HELP: Distortion pedal to work with my setup?

GuitarGod · #1 02-27-2007, 11:57 AM

Hey guys,
I hear a lot of talk about which distortion/ overdrive pedals work best with what combinations, and although I've tried to relate those threads to my own setup, I fear I can't really make an informed decision so I figure I'd ask you guys to help me out since a lot of you have played pedals that I can't even find in stores here.
My set-up is as follows:

Guitars: Ibanez Jem7vwh (stock evo pickups)
Ibanez Reb Beach RB10bk (pickups HS-3,HS-2,ToneZone)
Ibanez RG770DX (Evolution, IBZ USA, X2N)

Pedals: (not in an entirely decided order yet, still fooling around with order)
Planet Waves Chromatic Stage Tuner, Boss NS-2 noise supressor, Digitech Whammy reissue, Vox custom modded V847 true-bypass wah, Boss MT-2 Metal zone, MXR 10 Band Graphic EQ, MXR EVH Phase 90, Line 6 echo park.

Amp: Marshall JCM2000 TSL 100 (stock tubes) with 1960A slanted cab.

I just figured I would list all of the components. Now, my problem is with my distortion pedal. I play my marshall w a clean channel and I don't think my MT-2 is working for it anymore. I play mostly harder genres of metal, but also enjoy my Yngwie and Vai and Satriani-esque type players. So I would like something that can give me the low-end power to work with my amp but also enough clarity and smooth distortion, the best word to use is like a 'liquid' sort of sound. I would really appreciate any pedal suggestions or other comments. You guys are all very knowledgable so I'm bound to get something out of it.
Thanks,
Damian

Rotti · #2 02-27-2007, 12:10 PM

I dunno man, liquid smooth distortion with lots of gain and sustain is the hardest thing to find IMO. I went from an MT-2 to a Metal Muff. I like the Muff a lot. It's much "bigger" sounding than the MT-2. It is more transparent, it sounds good but it's not so smooth. I have also used a ts-9, bad monkey, guyatone od2, ds1, bd2, fat cat, blue doo, super tube, and a few others. Now I'm thinking I wont find smoothness from a pedal. I think it's more of an amp/speaker thing.

alex10 · #3 02-27-2007, 12:10 PM

how about a TS9,
and if you want more distortion use it alongside your amp on the crunch channel

Racerx2k · #4 02-27-2007, 04:16 PM

You MAY wanna try the Digitech Distortion Factory. It has plenty of tones, available. I sat down at GC one day, for over an hour or more, and tried lots of distortion pedals. The two that caught my eye (or in THIS case, EAR) was the Marshall Guv'nor Plus, and the Distortion Factory. at least with the Digitech, you get about 8 different types to choose from, where the Guv'nor is a one-trick pony.

GuitarGod · #5 02-27-2007, 07:45 PM

Hey guys,
Thanks for all of your replies. I thought about the TS-9 at one point but the only thing that throws me off was in order to get a lot of gain out of it, I would have to use it through the Crunch channel of my amp or along with another distortion. It isn't a terrible thing but the only thing that throws me off would be switching from a high-gain tone to a clean tone in a suitable time frame. Maybe I'm just not quick enough with my feet

Gurj · #6 02-27-2007, 07:55 PM

What about the Scott Ian DigiTech Black 13 pedal? They've got some clips over at the DigiTech site http://www.digitech.com/products/Black13/main.htm

Racerx2k · #7 02-27-2007, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuitarGod

Hey guys,
Thanks for all of your replies. I thought about the TS-9 at one point but the only thing that throws me off was in order to get a lot of gain out of it, I would have to use it through the Crunch channel of my amp or along with another distortion. It isn't a terrible thing but the only thing that throws me off would be switching from a high-gain tone to a clean tone in a suitable time frame. Maybe I'm just not quick enough with my feet

The Distortion Factory has a TS-9 setting, which, by the way, has more gain available than the actual TS-9.

ivan · #8 02-27-2007, 08:04 PM

and what about the Line 6 Uber Metal?
http://line6.com/tonecore/uberMetal.html.
http://www.line6.com/media/tonecore/...ER%20METAL.mov

Gurj · #9 02-27-2007, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivan

and what about the Line 6 Uber Metal?
http://line6.com/tonecore/uberMetal.html.
http://www.line6.com/media/tonecore/...ER%20METAL.mov

That was the other one I was trying to think of. I had a jam a while ago and I was pretty impressed with the crunch on it. Nearly brought one, but I prefer my amp's distortion.

alex10 · #10 02-27-2007, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuitarGod

Hey guys,
Thanks for all of your replies. I thought about the TS-9 at one point but the only thing that throws me off was in order to get a lot of gain out of it, I would have to use it through the Crunch channel of my amp or along with another distortion. It isn't a terrible thing but the only thing that throws me off would be switching from a high-gain tone to a clean tone in a suitable time frame. Maybe I'm just not quick enough with my feet

well if you used two distortion pedals side by side and they were close enough together then you could step on both of them at the same time with one foot.

waylay00 · #11 02-27-2007, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivan

and what about the Line 6 Uber Metal?
http://line6.com/tonecore/uberMetal.html.
http://www.line6.com/media/tonecore/...ER%20METAL.mov

No, no, no, no...This will not get you "smooth" distortion. I have one, but I only use it for practice at home. It's all right for a pure stand alone distortion pedal, but for layering, I would definitely not use it.

ivan · #12 02-27-2007, 08:34 PM

I know what you mean Gurj, same happens to me but in my case I bought it

Waylay00, you're right. In fact this is why it's not my main distortion pedal but it could be an option. Let him try and decide.

GuitarGod · #13 02-28-2007, 11:44 AM

I did some research on the Uber Metal and I dont think it is for me. Thanks for the info on it. Has anyone played a Keeley Modded MT-2 in comparison to a stock one?

Cymbaline · #14 02-28-2007, 08:40 PM

I use a Marshall Jackhammer pedal in front of the clean channel of my Carvin Valvemaster, and it's pretty crunchy. There's 2 settings, for either OD or Distortion, but I never use the distortion side, it's a bit muddy for me. The OD side has WAY more gain than a TS-9 so it's almost like a distortion itself. In fact, I sometimes use a TS-9 in front of it for solos.

The Jackhammer by itself is great for classic rock tones (AC/DC, Zeppelin, etc) and it's real deep and beefy sounding.