7 Behringer Distortion Pedals on Drum Machines + Synths | Low-cost options for your sound palette

A shootout of all the currently available low-cost Behringer distortion, overdrive and fuzz pedals on different drum machines and synthesizers.
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Pedals used:
Behringer SF300 Super Fuzz
Behringer UM300 Ultra Metal
Behringer HM300 Heavy Metal
Behringer HD300 Heavy Distortion
Behringer OD300 Overdrive Distortion
Behringer BOD400 Bass Overdrive
Behringer TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive
Drum machines and synthesizers used:
Behringer TD-3 (303 Bassline)
Behringer RD-8 (808 Kicks)
Korg Monologue (Lead Synth)
Behringer RD-6 (606 Drums)
Songs played:
Daft Punk - Da Funk (303 Bassline)
Justice - New Lands (Lead Synth)
Aphex Twin - Flim (606 Drums)
Alexander Robotnick - Problèmes D'Amour (End Jam on RD-8, TD-3 and Monologue)
Table of contents:
0:00 Intro
1:22 303 Bassline
1:32 303 Bassline + SF300 Super Fuzz
1:41 303 Bassline + UM300 Ultra Metal
1:46 303 Bassline + HM300 Heavy Metal
1:55 303 Bassline + HD300 Heavy Distortion
2:04 303 Bassline + OD300 Overdrive Distortion
2:14 303 Bassline + BOD400 Bass Overdrive
2:18 303 Bassline + TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive
2:23 808 Kicks
2:29 808 Kicks + SF300 Super Fuzz
2:39 808 Kicks + UM300 Ultra Metal
2:44 808 Kicks + HM300 Heavy Metal
2:49 808 Kicks + HD300 Heavy Distortion
2:54 808 Kicks + OD300 Overdrive Distortion
3:04 808 Kicks + BOD400 Bass Overdrive
3:08 808 Kicks + TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive
3:15 Lead Synth
3:25 Lead Synth + SF300 Super Fuzz
3:44 Lead Synth + UM300 Ultra Metal
3:53 Lead Synth + HM300 Heavy Metal
4:03 Lead Synth + HD300 Heavy Distortion
4:12 Lead Synth + OD300 Overdrive Distortion
4:31 Lead Synth + BOD400 Bass Overdrive
4:39 Lead Synth + TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive
4:50 606 Drums
5:09 606 Drums + SF300 Super Fuzz
5:27 606 Drums + UM300 Ultra Metal
5:45 606 Drums + HM300 Heavy Metal
6:03 606 Drums + HD300 Heavy Distortion
6:12 606 Drums + OD300 Overdrive Distortion
6:21 606 Drums + BOD400 Bass Overdrive
6:38 606 Drums + TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive
6:56 My Opinion
8:42 End Jam
Produced by Jean-Claude Dirckx and Sophie Hoppstädter

[@BenColemanUK]

YES! Someone using these sorts of pedals with something other than guitars, thanks for putting the effort and care into making this

[@1998Cebola]

You should look at Christian Henson's channel! Pedal madness with all sorts of sources

[@syntheffects]

If you want synth demos with pedals come by my channel as well ;)

[@RalphLindsen]

it's all i do haha. (well also use it with guitar)

[@harrislemm9445]

Aplogies for the beginner question I been cracking my head tryna connect them. Got a pedal a Rd 6 in red and many patch cables. Was an impulsive buy. Could you explain how it works?

[@soysos.tuffsound]

Another Amazing Vid! Something fun to note: Any of these pedals can be used with a mixer in a pre or post fader aux send with the output returned to its own channel. This allows for lovely parallel distortion, overdrive, fuzz and saturation opportunities. This is another gem to send on to our apprentices ❤💜💙

[@boswell255]

I just noticed how the last bit of vector art in the intros goes right into the product on show. That is a lot of work for such a tiny detail, but it really turns the quality of the video up to 11. Major respect.

[@CaptainPikant]

Thank you so much for noticing! :)

[@soysos.tuffsound]

Wow, I didn't catch that!

[@alexandermontagnet3361]

Super Fuzz was by far the best effect on everything played. Thanks!

[@tothefinlandstation]

Just got a cheap Behringer Bass EQ pedal to use with my synths, and it sounds great in line between the synth and a distortion pedal. Just a little mid-hump shape on the Behringer made my BOSS DS-1 sound better than it has ever sounded before with synths. Biting and cutting instead of flabby and farty.

[@gabekarp3008]

Korg with super fuzz sounded great!

[@e45127]

Your productions are a treat.

