good, hard distortion/hi-gain pedal (max. £170 approx)

[spacetruckin]

hi everyone,
i have a modded Boss DS-1 played though a laney vc30 which i use for hard 70's rock, but i am now looking for something with a little more kick to be used for 80's hard rock/metal. 2 pedals which ive seen are the radial tonebone hot british, and the blackstar ht dual. has anyone had any experience with these pedals, or can recommend another similar pedal?
thanks

[dave_mc]

i haven't tried those two, but i picked up a second-hand hbe big d the other day for £80 on ebay, and it's very nice. i'm not saying to get it instead of the ones you listed (as having not tried them, i obviously don't know whether it's worse, better, or similar), but it'd certainly be worth a try to compare against those other two. New it would be just about under budget (£165).

[MrBump]

The HT Dual has been talked about a lot on this forum - I think with mixed conclusions.

I have one, and I DO like it - although I struggle do get REALLY high gain sounds out of it (thrashy type sounds), although that's likely more to do with a lack of EQ on my amp...  The Blackstar also very much stamps its own tone on yours...  again, I kinda like that, but I like to change my tone a lot.

Hope that helps.

Mark.

[sgmypod]

what about the ht dist-x

[badgermark]

MI audio crunch box? High gain jmc800 in a small red box. I liked mine until i sold it to someone on here, sounded good but not my bag.

[Brow]

MI audio crunch box? High gain jmc800 in a small red box. I liked mine until i sold it to someone on here, sounded good but not my bag.

+1 to this, and I believe it was me that bought yours  :D

[tomjackson]

I have the Dual but I'm going to sell it and get a BB plus.  When I AB'd them in Sounds great I thought the BB plus was a lot more defined but it was £190 and the Dual £140.  The Dual sounds great but as has been mentioned on these pages before, it does stamp its tone on you wheras the BB is more transparent.  I thought the BB was great for Black Crowes american rootsy distortion but it has a lot of gain on tap with the two cascaiding chnnels, certainly as much as the Dual.

The Dual has the added benefit of the direct out which is handy but I found my recordings were starting to sound the same.  I used it as an additional slight break up and crunch to my laney VC30, giving 3 channels, but didn't bother with the high gain except for the odd metal head moment at home.

These two options may still not hit the nail on the head if you want metal tight bottom type hard gain, but both are very versatile 2 channel boxes around your price range.  Remember that the Dual can only run on it's own dedicated supply or similar.

[ThorpyFX]

I sold a zvex box of metal, honestly too high gain for me but what a distortion pedal for downtuned heavy metal unbelievable!

[Doadman]

Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Mayhem - £125 and an absolutely awesome pedal that will give you as much gain as you will ever need.

[phlip]

Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Mayhem - £125 and an absolutely awesome pedal that will give you as much gain as you will ever need.

I've been fancying one of these, where did you find one for £125?
Cheers  :D

[Doadman]

Visit www.hotroxuk.com and you'll find it there for £125