sweet_nothing

Yeh my G&L has a really clean tone and i want a distortion pedal, what are some good ones?

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TheCaster

I like my BOSS DS-1 distort pedal

its pretty good for 30-40 bucks

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sweet_nothing

yeh i had that but it broke :\

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mr dave

like any other piece of gear it all depends on the sound you want and the cash in your pocket.

BOSS is known to make incredibly reliable pedals. they're little tanks made out of cast iron. the DS-1 is a classic and if you can find it close to the $40 mark you're laughing. it'll provide a nice hard rock fuzz sound for pretty cheap, and it won't eat batteries half as fast as most other pedals.

if you want more edge and control over your fuzz BOSS also has the MT-2 metal zone. don't let the name fool you, it can still provide a decent range of fuzz. it also has a split EQ knob so you can better tweak the distortion. they're usually closer to $80-100 though.

electro harmonix also has the 'big muff' line of distortion pedals (and a lot of people would call them the top of the pile). these are usually pricier, the 'mini muff' starts around $100 and the other models end up closer to $200. there are also russian made big muff's that are pretty good too (i scored one in a pawn shop about 2 years ago for $80). there's one pertinent issue with the muff though, a lot of people complain that the pedal sucks your tone when it's not in use so they end up having custom bypass switches installed. i just use mine with my bass and never turn it off hehehe.

you might also want to look into compressor pedals. again BOSS is usually your best bet. it's not something i'd use for a lot of rhythm playing but if you want neil young style buzzy lead action, it's the ticket. great for single notes, but it gets muddy when you play chords (at least from my limited experience with a compressor)

personally i've been using the DOD FX53 classic tube for almost 15 years. it's not really as fuzzy as the BOSS pedals but it gives a smoother distorted sound. it's got more mid range where the BOSS pedals have more highs and lows.

one other thing to keep in mind too is that most amps have some sort of gain channel built in. while they usually sound like crap on little 10-15W amps they usually start sounding pretty decent once you get to something big enough to jam over drums with. i've got more fingers than times i've used a distortion pedal through my 40W marshall over the last decade.



let us know what you end up getting when it happens.

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mr dave

HOW? you're the only person i've ever heard of having a BOSS pedal break.

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sweet_nothing

i dont even know but it doesnt work anymore , hmmm the sound i want uhhh like Nirvana the kind of distortion that Kurt used.

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GuitarBizarre

Not to be funny, but nirvanas tones kinda sucked. Why don't you go down to your local store and try a few different kinds of pedals?

Oh and btw, go for the pedal which sounds best to your ears, not always the one that sounds closest to your influences. Saves a lot of hassle when your tastes inevitably change over time.

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mr dave

the DS-1 should have been pretty close. something else cobain used to use a lot too was an old boss chorus pedal to add an extra layer of shimmer to the fuzz.

as for your pedal it might just be a short in the battery connection. it's the most common reason pedals 'die'. any electronics repair shop should be able to fix it up, but at the price they sell for now it might be just as cost effective to save up for a new one.

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sweet_nothing

I just got a DS-1 a little while back and it does nothing for my guitar. It sounds the exact same if I were to just turn the volume on my guitar all the way up. Or is it suppose to do that?

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Farfisa

you have to mess around with the settings a bit...