[@AmyDaisy69]

After having some of these Behringer pedals for years I finally find out they are battery powered! I had no idea, I always had to run them off the mains!

[@KUSHGRAM]

What a beautiful kicks on SF300 2:30, UM 300 2:40, Hm300 2:45 . Awesome test!

[@heavymachete6235]

my brain cant help but hear death grips. its just WATING for the "HOW THE TRIP, NEVER STOPS , ON AND ON, IT'S BEYOND INSANE-"

[@DjMiflyn]

DUDE!!! You just got my patreon support. Been looking for these exact types of videos for some time now and they're so well done. Salute!

[@CaptainPikant]

Thank you so much for supporting us and welcome!

[@krystianseibert6610]

The quality of your videos is excellent - make them much easier to watch. Keep them coming - they’re great!

[@burn_after_reading]

I liked ultra metal the most. It brought up nice harmonics when watching this vid on phone. Good to present this kind of cheap alternatives!

[@Gin-toki]

Ultra Metal and Heavy Metal were my favs for both the 303 and 606.

[@snorrevonflake]

Yea really stands out, must somehow match the filter resonance sounds

[@GL-uy3fd]

Exactly, would love to have the Ultra Metal in parallel

[@swanofnutella4734]

Ultra-metal is based on the Boss "Metal Zone", a notorious 'love it or hate it' pedal. It's actually incredibly versatile, but with that versatility come the freedom to dial in some really crappy tones. Many impatient users never get past this phase. In the right hands however, it also has the ability to dial in better high gain tones than almost any other pedal (by itself) of it's era. If you want to just plug in and sound good, look elsewhere, this takes patience.

[@9Joel9]

How do you only have 13k subs?? The professionality is insanely high! Please keep doing what you do!

[@semyonboyk0]

Very inspiring, thanks for sharing! The video production is lovely as well

[@BoardnotBored]

Great video. As a proud owner of the super fuzz I can confirm it absolutely shreds drum loops. I particularly enjoy how it shapes toms. I also really liked the higher pitched shrill the Ultra Metal gave to the acid line. 🤘🤘

[@marting4042]

I've watched about 8 of your videos so far, I'm a new subscriber and I'll Patreon when I can afford to, but I just wanted to say that your production values are immaculate.

[@arnav3133]

I found a hidden gem your production quality is insane. Thank you for making videos

[@kabood777]

Thank you captain, great video as usual 😊👌

[@TheNormalUniverse]

what an amazing resource. Thank you

[@mammalsarewarm]

amazing video. Exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for, seems like other too. Thank you for the effort

[@WearySisyphus]

This is what I needed

[@mylan3707]

Ooooooh man! Just what I needed for my RD-6!

[@jessealot]

I've got most of these and I really really really appreciate the looping comparison

[@crazyFrankyy]

Very nice picture and demo, thanks!

[@felixlindman409]

This but with other cheap pedal types like reverb/delay/chorus/compression as well!! Love your stuff man. Hope to see your channel grow!

[@FingeredBenh]

Great video ! We need this with all the behringer pedals now, haha !

[@brokenscart7989]

Great stuff, thanks.

[@ActionlessLoveless]

thanks, very handy demos!

[@maxi_moose]

One more real good and useful review

[@nicolasbernard7687]

Great video, so useful thank you I just watched it twice in a row and behringer can thank you for the many people who purchased some of their very cheap pedals after watching this vid.

[@fl33ce_]

Great stuff! Your production charms me every time. I'm personally a fan of the TM300 for drums on a budget pedal

[@CaptainPikant]

Thanks! 😊 The TM300 is the one based on the SansAmp, isn't it?

[@edyzartz]

Love your videos :D Used this one as a guide to buy a pedal for my KORG-MS20 Got the super fuzz, so far it's been a treat!

[@CaptainPikant]

Hi Edy, glad the video was helpful to you! The Super Fuzz is probably my favourite of the Behringer bunch for mono synths :)

[@Wijnfles]

damn what an amazing video!

[@christdolphin69]

very helpful thank you for your service

[@JohnnyGuitaristOfficial]

Very awesome!

[@zloboslav_]

I loved the ultra metal though! :) Great demo!

[@N1h1L3]

I got the HM300, OD300, SF300 and TO800 after watching this video, thanks :)

[@MrHarney]

good stuff thank you

[@ErinIsBlueBlue]

Yes ! I'm not alone ! I used my Bass Overdrive on my Volca Drum, Model D and.. Rebirth through tape recording quite a few times ! Thank you for validating my choice on the Bass Overdrive,10$ on a shop sale, wasn't really a choice ;). Excellent video, i just discovered your channel, very good work ! Subscribed !

