What are your favorite DISTORTION and OVERDRIVE pedals????

[Chucky]

I always been playing through tube amps and basically always constructed my main tones
with either an MP-1 or my custom made tube preamps...

In the last few years, I started experimenting with adding pedals to my kit, even though reluctantly.
I was always fond of having a MIDI controlled environment, although a bit bugged by not having an easily
editable rig.
Buying a G System a few years back finally resolved long years of struggle, enabling live editing while
keeping the ability to switch from ultra clean to broadly different tones layered with effects in one single button push.

I bought many distortion\OD pedals over the last few years, appreciating their distinct features and this opened a whole
new world of tones and textures.

Overdrives:
Voodoo Lab's Sparkle Drive has to be the pedal I will never part from.
This box brought to me (Finally!!!) all the SRV type of tones effortlessly.
Basically a TS-9 with the added feature of splitting the signal in half and keeping half the signal
untouched...So your string integrity is kept no matter what. A blend knob lets you mix in the amount of overdriven signal
and direct signal from pure clean boost to only OD.

I own a Klon Centaur clone, a DOD Yngwie OD-308 a bit briteish that I modified with an online mod kit, now it sounds amazing.
I have a second VD Sparkle Drive modified which is similar now to the newer model which offers 4 different modes.

Distortions:

EMMA's Reezafratzitz is one of those boxes I will keep forever.
Suhr's Riot too is quite a good item...Part of my rig for years now.
Got myself a Diamond Cornerstone to get a Plexi sound for my AC/DC tribute band.
It is quite good, but I felt something was missing... Not enough sustain...Hard to explain.

I just got a Lovepedal Plexi 800 and  :whoohoo!:  :o ::) 8) ::) :o :whoohoo!:
Good lord!!! When you want to brag as a company that you sell a Plexi in a box, this time, they nailed it!
I run that thing straight into a Carvin X100B 100w head and a JCM900 cabinet.
It is stupifying! I can't believe they can squeeze such a tone into a simple pedal.
I bought mine used and the power connector was intermittent. resoldered it. Works perfect now.
At the same time I notice that the pedal is virtually empty. There is almost no parts and the circuit is
deceivingly minimal.
How the hell do they do it?

If someone is looking for a Plexi in a box, I highly recommend this thing.   O0

[Dante]

Thanks for the writeup, Chucky!

Admittedly, I don't use anything but my midi gear...however, I have purchased a bunch of dirt boxes in my past. One of which, was the Sparkle Drive that you speak of. I really liked it, but didn't use the clean boost nearly as much as I expected, so I sold it (like all the others).

To this day, the only stompbox on my pedal board (except for the tuner) is my trusty TS-9 that I bought brand new in 1981. I've had to rebuild the footswitch inside, and had to re-solder the battery connection, but other than that, it's still working.  :metal:

All other effects are in the rack gear

[MarshallJMP]

My old 80's boss SD-1 for overdrive,as for distortion,an old MXR distortion +,an old boss DS-1,and a boss Metal Zone.

[Soloist]

TS9 and SD-1 is what I use now. Love my tube screamer!
I had a Xotic BB I really liked, don't remember why I sold it :dunno:.
My buddy has a Tonebone Hot British which sounds outstanding, might have to borrow it for a while :thumb-up: Modded JCM800 in a box..... :whoohoo!:

[Dante]

Modded JCM800 in a box..... :whoohoo!:

You sir, are describing an ADA preamp

[Soloist]

Ok, more like a couple stacks of modded jcm800's. It sounds so massive.  :metal:

[GuitarBuilder]

I've got the following on my pedalboard:

Paul Cochrane TIMMY overdrive
Walrus Audio MAYFLOWER overdrive

Both very much recommended!

[kawai2g4b]

I have had much trouble settling on any overdrive/distortion in my past but I finally landed on a combination of an EHX Germanium 4 Big Muff (OD side) and the distortion circuit from a Morley Kiko Loureiro Wah Distortion. And I can get all sorts of grit out of stacking the former into the latter on a cleaner amp setting.

[DorsetRatt]

The SD-1 has been mentioned a couple of times ... I've got one somewhere, I'll have to dig it out and try it again, perhaps I've missed a trick with this one?

Occasionally I use a Marshall Shredmaster, quite a versatile pedal, the "contour" knob is useful.
Also, a Maxon SD-9 and a Klon Centaur Klone ... mainly for boost and mild overdrive.

Almost forgot, a ProCo 85 Whiteface Rat ... great pedal, I sometimes use some post EQ just to tame it down a bit.

[Chucky]

Modded JCM800 in a box..... :whoohoo!:

You sir, are describing an ADA preamp

Quite right, yes.

I have a lot of more experiments to do in a near future, but it seems to me that (Oh the irony!!)
pedal non-tube gizmos offer something i cannot get with tube channels.
Note to the possibly offended: I ALWAYS played tube stuff, always.
But in the latter years, I have started using some pedals here and there, ODs, distortions
to access some timbral qualities I cannot achieve otherwise.
First, not being an arena performer, I have to find ways to reproduce tones other guys
might achieve using mammoth gear maxed at 10.
And some pedals offer some incredible snap/definition/harmonic content tube preamps don't do.
So I stopped being religious and just use whatever works.
Combination of the 2 is mostly the best.

But seriously guys, just for the heck of it, try that Plexi 800 if you can. It's mesmerizing.
Stupid simple and to the point.

[MarshallJMP]

I saw that is actually real easy to make one.

http://revolutiondeux.blogspot.be/2008/10/lovepimple-purple-pills-lovepedal.html

[tomy]

I saw that is actually real easy to make one.

http://revolutiondeux.blogspot.be/2008/10/lovepimple-purple-pills-lovepedal.html

Really nice !

[MarshallJMP]

Actually a really special design.

[vansinn]

Never been much of a pedal freak, just had a few, and done loads of experimental designs, some almost sounding good ;)

The LovePimple design above looks interesting, may even try it out. Only.. I never heard any simple one-chip thingy that could replace the real deal with tubes.

I use two pedal gadgets to frontshirt my MP-2: A Hughes&Kettner Warp Factor, and a Behringer Mic-100 tube mic preamp.

The Mic-100 seemingly doesn't really do anything; however, once the stock tube has been replaced for something actually having a tone, and the 20dB pad is used, and the compressor isn't used more than to just touch the signal, and gain has been set for a clean tone, hardly even distorting except on the peak of aggression when banging dem strings, it does something unexplainable interesting to tone.
Add to this that is has both jack and XLR inputs and outputs, which makes it interesting as a Y-splitter for direct recording of the raw string ;)

Following this is the Warp Factor, setup for just adding a small grit to the sound. This is one of those things the MP-2 doesn't do well, the grit.
I don't really like the Warp's extra Sub drive, nor using it for full distortion. But for scratching the grid with a grit, it's just fine.

MJMP, you shock me! An MXR Distortion+ of all things! I clearly remember when a local tech dude gave me the schematics, build it, and never heard anything as crappy as this.
Removed the diodes, and used it's 40dB boost into my Sunn Model T tubeamp. Never since had any better distortion. Selling the T was a big mistake :facepalm:

[MarshallJMP]

Really,i like the damn thing.Mine has the germanium diodes in it,love it!!