Strat Switch Tip
February 8th, 2008 | 
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Which guitar distortion pedal for me?
playing in a punk rock band for a while now and just searching for a new sound. currently switching between dod fx55c supra distortion pedal and the overdvrive channel on my marshall avt150. can't afford a new amp or guitar (mexican fat strat with invader at the bridge) so i'm just looking for any tips or anything regarding the huge number of pedals out there. thanks all!
Well, you've got a lot of options, so what it basically comes down to is knowing what you want and how much you're willing to pay to get it!
Probably the simplest distortion pedal I know of is the Boss DS-1. It has a good range from clean to dirty, so it can work as both a booster and as a standalone distortion. Decent for punk, rock, alt, etc.
Overdrive pedals are basically the same category as the DS-1... meant to go from clean to moderately crunchy, although I think the DS-1 has a little more gain/buzz than the ones I'm about to list. The Zakk Wylde Overdrive is a pretty sweet unit, a good variety between light and very crunchy. I think the Voodoo Sparkledrive is a very underappreciated pedal. The Ibanez Tubescreamer, Boss SD-1, and Digitech Bad Monkey are examples of pedals that are a bit lower on gain, and are EQ'd for emphasis on mids and treble.
Fuzz pedals are awesome. I love fuzz pedals. I just got a Seymour Duncan Tweakfuzz for less than 50$ used, and it was worth every penny - a nice wide variety of musical fuzz tones. The gain structure is different with fuzz pedals - it's a sound you can't really get from a normal distortion pedal or amp, so it's worth looking in to. Examples here range from the ElectroHarmonix Big Muff (to me, the classic example of this pedal is the band Bush, but Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, etc used it a lot too) to more iconic versions like the Fuzz Face (think Jimi Hendrix) or more modern variations like the Zvex Fuzz Factory (Muse uses this one).
A lot of the heavier distortion pedals are high-gain variations of fuzz pedals... the Boss Metal Zone and Metalcore and two examples of this, as well as the ElectroHarmonix Metal Muff, etc. I love the Metal Zone, it's great for recording, but for live work I prefer the Metalcore - it has a fuller sound, more lows and mids, so I have more beef to my life guitar. The Metal Zone records better, with the scooped mids and less bass.... it's also extremely versatile, once you learn how to use it, but it has so much sweep to its tone controls that it can very easily become too hissy or trebly/shrieky.
I would suggest taking a look at Danelectro. I used to own their Fab Tone, and it's a great sounding fuzz. I slapped an EQ pedal after it, and between that and my amp, I could get a very good approximation of my Metal Zone - or other textures if I wanted, as well.
EQ is sooo key. I would actually suggest putting money into getting an EQ pedal before you even think about getting another distortion pedal. Putting an EQ pedal after your distortion or in the fx loop of your amp will give you the ability to sculpt your tone to a huge degree, and once you start talking about high gain, that's what it all comes down to - pre and post distortion EQ. Instead of going from pedal to pedal in search of that perfect match for your equipment, consider getting something like an MXR 10-band eq pedal. The difference between many pedals (and amp distortion channels!) is their tone stack, ie how they EQ the signal, so why not take that out of the equation?
I do three things with my EQ in terms of distortion....
I boost mids before distortion and cut them after distortion. This increases the saturation and amount of crunch I get, including usually the perceived volume level.
I lower my bass before distortion and boost it after. Usually I just lower the bass side of my pickups, but I'll do this on my EQ, too, if need be. This increases the clarity of the notes and reduces farty noises. Turning bass up afterwards will give me a better control and impression of bass anyways.
I will boost or cut 1.5-4khz treble after distortion, depending on the context. This range of frequencies is where a lot of the "bite" and "cut" of your distortion is, so raising it for more "attack" or to cut through the mix a little better, or lowering it to smooth out the tone or put myself a little further back in the mix, etc.
It's best to always play before you buy, or to at least have a solid return policy. Don't forget to check the used section at your local music stores and pawn shops - I've gotten probably 2/3rds of my gear there, especially in regards to my pedals.
YouTube has a lot of audio samples - just search for the pedal you're interested in (or pickups or amps etc) and you should find at least one example of someone jamming away with one.
Good luck!
Saul
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1961 Vintage Stratocaster Dakota Red
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