[@Sandelec-gm2cl]

Hi..I would buy a pedal for my volca drum. I thought the super Fuzz was better. But pheraphs the heavy metal is more punchy.. or the overdrive distortion at the end..win the challenge!! What do you think about? I am too undecided..😏

[@Kettupaini]

I was looking for ideas to find new ways to design drum sounds for my RD-6 and this video gives me answers. I have only one OD pedal at home - Digitech Death Metal overdrive so next time I'm going back home, I need to try it for kick, if it sounds good :)

[@Systemv1]

Thank you! 😁

[@jujug7828]

Very good video. I am a fan of the super fuzz pedal samples. I am thinking of getting the 3 or 4 best. I was also disappointed by the overdrive distortion because of the noise level though I still have it. Thank you ! :)

[@tothefinlandstation]

Would love to see a similar video for other Behringer pedals. Esepcially the Compressor and Bass Limiter on drum machines.

[@justinchauvin8167]

I read somewhere that you can use the points on the ends of your instrument cable to push the pins in to easily remove the battery cover.

[@jonathandaniel9031]

Thank you

[@strykermoonfall2220]

Fantastic video, subbed. Man, that Minilogue was made for pedals it seems, like Peanut butter and Jam.

[@MSHRadio-dj5zn]

very interesting!

[@pirateradioFPV]

Got the HM300 based on this but I liked what the OD300 does to the snare/hihat region.

[@montorgueilrecords]

You convinced me to buy Behringer pedals! 🤣 I hope I won't be deceived! 😁

[@anc2242]

Fuzz + vintage OD 🔥

[@UKULELERIGA]

I like the Ultra Metal! But the best distortion I have played with is the Moog MF Drive! Sounds amazing with any synth and drummachine. Plus the filter!!!

[@sebastiengonzalez6134]

Try looping the heaphone output into the input on the Korg Monologue. You'll be impressed.

[@rodolfopatino9953]

Super fuzz and tube overdrive are my favorite for drums

[@MoreanMan]

Dude you have to check the 1.5 mode on the super fuzz, that's where mine lives 90% of the time. Awesome sound

[@ElijahRock92]

I like the vintage overdrive's boosted mids on the RD-6. Very punchy sounding.

[@PorchBass]

I have two sf300s because the boost is so good on stuff sometimes e.g. Snare. Its NOT a clean boost plus you have the Eq. Thanks for this video, very enjoyable

[@CaptainPikant]

Now I'm actually thinking about getting a second one so I can process stereo sources...

[@snorrevonflake]

the first 303 line was cool, and the UM 300 really stands out for the 303, might get me one. edit: but after playing them with my modded Jordan Fuzz Type build thats what wins. DIY also same price as the behringers.

[@jarosawcibora8690]

IK Multimedia Amplitube does great job emulating analog distortion pedals - it is designed to do exactly that ;)

[@neffneffgeiler184]

Ehre auf dein Haupt

[@THEREALDATALORD]

HM300 sounds so good on the TD-3

[@AGVersace100]

superfuzz and to800 sound really cool to me

[@thejoshuathomas]

I have a UM300 on the way, so I'm a bit bias. I feel as though it offers me the most flexibility of the bunch, and if I want a completely dry signal when recording, I'll just switch plugs to my clean input. It took me a while to sift through countless overdrives, distortions, fuzz, and Heavy Metal pedals to land on what speaks to me, but I'm happy with my choice to expand my synths sonics.

[@Gainn]

One plugin that gives a solid emulation of a tube overdrive/distortion is and old one called 'RubyTube'. The free V1, not the V2. You can push it into some dark places if you chain instances. It's still floating around on free VST sites.

[@N8oRMusic]

On the Fuzz set the mode switch between settings 2 and 3 for a whole new sound.

[@asmootharchitect]

How interesting video ！

[@LongNguyen-ut5fr]

I like the way you use Justice lead synth

[@CaptainPikant]

Thanks! I think you're the first one to recognize the synth line :D

[@Sequence303]

Funny I come across this video just as my HD300 arrives and I have an rd6 and td3 right infront of me 🎉

[@TERCIART]

Best video

[@JohnMichaelBurns]

