've yet to make it sound as surgically tight as I might like, but I suspect most of that is the marshall. Yet to try with Vox VTXL, Cube, Powerball, XT or LE.
I'm pretty sure Jerry donahue never sounded like this! Great, versatile OD/distortion/preamp. Worth your 85 earth pounds just for the XLR out 8)
-
It's not the most versatile but the Boss Metal Core is worth a look.
no it's not!
I heard a guy playing this in the shop and felt physically ill.
But was he playing it with Warpigs? :twisted:
Good point...
-
Well, I'm bringing an old post back from the dead.
I just scored a killer deal. I was browsing for a pedal that would fit the droptuned Pigged Mockingbird. Something ruder and less sophisticated than my H&K Tube Factor. Something that could sound like a horde of Orcs after too much chilli.
Well I found it. For a bargain!
It's the AMT Metalizer. RRP is about 100 Euro but I got it for less than 50 at Musik Produktiv. www.musik-produktiv.de (http://www.musik-produktiv.de)
It has tons of gain, huge bass and gnarly treble. Russian made, true bypass and loads of character.
Check http://amtelectronicseurope.com/en/shop/metalizer/ (http://amtelectronicseurope.com/en/shop/metalizer/) for clips.
-
I've got a damage control demonizer which is a good pedal...but the EQ is a tad awkward IMHO - it is really set to scoop the sound (boosting can sound like a half c--ked wah) and it's not obvious how to set it flat...but worth a look.
-
+10000 for ZVEX Box of metal, unbelievable high gain.
-
Can only say the same as I did with the other thread - Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Mayhem. I'm looking for a similar idea as my amp doesn't go far enough with the gain and this is certainly the best I've tried so far.
-
if you can get a hold of one, try the Mad Professor red hot distortion.......very nice pedal
-
just realised that the BOM has been tried, apologies. The keeley MT-2 TZ is awesome as is the subdecay blackstar.