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Distortion pedals

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 6:58 pm
by nomadjames
Can you guys give me some advice on which one to actually buy? I want to run my Volca Kick through it, but I'm not sure about what to actually get, I don't know much about pedals and am just getting my hardware collection assembled.

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 7:03 pm
by Mslwte
big muff
rat
great destroyer

..are some to look at

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 7:06 pm
by Markus Wolf
This might give you a little direction......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOoFw4zK0vk

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 7:09 pm
by Mslwte
yeah it also depends on what sounds you want to distort, because different pedals do different jobs.

i never liked the boss ds2 because it didnt distort the 303 that nicely imo. but a cheap Chinese overdrive i have unit does the job nicely.

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 7:36 pm
by Lost to the Void
Mslwte wrote:yeah it also depends on what sounds you want to distort, because different pedals do different jobs.

i never liked the boss ds2 because it didnt distort the 303 that nicely imo. but a cheap Chinese overdrive i have unit does the job nicely.
Yeah, the boss ds2 is an all round bad distortion.

There are somewhat different distortions it's hard to recommend just one as it depends on what sound you are looking for (to OP).

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 8:29 pm
by nomadjames
I ordered a Big Muff Pi, so that's gonna be the starting point.

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 11:46 pm
by Lost to the Void
Well, that's actually a fuzz box, rather than distortion.
As much as I love fuzz, it's not the best thing for drums.

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 1:18 am
by Críoch
I got a ENO Myomorpha Distortion pedal, which is a cheap clone of a Rat.

Very happy with it. I use it on a 303 clone. Lots of options on it & it's easy to find a sound you like with it.

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 3:34 am
by nomadjames
Well shit, I got it cheap at least lol.

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 4:04 am
by Lost to the Void
Oh it`s a great pedal, but fuzz tends to drop out the low, and it breaks up transients quite a bit. Fuzz is great when it has octaving and stuff, you can get some great textures. One of the pedals I make has a Fuzz topology, and I use it a lot.

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 10:05 am
by Críoch
I had a EHX Big Muff. Great for guitar.. but I never liked it on drums. I never used it on long, drone / noise pad type sounds.. but in hindsight it probably would have gave a better result than on drums. I always found it, yeah.. to fuzz up the drums too much to like. There was a lack of tightness. Added sustain. Blurriness rather than definition.

I'm comparison, increasing the gain on a desk - Mackie CR1604 or the Tube screamer clones - such as the Bad Monkey, adds girth. The rat is nice on drums too but can sound more aggressive & totally destroy what its effecting.

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 3:17 pm
by arkos
You can get Elektron Analog Drive for 222$, 8 different distortion circuits as well as midi control. Well worth a look I think.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... stomp.html

youtu.be/B-DPhpsuthw

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 4:17 pm
by Críoch
That's a good price

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 4:30 pm
by Mslwte
arkos wrote:You can get Elektron Analog Drive for 222$, 8 different distortion circuits as well as midi control. Well worth a look I think.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... stomp.html

youtu.be/B-DPhpsuthw
ooooh :idea:

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 4:33 pm
by Mslwte
ive got a filterbank, a brenell mark 5 60's preamp, cheap chinese little bear units, a "you dirty rat", a great destroyer and the thing i like the most is the distortion from the machinedrum compressor.

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 5:15 pm
by arkos
Mslwte wrote: the thing i like the most is the distortion from the machinedrum compressor.
How does that work exactly ?

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 5:35 pm
by Críoch
MD comp?

Just turn everything to maximum / minimum & smash it all up.

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 5:47 pm
by Mslwte
just dial in the "output gain" and "mix" to taste. as simple as that really. i just like the way it crunches up the digital sounds. never really like the MD dry tbh. so many nice sounds when you smash the output :)

youtu.be/i4fhU7aXvnY

if i can remember correctly everything apart from the obvious synth is the MD blasted through the compressor.

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 6:14 pm
by arkos
I see could have told myself that, doaaahhh :D

Wicked track there Mslwte!

Re: Distortion pedals

Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 7:30 pm
by berto999
I've got a Rat and a Boss OS2, really like them both