Speaking as a guy who knows little about synths but a lot about distortion pedals I would definitely recommend that beginners stick to pedals with very simple circuits. I have a DS1, SD1, distortion + etc. I find it pretty easy to get a good sound out of those and they are all like a single opamp boost plus some clipping diodes plus a simple tone control. I also have more complex pedals like the Behringer gdi21, the metal zone, joyo California sound etc all very complicated circuits, and I find it really hard to get a good sound out of them. High gain pedals may sound Impressive but they often fail to compete with simpler designs in terms of tone quality and noise levels. Stick to stuff like the ds1, the rat, ts9, distortion plus, OCD, Timmy, fuzz face and all the clones and imitations of those pedals. Those are simple pedals with fundamentally good tones and will get you a lot further than huge sounding pedals with overengineered circuits. Of the pedals demoed here the to800 is probably the only one I could safely recommend as it's a basic circuit that doesn't screw with the signal too much besides trimming the highs and lows and some subtle clipping and it's probably the most widely copied dirt circuit of all time. All these other pedals may sound good in their way but are likely to have unpleasant and unmusical elements to the tone which will become annoying in the long term.

[@RalphLindsen]

gotta say, i love my hyperfuzz on this stuff

[@gabriel77196]

i use a metal zone for extreme metal, sometimes a HM2 clone for death metal, and a rat boosted by a big muff for doom metal. id say they all sound great for specific genres

[@clivemathieu9386]

Class

[@Unaqer]

not that many videos like this one. if there is any they have always settings maxed and driving the machines through them (possibly also max vol), as if people who got a drum machine looking for a pedal are idiots that want to listen to 10 mins of noise.... thanks guys great video to taste all these different distburger flavours of behridonalds

[@girlinagale]

Behringer po300 power overdrive has a great bassy fuzz on drums and bass.

[@CaptainPikant]

I would have loved to try that one, but it seems they aren't available anymore :(

[@MrScarabey]

I think the best ones, considering the quality and oomph of affected signal, are Super Fuzz, Overdrive Distortion, Bass Overdrive with Vintage OD getting honorable 4-th place for, well, it's nice classic tube overdrive :) I kinda liked Heavy M and Ultra M for their lo-fi gritness, but too dirty to my taste

[@thegrinderman1090]

Nice video. I find it interesting you didn't like the Ultra Metal at all. To me that sounded the best along with the Super Fuzz.

[@dxxp4914]

fantastic stuff lol. instasubbed.

[@floatinganarchychannel3204]

vintage tube & ultra metal & heavy distortion are my fav here on the 808 they are so good, gritty sounds yet not harsh, any mix or 100% raw? also on the korg on 04:00

[@fjfrancois]

8:50 Yeah Baby!

[@nym053]

Most of the pedals works on the TD-3, but I frefered Ultra Metal. Heavy Metal next after, but it sounds almost the same as the in-build TD-3 distortion, so I'd go with the Ultra Metal as an alternative choice for that instrument. The only one I really liked on 808 kick was the boost on the Super Fuzz. I didn't like any of them on the Korg. On the RD-6 I prefered the in-build, but the Super Fuzz and Ultra Metal next after. Then Heavy Distortion and Overdrive Distortion. So seems like I prefer Super Fuzz and Ultra Metal :)

[@lesterfalcon1350]

Someone pointed out to me once, you never see second hand plastic Behringer pedal for sale with broken enclosures. Suggesting they maybe are more robust than given credit for. I'm a big fan of modulation pedals on synths, especially phaser. Can make acid a little more citric. Great demo btw

[@CaptainPikant]

Thanks :) Yes I think there could be some truth to that. Shortly after the shootout I accidentally dropped one of the pedals. It survived the 2 meter drop from the shelf onto the wooden floor without a scratch and still works fine. I love phasers too! I still have my beloved MEK PH-2 lying around somewhere, I will have to try that on drum machines and synths :)

[@snoeimaat1424]

Amazing quality on this video, keep it going

[@M364A]

i like the bass distortion pedal on the synth, but i peferreed the tube distortion on the kicks, and the super fuzz on the lead

[@le-berry]

I love the pedal for dawless pleasure but in the DAW I have a great collection of fantastic distortions too.

[@CaptainPikant]

Do you have any favourites you can particularly recommend?

[@le-berry]

@@CaptainPikant VSM-3 is nice having both odd and even harmonics to use in parallel or serial with mid side and stereo. Very versatile 👌🏻

[@sebadrum16]

NEW LANDS!

