Searching for a good distortion pedal

[Professor Jones]

I recently bought a satchurator and I really love it. It really has the satch tone, and is great for playing lead as it really has a fat and singing tone.

However, I don't think that this pedal is suitable for playing classic rock/hard rock (led zep for example) as it sounds very modern.

So now I'm thinking about buying a distortion pedal that has that vintage vibe, and that can deliver a wide range of distortion levels ( from crunch to very high gain). I don't need no mid scooped metal sounding tones.

I tried a blackstar distortion and it really sounded amazing, however I would like to know what other good distortion pedals are available out there.

On a side note, can anyone explain what is the difference between distortion and overdrive ? I know that there is a technical difference, but sound wise they seem pretty similar to me.

[guitarnoize]

I know I always suggest this pedal when someone asks but I'm just such a massive fan of mine:
Xotic Effects BB+
http://www.xotic.us/effects/bb_plus/

[ColinMmmmm]

I'm sure there are some pedals that do both - but for that classic distortion/overdrive sound I've got a MXR ZW overdrive - it's a really sweet pedal - but not so much for higher gain stuff. And pretty cheap.

[Andy43]

OD pedals are usually more transparent and organic sounding and designed to break-up an amp. They don't have as much gain as a distortion pedal. Are you running the pedals on a clean or distorted amp? If distorted, you might want to stick with an overdrive. However, running an OD or distortion on the clean depends on what type of sound you're looking for. To me, Jimmy Page has a fairly high gain sound. Not modern by any means, but more gain than is capable of an OD pedal if you are using it on the clean channel.

Just to name a few pedals, the Tonebone Hot British, Marshall Jackhammer or Guv'nor, and a RAT all give good plexi-ish sounds.

[Brettski]

I'll add a nod to the Tonebone stuff. I have the "Classic" and it SNORTS. My band could hardly tell the difference between it and the gain side of my JCM2000.