I've discovered a hidden gem - the MXR Distortion III!

[Twinfan]

I went to the Liverpool Guitar Show yesterday with "MJW" Martin, and it was one of the better shows of recent times.  A few pieces of vintage gear there, which was a nice change, but we weren't entirely convinced they were genuine.  Nice to see "Roland_Rat" there too, hope you enjoy the Rothwell Compressor matey!

Anyhow, I digress...

I was on the lookout for interesting pedals as my amp/guitar rig is sorted.  Unfortunately, there was hardly anything decent on show which was a shame.  On one stand though, my eye spotted an MXR Distortion III:



It was a little beaten up, and had an incorrect tone knob replacement, and was on sale at £49.  As I like to try different overdrive/distortion pedals I offered him £40 and the deal was done.  I thought it might be OK to boost my amp for solos when practicing at home.

I totally underestimated this little beauty!

The name and looks made me think it would be a fuzzy/buzzy distortion box that would only be good boosting an already dirty amp.  As it turns out, it's very much a "heavy overdrive" - like a Tubescreamer on steroids!  There's plenty of smooth gain, nothing too fizzy and sharp, just a nice warm blues/rock tone.  There's a slight mid-hump to it, which adds some punch, but it's not quite as obvious as a Tubescreamer.  It is there though.

After trying it through my rig, and loving it, I wondered how it compared to the BB Preamp that's been my long-term favourite overdrive on my pedal board.  In fact, it's been my favourite pedal, period.  It's been beaten - the Distortion III is the new king!

In comparison to the BB, the Dist III is warmer, smoother and has more Marshall-style grunt.  Into the clean channel, and comparing it to my lead channel, it's pretty similar in tone.  Perfect for the rhythm tones I need.  Into the lead channel, it gives more gain, sustain and a singing quality.  Really, really nice.  The BB sounds scooped and twangy in comparison.

I later discovered that the Dist III is only £70 new via mail order, so while I didn't get bargain of the century I did OK I guess.  If anyone's considering getting a BB Preamp at £169, but thinks they're expensive, grab yourself a Distortion III and laugh all the way to the tone bank  :D

[hunter]

Thanks for sharing, sounds like a winner.
Have you tried an OCD ever? Think you might like it too.

Would be great if you could make some comparison clips/vids of the BB and the MXR into clean and drive channel!

[Twinfan]

I'll see if I can put some clips together, but I'm really busy at the moment.

The BB Preamp preserves your pick attack very well, almost as if there's a slight delay before the effect starts.  It's great into a really dirty amp to give it kick but keep clarity, where the Dist III is a smoother, singing gain booster.  Think of it as Fender versus Marshall in some ways.

I've tried an OCD before, and thought it was good, but I've never owned one.  I think I need to get hold of one...

[Ian Price]

Cheers Dave - something for me to consider in future. I wish I had never sold my OCD to Shobet!

[shobet]

Cheers Dave - something for me to consider in future. I wish I had never sold my OCD to Shobet!

You're not having it back! :P

[Tellboy]

I wondered how it compared to the BB Preamp that's been my long-term favourite overdrive on my pedal board.  In fact, it's been my favourite pedal, period.  It's been beaten - the Distortion III is the new king!

Interesting - the BB Preamp has always been my favourite overdrive too - would be interested to hear the MXR.

[tomjackson]

Just listened to the PGS demo, not the best way to gain an opinion but the one I did get was that it's a bit harder sounding than the BB, so may be better for harder rock??

I really like OCD's, they do a great just breaking up sound that I really like and sound really good at low volumes.
Not tried one in a gig situation though.

I'm currently using a Cool Cat Distortion that I got for £15, sounds pretty good for the price!

It's funny but some pedals sound cr@p at home but great when you get them to a gig.

[Ian Price]

Cheers Dave - something for me to consider in future. I wish I had never sold my OCD to Shobet!

You're not having it back! :P

Thought so. Was worth a little toe in the water though!

[roland_rat]

Glad you like the distortion pedal you got. My purchase unfortunatly has to go away till christmas. So not been able to give it a try yet.

[AndyR]

Glad you like the distortion pedal you got. My purchase unfortunatly has to go away till christmas. So not been able to give it a try yet.

Ah! Not just me then... I'm itching to open a guitar case at the moment :lol:

[dave_mc]

nice, i haven't tried that one. :(

£40 is alright if it goes for £70 new, i think, generally i work on the 50% rule for buying second hand (and that's close enough). Bet you're glad you didn't pay £49, though :D

[Dazza1004]

what settings are you using Dave, sounds like you are using mainly as a boost.

Anyone tried the Dano Cool Cat pedals, either the transparent drive or the drive is meant to be an OCD clone.

[d1dsj]

Sounds like a winner if it's being compared to a BB pre amp! I hear the GT overdrive is a great pedal too ... so I guess that's 2 new pedals to look out for. Out of curiosity Dave, how are you setting these 2 pedals up.. ie typically what are your gain settings on the amp and the pedals? I've never really had much success with stacking drives but then I don't have much patience! :) 

[Twinfan]

I'm using the pedal into:

a)  Clean channel, very slight breakup (think Fruscianti)
b)  Lead channel, moderate gain (think AC/DC rhythm)

I have the pedal set the same for both applications, and it goes on top of the channel tones above:

Tone - around 7/10
Volume - just above unity, around 6/10
Gain - just under half, around 4/10

So the pedal takes the clean/crunch into rock rhythm, or the rock rhythm into rock lead, making it a 3 channel amp.  Plus I have the boost option on the amp as well to get hard rock/metal rhythm and lead tones making it a 4 channel amp.

Lovely  :)

[Ian Price]

I'm using the pedal into:

a)  Clean channel, very slight breakup (think Fruscianti)

Now I'm tempted!

PS It's Frusciante. I won't tell him.  :)