[@crazyFrankyy]

Be interesting to see compare with vst like thermal or saturn 2, it coast around same price like 2-3 behringer pedals

[@swanofnutella4734]

Thank you. I want a pedal that's close to the stock TD-3 onboard distortion for my TD-3 MO. The MO's overdrive and FM are great, but sometimes I'm left 'missing' the trashiness of the stock TD-3 distortion. I think it will be cool to combine all 3 break-up sources. I've gone ahead and ordered both a "Heavy Distortion" and "Heavy Metal" pedal. Aside from my TD-3 shenanigans, it will also be nice to be able to break out with some on-point Entombed and Dismember riffs. ;)

[@swanofnutella4734]

Pedals recieved and tried out. The "Heavy Metal"'s EQ curve is simply a very different kettle of fish compared to the stock TD-3 distortion. I wasn't surprised. I got this for fun, more than to attempt a 'match". I got the "Heavy Distortion" pedal close, but still not a match. The EQ curve is still more 'curated' than the stock, even TD-3 distortion. I've ordered the seemingly discontinued DM-100 off ebay. Apparently based on the Boss Ds-1, I suspect it may have the circuit they actually threw in the TD-3. I also want to find and try out the Metal Zone I've had since I was a kid. (The Ultra Metal is based on that) Cheers.

[@syntheffects]

Sadly discontinued but the Overdrive modeler is a beast with its 3in1 analog distortion modes. It's a great choice for any synth setup and luckily it sells for 10€ second hand.

[@KodyXXVll]

I only see a behringer tube amp modeler and a behringer distortion modeler pedal. is there an overdrive modeler i'm not aware of? thanks.

[@syntheffects]

@@KodyXXVll my bad, it's the distortion modeler pink pedal.

[@patrickm.4469]

Amazing! You deserve a million subs for the ultra high quality content

[@photosynthesis69]

What about the bdi-21 it’s supposed to comparable to tech21 sansamp bass driver

[@rusnachre]

606 Heavy Metall is really good

[@bigdebbie6265]

Captain Pikant, what is your opinion on the original Boss Metalzone MT 2 vs. the Bheringer clone. Just curious? And thank you, for such a cool and thorough comparison.

[@CaptainPikant]

Thanks! I can't really say, it's been a few years since I last used a Boss Metalzone. The build quality of the Boss is of course much better. But I fear they're both not my cup of tea :)

[@ARP_2600]

JUSTICE!

[@Nelis08]

Are they all usable for bass guitars?

[@Disregardedinc]

Da Funk!

[@F1000X]

New Lands!

[@josephwright5921]

I like the sadly discontinued Hotone Skyline series of nano pedals. They very small and most are analog.

[@DarkTrapStudio]

RECOMMENDATION : Free Artic Plugin from Acustica, Also thei paid plugin Ash is good, as well as Mike Dean Collab of theirs Gain Station, they are the best emulations of Hardware right now. Also, great for old school distortion record like is TAIP by baby audio, and last one which is model language plugin like tape is LVL101, Im sure youll like one of them as I share some of your taste it seems. (design, level of detail, content quality is great on your channel)

[@DarkTrapStudio]

• LVL 01 - Tone Empire • TAIP - Baby Audio • Most Acustica saturation plugins especially Jam ->FREE from them Arctic and Gold • BLACK BOX Brainworx • FREE Wd analog creator 1x73 • FREE GSat+ - Tbproaudio I think you should also look out for agressive compressors to find sonics that we are familliar from typical tracks (MC77, Distressor, SSL 4000E channel compressor)

[@richsaunders3543]

Right… got a Bass Overdrive. All connected up from TD3 to pedal to mixer. No power light on either mains or battery and just a horrible noise coming from mixer!! No idea! Help!

[@celiacasanovas4164]

Thanks for this video! I just received my Super Fuzz, based on your review. Do you recommend any settings in particular for synths and drums?

[@CaptainPikant]

I'd say just experiment what sounds best to you. Often I adjust the synth settings to better fit the pedal than the other way round :) For drums I like the boost setting and I turn up the bass a bit. Also try to carefully slide the mode switch between the "Fuzz 1" and "Fuzz 2", that combines the two into a third hidden mode :)

[@celiacasanovas4164]

@@CaptainPikant thank you!! I'll see what I can get :)

[@MatthewChristianMurray]

I’ve already ordered the fuzz and the tube overdrive from Behringer, and I also have a chorus pedal from another brand. Thinking about the heavy metal petal. I’m a synth player, and have a TD-3, a Moog Minitaur, and a bunch of keys that I’m planning to run dry through the petals. Do you think the metal one would be redundant to the other two? Thanks for this video, btw!

[@CaptainPikant]

I think the Heavy Metal is different enough from the other two so I'd say go for it :) It can sound very similar to the TD-3's internal distortion (which I like), but it's much more flexible.

[@pavlo-monkey-business]

Hi there. I'm new to music production. And i thought you need to press on pedal to apply effect on sound. I was wrong or it;s just post-prod. Thanks for amazing content

[@pavlo-monkey-business]

Ok. Now I get it. Anyway thank you for that fantastic quality of video