Distortion/OverDrive Pedals

[shred4speed]

i want to get an overdrive or a distortion pedal! it has to have a killer metal sound but at the same time the notes must be very clear! any recommendations?

[SNAKEBITE]

The boss ones are meant to be very good, the black one with orange writing, Metal zone?
They are meant to have the "Metallica" sound.

This is only what I have heard, I have no personnal experience by the way!

[Sporky_McGuffin]

I quite like the Metalzone, but I am an unashamed bedroom player. Well, actually, spare room, but same difference. However, the H&K Warp Factor is better, as is the Zoom TriMetal.

[Gojirosan]

Has anyone tried the new BOSS metal pedal yet? It intrigues me. I'd love to compare it to the Metal Zone. It has a more appealing(ly simple) EQ section.

This is the chap:

[Fantantiddlyspan]

The Metal Core sounds better as far as I hear, but I'd be worried at the lack of mid knob.

The Metal Muff is my personal favourite as it's the only one that has "Whoomph" in the low end, most pedals tend to be harsh and fizzy. But it might not give you the clarity you're after.

Generally I find though, that Vox type amps, especially with Top Boost, will "add" a lot of clarity. If you ran a Metal Muff into a Top Boosted AC30, using some of the amp's gain, it'd probably get the sound you're after. There are a few pedals and modelers that do a good job at Top Boosting. If all else fails, pick up an Amplug for next to nothing and shove it in the back of your pedal.

I've gotten this using my Turbo RAT into my AC30 Amplug - I get this real high gain sounding distortion, but then I stop to listen at the amazing amount of ringing acoustic-like tone I can hear. It's very strange to hear, almost reminds me of some Daniel Ash tones. Be careful, though, if you have a bright guitar like a Tele it could end up a Trebley mess.

[nocaster]

i want to get an overdrive or a distortion pedal! it has to have a killer metal sound but at the same time the notes must be very clear! any recommendations?

This is what you're after :

http://www.musicradar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12332

MT2 going cheap!

K

[Nik Harrison]

The Sansamp GT2 is an absolute killer. Straight into the FX return of most amps, it has a mighty tone, loads of weight behind it, and crystal clear. I use one all the time (sometimes with the signal "tidied up" a bit before it hits the GT2 it using a CS2).

[Nik Harrison]

Has anyone tried the new BOSS metal pedal yet? It intrigues me. I'd love to compare it to the Metal Zone. It has a more appealing(ly simple) EQ section.

This is the chap:

Looks a bit bigger than the normal pedals Goji........?

[Fantantiddlyspan]

Sansamp has no mid control with it though. This sucks.

[Dr.One]

I have both the MT-2 and the ML-2.

I like the MT-2 for early 90's Megadeth, Slayer, etc and for its parametric mid control. The ML-2 is better for more modern metal sounds like Opeth or Arch Enemy. With the ML-2's gain and low controls maxed, I can get that rumbling Napalm Death 'Scum' distortion too!

I don't really like what I've heard of the Metal Muff - it sounds much less like 'metal' to me, and more like the 'Muff' bit of its name, so not really what I'm after. I've never actually used one though, only heard demos.

Hearing every note in a distorted chord is usually more down to the guitar than the distortion pedal - I can hear every note clearly on any of the pedals I own when I play my Jackson DKMG (EMG 81 + 85 pickups), but things can get muddy on my KVX10 which has the much inferior Duncan Designed humbuckers.