Distortion pedal - which is best...

[stuckin93]

... to put in front of a driven amp.

I have a single channel amp that i have wound up & so pretty hard overdriven.
I have a fuzz box for those 60's blues rock sounds & i have an Overdrive to push the amp further for a more saturated sound, however it is still basically my amps sound in there.
What I'm after is a distortion that will work with my amp & give me a big warm brown sound, however not a lot of distortions sound very good in front of anything but a clean amp & my amp is anything but clean! What I'm after is if anyone has any experience of what might fit the bill????

[maliciousteve]

You could try boosting the preamp with an overdrive pedal like a Tube Screamer. The Robert Keeley TS9-DX is my favourite. Loads of features and sounds in there, though a tad expensive.

The Damage Control pedals look very cool too and they come with valves.

[sgmypod]

Used to love the Ratt or govnor(marshall original) or even the marshall drivemaster......tubescreamers are sweet too but wouldn't know now as have a pod xt so am distorted up

[indysmith]

i just got a analogman modified SD-1, with a push-pull switch to change between SD-1 and TS-808 modes. Kicks all manner of arse. quite a lot of gain there aswell...
I believe Steve Vai uses a keeley modded boss DS-1 in front of an overdriven amp... could try that?

[TwilightOdyssey]

HBE Big D
HBE FMJ

Fulltone Distortion Pro

[maliciousteve]

I think Vai now uses the TS-9DX Flexi like I have.

[stuckin93]

I have a DOD 250 for overdrive sounds something with its own eq & a sound that would work with what i've got would be nice. i might take a look at the damage control ones - they look cool!   :twisted:

[stuckin93]

Just had a decent look at the deamoniser & solid metal - nice - i've got the old school covered but this could add that something different - if they work with current amp distortion.

[Tricalibur]

Demonizer might be a little gainy, Id go with teh Womanizer or that solid metal thing u were talkin about.

[HTH AMPS]

an SD-1 is great as a booster... keep the gain low and the volume high for a natural kick in the pants.

one of the MANY mosfet boosters out there will work well too.

 :twisted:

[stuckin93]

an SD-1 is great as a booster... keep the gain low and the volume high for a natural kick in the pants.

one of the MANY mosfet boosters out there will work well too.

 :twisted:

i have a booster though - looking to have something to give me a whole new tone. Something a bit darker!  :twisted:

[JJretroTONEGOD]

I think Vai now uses the TS-9DX Flexi like I have.

he uses both the TS-9DX AND the Boss DS1 Ultra mod by Robert keeley, think he uses the TS as a boost pedal?!

[JJretroTONEGOD]

The Boss DS1 could be the one to get! The original Japaneze versions are a lot warmer and beefier sounding than the new ones, but they cost more.

I'd get one of these off ebay, and then get the Ultra mod done to it by Robert Keeley, it would sound amazing!!! and despite the cost it'd be well worth it.

I'm planning on doing exactly this as I've descoverd that my Japaneze made Boss DD3 pedal is miles better sounding than the new DD3s! It's as if they are totally different pedals, but they look very similar. The Japaneze ones are a bit chunkier looking, and they seem bigger in size, sometimes you just can't beat the originals, epecially with boss pedals, as so many of them are made poorly nowadays.

[gingataff]

I think Vai now uses the TS-9DX Flexi like I have.

he uses both the TS-9DX AND the Boss DS1 Ultra mod by Robert keeley, think he uses the TS as a boost pedal?!

I saw a recent pic (on the Analogman website I think) of him using a Keeley TS and Analogman DS-1. I read that he likes to use the TS for fast solos as it gives him better note definition than the DS-1.

[fps_dean]

The Keeley Java Boost is a great toy!

So is the Soldano Supercharger.